Moving to England - Which area to live in..?? Which School To Choose...?

[NewBee2011]

Hi Everyone, We are planning to move to England from Thailand in 3/4 mths, but very confused as to where to live, as we want to live in a good and safe place, not too much fond of city live but not too rural as well and not going too far away from london..But we dont want the place to be too expensive either...Prefer newly built estate...My kids have to join in Son (Yr6) n Daughter(Yr8), they will join private school but which one to choose as I want a good school with good results over the past years n with good reputation. Every suggestion will be of gr8 help.

[PotteringAlong]

Milton Keynes


there are a LOT of roundabouts (although that matters not unless you get dizzy easily!

Not the world's most attractive of places

[Clary]

Milton Keynes not lovely, it's a New Town created several decades ago.

OTOH it has wonderful shops and good facilities. Depends what you want really. A pal of mine lived there in her early 20s and raved about it. It's a bit of a joke in UK with concrete cows etc but I reckon unfairly so.

No idea about school.

[ScatterChasse]

Don't know much about Milton Keynes I'm afraid, but have you thought about South of Manchester/ Cheshire (not Bolton, seriously!).

There are some very good private schools there, Withington Girls' School, Manchester Grammar, Stockport Grammar (neither are actual grammars), Cheadle Hulme etc. but I think you will find the entrance exams hard work. It might be best to put your DS into the Junior section of the school you would like for the seniors, as it probably would improve his chance of getting a place.

[flagging]

I'd suggest two places that aren't extortionate and where there is a really good quality of life.

The South West (i.e. Wiltshire along the M4), very good train routes into London, good cities along it (Bath, Bristol), and lovely Cotswold towns which are fantastic for kids, great communities- very safe and laid back

Another would be the town of Buckingham. Great town, v nice atmosphere, lovely centre and modern estates too. Near Milton Keynes which has absolutely everything anyone would ever need (shopping, cinemas, restaurants, snow dome, theatre, train to London etc etc)

[mumzy]

Milton Keynes is definitely commutable from London by car or public transport takes about 40minutes to 1 hour. The pluses are you get more living and outdoor space ,housing tends to be new build ( less maintenance) and affordable than most areas of the south east. The downsides are you need to be able to drive as buses are not that frequent and shops restaurants Milton Keynes is definitely commutable from London by car or public transport takes about 40minutes to 1 hour. The pluses are you get more living and outdoor space ,housing tends to be new build ( less maintenance) and affordable than most areas of the south east. The downsides are you need to be able to drive as buses are not that frequent and shops restaurants entertainment venues are all in one central location. It feels quite characterless and unsociable. The only private school I know in that area is Stowe school which is expensive.
My choice if I was in your shoes would be a pleasant commuter town to London just outside the M 25 such as Epsom, Maidenhead, New Malden,Chelmsford all have good fast connections to London, decent state and private schools and large enough to have Thai people living there and being able to buy Thai food. venues are all in one central location. It feels quite characterless and unsociable. The only private school I know in that area is Stowe school which is expensive.
My choice if I was in your shoes would be a pleasant commuter town to London just outside the M 25 such as Epsom, Maidenhead, New Malden,Chelmsford all have good fast connections to London, decent state and private schools and large enough to have Thai people living there and being able to buy Thai food.

[NessaYork]

So what did you decide in the end?