Advice on moving to Bristol

[bunsandroses]

Hi all,
I am moving to Bristol with my 2 yo DS in the next couple of months and am really looking for advice on areas to live, nurseries etc.
I am currently looking in the St Andrews/Redland area but have also seen a nice property in Horfield. Any advice on nice areas? I am looking to rent initially, if anybody knows of any 2 bedroom properties in these areas that would be great. I am a single mum, run my own business, am responsible and am looking to create a home for the two of us. Anywhere that has good local amenities and is safe.

I will be looking for nurseries for my DS to go to for 2-3 days a week, any recommendations for good, friendly nurseries?

I am pretty nervous about making the move on my own but have a very good feeling that Bristol will be a very good place to bring up my DS. Do you MNetters have regular meet ups, and can anyone come!?

Sorry, its a bit long but any advice or recommendations you can give would be much appreciated!

Bishopston is slightly more upmarket than horfield and is very family friendly. It's not as expensive as redland, but about equal to st andrews (right next to it). Two bedroom properties in st andrews and bishopston are likely to be flats in converted victorian houses rather than whole houses themselves. Horfield will have more two bedroom houses.

Can't help with nurseries as those days are well and truly behind me.

There are regular bristol MN meets, not that I've ever been to one, but I've seen them talked about.

Anything else you'd like to know?

I'm a single mum living with DD (5) in Horfield/Ashley Down. School places are a very big issue in Bristol and may well determine where you are living. My daughter goes to Ashley Down which is a great school a short walk away, but it was very hard to get a place and she had to go to a school in Southmead when we first moved here. There are loads of nurseries etc. and the Council can send you the details, they have a good information service.

I currently rent just off Filton Avenue and have a three bed new build with a garden for £700 pcm. I initially looked at two-bed flats and a lot of them cost more and were less child friendly. I personally think living in a flat with a small child is hard work and would always aim for somewhere with a garden.

Bristol is LP friendly, especially the Glos Road area. Redland is pricey/studenty, Bishopston/St Andrews is solidly middle class and Horfield is varied (quite a large area, again local schools determine demographics).

We normally meet up on a Friday morning in IKEA (if Bratnav and I have our way) or at @Bristol (if Riven gets hers). Come along and chat or if you want to PM me, more than happy to tell you more.

Redland/Cotham/Bishopston have the highest Burglary rates or the whole of Bristol.

Are you going to be working from home or do you need to be within commuting distance of wherever your business is going to be? If you're working from home I'd probably try to go for one of the livelier areas closer to the bottom half of Gloucester Road (ie St Andrews/Bishopston), rather than further up in Horfield - it can be quite isolating working from home (I do it) and it's good to have lively cafes etc to sneak out to for a quick break every now and again.

I agree that being close to a good primary school will be an issue - but if you're renting, you can always move after 6/12 months when you've got to know Bristol better and have a clearer idea of where you want to be longer term, and which schools you'd like to aim for.

greenkit - I think that's technically true about burglary rates, but I live in Redland and when the community crime prevention guy was doing his rounds not long after I moved in, he said the statistics were very skewed by the large number of student houses - poor security (often only one lock on the front door, windows left open etc), and about five or six laptops/ipods/mobiles etc per property, so very tempting and easy picking for thieves. Not something I've worried about, except that insurance rates are possibly fractionally higher than some other bits of Bristol.

Have you thought about Totterdown, Windmill Hill or Southville ? Good family friendly areas with 2 bedroom houses for rent and less competition for school places. Horfield, Bishopston and Redland are good areas to live but rents there are higher as many rented properties are taken by students.

I grew up in Bishopston opposite St Andrews Park and it has rocketed in house prices since then. I now live in Horfield/Bishopston border in a 2 bed flat with a garden & it's fab with a child. We're also close to the common so outdoor space is not an issue.
Primary schools are a big problem. I live 1/2 km from AshleyDown Infants and didn't get in. We're at Horfield CofE and it's great and has lots more open space.
We used Manor House Nursery before school from 18 months to 4 years.
When I moved bk here I chose not to live further into Horfield than Muller Road/Toronto Road as I wanted to easily walk: down to Arches on Glos Road/Clifton/CairnsRoad(great BabyCafe)/St.Andrew's Park/St Werburgh's Farm/Horfield Leisure Centre.All great with child or on your own!! :)
Good luck!!

Thank you all for responses, that is really helpful.
crazymum I have looked in Southville as I have friends there but it seems to be mainly whole houses to rent. I feel that while I am getting to know the city I would like to be central. I found Gloucester Rd a really buzzy road with more independent shops than i have seen in a long time.

Queenofwhatever thank you for giving me idea of prices, I just assumed I would be looking for a flat but maybe a house would be possible.
Sounds like Primary schools are an issue to think about early.

Thanks for all the food for thought and am sure I'll be asking plenty more questions once I make the move!

Agree that Southville is mainly 3 bed houses but there are also some areas such as the Chessels area of Bedminster (just off North Street) with 2 bedroom houses which may suit your needs. There are also lots of 2 bed properties (including flats) in Totterdown and the area of Knowle just off the Wells Rd where there are good bus links into the City centre.
This would be in the catchment area for Hillcrest school.
There are lots of small independent shops on North street.
Totterdown is quite an arty area with regular Art trails and may suit you if your business is a creative one.

I have lived in Bristol 23 years (Monpelier, Easton, Redland and Westbury Park) and never been burgled, my husband has been here 25 years and was burgled about 22 years ago when in a basement flat. The student house next door to us was burgled regularly every year at the beginning of the academic year until landlord fitted an alarm. It is true what the police say about the student properties skewing stats for this area. We have a burglar alarm connected to the police, which certainly helps.