Moving to MK

[Ivegotsunshine]

hi there :)
thinking of moving to the MK area from South London.
My daughter is 13 months old and her daddy is working in MK since last month.
We are looking to rent a 3 bed house.
What's it like in MK? Is it safe? (had an awful 2011 down here).
What areas would you recommend and what areas would you avoid?
Thanks for your replies :)))

Greetings All,

I am in need of some assistance please, as I’m relocating from SWLondon to Hertfordshire for work but don’t want to live in the same borough I work in. I’m aiming to be 30-45min car drive from South Hertfordshire area to a large, diverse family friendly city/town and am considering MK.

Key requirements: ETHNICALLY diverse population, OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS secondary schools AND nursery’s, good local amenities ie. fitness centre, dance classes, shopping etc., easy links to London (via train and car), affordable housing (will begin by renting hope to buy within few years’ time).

I know I’m probably asking for a lot but I LOVE a lot of things about London and am a city girl at heart but also really appreciate lots of green open space for hikes, bike rides etc. I like new build modern houses and amenities and convenience of one stop shopping but also love a good market place.

I used to go to Milton Keynes for work semi-frequently and have had a few nights out there several years back but now I'm a family woman so trying to get a sense of family friendly activities for a 12&2 year old. Also want to be as close the city centre as possible but looking to rent a 4bed home for around £1200 mark, is this reasonable?

Thanks in advance any assistance greatly appreciated, this is keeping me up at night as move needs to occur within the next month or so.

Hi, not sure if you got any pm's yum mum but we have been in broughton for 3 years. New and growing estate but excellent schools and real community feel. It is very close to m1 which would be better if commuting to Hertfordshire but only a few minutes by car to the city centre at the weekend for all your shopping needs. We love it here and you could get small 4 bed detached for 1200 per month or good sized semi. You need to be carefull of the areas immediately next to city centre as not all desirable, houses look nice on the property websites but areas may not be

Not sure I'm adding a great deal to the discussion, but I'd say that the nicest place around here is Olney. It's about 5 miles away from MK centre though, so you would certainly be driving to the larger shops.
I moved from London when I was pregnant, and while it's certainly rather a change from Islington, it's incredibly family friendly. The redways are mostly fine around where I live (Bradwell Village), and the city centre is just about walking distance, although I do often drive. Agree with others that some of the bordering estates are a little dodgy, Heelands in particular looks horrible to me, but I prefer the convenience of a central estate; my husband cycles to and from the station every day, takes him 10 minutes.

If you're looking for markets, Olney is the only place I've seen one. I do all my shopping in the big strip mall.