Lovely Mummy (or Daddy's) Please can I have your pearls of wisdom on good areas to live in Bath...thank you...

[artistforever]

Hi there

We are considering a move into Bath and its looking good that it's going to be an ace city for us to live in for many years..we left London about 3 years ago and are currently in rural Hampshire - very lovely but we need a city around us. We miss London hugely but not enough to move back....

We have two children..ages 8 & 5. DS (8) is storming through school so secondary school is perhaps more important than primary. That said however..above and beyond school, we need to get ourselves into an area where we can find like-minded people and have some fun again (long sunday lunches, dinners out etc etc).

Our budget is about £300k max. If we can purchase under stamp (250k) we would be chuffed to bits..

Can you offer us any thoughts of good areas for us to start our search in? its such a massive thing moving..I thought this would be a good place to start...

Thank you thank you...really appreciated it

[Bathcurls]

Hi artist,

We live in Weston, which is a fab part of Bath. It's not the most pricey area of Bath, but we have lovely countryside on our doorstep, local shops and a library, an absolutely brilliant primary and good secondary schools. Takes about 10mins into the city centre by bus/car, or we can walk it in 45mins. You should be able to get a 3-bed semi for 250k-ish!

Let us know how you get on!

[laughinggirl]

Kellestar, thank you so much...

There is nothing like getting some proper info from someone already there.

Really kind of you to take the time, thanks

[kellestar]

There are many nice area of Bath to live and have friends who live all over Bath and love the many different aspects of living in a city centre/outskirts and beyong.

However I don't have a great amount of advice about house prices and schools as I live in a surrounding village.

This thread and this other thread are on the talk boards, though they are originally quite old, some of the information about the schools is still quite current.

Bathampton is a very popular village community just on the outskirts of Bath, I've heard the schools are great there. Prices are a little more reasonable, with some ex-Local Authority houses with good sized gardens coming up now and then, you do get more for your money than you would closer to town. Though you can walk into town, they are a good 35-45 minute walk, sometimes along busy roads. Bus service is good.

Widcombe and Bathwick are within walking distance of the centre, but are more pricey. They also have good schools.

Bear Flat is nice, a downhill walk into town, more terraced houses than semi's. It hasn't got the same villagey feel to it, but seems popular with some of my mummy friends. I'm none too sure about schools as my friends are preschool parents.

To the north there is Camden and Lansdown, they have the most amazing views, a downhill walk into town about 20 minutes or so. Prices are a little high as the views are so good.

At the moment Weston is quite desirable among friends, it is a walk into town, again buses are regular. It's not really got a villagey feel, but is quite popular among families and house prices are quite reasonable.

I live in a village outside Midsomer Norton [about a 25 minute drive into Bath] and I love our location. My DD is a preschooler, so though we know where the schools are we aren't yet having to make the decision on where to send her. I love Bath, it's a great city, it's easy to walk about [as long as you don't mind the odd bit of hill], has a great park, some lovely cafe's and has a great atmosphere. If you live in town, it's a short drive to some really great outdoor spaces [dyrham park, Lansdown etc].

At the moment the Mumsnet Local is being revamped, some of the options aren't quite sorted, but it's getting there. Please feel free to ask any questions and hopefully others will be along soon to give some advice as well!

K.