Should we move from Bristol to Weston-Super-Mare?

[ShipShapeandBristolFashion]

I'd like some advice please. I can find info on this topic from many years ago, but nothing from the last couple of years, and I'd like to hear current views.

Should my husband and I move from Bristol to Weston-Super-Mare?

We've lived in Bristol for 15 years. We were both students here. We own a little terraced house in one of those grotty 'up-and-coming' areas of inner city Bristol! Our house and garden are really lovely, but small. The area we live in is considered 'trendy' I guess but, as it's so inner city, we see horrible stuff all the time - litter, dog poo, fly tipping, drug dealing - and it's dragging us down a bit. We also think we are generally ready to leave Bristol and live somewhere smaller (town or village) where things are less frenetic (we aren't interested in moving to another area of Bristol - we know the city very well and know how little we can get for our money!)

We would like:
To live in a nicer area - a smarter looking street, where people keep things tidy!
A bigger house with a kitchen-diner
A big garden
A workshop/garage for my husband
A driveway - my husband is sick of having his nice car damaged by parking on street!
A sense of space/light/maybe views
Access to great walks for our dog

I need to commute to Bristol by train, and my husband needs good access to the West of Bristol/Clevedon for his work. We have a budget of £300k for a house.

Weston-Super-Mare delivers on all of the things I'm looking for. We have checked-out the area up the hill around Ashcombe Park and those streets are SO much nicer than the area we currently live in. And Weston Forest, the Beach, Uphill and Ashcombe Park look great for our dog. For our money we can afford a large 4 bed semi or detached house.

BUT, I want to be realistic about Weston's downsides. I know there are more than typical numbers of drug addicts and people in recovery and the town centre does feel quite down-at-heel. We visited on a sunny evening in the summer and the beach was covered in litter. My husband and I like to go for a glass of wine/pint early on a Friday evening - is there ANYWHERE decent to go? I know there is the Brunello Lounge now, and a Coffee#1 and a few other nice restaurants. Is there much else? We're obviously spoiled rotten living in Bristol, with so many bars/restaurants/pubs to go to and I'm concerned about feeling isolated.

FYI, we may or may not have children in the future, but I think it's more likely that we will not.

Obviously you can't have everything, and we're going to have to make some compromises to achieve the right balance between area/house/garden/ease of commute. I'd really appreciate views from anyone in their 30s living in Weston please. Are we crazy to be considering this move, or would you tell us to go for it?

Thanks in advance!

Drug abuse hot spot (this article is a couple years old but the situation has not changed)

www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/worrying-new-drug-stats-published-1-4012199

Large number of empty hotel beds being used for drug and severe mental health patients. High number of street drinkers etc
Lack of good social amenities eg restaurants, bars
Poor quality shops eg discount and charity shops
Down at heel, grotty vibe
Beach looks nice but us basically mud

There are much much nicer places to live for your money!

I think you've already been given a lot of specifics and alternative suggestions on this thread
Book into a hotel and stay a week there before you decide to live there

I cannot believe all the negativity towards Weston on this thread. It has lovely natural assets: the beach, the woods and country walks at Sand Bay and Uphill . Yes the high street is a bit down-at-heel but it also has coffee shops, restaurants (eg Bistrot Pierre or the tapas place and a couple of lovely Italian restaurants as well as loads of pub chains) and bars for a quieter drink / lunchtime sandwich as well as some of the usual high street shops. For dog walkers it's great . The air is fresh and unpolluted compared to Bristol. Places like Worle and Wick St Lawrence are near to motorway and the train station.

I'll go against the grain too. I'd happily move to Weston. Uphill is lovely, that'd be my first choice, as is Bleadon, although a bit further from town. I think Kewstoke/Sand Bay is a really nice area too. And I think you'd comfortably find something you want, within your budget, in the nicer areas.

I'd mainly say to avoid the streets in and around the town centre and definitely the Bournville estate.

Negatives are the M5 is very busy, the commute can be slow, especially in the summer, parking can be a nightmare and there are lots and lots of OAP coach trips. Yes, there are some rough bits, but it's a big town and like anywhere, they can easily be avoided.

I think there is plenty to do in Weston. There are a couple of lovely little theatres, huge cinema, a few good restaurants and bars, some lovely parks, the beach and so on. You can easily escape to Bristol when you need to, trains only take about half an hour and they go about every half an hour.

I really like Weston, they've really cleaned up the town in the last few years and the seafront is now really nice too. Good luck.

I live in Weston and it's really not that bad! The reputation is worse than the reality IMO.
They are spending a lot on regenerating the seafront and town centre, it still has a way to go but is definitely improving.

Litter on the beach in summer, blame the tourists . They do drive along each night cleaning up the beach btw.

Quite a few nice restaurants now too, not like the selection you'd get in Bristol but it's close enough you can go there if you want anyway.

I’m in inner city Bristol like you. But it’s not up and coming. It’s a permenant shit hole. Just minutes from Cabot Circus. Not sure where abouts you are. I would and did consider moving to weston. It’s 30 mintues on the train. And some of the areas are nice. I like over by Weston General Hosptial. Is that Uphill? The town centre in Weston can definitely be a little exciting. But nothing worse than what’s next door to us in the huge hostel at the moment. The bonus of Weston is all that sea and space. Though I’d personally move further towards Exmoor and Minehead.

Chew Valley?

I'd say Clevedon/Portishead/Pill/Ham Green/Easton in Gordano/Nailsea/Long Ashton/Backwell (rather than W-s-M)

What about Bath? Roughly the same distance but only 15 mins by train and much more beautiful.

Or one of the surrounding villages.

No, No, No to WSM. No.

Clevedon and Portishead better, but I dont think they have much life for younger couples without children. Stroud even better. Somewhere/anywhere nearer Bath 100% better.

Bath is not affordable, WSM is!

Bath isn’t totally unaffordable on that price.

Hanover Terr Bath

Entry Hill Bath

If you don’t mind a 30s semi this has good views

Freshford, Bath

Monkton Coombe, Bath

Keynsham - halfway between Bristol and Bath

I've lived in Weston, more specifically Milton which is quite a nice area easy to get to World or Weston. I now live in Nailsea it's generally a more affluent town with a couple of good restaurants but housing is mores expensive than Weston and that walk to the station is a pain with a very steep hill up to Nailsea

Weston is an absolute craphole.
I’ve been out there three times in my life (Bristolian born & bred), and my DP has been out there twice. Started on every single time, for no reason.
It’s beyond shit.
Wholeheartedly feel for those who do live there.
Don’t know N Somerset at all, so can’t really advise in that respect.

Going against the grain but i really like WSM- have spent a lot of time there recently as family member moved couple of years ago, gorgeous large victorian 4 bed house for price of 2 bed flat where i am in bristol, much more time spent outside - easy train trip into bristol for work. Main town is on the rougher and ready side but that doesn't bother me - i've been out in the evenings a few times, bit rough but fine, there's a lounge and a couple of decent restaurants, new cine complex thing being built - i think its a good choice, prices will rise.

Same here - another vote for Weston. It's a smart place to buy because of the redevelopment that's happening. We moved here 3 years ago into a gorgeous 4 bed Victorian house with an indoor sauna and swimming pool for 370k!!! Our street is pretty quiet and tree-lined and Weston's like any town - there are good and bad areas. Our son is in Y3 at a village school nearby (he loves it.) We tend to drive into the country to eat out and Bristol to shop /socialise. My husband works in Bristol and his commute is generally 35-45 minutes (except for coming home Friday evening, which could be 2 or more hours, so he leaves late to avoid that.) Our quality of life has never been better and we've lived all over the place.

Look to the outskirts if anywhere, not the centre. I have dealings with teenagers living there and they have nothing good to say about it I live in Portishead now (not long moved) and it’s fabulous! No, no train but we’re waiting...

So we are in a similar position to you, priced out of Bristol so considering Weston.

I think Weston is on the up and a good investment. I visited last week and was pleasantly surprised for a variety of reasons.

A lot of the housing is really grand and Clifton-esc at incredibly affordable prices

On the council website there is a list of regeneration projects, also the head of the Arts Council has been talking positively about Weston.

The tide was out and the beach was massive, i really enjoyed being in such a big open space

Nice establishments are starting to open, Loves cafe, health food shop, Coco, vegan cafe. The high street was a high a street, I tend not to rate a place on it's high street as most high street are the same with the same shops etc etc

I walked along to beach and around the headland and felt really positive, with amazing views, with woods on the hill and more secluded beaches near Kewstoke (offering a more chilled vibe).

It's so easy to get to bristol on the train, speaking to the owner of the health food shop it seems more and more Bristolians are moving out there.

At the moment it definitely lacks decent pubs and restaurants but given time and the inevitable migration of Bristolians I recon this will improve

I think a lot of people are putting a downer on Weston due to it's reputation and maybe a fleeting visit, but if you do some proper research and visit the right areas you might see a more positive side too.

It's a real conundrum.
I definitely love Clevedon - it's beautiful, but I'm not sold on the idea of living in a little house (and for £350k it's shocking how little we can afford there). We really do want space now. I love gardening and I want a big enough garden to grow my own vegetables and have a summer house. I also like the look of Portishead but wouldn't live in a new build. In Weston we could afford a beautiful, big, period house with a massive garden. And I love the idea of being able to commute by train - and pop to Bristol on the train at weekends to maintain our friendships here. We use the train network all the time, so it's not unrealistic to think that this is how we would live.
There's no escaping the fact that there are some horribly grim aspects to Weston, but it's a big place and I think we would be a 20 minute walk at least from where that stuff is happening. Also, as we get older we want to go out less and less to pubs, and spend most of our time at home or walking our dog. It's so tricky though, and could be a very expensive mistake if we move and end up hating it after 6 months. It's also so difficult to take anyone's advice as we all want different things from life.
I can't ignore the fact that 90% of people seem to think Weston is a dump. I also can't ignore that, on paper, I think it has all of the makings of a great investment (and place to live).
I'm no closer to making a decision. Lots to think about!

We moved to WsM from London via 6 months in Bristol while house-hunting, moved into a large Victorian semi with a big garden at the Uphill end of the beach. It cost 306k and we've spent another 45k or so renovating it. e are 5-10 mins walk from the beach (depending on whether toddler is in tow!), and right next to Clarence park, which has a little cafe and a kids playground. We also looked at some of the villages in the train line between here and Bristol (i work in Bristol and really wanted to commute by train), but they were either too expensive for what we'd get it felt too isolated if further afield eg. Congresbury, Claverham.

Sorry, pressed the button too soon! Anyway, if be happy to chat with you about WsM, the pros and cons and our experiences. We really like it here. There's a huge amount of anti-wsm feeling in Bristol, which can be off-putting, but a lot of it is based on out-dated perceptions of the town from 10 or more years ago. It is changing fast, and there's a huge amount of regeneration happening. It's got its run-down side and the high st is rubbish, but we've already seen a lot of positive changes since moving here. And loads of people are moving here from Bristol, so the changes will continue! I also think it's a sensible place to invest.

I moved to Weston from Bristol last year from Windmill Hill, my brother moved here from Vic Park, the mother in law probably moving here soon. Come to Weston on the train (17 minute fast train in the morning or there's a direct train on the Severn Beach branch line that goes via Temple Meads once in the morning and once in the evening I think) and I'll show you all the lovely bits and give you the low down. I didn't want to move here, I couldn't afford Bristol, but now I'm here there is so much to like. I run the new creative hub here (coworking space - the Tobacco Factory of the future? ha ha I hope!) and here of loads going on. People - myself included - didn't give Weston a fair chance, it's transforming itself at the moment and yes it'll take a few years to get there but things ar moving fast. And for £300K you'll get a three-storey detached house with garages, garden, parking, everything. Or still improve on what you've currently got by 'only' spending £200k and enjoying your life more! :o) Look up The Stable in Weston, pop in for a coffee or to hotdesk for the day and you'll be amazed.