South Ox villages/communities & preps - help please!

[Mac5]

Hi,

We are looking to relocate from London in the next two years (for all the usual reasons...but mainly as we both grew up in Lancashire so would like our 3 to have some fresh air ! )

We have driven around a lot S of Abingdon but finding it really hard to get to grips with areas. I am a SAHM (worrying about being lonely so need somewhere with good community etc) husband has to commute to Liverpool St (worried about that being murderous!). We will rent, but still need to be in a sensible starting place.

We have 2 girls (5.5 and 8) and a boy (4) all in London preps so looking at Abingdon, The Manor/St Helens so don't want to be too far from there either.

Very much at the start of the process and would love any advice. We liked East Hendred and also Blewbury.....?! Thanks in advance!

Hi Mac5,

We made the move you're talking about 20 months ago for some fresh air too. We are in Watlington which is a bit further East than you're talking about and may not work with a commute to Liverpool St but it is like a little heaven on Earth. Best change we have ever made. No need to worry about being a SAHM and making friends here (my wife is too). Community is excellent - still figuring out how much of that is Watlington and how much is just "not London" - probably a bit of both.

Our kids are 1,3,5. Older two are at the local primary (which is excellent but looking to move them to prep age 7. We have visited lots in the area in the last year and have friends that teach at a few. Of course they're all excellent but the Manor really stuck out as a wonderful place for us.

I really don't want to be negative (definitely get out of London! You def wont regret it!) but that commute to Liverpool St... Do a couple of test runs... I did loads of commute research before moving and I'm pretty sure that commute across london will be a nightmare (at least 90 mins depending exactly where your house / office is I think) and I wouldn't consider it. Crossrail might change that... but I don't know too much about that and who knows when it will actually run.

We are considering moving across to the area you are talking about in the next couple of years to be closer to the schools but only if I can extricate myself from working in London.

Hi and thank you so much for your reply and all the info!

Yes, first thought were we would need to be within 15-20 mins of Didcot Parkway into Paddington then I think just 45 mins to L street? Is reality much worse?!

Might I ask which station you travel in and out of?

And how did you decide on Watlington?

We had thought of renting somewhere for a half term holiday and my husband doing a week of commutes. Which isn’t the real thing I know, as I assume it’s the 330 odd days which get you!!

Thanks again!!

Don’t do it - Paddington to Liverpool St is madness on top of the 45 mins on the train. Find somewhere nice in Essex so he comes into the right part of London.

Hi fortheloveofscience, thanks for the reply - fair enough! Oxfordshire is for various reasons....also people do it so I was intrigued how they felt about it?! I think as the above post, it’s maybe something that would be more suitable 3 days in town and 2 WFH....

renting and trying sounds very sensible... its just very easy to google all the separate sections of the journey and add them up forgetting about parking the car... walking between train and tube etc. As you say, it will be his average door to desk that he will be counting in a year's time, not google's estimate of didcot to liverpool st! But try it... it might be fine. And "coming back to a nice house with a decent garden and happy kids" really does make it easier.

I drive. I work in Hammersmith and get in early before the traffic. Takes 50mins in and 1hr5min average on the way back with the traffic. I wouldn't do it by train to the city personally... but people do. There is also something called the Oxford Tube which is a very good bus service that a lot of people use - but its not quick...

Also depends on what the work is. If he can work on the commute and leave an hour early then suddenly a commute doesn't seem so bad.

Decided on Watlington mainly because it was as far away from London as we could get within an hour drive of my work, has a great primary for the kids while we figure out preps, right at the foot of the chilterns for riding the bike and walking with the kids and honestly... we went to the playground with the kids after viewing a house and there was a big group of mums with kids laughing and sweating doing an exercise class... just what we were looking for...

Sorry I should probably have given some context! I did Oxford - Cannon St for the best part of 5 years, and it was tough. For the first 6 months I did it 5 days a week and was beyond exhausted, I’d be in floods of tired tears at the end of the weekend about having to do it all again. Then I dropped to. 3 days a week and 2 from home and it was manageable, although my days in London were long. Looking on google it says it’s 1.5 hours on the train, in reality (I was 10 mins from the station) it was 2 hours door to door. On the way home you have to leave contingency in case the tubes aren’t working else you miss the train and have to either wait half an hour for the next one or 15 mins then change at reading, which makes it even longer.

I'm in Goring. We have a train station and very close to lots of schools including The Oratory & Oratory Prep, Moulsford Prep and a few more. Would recommend our village, very lovely community feel.

Thanks Daddydaddadad. Yes also he does tonnes of client entertainment so it’s going to be huge. It’s hard as he’s the main driver in a way and I’m convinced it will be great for us & killing for him. What we need is to find an area with great schools and a bigger house which we can’t afford in london for the 5 of us....hmm. Once again, thanks for the v sensible input!! Much appreciated.

Fortheloveofscience - Gosh poor you - that does sound like it was very stressful. Thanks for all the detail - it does rather seem that the moving out benefits are countered by the commuting horrors...and back to square one. Maybe I should look at Amersham or Beaconsfield where half of London seems to move to!

Maybe I should look at Amersham or Beaconsfield where half of London seems to move to!

That’s not a million miles away from where I live now. Chilterns are gorgeous and I’m in the office in 1hr 20 .

Ah! Fortheloveofscience 1h20 - that sounds more like it And I may very well be missing a trick but I can’t find many independent schools in Bucks? I have friends who have moved around there for the great grammars but not so much for preps...am I wrong. Would you PM me more details? Please don’t worry if you’d rather not, of course!! And thank you....again!