Is the centre a good place for a mum to be?

[B28bb]

Hi

I’ve recently moved to Bristol with my husband but are now expecting so are looking to move to a bigger flat in an area suitable for babies and making friends with other families. We’ve found that the nice areas in bristol are just too expensive and compromising on location often means negotiating huge hills to get anywhere (we don’t have a car and I can’t see me enjoying this much when pushing a pram!)

So we’ve expanded our search and are considering Bath. I like that it’s touristy as I do like a bit of hustle and bustle (coming from London) and I do appreciate a nice safe feeling place. We want to be close to the train station and to restaurants and baby groups.

My question is - is the centre of Bristol a good place to live with a baby? Are there baby groups and places where I can easily meet mums as a sahm? The other place we’ve looked at is Bear Flat. Is this a better area for babies? And is the hill into town doable with a pram?

Any help or input would be much appreciated - it’s scary having so many changes all coming at once so just want to make sure that the next move is a good one! Thank you!

Bex

Apologies for not noticing this thread. Bath is great for young families - the Victorians and Georgians knew the importance of parks - and the countryside/towpath/bike paths are on your doorstep. Tourists and students help keep the restaurants, bars and theatres thriving, you just learn when you need to book restaurants and which streets to detour around at busy times.

It is less diverse than Bristol and some might find it too parochial.

If you want to be an easy walk of the train station you are really looking at Widcombe/Lyncombe/Bathwick or the centre.

Certainly in my day there were plenty of SAHM's - many people combine childcare with a spot of freelancing.

Thank you! :)

I'd be tempted to get the Hoop app to get an idea of how many baby activities there are in an area.

There is a fairly new cafe right in the centre of Bath (in the Corridor, so 5-10 minutes' walk from the train station) called Fox & Kit designed for young families/pregnant mums. Somebody in there ought to be up to speed with all the things happening.

NCT classes (used to be?) are massively over-subscribed but there is plenty of yoga and hypnotherapy. Then follows baby massage, baby music, baby swimming, sing and sign.... The cinemas ran parent and baby screenings....

I think most bits of Bath have "closed" Facebook groups for families (so people ask about classes, find out what is happening in school hols etc). "What's on in and around Bath" tends to focus on the suburbs/outlying villages.
There are also freebie magazines the children bring home from school like "Wiltshire and Bath Parent".

Bath is awash with Airbnb apartments and houses. I always reckon investing a £100 +/- on an overnight stay involving a commute is a good way to assess where you might want to live.

@B28bb Bath is a great place for families. Lots of families in Bear flat, and tonnes of them are ‘down from London’.