Nicest place to live in Berkshire?

[cherryberry78]

I didn't grow up in England, wondering the best places to live in Berkshire and the general reputations of different towns?

Looking to move to a bigger place with DD (3) and our little addition expected in 2025!

TYIA

Newbury

I’m in Newbury too, it’s not bad, what are you looking for OP? We have a racecourse, 2 rivers and a show ground 🤣

Streatley on Thames

Twyford would be my suggestion. Not as cheap as Newbury though.

Do you have a workplace you need to commute to? Rural or urban?

DH needs to commute to London.

I work in Reading.

Ideally somewhere nice for kids.

Wokingham.

Plenty do for kids, good schools, small town centre but close to Reading and Bracknell for more.

Close to M4 and M3

I think Newbury is a good balance of pleasant but also reasonably affordable and well resourced. But there will be other examples. Cirencester springs to mind but it's outside of Berks.

You couldn't pay me to live in Reading, or Swindon or Gloucester, for example. Have facilities but are just grim.

Villages are a nightmare with teens and tweens.

Outrageously expensive places are outrageously expensive. I assume you don't have a mega bucks budget.

You need a balance.

Looking just over the border into Oxon might give you options.

@LiterallyOnFire what towns are the outrageous ones?

Caversham? Caversham Heights?
Maidenhead has nice areas too.
Twyford is a bit nowheres-ville
Reading isn't the prettiest place but it's a great location and there are nice bits. I've an Auntie who lives there and I've warmed to it. There is an arty/creative side to it if you look.

Thanks everyone for replies

Actually I think the ones I'm thinking of are all Bucks, not Berks. Beaconsfield and places like that.

I saw Twyford in a pp list and was about to say how lovely it is, then realised I'm thinking about the one in Hampshire - which probably doesn't help you but I know it does have good connections to London!

Any opinions on ascot, Windsor, or datchet areas?

What is your budget? How often do you need to commute to London/Reading? Whereabouts in London and Reading? Do you prefer small rural village or large town?
I lived in different areas of Reading for 20 years and now live in a village 10 miles away. Personally I wouldn't live in Reading again if you paid me and much prefer village life but everyone has different preferences.

Windsor is weird. Very picturesque but heaving with tourists. Constantly. It feels overfull generally, The castle and Etonian influence everything like two foci of gravitational pull. Hard to convey. I have a good fiend who lives there and loves it, though (albeit her DP is always agitating to move out). I suppose it's marmite. The farm shop is good.

Datchet is okay. It's fine but I can't think of anything much to say. Very normal, I suppose.

Ascot I don't know at all.

You should probably visit a few places. Are schools a changeable factor?

Pangbourne is nice.

Ascot is nice, but expensive. Not berks, but have you considered Staines/Egham etc? On the Trainline for both Reading and London

Bradfield,Theale or Henley

It would help to know your budget.

950K-1.1m budget

Wokingham with that budget, excellent schools