Moving to SWINDON

[dottiepeas]

Hello,

Wondered if I could get some advice on moving to Swindon! We are planning to move in the summer, so that my dd can start primary school when the new term starts in September. Does anybody have any ideas of which areas of Swindon would be good to live in? (and which areas to avoid?!) I've been looking on rightmove and can't really tell if the area is nice/safe/any nearby amenities etc.

I have not been to Swindon before! But my dh works there and currently commutes an hour each way. But have now decided it would be a good idea to move there to save on the travel costs. (and house prices seem abit more affordable compared to some other places)

Any suggestions would be great!! :-) Many thanks!!

Wichelstowe is quite pretty, but right next to the M4 so very noisy.
Take a look at Royal Wootton Bassett OP. The right side of Swindon for Westlea and has a great community spirit and some of the best primary schools in the area. An excellent (Ofsted outstanding) Academy secondary too.

Any progress on the move OP? Hope you find somewhere you're all happy with.

It's really not that bad. It's generally a safe place to live (very low crime rates for the size of the town), people are generally quite friendly, there's a fair amount to do (swimming pools, leisure facilities etc), lovely countryside, some decent parks and at grass roots, quite a few cultural things too (lots of book clubs, one of the oldest philosophy societies and so on..) the worst thing about it is its reputation. However, DH and I had 10 happy years there, and now live in a village a few miles outside.

If you've got children I'd look closely at schools - generally they're not great (even the better ones by Swindon standards are not great when you compare them to elsewhere!) But, the schools with the better reputations on that side of town are: Wootton Bassett, Ridgeway, Commonweal and this year Lydiard Park academy has been the school to get your children into (although in the past it's not had such a good reputation). North Swindon has a scrum for school places, and Commonweal is often oversubscribed too. If you're planning on moving to West Swindon, some parts are much nicer than others... So look carefully at whereabouts. But Wootton Bassett would probably be a good choice. There's a shortage on primary places there though, from what I hear.

All you peope who say that Swindon is "not that bad" - have you ever lived anywhere else?

Swindon is a soul-less, 1960/70s cultural desert surrounded by huge housing estates built since 2000.

When I moved here in the late 80s, it was the fastest growing town in Europe - or so I was told. Many companies were financially incentivised by the council to relocate here from London, to provide employers to replace the recently closed railway works.

The rapid growth that follows, and continues to happen, meant that the the population and housing stock was increased with no thought to the provision of other facilities such as sports hubs, better theatres etc etc.

Things have improved a bit recenlty, but there are still huge housing estates in the north and west of Swindon where you never see anyone out in the streets.

Wichelstowe seems to have been better planned, and promises to be a nice place to live, if you can ignore the noise from the M4. Note that development there has lulled though - future phases of houses are yet to be built, with the result that Waitrose stands miles away from residential areas, in the middle of fields.

There are lovely places very close to Swindon where you might like to look for a house. Royal Wootton Bassett, Purton, Cricklade, Highworth, Wanborough, Liddington, Wroughton to name a few. Further out there is Malmesbury, Minety, Brinkworth etc - all of which have very much retained a small town/villagey feel, though all are easily commutable to Swindon.

Yes, I have Leigh - two other cities and two towns. In all that, I still maintain its not that bad.

For the size of the town, it's a very safe place to live - look at the link for the rates - on some measures it's half the crime rates of other large towns / cities.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/crime-statistics-for-swindon-3217008

For culture, it's very easy to say that there's no culture as there's no big theatre but have you actually looked at what is on offer...? If you look at grass roots, there's loads on offer. Not just the big stuff like Mela or the literature festival, but all the groups and organisations - everything from several folk clubs, brass bands, lace Making, artists, photography, bridge, bowls, diving, various dramatic and operatic groups, philosophy... When I lived in Swindon I used to go to the philosophy society quite regularly. It's a thriving society and pretty decent. Got some good speakers, or is that not cultured enough...?

The facilities are pretty good for a town of its size too. It has a much higher than average number of swimming pools per population, and higher than average golf clubs in the area too. If you're looking for things to do, there's plenty to choose from - 3 cinemas, bowling, ice skating, high ropes, crazy golf (indoor and outdoor), farm parks... Lydiard Park and Coate are lovely, but there are lots of other smaller play areas and parks that are not as well known, for example some pleasant walks down by the old canal or the new woodlands in north and East Swindon (the great western forest).

As for it being soulless - I think that depends on what you make of it. I found it was easy to make friends and built up a large social circle there. I found people to be friendly and generally welcoming. Perhaps that's why a 2012 survey found Swindon the 17th happiest place to live in the UK (scored 103 - highest score was 107, lowest score 90 was out of 100 places surveyed). Interestingly, it scored higher than the two other cities I've lived in - generally regarded on Mumsnet to be nice places to live.

So yeah, it's full of 1960s concrete, lacks the pretty buildings and a decent theatre, and I agree the shopping and schools are a bit shit.

But that said, I'd happily swap that for living somewhere generally safe, low crime rates, lots to do with friendly neighbours and generally regarded to be a happy place to live...

I do agree with you though that the expansion of the new parts does Swindon no favours. I do begrudge it being a designated growth town as it gets lumbered with having to have large estates which are not really supported by the infrastructure. I think the Eastern Extension will be a nightmare - all those cars going down Drakes Way?? The roads just won't cope.

That said, within the large estates are thriving communities of young families. I have many friends who live in North Swindon and they have built up good social circles with their neighbours. So again, I think it is what you make of it. I live just outside now, but go back there every day... Mostly to take my children to things because the facilities there are so good.

Swindon is not a cultural desert, its just very well hidden! Get involved in the old town festival or Richard Jeffries museum.

Swindon has got masses going for it, not in the least good employment opportunities and cheap hous

When is the last time you saw a good play at The Wyvern? Every time I look at the programme, it's all lookie likey bands and crap comedians.

And when is the last time you saw a professional orchestral concert in Swindon? Or a ballet, or an opera.

That's what I mean by culture.

I agree there are loads of clubs and societies though.

Both the Oasis and Link Centre pools are too small, and quite old now.

Every time I go to Lydiard or Coate they are full of dog walkers, which spoil them for me, but there us a lot of easily accessible countryside around for proper walking.

Without wanting to sound facetious, one of the best things about Swindon is that its easy to get to other places from there. Its bang on a major main road. London is ready, as is Bath, Bristol, the Midlands, the South West, South coast and South Wales. Not too far from Heathrow, Bristol and Birmingham Airports either.

MrsLeigh, I am going to deliberately ignore your jibes and agree with your last paragraph. Swindon has fantastic access to many, many other parts of the UK and that only adds to the quality of life when you live here. I maintain there are few towns with such easy access to so much.

I live in North Swindon and I see lots of people out and about, it has a real community feel with plenty of green spaces and footpaths and a good local pub!

What jibes? I wasn't jibing! I live in one of the small dormitory towns. I work in Swindon, but other than that, very very rarely visit for shopping, entertainment or anything else. We usually go elsewhere.

Seriously - when IS the last time you saw a decent play, orchestral concert or ballet at The Wyvern???

When was the last time I saw a ballet in Swindon? - just before Easter!

The Russian State Ballet was there in March. They're back there again in Sept for an Opera with full orchestra, and back again in October for another ballet.

We've been to the ballet in Oxford, Swindon and Cheltenham. Swindon is my favourite theatre for the ballet by far because of the arrangement of the seats.

It is there - you just need to look! As for more musical events (ensembles, choirs etc) have you tried looking at ChristChurch? They often have such events. Not my bag though.

The Arts centre has a good range too - not your standard musicals but some really good off the wall stuff. There's a couple of plays coming up that I quite fancy.

Obviously, there are limitations in not having a big theatre, you don't get the big West End Musicals (not that I consider such things to really constitute cultural events) but don't assume you can't get the ballet or opera in Swindon - it's there, if you fancy going to it!

Sorry, I just get a bit fed up of the usual stuff being trotted out about Swindon having no soul . We're going to see Paul Merton at the Wyvern on Sunday! Being honest plays, orchestral concerts or ballets haven't really been very high up my list - I do enjoy the Mela, the Old Town Festival and the country shows that are on all summer. Culture has different faces IMO.....

Hi dottiepeas

I hope your search is going well. I think I'm going to be in the same boat as you early next year - my DH & I have been looking to buy in Brighton (where I grew up) but our budget will only get us a flat in the less than desirable areas.

We are seriously considering a move to Swindon because I have family there and we can afford a good sized house. My DH works in a bank so would be able to transfer quite easily.

We have seen some lovely properties on Rightmove in Blunsdon, Stratton St Margaret & Rodbourne Cheney. My family tells me these are nice areas but I have to admit We haven't had a good look around yet.

We have a 2 year old daughter so one of our priorities will be a good school.

Maybe we could keep in touch & compare notes?

Just wanted to add that I've heard today that friends aren't too happy in Wichelstowe. There have been quite a few problems there recently (anti social behaviour and prostitutes) and the place is quite socially divided. I thought of this thread as I knew there were two posters looking at the Swindon area.

Following this post if anyone has anything more to add would be greatly appreciated! I have 2 children that would be of preschool age when we hope to move and looked some lovely new builds (which will be ready next year) on Coate at badbury park and also again at greenfields on ridgeway farm, worried mainly about schools if we chose either development (I know they are opposite sides of Swindon) which would be better to live in? Don't know anything about the town but I'm not fussy, where I live house prices are extremely high, schools seriously over subscribed, town centre is empty or filled with charity shops and it's apparently still the number one place to live in the UK! Thanks ladies!

I just want to add that Swindon has a brilliant hospital with an A&E dept.

I live in Old Town and I really like it here, quite a neighbourly feel with good little shops and you are close to bigger shops if you need them. Lots of parks and activities going on

Hi Dottie peas, can I ask you how was your experience in wichelstow as at this time I am in same boat as you were in 2015. Your help will means a lot to me…