Moreton in marsh

[peanutcakeicecream]

Hello! I've changed my name for this thread.

My family and I currently live in the suburbs of a major city and are thinking about moving somewhere more rural. We both grew up in a more semi-rural location and very much want that for our DC. We love rural life but would still enjoy the hustle of a small town.

We very much enjoy visiting the Cotswolds — my husband grew up there — and have many times found ourselves enjoying Moreton-in-Marsh. It's just a great mix of everything we could want. But we've only ever visited for a few days at a time.

I suppose I'm asking people who live locally to the area what it is like to actually live there, particularly as a young family?

Also, I don't drive, so I would need relatively good public transport for myself and my DC. My husband does drive.

It seems to me like it has a wonderful community feel: very friendly and safe. Are these things true? Does it feel like a safe place to bring up a family?

If we decide to make the leap, we will obviously spend more time there before doing so. I'm just trying to get a gauge on family life, community and travel to see if it would be workable.

What are the pros and cons, really? I would really appreciate any shared knowledge to help us make our decision! Thank you 😊

I've only passed through it. It has the fire brigade college I believe and is on the main line between Worcester/Malvern and Oxford/Reading/London. Always seemed like a nice place.

We live near and my OH lived/worked there many years ago.

Personally we try to avoid it as much as possible nowadays due to the traffic & number of tourists (same goes for any of the villages/towns along the Fosse).
Market used to be great but is much more gentrified nowadays. For normal shopping, you have a couple of good supermarkets.
Good transport links in as much as it is in easy reach of Banbury, Warwick, Evesham etc plus a mainline station is right in the centre.
Lovely walks.

I don't live there but I know it. Great to have train line. There's a bus to other places in Cotswolds as far as Cheltenham but it is slow, and not very reliable. It is better than it was.
I would hesitate not driving, you really are a bit stuck, especially if you want to take the kids anywhere, more so as they grow older.

I do like the Cotswolds though, and I would say it's pretty safe bringing up young kids (not so sure as they get older, the lack of things to do can be hard)

Worth spending more time there - I don't think it's a bad shout if you want rural.

I grew up in the Cotswolds and although I love it there, if you don’t drive it would be miserable. Public transport is patchy and unreliable, you need to drive even to get a pint of milk …

OP is thinking of moving to MIM.
With a Co-op at the top and an Aldi at the bottom there is no reason to be driving to get a pint of milk!

Nightmare traffic. Not the prettiest of Cotswold villages, either.

But my parents have lived there for nearly 60 years, and it does have a sense of community, whilst being large enough to have facilities.

And you also have a choice of two excellent comprehensive schools (Cotswold and Chipping Campden).

Don't live there but there is currently a large protest building with locals due to the amount of new housing that has been proposed for the town….

Good luck finding anywhere where this doesn't apply!

I get that totally but I’m led to believe it is disproportionately large for MIM which may mean that what the OP was looking for might not be true for MIM in the near future.

I live fairly close. It's beautiful round here and it's been a great place to bring up my DC. They both agree we made the right decision moving from the city.
But without driving you will find it gets tiresome quickly I think. MIM is particularly touristy and like nearby Stratford it drives me mad living here . I'm surprised that a pp has said it's not beautiful though! It's a stunning large (massive really) village. Schooling is excellent round here too. Don't think there isn't poverty and drugs though. It's a problem in all the small towns/larger villages including MIM.

My DC are teens now and we drive all over. I'm not ready to move back to the city (far from it) but the amount of miles I do a week is ridiculous.

What would you do for work? Most commute in this neck of the woods.

The building of houses is stupendous in this area. There is a LOT in the local press. I doubt MIM is any larger than the thousands being proposed in and around Stratford, Bidford and Shipston for example. As always, no improvement of infrastructure. The roads can't cope as it is!

Compared to Chipping Campden or Blockley, for example, it’s really not that pretty. I speak as a Moreton local (born - literally - and bred in Moreton). I am very fond of the town, although I haven’t lived there 30 years, but it is considerably less picturesque than other towns in the North Cotswolds.

I live in another town near MiM. I didn’t drive when we moved here, but learned after struggling for 5 years. The buses are unreliable and although DC can get to school, they struggled to meet up with friends who invariably live in a random village not the small town you are in. MiM does at least have the railway station. The traffic can be difficult and the (pretty) centre of town is dominated by the main road going through the middle of it. I wouldn’t rely on North Cotswold hospital as services are being withdrawn just like the other “cottage hospitals” in the area, so if that is a positive draw for you then investigate further. It’s probably the best of the Stow Road settlements though because of the station. Cheltenham or Stroud probably better if you are a committed non driver.

Thank you so much — this has been really helpful. I I was worried that not driving would be an issue, but I think I was looking at it through rose-coloured glasses. I’ve done some research on the schools too, and that’s a huge factor for us. A great small school with a strong sense of community is really important. I currently work remotely with no need to attend office more then 3 times a year, which is one of the reasons we are looking now.

it is considerably less picturesque than other towns in the North Cotswolds.
You say that like it's a bad thing. The really pretty places are a nightmare - no way would I live in any of those!

I’m not in MIM, but when we moved out of London we were in a similar situation to you - I was a non-driver, DH drove, it suited our working patterns and kids’ school needs, etc. We chose a place that worked for us, but I did end up learning to drive - it has made living without London-style public transport much, much easier.

Obviously your reasons for not driving may mean learning after relocating isn’t an option for you, but I was greatly encouraged by how much easier it is to learn outside The Smoke!