anyone commuting from WINCHESTER area to London?

[Nicdigby]

Hi there,

With two small children it's time to move out of London. I would really appreciate your advice for nice places near Winchester that I should start looking for a house. I don't want to be somewhere really urban again, but at the same time I don't want to have to drive to buy a daily paper and pint of milk.

I've got fantasies about my kids playing safely outside away from cars, and neighbours asking you round for coffee while the children play. Maybe a few interesting shops. Nice countryside nearby. Things for boys to do!

The key things are:

1. DH needs to commute to Waterloo every day
2. Looking for a 4+ bedroom house with a large garden, away from main roads and traffic
3. Looking for decent state primary schools
4. Looking for a good sense of community, friendly people, with toddler groups etc.

Am I going to be able to move somewhere like this? I was thinking that Micheldever Station is a good station for DH to commute up to Waterloo daily - does anyone have experience of this, or this area, or similar recommendations with about an hour or less to Waterloo?

All information gratefully received. Anything will be useful. Once I've got your advice, I'll pop down next weekend and sort everything out. (Anyone selling property near a good school give me a shout).

Thanks

Nicola

Micheldever station is nice, some houses around it, and micheldever itself is a little way away, a very short car drive or bike ride. no shop in micheldever itself, but not sure about micheldever station. note micheldever is nice, community feel, butit is quite small and no shop. so you will have to drive for papers.

there are lots very nice areas and small villages around winchester but v dependent on price.

further afield nearer to london you could look at dummer (basingstoke) or hartley wintney (winchfield)

Welcome to the country!

Down in Hampshire, a lot depends on your budget.

I love Winchester itself as it is a great historic old city. It has everything in walking distance of the city centre and lots going on.

For classical upmarket, yet small town feel, there is nothing to beat Alresford which has everything (shops, banks, library) amidst period architecture. It is about 10 mins to Winchester. It has a Co-op and a Tesco mini store which reflects the towns upmarket eco-mindset. The villages around it are worth a look as well and the local schools are very good.

On the cheaper end, there is Alton which I think is a much-overlooked as a commuter city. It is the end of the line for commuting so you always get a seat on the trains but they are less frequent into London than from Winchester. Having said that, there are a lot of activities and it is a big town with local street market and a wide range of shops. Alton is Sainsbury with a hint of Iceland territory.

You may also want to consider Petersfield and surrounding villages. On a par, pricewise, with Winchester and more expensive than Alton. Very good commute to London. Great local schools. Nice town with a mixture of everything; farmers market on the first Sunday of the month, regular markets on Wed and Sats, coffee shops, estate agents, clothing shops. Petersfield is Waitrose cum M&S land.

There is a lot of nice property to choose from. Enjoy the hunt!! :)

I would suggest looking at the market towns as AngoraLi suggested. A friend from west London lasted in a village about 25mins from Winchester for less than a year. Lovely big garden and house and good local school with small class sizes but very isolating and her little pre-school boy had very few local friends to play with. She moved back .

What exactly is an "ethnic cab" please cricketer?

Wow. How to put someone off winchester.

Winchester isn't really a hot bed of the BNP!! But....

It is 'very white' and, tbh, and since the 'tone' of this has taken a bit of a dive in places, it seems, I might say that I personally, working in a public service in Winchester, do tend to find a certain type of noveau 'local' rather entitled and patronising. It might be fair to suggest that the reason some house moves 'fail' is because Londoners arrive for the peace, tranquillity and community spirit, then find that darling little villagey school is too small and not at all diverse; the 'facilities' aren't London, the locals don't invite them over for coffee at the drop of the hat, (sometimes because the newcomers are back in London 2/3 days a week, for instance....), and they find that the ability to nip out to get a pint at 11pm rather limited. What I am trying to say is trying to have a foot in 2 different camps may not work either for you or your new part-time neighbours. I'm sure you've considered all this and don't need me to remind you that you won't necessarily find buttercup strewn meadows and herdsmen leaning over the 5 bar gate thoughtfully chewing a corn stalk, predicting the weather. You'll more likely be leaping into the hedge as another tinted windowed AWD screams past you, and Jocasta and Persephone moaning away in Costas about how late^ Rupert and Hugo get back from London every night....! ALL my colleagues who 'live well' in Winchester or near surrounds do so because someone works long hours in the Big Smoke, it seems!

Though of course Winchester doesn't have London prices, it's still bloody expensive! And yes, like London, you may have to live on the doorstep of the 'best' primaries as that path has been well trodden. It's a particular issue right now as this September's 'baby boom' school intake have swamped Reception.

FWIW, and merely anecdotally, I live a few miles from Winchester and we have newish, young ex-London neighbours. I introduced myself on Day one (Feb) to the woman, who was very pleasant and said they'd been renting in the north part of this MC estate, having 'escaped London', but found it 'very quiet'; she hoped it'd be 'a bit more lively down the south end'.. . Things is, the reality is that most DCs around here do loads but it tends to be 'improving' and all 'arranged' (Scouts/football/fencing (!)/Stagecoach/piano/Kumon etc) rather than hanging out on bikes. But, in reality, they haven't actually opened their vertical blinds, let alone allowed themselves to be seen, since then! Even their animals are 'house animals, not allowed out! And they spend every second weekend away in London. I know this as they asked other neighbours to mind the house in their absence. I wonder how long before their For Sale sign appears?!

If I could afford to live in Winchester I would!
LOTS of people commute to London from round here - that is why the station at Parkway has a humungous multi storey car park!
Micheldever area is cool.
Personally for you, I'd say Romsey / Whitenap. Easy run to the station for your DH. You can walk around the town. Traffic not as gory as Winchester (once that darned bridge re opens anyway)

Cricketer Not sure what you mean about "ethnic cabs" Last time I looked, most Poles are Caucasian and most of Soton's taxi drivers are Poles or local.

Yes, actually, I'd say Romsey too, though regarding Whitenap, if you are looking for a 4br Winchester priced house, you won't find much up in that range in W'n! Belbins?

I'm not exactly sure I'd choose to live in Winchester, even with the money. It is a bit crowded and the traffic's a bit of a nightmare!

I'd rather live in Salisbury, actually!

Erebus
Salisbury is indeed wonderful. BUT the train to London is a stinker, as is the A30 / A303 compared to the M3.
Friends of mine live in and around Edgar Road. Lovely lovely houses - with drives!!
Belbins - well there is one particular house that might be accepting offers ;-'}
And Abbotswood is coming on stream at the moment - watch those catchment boundaries change ......
The best property on offer at the moment is definitely Brentry at Hilliers!

Romsey is lovely - but I wouldn't say its easily commutable to London as its not on a main line.

vj
13 minutes to parkway ....

We looked at Winchester and surrounding areas - but ended up in Tunbridge Wells instead as you still (just about) get more house for your money - great commute/schools and lovely people.

Friends of ours live outside Romsey and love it - they don't have a bean as it all goes on horses and boats, but they're v happy and the schools are fantastic. They don't however, commute to London.

OK, if you are happy to drive for 20mins, then spend at least 1hr 15 on a train to Waterloo,then whatever onward travel you have to do within London, then it is within commuting distance to London.

But I think anyone is crazy to be happy to commute for about 4hrs a day.