Where to live near Southampton ?

[JaneKD]

My husband has just been offered a job in Southampton. We are looking to buy/rent somewhere commutable to Southampton and am hoping someone could offer some advice on surrounding areas.

We have considered Winchester (seems lovely but expensive), Chichester (cheaper but maybe too far), Salisbury (a lot of negative comments on mumsnet). Our price limit for buying is about £350k, we also have two kids under 5 so primary schools are an important consideration.

I'd be so grateful for any advice or recommendations from other families in the area as it's impossible to get a feel for areas just by browsing the internet or driving around.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. We've just spent another couple of days visiting a lot of the places mentioned.

We're quite taken with Lymington because of the location (coast, new forest etc), the town centre and the schools. Only negative comments I've heard are that it is too touristy and that the traffic in the summer would make commuting to Southampton unbearable? Can anyone confirm that?

The other option we are considering is Chichester - obviously a lot busier but again I'm not sure about the commute to Southampton each day. Are there specific areas within Chichester that are more desirable than others?

Thanks again for your help.

hi jane did you manage to find somewhere nice? my husband and i are relocating and he works in Eastleigh we are parents to be - we are staying at my mums near petersfield and didnt know any areas around eastleigh southampton chichester that you may of found yet? thanks

jane - work on the basis that anything with any character is going to be busy in the summer, especially if the weather isn't that good as people won't be on the beach. Traffic starts to build up badly from friday lunchtime and all evening on the main routes coming out of london due to weekenders and people who have to work away returning home. rest of the week wouldn't be so bad as tourists don't get up till late!

its a lovely area. yes lymington is touristy, but if you want character you will have to put up with that in the summer

Lymington is lovely - and traffic really can be horrific although there are a few little known cross-forest routes which can avoid it. Mostly, the traffic is awful at the weekends and on bank holidays - and to be honest, there's so much to do in the forest, you probably won't be wanting to leave. Hythe is also worth having a look at - there's a ferry which goes to Southampton frequently and saves having to drive to town.

Also, I'd recommend having a look at Romsey - it's lovely.

Portswood/Highfield is as close as you get to a hippy quarter in Southampton, with the Portswood bit being regenerated slowly. The primary school is great but those who can't afford private secondary tend to move just over the river to Bitterne Park as their kids get older. All the Bitterne Park schools are good.

Another Woolstoner here! You can't beat it for easy access to the city.

Isn't Woolston traffic going to be awful once the Vospers development goes up though?

Quite possibly

Other suggestions more salubrious locations this side of the river would be Bursledon, Hamble, Netley (Gorgeous), Sarisbury Green, Warsash - all lovely but a tadge nore expensive than Woolston!

Christchurch which is lovely or Lymington which is a beautiful little town about 30 mins from S'ton..

Christchurch which is lovely or Lymington which is a beautiful little town about 30 mins from S'ton..

Jane the commute from Chichester to Soton is pretty grim, we were going to move there and had to discount it when I did a week of what should have been 45 min drives taking 2 hours (not Chi, but nearby).

We ended up moving to Hedge End and I am so incredibly glad we did. Have you had a look round it? It's a fantastic town, with really good schools. Just a few junctions along the M27 to the city centre or you can go through Bitterne instead. If we had stayed in the city centre I would have only considered St Denys, Highfield or Bitterne.

Yes, Bitterne Park is quite nice...huge riverside park, local shops. Worth a gander.

Bitterne Park has benefit of pre-school all the way to secondary with new 6th form opening soon so kids' friends will all be walking distance. Plus good buses into town (think forward to teenagers), nice community vibe and in fact you can walk right into town on a nice day in 30-40mins. It's like a little village in a city.
Portswood just a mile away is up and coming thanks to a great new lounge bar and a Waitrose. Southampton might not be too pretty but there's a thriving artsy community, many live music pubs, and many funky over50s peeps strangely.

hedge end is great, schools are fab (except one).
It feels quite rural too on the fringes and a country park (manor farm) is on your door step.

It has a massive supermarket and good retail park

Personally I would not recommend Chichester - the commute would be about 50mins to centre of soton, if traffic was fine but possibly longer in peak times/crashes.

I liked Bishop's Waltham (25 mins to soton, winch and portsmouth).

My parents live in Lymington and I would love to live there!! When I was young it was a real OAP town but now it is much more family orientated. I think all the schools are good and the secondary is meant to be really good now and it is near Brockenhust college for sixth form too. To get the train you have to change at Brockenhust to get onto the main line. Some lovely original shops around as well as the main ones that you need. Also, lovely pubs and restaurants.

Romsey and Hythe nice too. Christchurch nice too but traffic would be bad.

Southampton secondary schools have all really come on in recent years - don't dismiss living in the city!
Lymington is lovely but the commute would be hellish. DH had a colleague who commuted from Christchurch which was hideous every day. TBH commuting from anywhere into the city centre is pretty awful. Depending on where your DH's work is, I would look on the outer suburbs if you want "nicer" places to live - Highfield (very good) Bassett (nice houses but prob wouldn't find much on your budget and primary school not very good at all and no shops nearby)
I would go for (Upper) Shirley - can walk/cycle/bus to town, good schools and shopping, near to common

let us know what you decide!

Tommy that commute (from Lymo)is a piece of pee-pee, I used to do it every day as a very lazy working girl pre-children.

Babyblues some of my family still live there I love visiting!

The secondary school is very good as is the local primary.

Agree Chich is no fun for commute, just going M27 J5 to J12 takes well over an hour in rush hour. Unless you lived and worked 5mins walk from each train station, in which case that would work.

Hi

We are moving to the Southampton area and were thinking about living in Beaulieu or Sway (and commmuting to the centre of Southampton), has anyone any advice?
Thanks