Please help us decide where to live

[shinybaubles]

We have been living out of the UK for almost 6 years now and will be moving back this summer.
We are not tied down by work as dh works from home and has to be in London twice a month so really flexible.
We have been thinking of Bucks areas like Chesham, amersham, gerards cross etc.
Also of canterbury and the surrounding areas.
Does anyone know anything about these areas, or any other areas we should consider that are nice. We are a family of four with two small boys.
Any advice at all would be appreciated.

Hello,

I live in Gerrards Cross, Chesham isn't quite as nice, but AMersham, Beaconsfield etc are nice. Best thing with Bucks is the school system, plus its great for travelling around (17mins to London), easy to birmingham etc. You have to be a little careful of the flight path (Windsor can get a bit loud!).

Thanks Karbea. Gerrards cross is my dh's idea.
We were looking at a school in Chesham for dh's called The Beacon do you know anything about it? We will be back this weekend to have a look at the areas is there anywhere specific we should look in Gerrards Cross for nice houses etc?

Another plus for amersham area and can recommend the beacon.
PM if you want can help with info on the school.

Thanks xmyboys will pm you when I figure out how :)

My in-laws live near Gerrards Cross, whilst its lovely if you don't need to be within commuting distance of London I'd go further out. You'll get a lot more for your money and its far less crowded. We lived overseas and now live in North Buckinghamshire and can get to London by train in less than 40 minutes. If the M1 is behaving itself I can drive into London in 1 1/2 hrs.

Oohermrs thanks for that we don't need to be in commuting distance what areas would you recommend looking at ? Am happy for any tips.

Interestingly no one recommends Canterbury . Which was may favourite.

We live in a village called Great Brickhill. But other nice villages are Stewkley & Winslow areas. If you are looking for a good prep school Swanbourne School is good. Woburn and the villages around there are also nice. Love it or hate it Milton Keynes is nearby which is great for shopping & kids, snowzone, cinemas etc. Yet lots of green open space around!

Embarrassingly I have not heard of those villages but thnkyou I will add them to my list for driving around and have a look this weekend. And thanks for the school tip.

Amersham very nice, Chesham not so nice. Gerrards Cross was nice years ago but it seems to have become so posh that it has lost it's community atmosphere. Someone told me that rich Russians were buying up the houses and only living in them for a couple of months each year. I don't know if that is true.

HS2 is planned to be fairly close to Amersham, you might want to check the proposed route first.

I second the suggestion of Beaconsfield. Definitely worth investigating.

I grew up near Canterbury but my information will be very out of date!

If your DH only needs to be in London twice a month you could easily live further afield with good train connections. Depending where, that might get you more house and garden for the same price. For example on distance, you can get to London and back in a day quite comfortably from Salisbury, Norwich, Nottinghamshire and all sorts of places in between.

Thanks all will reply to posts later as some useful info and have more questions but first must go and get dh's from school

I live near Canterbury and it's very nice round here. Plus the trains to London are fast and lovely :o

Canterbury is a nice city, bit overrun with tourists in summer but lots to see and do in the area and the schools are excellent

Ds even

I have a little thing about living in Canterbury at the moment since going to the Marlowe at Xmas. It's a gorgeous town, speedy train to London, and near the sea! It's very historical aNd atmospheric.

I'm not keen on Amersham etc. for some reason, maybe nice but dull?- though good for London.

I would agree with looking further out from London if you don't need to commute daily - a longer journey should be manageable if it's only twice a month. In fact I have known people who live as far afield as Cheshire and north Yorkshire who have this working pattern, and it worked well for them.

You pay so much more just for being within commuter distance of London (especially if you're within walking distance of the station, or on a line with fast/frequent trains), but if you don't need it, better to look further out, where you could likely get something pretty special for the same money.

shinybaubles - are you going to be sending your DSs to private or state schools?

Bonsoir looks like private at the moment, I guess we should really find a school first.
I have lived in Canterbury almost 10 years ago now, time flies. What are the nice areas around Canterbury but not in?
I am also having doubts about amersham that's why we're having a look around this weekend.
It's quite difficult doing this from another country and jut randomly choosing an area to live in.

Yes, I think that finding a school first would probably be a good idea! You are very lucky not needing to confine yourselves to commuter-land. I think that the part of Kent west of Canterbury, in between Ashford (which is itself horrible) and Tunbridge Wells, and slightly to the south, is very lovely and chock a block full of good schools. Lots of lovely villages and easy access to shopping in T Wells and London by train, as well as to France.

There was a thread here recently on Canterbury. I live here and I wrote quite abit about living here (we like it v much)! Private schools are mostly in Canterbury although there is St Faiths which is I think the most reasonably priced one (according to sources). That is near Ash.

The private schools in Canterbury are St edmunds, junior kings (and kings) and Kent college (Vernon Holme school which is the junior school). All apart from junior kings are in Canterbury (north Canterbury). JKS is in Sturry which is 3 miles out of canterbury.

If you want to live near the schools then you should get a house in the areas of Blean, rough common, St stephens, St dunstans or thereabouts. These are also near the university of Kent. The train station is Canterbury west which had the fast train to St Pancreas in under an hour. We have friends who commute daily and are fine (both men and women).

Whitstable is also down that road so pretty near.

Sorry the thread about Canterbury and schools was in the primary education section. Hope that'll help.

Hi shinybaubles - remember you from ante-natal thread some time ago I think?! We have just moved back from Switzerland having been there for 2.5 years and are in the process of buying a place in exactly the area Bonsoir describes (we've gone for Matfield, in between Paddock Wood and T.Wells). Also looking at private options although the girls are just two so it's a way off yet . As a matter of interest Bonsoir what schools in that area would you recommend?!

...another thumbs up for Canterbury here....

We live in a great small village - but unfortunately no pub, no shop and no Post Office but very handy access to Canterbury "Central" and Ashford, M20 and the cross-channel stuff....

Only down side is the lack of buses ....