Anyone know Reading?

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

Hello,

We're looking a buy and are considering Reading - we need to be commutable to London and Reading is close ish to family as well. But we don't know the town at all so would be grateful for opinions.

We currently live in a small town and it's too quiet for us so we would be looking to live in Reading itself and not surrounding villages. I've heard Caversham is nice but know nothing about any other areas. We have about 250k to spend and want a 3 bed house.

I know there is a grammar school for girls - is it hard to get into?

Any advice at all would be much appreciated because it's a bit of a stab in the dark for us, and we're having to move quicker than we would like after our landlord announced he is selling up (see other thread!).

Thanks in advance.

Yeah, exactly my concerns too... However, there are various ways to protect your house from floodwater, plus I think we are better prepared these days (at the end of last year, some streets in lower Caversham were supplied with sandbags in advance of bad weather, but it turned out not to be necessary, even though the flooding was unusually bad late last year)

Oh, and the environment agency flood plain maps really do seem to be absolute worst-case scenario. For instance, my DH checked his parents' house and it's on the flood plain in Cardiff. They've been there fifty-odd years and the water has never even come close to any streets near where they live. Likewise, I spoke to somebody who lives in lower Caversham on the flood plain (north of Gosbrook Road though). She's been there forty years or so, and again, the water has never come even close.

Of course that's not to say it couldn't happen, but it's somewhat reassuring.

Are you looking at the Cromwell Rd house Kalypso? We're having a look tomorrow, although I have to say it looks like a lot of work and not a lot of space. Ceiling tiles in particular putting me off!

I looked at a house in Cromwell Road, but it was too small for us (was already pregnant with #3), but I really liked the location - quiet road, nice little park and rec just at the end of the road, and everything right there. I looked at houses further north in Caversham and decided I didn't want to be that far away from the centre, too suburban!

You'd want to check the 'as the crow flies' distance to Highdown if you are thinking if being here that long.

Had a nosy look at Rightmove - there's one on Elgar Road that I'd love to live in - there's a stretch of houses whose gardens lead down to the river. Really quiet road (no through road), park/playground/riverside footpath just down the street. Probably a mile or so to the train station.

Also Grange Avenue is right by Palmer park, which is nice, but is a narrow busy road (bit of a rat run - I use it myself), and further from the town centre.

Or Belle Vue Terrace looks nice - just round the corner from me, lol - cul de sac so v quiet, park and vet and small Tesco within stone-throwing distance.

Have you got a few lined up tomorrow?

I liked the look of the Elgar Rd one as well, but it's in catchment for Katesgrove school which doesn't look that great tbh. This keeps happening when I find a house I like!

Queen's rd is about 10 mins walk to reading town centre, so you won't need to worry about buses. Thameside school has an increasingly good repuation and a good mix of children. I think there's even a waiting list now. You won't get into Caversham Primary unless you have 400k+ to spend on a property

I was going to ask what features you were looking for from London as when I moved Reading was really not 'my London' and it is down to where in London you are moving from. However, you have now said so saves me asking. Just the throw a spanner in the works have you considered Newbury ( not Thatcham it won't tick your boxes), but Newbury has everything you are looking for and I think that London feel with many Victorian Terrace houses at under 250K.

I haven't looked at Newbury, no. On the face of it the train is a bit slow and it's smaller than I would like, but I don't know it at all.

The train is 52 minutes to Paddington on the fast train you will get a seat which you probably won't in Reading. The combined population of Newbury and Thatcham they virtually merge is 70,000 so probably more than you imagined.
Toddler/playground everyday lovely park with cafe in park, loads of places to eat, the canal through town.
Loads and Loads of people move from London to Newbury so really worth looking at.

It's an easy cycle from Woodley to Reading (or Earley station), and if you lived Southlake way, you would still be walkable to the precinct - if I'm remembering correctly is there a Costa now? Certainly there's a cafe in the Oakwood centre next to Woodford park.

OK, so if Reading proves impossible then maybe Newbury is worth a look. What is the centre like?

I really don't want to be in a suburb a long way from the centre of anywhere. I am a SAHM and I like to be within walking distance of lots of things to do or I feel a bit stuck. I would also like to be able to take my two into London without it being a major hassle involving a bus/drive as well as the train journey. I know lots of people don't care about that stuff, but it's actually really important to me. I'm willing to make pretty big compromises on the house to be in the right location.

I've managed to find one house to view tomorrow so not doing too well.
It's the schools that are the problem - every time I find a house I like it turns out the local school isn't great. I guess lots of other people also want a good location and good school, and most of them have more money than me!

If you looked at West Mills and Speen areas you will be very close to the town centre. Good range of shops including John Lewis home, independent department store Camp Hopsons, all the usual shops plus a range of independents and some like Joules, Jigsaw, Mint Velvet and Lakeland. We have a racecourse too with Ladies days, family days and live music.
Because of the big tech industry in the town I think just about any past time you want is catered for. Vodaphone , Bayer and Quantel are based here plus various other major players have offices even Apple have a subsidiary here. There's a lot more to it than people realised.
I moved here from Bloomsbury/Kensington to the only thing I missed was Harts though they are Tesco express now so I guess it's the same.

That does sound nice. Do you know the schools at all? There's a house which looks nice in catchment for Winchcombe primary and Trinity secondary.

Are you looking at www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/ ? I didn't think Katesgrove looked too bad on there! There's Coley Primary very near too. I think any school near Reading centre may look less than perfect, due to the mixed make up of the area. They won't be purely nice middle class kids, but there will be plenty ;-)

Good luck with the Cromwell Road one then :-)

I feel similarly to you about being in reach of places. Which is what I love about this West Reading/Oxford Road area. Whenever I go over to Woodley of an evening it is creepy how empty of pedestrians the streets are at 7 pm!

I'm looking at Ofsted report, which I know doesn't always tell the full story.

I'm with you on the empty streets at 7pm!

Woodley precinct has an independent cafe which isnt great. A Costa. Brown bag cafe which is a small local chain and sells nicer coffee than Costa and nicer toasted sandwiches. Then theres the cafe in the oakwood centre across the road that does a mean full English for £4 inc tea or coffee.
We're also getting a new bar/restaurant which is the same chain as alto lounge in Caversham.

The housing stock might not be the prettiest in Woodley but it offers a lot for families and was voted the second best place in the country to raise a family (Wokingham came first, I do take these surveys with a pinch of salt though (

Quite a few parks, woodford has a leisure centre where theres a pre school and activities for children run. Theres a play park next to it and a paddling pool for if we ever get enough warm weather to use it. Ashenbury park is huge lots of space to wander and also has a play park and a lake to feed the ducks.

There are new houses being built on the airfield and new houses being built near me.

I appreciate it might be a bit too suburban for an ex Londoner though.

I live in West Reading/Oxford Rd and have done for the last 5 years. When I first moved to Reading I was warned off living in Whitley or Oxford Rd as they were "rough" areas.
I have lived in Caversham, Lower Earley when I was renting and then moved to West Reading when I wanted to buy as it was all I could afford.
I can honestly say I love living here. I like that it is noisy and busy. I like that if necessary I can go to the shops at 1am and buy my bread and milk! I like that there are at least ten different nationalities in DS school class of 30.
The only remotely hairy moment was getting him a school place as all the schools round here are hugely over subscribed.

My vote would be for woodley or caversham area also.

Having lived and worked in west Reading previously id avoid that area as much as possible. There's at least 2 'massage' parlors on the oxford road and a couple of businesses that do a nice sideline in drugs. From my old bedsit in Russell street my friends and I use to bet which of the hookers strutting up and down the road would get picked up 1st. On several occasions when walking into town on my lunch break dodgy men would come and walk alongside and offer drugs. It's not somewhere I would choose to bring up children if I didn't have to.

Sorry to anyone currently living there!

Ok, will check out Woodley, West Reading and Caversham. Busy day tomorrow!

And thank you so much everyone for your help. Mumsnet is great!

I'm in Woodley and used to live in London.
If you live Southlake way you can go over a bridge to get to Earley station, one stop from Reading. Southlake houses are cheaper and Southlake Primary just got Outstanding and is fairly easy to get into. Some parts of Southlake people say are a bit rough, but it really is nothing compared to living in London! Personally I think living close to Woodley centre is good, you can bike to station over the bridge in hardly any time.
It is a much slower pace of life here but very family orientated.

Let us know how you get on!

oh and check out Dinton Pastures which is walkable from Woodley

Much as I like the Newbury, Thatcham area if you consider that you need to also check whether you will be able to get into Doctors and schools. Its vastly over developed - I know someone who was looking in that area and ruled it out because of problems with getting a suitable primary.

I would say any area you look at would be worth checking both during the day and at night - like someone has pointed out Reading has both good and bad areas.