Malvern???

[jennyblonde82]

Hi everyone,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this... Anyway, my husband is interviewing for a job near Malvern and I was wondering what the area is like? We have 2 little children and I am not working at the moment-I'm a bit concerned is that it is very rural with few local shops etc and I'm going to end up lonely with not much to do. Could someone give me an idea of what the area is like? Google is letting me down a bit.

What kind of shops are there? Is it a nice place to live or a bit chavvy (for want of a better word!!) Where do you go to do your food shopping and what's the nearest big city? We currently live about 30mins outside of Leeds so I usual do my clothes shopping there. Any good restaurants? Any good baby groups? Any local theatres?
Sorry for all the questions- I'm panicking a bit!
Thanks :-)

Greater Malvern is lovely but pricey. Lower Malvern is not quite as nice.

There are a couple of nice restaurants, and a Waitrose. Malvern tends to attract rich hippies and has a friendly atmosphere.

Worcester, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Birmingham are all within easy reach, either by car or train, if you feel the need to immerse yourself in a city for some shopping.

Malvern Theatre often has shows on before they go the West End, so there are often a few famous faces popping up on stage.

Ooh that sounds promising... Thanks so much :-)

Theres quite a few shops varying from more hippy to Waitrose, M&S etc - and you can easily drive to Worcester, Cheltenham or Birmingham for more serious shopping.
Theres some really nice restaurants in the area, and the Malvern theatres are great. And again you can easily go to the nearby cities for more. Evesham arts centre has big name comedians doing their pre tour practice shows quite often which is cool.

I grew up in a nearby village. It's a wonderful area. I lived nearer ledbury which is a lovely town. And has become nicer and nicer the more time passes. Heaps of independent shops. Nice houses. Quiet enough but good pubs. Beautiful countryside.

Where do you currently live?

Sorry I should have read better I see you said near Leeds.

I live in London and the only thing really stopping me moving back is that my children are mixed race and I would like them to grow up somewhere where that isn't unusual.

Not that we have experienced any problems when we visit...people are kind but even the kindest people treat my son's as a bit of a novelty. They mean well but I think it wouldn't be a positive thing for the boys to grow up around that.

Hi jennyblonde82,

Malvern and the surrounding area is a wonderful place to grow up. As with any town it has its less desirable areas as well as its pricier places. Malvern Link has a small retail park with your usual M&S, Next, Boots, Cafe Nero, Argos etc. As for Supermarkets, you have Waitrose, Morrisons, Lidl.

Great Malvern has a Winter Gardens complex with Cinema (small) and Theatre. If you want more choice Cinema wise then you have Vue Multiscreen in Worcester. It also has shops and restaurants.

You also have the beautiful Malvern Hills for when you are feeling a little more energetic

City wise, you have Worcester with lots of shops/restaurants etc. about 8.5 miles away and Hereford about 20 miles away.

Thanks everyone! This is sounding really promising. We live in a sleepy little village outside of Leeds at the moment so I'm ok with that as long as we can get to somewhere with some culture for the kids (or shops for me!)
A bit more random but does anyone know if there's any good yoga classes in the surrounding area? I might go a bit crazy without my weekly fix! ??

There will be plenty of yoga around. It is that sort of place.

Loads of yoga in Malvern - but the traditional sort, not bikram. Also plenty of acupuncture and other healing things.

Thanks so much everyone! :-)