Please tell me about the Milton Keynes area

[wowfudge]

DP started his new job in London which means we need to relocate - they're paying his travel and hotel expenses for a few months. Anyway, house on the market, viewings underway and fingers crossed.

We are starting off looking around the Milton Keynes area. Can anyone give some info about various areas and villages/towns around and about?

What are Newton Leys and Bletchley like, for example? DP will commute to London from MK or Bedford if we end up in that area and I'll have to change jobs and would prefer not to travel into London for that. Good local amenities important. Living in the middle of nowhere does not appeal. Views and advice welcome!

[Natfan]

I live in Mk and we love it. It is made up of villages as well as modern estates so something to suit everyone. Some dodgy areas (like most places), lots of green spaces, so much more than just the shopping centre (which has everything by the way). A few nice areas not yet mentioned on the thread include willen, woolstone, woughton on the green, great linford. Lots and lots for families to do, lots of companies based here so plenty of jobs.

[wowfudge]

Cheese we are indeed in the same neck of the woods at the moment. It's Hobson's choice really - transport links are the primary driver. I can be at my parents' house in an hour and half by train from MK and my sister is an hour's drive away. Oh and DP can be at his desk in about an hour. I like America!

Will look at Towcester and Newport Pagnell too.

[CheeseBadger]

Forgot to add - you couldn't pay me to live in MK, but that's just personal preference. I think Americans would refer to the centre as "strip mall hell". There are probably nice bits I haven't found...

[CheeseBadger]

I think I live somewhere near you now, and often work between Bedford and Milton Keynes. Having tried staying in lots of locations all around there (including Woburn), Newport Pagnell is the winner for me. Fairly picturesque, good motorway access, and an identifiable and "useful" centre. Probably a nightmare for trains though.

[namechangedtoday15]

I have relatives that live in a little village outside of Towcester - think thats about a 20 min drive into Milton Keynes. Very good schools and picturesque. Good sense of community.

[wowfudge]

Thanks zipzap - I've looked at that one already, so it's a possibility. It is annoying when there are no floor plans though.

[zipzap]

Another good thing about MK is that it's supposed to have the fastest growing economy outside of london so plenty of jobs locally, if you need them.

If you're driving around out of rush hour, you can usually get to most places within 10 minutes.

Also I reconise teh new house that wicked has linked to - nice house but big downside is that it backs onto one of the busy grid roads - it's been built on a plot that was originally a hedge and grass patch to separate houses on the other side of the road from the gtraffic of the grid road.

Reckon you'd be better off with something like this one - without the new build premium price!
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35910933.html

[wowfudge]

Ah - I see somepeople. I'm liking the sound of it the more I find out!

[somepeopledontknowthat]

Basically, the cars and the pedestrians are separated..so the grid roads are for cars and then there are pedestrian paths that run separately, called redways..

The redways have big pluses and also some minuses:

Pluses: redways can be used by pedestrians/bikes scooters etc so kids can scoot and cycle safely away from the road mostly, they're great for running etc.

Minuses: because the redways are separate from the road they can be quite isolated, you get from estate to estate either by a bridge or an underpass, deserted underpasses can be quite scary in the dark. Also - see my earlier point about bikes and scooters, a small minority of cyclists think that the redways are cycle paths first and foremost. They aren't!

[wickedwaterwitch]

Good lord no, I'm not the developer!

[wowfudge]

What are the redways, or did you mean roadways? Good info thank you somepeople.

[somepeopledontknowthat]

Just to say - when we moved to MK we first lived in Great Holm, which is walkable to the station and I was commuting to London when we first moved there.

However, once winter came around the walk from Gt Holm to the station was quite creepy, not very well lit, the redways are horrible after dark. Loughton is closer and I'm not fully sure what the walk is like in the dark these days, but I remember having to cross a deserted footbridge in the dark to get back to Gt Holm and I think there's one for Loughton, too, though possibly busier as more people commute from Loughton I think.

I just remember making friends with a lady at toddler group who lived in Loughton and it both turned out that we only walked to the station in the summer months and were paying for carparking/taxis in the winter months so worth bearing in mind.

[wowfudge]

Are you the developer wicked? . That's a blank canvas if ever I saw one!

[wickedwaterwitch]

I think you'll get more house in Bedford but a longer commute iirc

[wickedwaterwitch]

In MK you'll be near Ikea, John Lewis, it's a big shopping centre.

[wickedwaterwitch]

I don't live in MK but have done a London to MK commute and I agree with a pp about parking at the station - it's expensive and packed and so if you can live near the station to avoid that, do.

Trains are 36 mins to Euston but when it goes wrong it really does! I paid to go first class when I did the journey and it was worth it (you still have to be quick to get a seat) but the last Virgin train (coffee, papers, larger first class, better trains) goes fairly early, before 7am, unless that's changed.

www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-54782060.html

Is in Loughton

[HeyMicky]

Sorry, cross post.

For £415k we got a 4 bed semi detached with playroom and study, big garden, loft and garage. You'll be fine with your budget

[HeyMicky]

What's your budget, OP? Do you have kids? What age?

Bletchley is good to be near (as PP said, lots of big shops, a range of supermarkets) but not great to live in.

North of MK, Olney is lovely but pricey.

My recommendation is the villages between Bletchley and Leighton Buzzard, where I live - the Brickhills, Stoke Hammond, Soulbury, Stewkley. Easy to get to LB for the train (28 mins to Euston) and access to both LB and MK for shopping, amenities and activities. You're also in Bucks, not Beds, so grammar school catchment if that's a requirement.

PM me for details if you'd like

[wowfudge]

Thank you so far folks - I am so used to being a 20 minute drive from IKEA, the Trafford Centre for shopping and central Manchester that I feel reassured! Not that I am always shopping, far from it, but bring able to nip to places instead of planning a day out is more my thing.

Budget - we think up to £450k, but we don't want to go that high if we don't have to. Min 3 beds, garage or other storage, kitchen diner and separate utility room. We currently have a house with full size cellars and a huge garage so we are used to space.

I will have a look at the places suggested when I am supposed to be studying

[zipzap]

Another one who lives in MK and loves it - but would avoid Bletchley and don't know anything about the NL bit...

I'm in Loughton which is close enough to walk to the station - parking there can be quite expensive I think so it's worth considering if you can pay a bit more to be a bit closer but save on the parking costs... If you're going to pay out, it might as well be going into your house value rather than being lost to car parking! Best thing is that I am in the middle of parks and a nice area but in 5 mins walk I'm at the station.

I have dc so tend to drive to the supermarket, schools, lots of amenities etc but none of them take very long to get to.

I've got to go and make supper so can't type at length - but have done so previously - do an advanced search on here for Milton Keynes and my user name and there are quite a few threads where I've put lots more info.

Or shout if you have other questions!

[MsRinky]

MrRinky commutes by train from MK. We initially lived on the SE side, with him getting the train from Bletchley, but now live centrally so he can walk to MK station. The second commute between home/station was too much of a pain for him otherwise - which meant we had to rule out Stony Stratford etc, lovely though they are.

What's your budget?

[reubensfriend]

Stony Stratford is fabulous! Woburn Sands is lovely too.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

We live in Linslade and love it. Quick commute to London, small but nice town centre, beautiful countryside, good schools and house prices still reasonable (although that is changing).

We are a 15 minute drive from Milton Keynes so we use it for shops/cinema etc, but much prefer Leighton Buzzard/Linslade to live in.

[somepeopledontknowthat]

yy pingpong.

I live in Old Stratford. It's nice :)

[PingPongBat]

I've heard some pretty grim things about Fishermead, I remember a stand up comedian doing a gig at MK Theatre, reading out bits from the local paper & when Fishermead was mentioned the audience reaction was quite telling.