Anyone know Oxfordshire? Where to buy

[TallMushroom]

Looks as if my husbands job is going to take us to Oxfordshire - the job will be based at a number of locations around the county so doesn’t really give us an obvious area to look.

We are hoping for village feel with station to London, good primary school, ideally period property but open minded, 4+ bedrooms. Budget up to 600k. Is it doable?

Would be greatful for any suggestions of areas at the moment as Rightmove is just overwhelming!

I grew up just outside Bloxham. It ticks all the boxes you're after except the station. That said, Banbury station is very close, and there are regular buses. Can't go wrong with any of the surrounding villages really either (Deddington and Adderbury are particularly popular, but are expensive, and have fewer amenities). This whole area is littered with Cotswold stone cottages. Very pretty.

Are you looking for a large village, or a town that feels like one?

Thinking about it, OP, you may also want to look at the areas immediately surrounding Oxford itself. Several have train stations, as they're so close to Oxford itself. Kidlington springs to mind.

The station will be the tricky bit but it's doable I'm sure! How far are you prepared to be from the station?

Lots of villages on the train line between Oxford and Paddington but will be a very slow local stopping train or a change at Didcot or Reading onto fast train. A good option may be to drive/cycle into Didcot Parkway then it’s only 40 mins to Paddington. Lots of nice villages around Didcot... can be pretty pricey though.

I second that Didcot is your best fast train to London route. West Oxfordshire lovely, east hendrid, Buckland/longworth but those are further away from station.

Didcot definitely fastest so anywhere around there is good.

Oxford Parkway is also good now, quite a few places in easy reach of there, but if you're going at proper rush hour I'd test it a few times to see how traffic tolerant you are!

If you can face a stopping service then much more choice!

Islip and surrounding area may be good especially as it has station and good links to A34 and M40

If I had to live anywhere in Oxfordshire, I’d live in Charlbury. It’s got a station and is two or so stops from Oxford itself.
www.charlbury.info
But I bet it’s v. expensive.

It is very budget dependent. I’m in South Oxon and prices here are high. You can drive from many villages here to Reading station which has v fast trains to Paddington and is on the cross rail when it starts.

Thank you very much all - lots of food for thought and good tips about train lines. I’ve written a list based on your suggestions and working through! We could up our budget to 700 if we had to, but were hoping to get what we wanted for closer to 600. Maybe we are being unrealistic.

I’m a midwife at a london hospital so the train would be for my shifts, though I may end up changing to an Oxfordshire based hospital eventually so maybe I’m placing too much emphasis on trains. I’ve always lived in London so I’m finding it hard to imagine living somewhere without a train but think I might have to adjust my expectations.

Look at wantage and local villages particularly Childrey which seems to have nice community

We’re in a village near Bicester. Bicester has 2 stations and has a direct route to Marylebone (just over an hour). It’s a fairly ‘up and coming’ town- nothing amazing but nice enough and only a short drive from the city centre.

Summertown is very nice too and near oxford parkway station, but pricey ...

Wallingford has a wonderful midwife led birthing unit. Move there and sack off the commute!

I think Thame could be worth a look but the station is at Haddenham in Bucks. Good schools and s great town. I think your budget is tight though! Bicester and Banbury are cheaper and have lots of new houses. The commute is way longer then Thame though. Pretty villages are far more expensive.

Shipton-under-Wychwood is a nice village and only 5 miles (10 minutes drive) from Charlbury station.

Check out the Oxford Tube - might open up some other areas for you

Getting to the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford can be terrible for traffic, may take longer than the train to London ha! There are lovely local maternity units in Wantage and Wallingford.

The Chipping Norton maternity unit has a great reputation, and Chipping Norton is near Kingham Station, on the Cotswold Line into Oxford and London. Chipping Norton is more affordable than many other parts of Oxfordshire.

I strongly suggest somewhere that has good links to both Oxford and London then, after your last post. Villages near Didcot would fit that bill (hagbournes, wittenham etc). Have you looked at the John Radcliffe? If you think you might work there eventually then think carefully, it's NOT a good commute. Tbh, given your budget I think I'd be looking at the leafier areas of Headington. Good links for the Oxford Tube to London, and walking distance to the JR if you change jobs.

No way would I commute from Didcot if I could avoid it. Unless I lived very close to the station. Traffic is dreadful as a result of all the new houses being built. My husband has given up working in London after a decade as it takes so long to drive to the station now.

Also, a lot of the housing available is new builds and some are on large estates. It isn’t really a village feel. More traditional housing stock is a bit dry at the moment and an estate agent told me last week that there isn’t much on the market because of Brexit.

Agree about getting to the JR, it's the other side of town from the station, queues to get off the ring road start around 7/7:30 some days as far as I can tell. Road works supposed to be improving things - but I think all they'll achieve is to give the queue a bit of elbow room. Living in Headington (or Marston) could be good for you, but you might need to compromise on housing.

I don't know what bus routes they've put in from Oxford Parkway. I was just thinking about the cycling route from there to the JR if you are keen; google maps puts it at 4.6 miles but you can cut through Old Marston that might bring it down to 4 miles, still a fair way off a late shift in winter!

If you like the look of the smaller midwife led units that will make a big difference to where you might want to live.

Look at both Oxford Tube and Oxford X90 for London commuting. Depending on where you need to get to in London they provide tremendous service.

Thank you all, so much helpful advice. We are going for a drive around on Friday so will check out some of the areas. Thanks also for the forewarning on traffic around the JR hospital - must be a nightmare for labouring women!

I second Charlbury. Excellent primary school and on train. Five ways takeaway great too!

I would look near Bicester. Two stations and both offer a 45 min train to Marylebone.

Some of the stations in villages will be very slow. Kings Sutton is lovely and has a train station but I think the London train is nearly 1.5 hours, but you're not far from Bicester there