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Original poster

Where to live in Leicestershire?

52 replies

Forfamily · 14/04/2019 23:41

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the long post 🙈

We are currently looking into moving out of Beckenham/ Bromley area and possibly to Leicestershire (Sept 2019 for the start of next academic year).

We are a family of 4, we have two DD 3 and 5.5 years.

We are looking for a change in lifestyle but also don't want to be out in the "sticks" as one of my fears are moving out of London not knowing anyone and becoming very lonely and sad. I am a very social person and have a great friendship grp here as well as my girls.

We are looking for a cosmopolitan area with good transport links (DH will need to travel to London for work), good schools, good sense of community/friendly, things for us to do as family on the weekends, good parks and not too far from shops/supermarkets.

We have so far looked into:
Kirby muxloe
Oadby- (Brocks Hill school seems great!?)
Stoneygate
Clarendon Park
South Knighton
Loughborough
Wigston
Market Harbour

DH is visiting soon and it'll be great to get any help, advice and/or suggestions.

Also school catchment areas seem to be hard to obtain/ get my head around without an address, can anyone help with that? I'm thinking to have a chat with the council tomorrow.

Much appreciated in advance!

OP posts:
Megan2018 · 17/04/2019 11:39

Look at Oakham, it is over the border into Rutland.
Market Harborough is nice and full of ex-Londoners so might suit though. It's too busy for me, I do live in a hamlet in the sticks!
Kibworth is nice too.

Leicester city itself is grim. I'd not live in the city myself (I work there at a Uni and commute in). It is friendly yes, but still pretty horrible. But I am not a city girl so I am biased.

Cafetierecoffee · 17/04/2019 13:37

Rutland council wants to build a 3,000 home housing estate in a field about 5 miles from Oakham, so won’t the same problems happen there?

Megan2018 · 17/04/2019 13:44

@Cafetierecoffee
They do, but there is a lot of opposition. 5 miles is not that close rurally though.

Fortunately we’re ok in our hamlet as its deemed unsustainable! So no building apart from minor infill.

mamaduckbone · 17/04/2019 18:19

Mardymavis - are you on a mission to put Londoners off moving to the area and bumping the house prices up?Wink
I wouldn't blame you, but your views are very distorted. There are far, far worse places to live than Kibworth and Market Harborough.Smile

SpinneyHill · 20/04/2019 12:48

Oadby is fairly middle class and a bit dull but safe and the council picks up rubbish better then in other areas, I love Clarenden Park period houses and bars galore who wouldn't.
.

Original poster
Forfamily · 20/04/2019 14:13

I'm overwhelmed by the response, I never expected so much info. Whether positive or negative it just goes to show the people of Leicestershire care about their towns/villages and city centre.

DH like I said went up there for a couple of days and he visited a few of the areas you all have suggested...

Market Harborough which is great and seemed to meet our need, it's just that we'd need about £100,000 more than what we have.

So Oadby and Loughborough seem to be in the lead atm.

Oadby - for its period house's and good schools. The town seemed a bit on the small side.

Loughborough- Seems like a strong contender for the spacious period homes, town centre and good school.

Could anyone advise (for Oadby and Loughborough) on best/ not so good parts, family friendly things to do, whether people are warm and welcoming or prefer to keep themselves to themselves.

Also with Loughborough with it being a university town are there particular area better for a young family to live?
Like I said DH will need to travel to London for work. However I am currently a stay at home mum and would like to connect with the community around us.

Thanks so much guys!

OP posts:
starlingsintheslipstream · 20/04/2019 14:29

Oadby is handy for the train station and the service is pretty quick into St Pancras. I wouldn't say that it has a wealth of period properties though, mainly housing estates from mid 1970s onwards.

Brocks Hill Country Park is fab for younger kids

https://www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk/pages/brockshilllvisitorcentreeandcountryy_park

and it's only a short journey into Leicester city for museums or theatre.

Shops are just OK. Market Harborough is far better but, as you've realised, you need to pay a premium for that.

The schools are highly regarded and the area is safe. It's not exciting but a good place to bring up a family. There aren't any parts I'd class as "bad" but personally would prefer not to be on an estate, which narrows the choices somewhat.

Beebumble2 · 20/04/2019 14:59

Non Estate houses in Oadby, the Edwardian detached are probably going to be just as expensive as MH.
Oadby schools are excellent and the Botanic Gardens is just on the edge with Leicester.
The station is about 2 miles away and there are very frequent busses into the city.
Personally I wouldn’t give up on MH until I’d had a good trawl on Rightmove and contacted the town estate agents to see what they have.

geekchicz · 20/04/2019 19:02

If you like Market Harborough but the budget is pricer - try Lutterworth - Harborough district and the outlying villages . LE17 postcode . Your money goes further and Lutterworth folk use transport, education , and work links for Rugby , Harborough , Leicester , Coventry . It’s quicker to acces the motorway network . It used to be in the sticks but no more . Don’t be put off by the centre of town which is slightly spoilt by the traffic . If we want naice for the afternoon we just drive to Harborough!

Thirtyrock39 · 21/04/2019 08:15

Loughborough - the nice side is the forest road/ nanpantan side and the estate agents will tell you this to. Has a nice feel to it and still walkable to town.
Loughborough centre is a bit limited shops wise but has some good pubs and restaurants and quick trains to Leicester and Nottingham if you want more variety. Very studenty.
Th forest side of town will be Rawlins or Woodbrook for secondary which are good schools - limehurst is better but the immediate catchment is a more deprived area of town so would be harder to get in . All the primaries on the forest side have a good reputation.

Thirtyrock39 · 21/04/2019 08:16

Look at quorn as well as it's a stones throw from Loughborough but much prettier .

BeauticianNotMagician81 · 21/04/2019 08:29

Have you looked at Desborough. It's a Northamptonshire post code but only a 10 minute drive from Market Harborough. My children all go to school in Harbs but you can get a lot more house for your money in Desborough.

HexagonalBattenburg · 21/04/2019 09:12

Leicester people (sorry OP hijacking your thread a bit) - how walkable is it between the train station and the DMU campus? Trying to get a feel for how is best to commute down from Nottingham to the Uni every day and I fecking hate driving on the M1.

Heyha · 21/04/2019 09:19

I went to the other uni but I'm sure DMU only about 15-20 min stroll through town? Should be easy peasy as long as you're not carting loads around, anyway, definitely preferable to taking your chances on the M1!

Megan2018 · 21/04/2019 23:03

@HexagonalBattenburg
Its an easy mile, very walkable. I’ve done it a few times. Lots of roadworks outside station right now so there are diversions. But walking is easy. Traffic currently crap!

HexagonalBattenburg · 22/04/2019 12:51

Ty for the help with the blatant hijack! Looks a lot more do-able than my other uni option then (we're right in the tram network so I can do tram > train > hoof it a bit and hopefully lose some weight)

OP have you also looked into the southern bit of Nottinghamshire on the M1 corridor? Just keep an eye on the HS2 route maps whatever you do.

morningbell · 24/04/2019 12:36

Market Harborough is a bit of a no brainer if commuting into London is required.

morningbell · 24/04/2019 12:37

Apologies, just seen above comment about it being over budget..

Original poster
Forfamily · 15/11/2019 21:00

Hello again!

We've been around a few places in the East Mids now and are going back to where we started lol hence posting again!

We will be taking a trip to Leicester over the weekend and having now been to Loughborough we are removing it from our list as it wasn't the place for us.

This w/e we will be visiting Oadby and possibly Glen Parva and Narborough. However we don't know much about GP nor Narborough so any advice/ info would be much appreciated?

Thank you!!

OP posts:
3dogs2cats · 16/11/2019 00:09

@MardyMavis gosh. I don’t recognise my county, and I live in Wigston. Don’t know how I sleep at night here in Chav central. I need to move now. Where do you live?

Gallivespian · 16/11/2019 00:24

What about a large village just outside the eastern edge of Leicester, like Houghton on the Hill? Good village primary and you’re close to Oadby for good secondaries/supermarkets and a convenient drive to Leicester or Market Harborough railway stations. And some nice countryside.

Bluesheep8 · 16/11/2019 09:23

"Is Leicester safe?? I’ve been a few times and had my heart in my mouth walking from the station to the town centre. My friend came with me and she said that Leicester makes Hull look good. I didn’t dare take her into Peterborough"

There are rough parts of EVERY city centre. And what's wrong with Hull?

Beebumble2 · 16/11/2019 12:21

Discount Glen Parva, not a particularly nice area. Have a really good look around Oadby.
A pity you can’t stretch to a house in Market Harborough.

Top56 · 26/05/2020 15:37

See my link for some useful .I've lived in Wigston most of my life.It's a great friendly area.