House Hunting Bath / Bristol

[Textiles26]

Hi All,

I'm looking for advice on areas please. We are moving from Guildford to Bath/ Bristol hopefully no later than Dec this year. My husband starts a new job in Bath in Jan. Unfortunately my little lady, 4 starts school in Sept which means we are going to have to move her. It's my husband's dream job at Bath Uni which is the only reason we are prepared to put our daughter in this situation. We have our first choice school in Guildford and it fills me with fear that we somehow have to find her a new school in the first term. We have accepted an offer on our house so desperately need to find something we want to buy now. We are looking at Saltford & Keynsham areas can you offer any thoughts on them? I've also seen a couple of houses in Paulton, is it considered a nice area?

Frome, we feel is a bit far as I want options for work myself. I currently work for an advertising agency and feel Bristol may have more work possibilities for me.

Can anybody recommend anywhere else?

Many Thanks

Leah

We're from Bristol and nearly bought in Paulton. Paulton is LOVELY. We would have moved there if the house we were buying hadn't sold. They have a lovely little local pool and pubs. Paulton is close to everything you need really

Keynsham and Saltford also nice but Paulton is my favourite. Good luck with the house search

I live in Keynsham and have worked in both Bath (not at the university but in the same part of the city).and Bristol.
It's about 10 minutes by train to either city from Keynsham (Saltford doesn't have a station). There's also good bus links including a bus service to Bristol airport. Car travel to both cities can be a nightmare, especially when using the A4.
There's a good mix of housing. There's 2 new estates Bilbie Green to the southern edge of town and Somerdale which is built in the grounds of the former Cadburys chocolate factory. House prices tend to be marginally higher on the Wellsway side of town (probably due to the secondary school of the same name).
There's 5 primary schools in Keynsham - all pretty good and 2 secondary schools.
Keynsham has a good mixture of shops , banks, post offices, hairdressers, charity shops, and independent retailers.
We also have council offices in town and Pukka Herbs have their head office in the Chocolate Quarter.

No advice on where to buy but please don't worry about schools. We're moving to Cardiff for my new uni job and relocating a yr7 and yr9 after only a year here in Leeds. It's tough to leave friends but they're also excited and there will always be a school place somewhere. Be reassured that it always works out.

Thank you so much for all of your advice and words of support. It is such a big move we feel we have to get it right for everyone in the family.

Keynsham definitely sounds like a good place with regards to schools and commuting links just need to find a house we like.

The only thing that puts me off Paulton is the fact it's a bit more isolated with less amenities on your doorstep. Lots to think about and weigh up!
Thank you all again!

My husband currently commutes into central London which takes from 1hr door to door to more commonly 1hr30 and on the worst kind of days 3hrs. Hoping his new commute wouldn't be as bad!

We're local to Paulton, in Midsomer Norton. We love living in Midsomer Norton as there's a bit more to do there than in Paulton which is more Villagey. There's also some lovely schools in the area, a few independent shops, and the town centre is very picturesque. It takes about 20 minutes to get in to Bath, and 45 minutes to get to Bristol.

My husband is originally from Keynsham and it's a nice area to live in providing you live on the 'right side' (Wellsway school side) but has some pockets of deprivation. Similar story with Saltford.

I teach over in Frome, and the have a 3 tier school system there (first, middle and senior) which is a very different system compared to most places in the country. It works very well for some students, but not for others, so that's something to consider.

I'd be happy to answer questions you have 😊