Windsor property

[Ebound]

Hello, seeking advice from U.K. residents. Is Windsor a place that is traditionally considered a good place to buy an apartment and a good place to live? I know the queen lives there etc. But given the same budget, would buying a place in Windsor over London be considered a foolish move (granted an apartment in London will be smaller)? Thanks.

Trains from Windsor are not fast if that's an issue.

Thanks for the reply. We have no business to be in London. We can, but it is not a must. The apartment that we are looking at in Windsor is the same price as those in the new areas of London but to me, those new places just lack character with all the building going on despite the promise of how much capital is going to be injected into them etc. What I wanted to understand is from a U.K. resident’s point of view, is Windsor a choice only because one can’t afford London or is it traditionally been viewed as a desirable place to live. Thanks again.

Also on the topic of house purchase, what are the local views about how prices are moving? Bottomed out or more volatility to come with the uncertainty of brexit...

I live very near Windsor. I moved out from London under protest thinking I was going to the back of beyond but actually it has really grown on me. It's got a nice town centre for shopping and restaurants, good transport connections (the M4 is right there, there's the slow train to Waterloo, or fast via Paddington). We didn't need a car until we had kids and needed it for school runs and activities, before that we could walk everywhere. But the best thing is how much lovely natural beauty there is, the Great Park is right on your doorstep, you can walk for miles along the Thames and go kayaking, rowing etc. And if you do want to go into town for a show or for dinner you can get home in 40 mins in an Uber if you miss the last train!

Thank you Xiaoxiong. That encapsulates what we think are the positives! as foreigners, one would think it is a wise move to invest in London since everyone is doing it so you can’t go wrong. Choosing Windsor is definitely a contrarian move. But then again, we are not doing for financial gain but being in Windsor will be the most ideal for our purpose. I am just wondering if London is so much more attractive that I should just go through a little inconvenience but make a better financial move.

Not sure why you’d buy in London unless you want to be in London.

In terms of Windsor specifically, it’s lovely but you’ll be able to get more for your money in some lovely towns further away from London without compromising on the quality of life.

If you might need to be in London some days or use Heathrow airport, there are some parts of London that you could consider. For somewhere upmarket with nice shops, restaurants, charm, massive parks, the river etc you could look in places like Teddington. Bushey and Richmond Parks are massive royal parks, the river is on the doorstep for rowing and kayaking, lovely shopping in Richmond and Kingston + you’re in London.
Not great if you want actual coutryside on the doorstep as it takes a while to get in and out of London.

Central Windsor is more expensive than most London suburbs. The outskirts of Windsor are cheaper but you do need a car to get anywhere. It is a lovely place with easy access to motorways and Heathrow. Trains from Windsor to London are very slow. You need to go to Slough to get the fast train. I don't think prices have bottomed out as Brexit is still causing uncertainty.

Given a choice of Richmond or Windsor I'd choose Richmond

I like Windsor - and if you don't need to use the train daily it's otherwise got good transport links to the motorways and to Heathrow.

Part of the closeness to Heathrow though means that you're under the flight path there if that would bother you?

Do you have any geographical constraints? Will you or your partner be working? I think there are nicer towns you could move to.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. I was there for a month mid or this year and I actually did not hear the plane noise. I need to pay more attention when I go there again. I have a young teenage son who goes to school there and my thought is to have a place so he can spend time there when he has to leave the school. Any place that requires a train/car ride would be inconvenient for him. That’s the dilemma. The problem with my process now is that there are not many transactions and I simply do not have a handle on where prices are and if the asking price is reasonable. Where would be considered nice areas in Windsor? How are the areas on the various streets off st Leonard’s road? Thanks.

I think Dedworth is the only bit to really avoid.
I use this deprivation map all the time.
vis.oobrien.com/booth/#

That is so neat and helpful. Thank you for sharing!!!

PullingMySocksUp, interesting... Not sure if it’s that helpful. Looking at home the numbers are calculated, anywhere with a lot of pensioners is likely to come up red. Somewhere that’s affluent with lots of burglaries and robberies could come up green....

Windsor town centre is lovely - full of gorgeous Victorian houses, great shopping, lots of lovely bars and restaurants, right by the river etc. But be wary that it covers an absolutely enormous area so when you're searching in 'Windsor' on Rightmove it could be a long way from Windsor town centre itself. You need to come and familiarise yourself with the area so you know where you're looking.

If you need quick access into London it's ok but not great - the SWR service into London Waterloo is quite slow (1 hour). You can go to Slough and pick up quick trains into Paddington though.

Another thing to consider is the flight path. If noise bothers you, it's not the right place for you.

House prices can be difficult to quantify as it very much depends where you're looking. central Windsor is very expensive and probably not that different from somewhere like Ealing. But if you're prepared to be further out you could pick up something much cheaper.

Windsor is lovely. I have relatives there. Does get busy with tourists though. And yes trains to London slow but doesn’t matter if you’re not commuting into London.

Ah, yes plane noise is loud but you get used to it. Parking an issue the closer you live to the town centre - off street parking like gold dust.

If I have guessed your son's school correctly, OP, there would be a lot to be said for having a flat in Windsor, at least while he's at school. The journey to London is a pain (and that's only the first leg of my son's journey home - it takes him about 5 hours to get home for a very short time). If you want to attend school events, some of them are very late, and Windsor would be miles more convenient than London. But that's assuming I know which school you are talking about!

That said, if I could buy a flat in either London or Windsor (sadly, I can't), I'd probably buy in London because I'd be thinking forwards to when I wouldn't need to be in Windsor, which is when it would be useful to have somewhere to stay in London. As I live in a terraced house 300 miles away, though, it's all just fantasy...

PS I have noticed the flight path when visiting my son, but he says it doesn't bother him. He's more bothered about the rubbish mobile signal in Windsor.

OP, if you stayed in Windsor and didn't notice the planes, then it really won't matter. I much prefer quiet places and visiting anywhere on the flight path has me pulling my hair out in 1-2h... But if you've already stayed in the area and don't mind, then I very much doubt that it could ever bother you.

Thanks again for all the input.

Esto, if I guessed you have guessed my son’s school correctly :-) then you will understand why I am doing this. I do have another son, so hopefully we can use this over the next ten years. I don’t think I am able to deal with a home makeover etc so only looking at new builds. There are very few and it is soooooo expensive.

Completely understand, OP. And especially if you have another son. I'm going to an event at school this month which starts at 8.30PM. I'd love a flat in Windsor that night. As it is, I'm going to stay with a friend in London, and even then I presumably won't be back there much before midnight.

BTW, the flats overlooking the river look gorgeous. I suspect they are stupendously expensive, though!

Windsor is a good place to live and it's not far out of London (if you're interested in London).

Windsor is nice - surprised you didn't notice the plane noise (but I guess it depends on where you live now). For your son's school it would be very convenient. Hopefully the other one goes there too.
It is very convenient for Heathrow - which actually means lots of people are quite attracted to the town (such as flight crew). Parking is tricky.