Help please - where are the best places to live around Bristol area?

[dramaqueen]

My dh has been made redundant so we have decided to relocate to the Bristol area to be nearer family and also nearer to Cornwall where we love to holiday. Dh is going to start working for himself so needs good motorway links, hence our thoughts about moving to the Bristol area.

Can anyone help with advice on good primary and secondary schools? I have been thinking either the Clevedon/Backwell areas or Thornbury? I have 2 primary age children, but am keen to find a good secondary school also.

I did grow up in Bristol but left a long time ago. TIA.

[dramaqueen]

Oh I forgot to add, I do not want to live in Bristol itself. We currently live in a village, so Bristol would be a bit of a shock to the kids.

Also can anyone help with knowledge on property prices in the area?

Thanks.

[toomanydaves]

Backwell and around there's great, quick into Bristol for urban pleasures and near beautiful countryside and pubs for rural ones. Good senior school, good primaries.
Churchill, Langford, Wrington, Winscombe, also great if you like villages.

[toomanydaves]

I moved back to London a few years ago but friends just bought a 16th century house in Winscombe for under 300, with 4 bedrooms and a MASSIVe garden.
That seems crazy, doesn't it.

[dramaqueen]

Thanks for the replies. I thought I had heard that Backwell had good schools, so it's nice to have it confirmed.

Do you know what the secondary school is called in Backwell? Is it Backwell school which is the good one?

[dramaqueen]

Anyone else please? I need to make this move one of our last!

[Olihan]

Thornbury is lovely, several good primaries and Castle School secondary which also has a good reputation. It is expensive though (compared to other areas) - 320k+ for a 4 bed when we were looking and 250k+ for a 3 bed.

The villages between Bristol and Weston are good options, also down as far as Cheddar and the surrounding villages. Don't know about schools there though.

[dramaqueen]

Thanks Olihan. Can I ask where you live now? When did you look in Thornbury? Was it recently?

[Olihan]

Um, Cheshire actually (moved in May)!

We lived in Bradley Stoke, which has cheap, plentiful housing but that's about it. It was fine when we were both working FT but sucked once I was SAHM because there was nowhere to go, no parks close enough to walk to, etc.

PILs are in Cheshire but at the time we couldn't afford to move up here. I worked in Thornbury before I had dc1 and we really wanted to move there but just couldn't afford it. I suppose we were looking at the end of last year. Some friends are still looking to move there but the prices for an equivalent house are so much higher in Thornbury.

Rightmove usually has quite a few Thornbury houses listed, that might be worth a look, to compare all the areas suggested here.

[WideWebWitch]

Bristol is utterly dire for

a) schools
b) house price to income ratio

If you can afford to pay for a decent school OR live in the catchment of a great state school (there aren't that many) and secondary (even harder, at least there are some decent state primaries) then move to Bristol. Otherwise beware. IMO. I really love Bristol but I wouldn't want to love there on much less than £500k a year. Or more tbh.

What's your budget house price wise?

(Btw I grew up there a bit too but things arer v different, found it entirely diff going back there with 2 children and we left there 1.5 years ago)

[TheArmadillo]

couldn't live there on less than 500k a year?

Even if you stuck an extra 0 on by accident, still

[chonky]

Clevedon is lovely - we visited for the first time a few weeks ago and were quite keen on the idea of moving there (I work in Bristol).

[chonky]

Portishead's rather nice too.

[TheArmadillo]

Clevedon is lovely.

DOn't know about the schools though (ds isn't old enough yet).

[dramaqueen]

Our budget is around £350K.

I have been looking on rightmove, and found we could get a modern 4 bed for that in Thornbury. In places south of Bristol such as Winscombe, our £350K would go much further.

I haven't looked at Clevedon yet. I remember it from my childhood as a rather dreary place, but it may be different now!

[WideWebWitch]

Really, be VERY careful about schools - if you budget to pay at secondary level then fine and then it'll be ok if you don't have to. I don't know anything about Thornbury or Clevedon though, sorry. Maybe they have good schools.

OK I was being facetious re £500k but seriously, I'd say you do need a decent salary to buy a house in a nice area. For £350k I don't think you'll get a house in Clifton, Redland, Bishopston, St Andrews, Westbury Park, Henleaze, (i.e. areas you'd want to live in) would you? I could be wrong though, will go and browse rightmove now!

[WideWebWitch]

ok, this looks ok, in Bishopston

[WideWebWitch]

or this in Clifton

[WideWebWitch]

this is nice, I lived in this road as a child, good school nearby

[OrmIrian]

My parents live in Winscombe. OK village, quite busy and some reasonable basic shops. Lovely countryside. About 7 miles from M5 so OK for links.

I think that the primary school in Winscombe is OK and Churchill is a good secondary (according to DH's nephew).

I think you'd be struggling to find anything special under £300k these days.

[kerala]

We are looking to move back there too. DH has a job lined up in Bristol. We want to live in Bath though, good schools and so pretty. You get more house for your money than in Bristol too which surprised us. Also the city just stops so we are hoping to live on the edge of Bath so countryside accessible yet close to Bath centre.

[chocolateteapot]

I think Clevedon has had a bit of a face lift over the last few years from what I've heard. Not so sure about the secondary school there though.

Portishead has had loads of changes over the last few years and the secondary school has improved hugely . My cousin's two girls go there and they are really pleased with it.

Backwell School is still good as ever. We were going to move back this summer but messed it up a bit. DD was going to go to one of the Cheddar Valley schools but it was too rural for me and we made the mistake of staying in Weston temporarily until we got a house sorted, I lasted 5 days, we're staying where we are now !

[paddingtonbear1]

My PILs live in Bristol, dh was brought up there. I don't think the schools round them (shirehampton) are that great anymore, but of course it's no longer an issue for them! Pill and Portishead look nice, don't know about schools though.
I worked in Bath for 7 months, it's v. nice. Some of the villages around there are nice too. Beware though of the commute between Bath and Bristol - can be hellish!

[portonovo]

Does it have to be Bristol? I don't know it well, but what from what I've heard the 'good' areas/schools etc are very pricey.

What about Bath somewhere in that region - Corsham, Chippenham, Bradford-on-Avon. Does it need to be Bristol for work/family or will the general area be good enough?

For example, Chippenham has excellent motorway links and rail links (30 mins by train to Bristol for example), great schools, decent house prices. Bradford-on-Avon also good 'family' place to live, good schools etc. Transport links possibly a bit more difficult.

Some of the areas around Bath are really lovely, house prices vary a lot but although Bath has a reputation for being expensive, some of the better areas of Bristol are more pricey.

£350k should be more than enough for a 4-bed detached house in a 'nice' area in the towns I've mentioned above. I would personally go for Bath or North Wiltshire rather than Bristol any time.

[Olihan]

The problem with living in Redland/Cotham/Henleaze/Bishopston is the secondary schools. Despite the fact that they are lovely areas with great houses and good primaries the secondaries are dire. Redland is getting its own school but it isn't going to be big enough for the number of children in the area.

[dramaqueen]

We are not looking to live in Bristol itself, but somewhere around it. I have family in Thornbury and Westbury on Trym and friends in Backwell.

Thanks alot for your thoughts. I am going to have a look at areas aroundBath also.