Moving to Rugby in Warwickshire

[moonbeam222]

Hi there

I'm considering moving to Rugby from London with my daughter (4) and husband.

We don't know much about the town just that it felt nice when we drove around and it's conveniently located for access to Birmingham, London and Leeds.

We have seen a few houses and from that can gather that Cawston seems like the place to be. Having driven around it seems like a pleasant place to raise a family.

Originally we saw a few properties in the Cotton Park development which were decent but after reading some online threads we gathered that, that area didn't seem to have a great reputation. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

We have since seen some properties in the Overslade area too and wondered whether anyone would be able to give an idea of how the area is.

We are not necessarily looking for a village feel per se so have ruled out Dunchurch.

Also having seen the style of some of the properties in Bilton we assumed that it's got more at an elderly demographic so have ruled that out. Again please do correct me if I have got this wrong.

Basically I was hoping someone from Rugby would be able to give us some info of the town and what each area is like.

Thank you so much

Overslade is historically a more rough area but is gradually becoming gentrified, particularly where is borders with Bilton. Bilton has a mix of ages living there - there are several schools and my dd's nursery is there. Not sure about Coton Park - doesn't have a reputation that I'm aware of, but some social housing will have been put in when they built the estate. The same is true of Cawston though.

Greatly appreciated. It means a lot being able to speak to a local.

If you don't mind could you perhaps elaborate on what's considered a decent area and what areas to avoid?

Thank you ever so much.

I've lived in Rugby for 10 years, I would avoid most areas to be honest. Villages are lovely. And Leamington Spa or Stratford are much much nicer.

I think you'd want to be as close to the edge of Rugby as possible.

Great many thanks for this.

I did originally consider both Warwick and Leamington Spa but to my disappointment realised that our budget of £400k would not afford us much in those areas.

I've lived pretty my whole life in Rugby. Grew up in Newton and went to school in Clifton, both lovely villages on the edge of town (Clifton being closer and having shops etc, there's just a pub in Newton). Would happily live in either place now if we could find the right house in our budget.

We have a young dd and are looking at moving house, with Hillmorton and Bilton being the main places we are looking as they are close to town, but have green spaces and are closer to the countryside as well.

Depending on your view on new build estates, you may want to consider Houlton, being built on the Hillmorton side of town, it's being aimed at families and has a few more green spaces than your average new build area. Once it's finished it will pretty much be a town in it's own right - there's already a primary school, with 1, possibly 2 more planned, there will be a secondary school opening, and I'm sure I've heard talk of the possibility of it's own railway station being put in.

We currently live in New Bilton, traditionally considered a rougher area, but we've had no problems here. Overslade, Brownsover, the area around the station are also some of the rougher bits, but have nicer spots within them.

Hillmorton is much nicer than Overslade. I've worked with service users in Overslade and I'm not sure I'd be keen on them as neighbours. Rugby is much more affordable than Leamington and Warwick for a reason.

How about Lutterworth? It's only 10 mins to Rugby & has quick access to M1.

We have family members who live in Coton Park and we've visited often. I'm not aware of any reputation or problems. Their neighbours seem nice and their house is lovely though their garden is smaller than I'd like. It's v well connected for access to main roads which was a big plus for them as they travel for work.

They used to live in Hillmorton and I prefer the play areas etc at Coton Park.

We've lived in Rugby for 19 years - originally from London. Rugby is fine - some great schools and loads of activities and clubs for children. Good sports clubs and groups for adults and great transport links. The traffic is increasingly bad and the town centre is pretty poor these days. Yes, it's not Leamington or Warwick but it has a charm in my opinion and we like living here.

I have plenty of friends who live in Cawston and they all seem very happy.

Yes, there are some dodgy areas but that's the same everywhere.

Btw, I also have a few friends in Coton Park and they like living there. I wouldn't choose it though as the schools aren't as good as elsewhere.

Coton Park has Rugby Free Primary which is a good school and it is a very family centred place to live with incredible community spirit.
Bilton is actually lovely for families, houses are older and more traditional, meaning bigger gardens usually.
People seem to like Cawston.
Houlton looks great too if you like newbuilds.
Avoid Brownsover, Overslade New Bilton and the town centre.
I've lived here for 4 or 5 years. Its ok.

Hillmorton is nice, as is Bilton. Good schools.

Me and my girlfriend have been renting a place near coton park for the last year or so. I commute to Birmingham/Solihull and she works nearby so its very convenient for commuters. We have been thinking to buy a house and ideally we both really liked Leamington/Warwick but as first time buyers these areas were a bit out of our budget. Therefore we decided to buy our first house in Rugby.

We have seen almost all of the new build developments including Cawston, Coton Park, Eden Park, Edison Place and Houlton. We finally decided Houlton. Main reasons is that it really is a lovely place even though the development is still far from being completed (they are planning to build 6200 new homes + 3 primary schools + 1 secondary school + a new train station!). It has a big potential. You get a bit of both worlds, countryside feeling with nicely spaced houses with a lot of green space, parks ponds etc but also close enough (with the new link road) to the amenities and train station.