Should we move again? London to Bath (or who knows)

[planforeverything]

Apologies if this isn’t right place for this but looking for some honest and helpful advice.

I’m 30, DH 32 and lived in Bristol for 5 years before moving to London. I moved from Scotland straight after University for work and DH’s job was also in Bristol. First 18 months were good in Clifton. I didn’t really take to Bristol as a city as a whole, I loved life in Clifton and that was our bubble. (Note: people absolutely love Bristol, it’s a great city and I like a day visit but I found it too alternative/hipster for me to live in). We then moved to North Bristol to buy an ‘opportunity’ house, my husband had just gotten a job just outside London which he commuted for and I hated those 3.5 years in Bristol. I found the place rough, it was a new build estate near nothing, I’d come from a cute seaside town in Scotland with a lovely high street and bike rides on my doorstep and I was living in an estate near absolutely no parks/amenities/anything, couldn’t walk anywhere, had to drive everywhere including work/shops, our lovely detached new build was next door to social housing and we had an attempted break in within 4 months of being there and our direct neighbour getting an ASBO for constant arguments and fights outside. I was thoroughly miserable and on my own 80% of the time.

Given husbands job was in London (and he’d had a near miss of a serious accident on his commute home one night) I visited SW London, loved it and we sold up (made a lot of money on our 4 bed detached new build house) and bought a 3 bed garden flat in Putney. I adore SW London, the parks and feeling of green space, cafe culture, cute pubs, restaurants - it’s just an all round lovely area though traffic and parking are a nightmare.

Anyways, last year DH became unwell, was hospitalised and was left with post viral fatigue and has been off work for 7 months. Whilst he loves what we have here, he is ready for a little bit of a quieter pace (I.e no beeping horns on our street at 2am, not being able to get parked on the same street as our flat, noise of tube etc) but still with nice cafes and restaurants but main thing is he wants more space (DH grew up in a huge stunning period house with a walled garden so more space to me means something a little different to him!)

Husbands job has changed slightly in that he only needs to commute once a week, we used to visit Bath a lot and loved it. We have also considered other areas of SW London (Teddington, Richmond) but don’t know if it’s still too much for him. I would live there in a heartbeat. I don’t know if going back west is scaring me a little as I had a rubbish time there before. We aren’t village people, more large town people (probably aren’t big city people given we don’t leave SW London much) Also thought about Edinburgh but jobs for me there look thin. No children yet - I might not be able to have any so it’s not a guarantee we will but irrespective I do want to live in a lovely, family friendly, SAFE as houses area (I’m OCD on safety after an incident in Bristol which left me with anxiety). Not sure this is even important but DH is a little genteel if that’s the the right word?!

Does Bath sound like it could be right for us? Visited Marlow and Henley and liked them both but commute to London for me would probably be a pain. If we moved to Bath I’d work in Bath or Bristol. Also thought about Windsor too.

Looking for ideally a period detached house with a driveway, garden, minimum 4 beds in a really nice area where the people are friendly/sense of community and it’s easy to make friends. Budget is £1.4m. I really want to find somewhere I can settle and not move every 3-5 years! Help!

[Porridgeoat]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71032692.html

[Porridgeoat]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-76821571.html

[NameChangr678]

Also, if you want a nice town commutable to London in half an hour, can I recommend Hitchin. You'd get quite a nice house for your budget.

[Stuckforthefourthtime]

@1981m By too alternative, she means to many poor people. Not middle England enough.

Bristol is full of wealthy 'alternative' people. Perhaps time to examine your own biases?

You've probably done op a favour though as there are now tons of good suggestions for her!

[OverTheRainbow88]

@Stuckforthefourthtime

How do you know that is what she means?

I’m a Bristolian born and bred and some areas are a bit too alternative for me to live in... and no the alternative areas in Bristol are not the ‘poor’ areas!

[OverTheRainbow88]

I tagged that to the wrong person! @1981m

[planforeverything]

I was a little put off coming back to

[planforeverything]

I was a little put off coming back but I’m back because there are so many great posts and suggestions - and certainly places I’d never thought of or considered so I have a lot to think about Thank you for all of the amazing suggestions and ideas and also insights on Bath living.

@1981m sorry if I caused you offence, or anyone else, I didn’t mean to and re-reading my post I could have left some detail out. I don’t mean at all ‘poor’ people - I’m from a working class, low income family and am certainly not discriminating against income. By alternative I meant more of a student/hippie vibe which I have nothing against but just didn’t want it to be the primary feeling of the place I end up settling in.

It’s definitely true about people having completely different experiences of places, I have a good friend who hated living in the area I currently live. I haven’t been back to Bristol in just over 3 years but I’m sure I’d have a different experience if I was to go back. Also have no problem or issue with social housing - I just was unlucky with my neighbours and had no end of trouble (but that doesn’t mean to say it’s social housing that caused it).

Salisbury, Farnham, Cirencester, Cotswold area I’ll definitely look in to. Are there any towns outside Bath or in Cotswold that people recommend with a train station?

DH works at Heathrow so would drive so good to know about traffic on London Road. It’s one of the things really hurting him here is the commute before and after a shift - its not uncommon to take over an hour to do 12 miles but he’ll soon be only doing that once a week and his return drive won’t be on the same day.

Budget £1.4m includes stamp duty. Again only mentioned budget as it’s usually one of the first things asked here

[TeetotalKoala]

@planforeverything I live in Chippenham, which is one stop up on the train line between Bath and London. It's also only a five minute drive to the motorway, Heathrow is ridiculously easy to get to. 1.4 million would get a hell of a house here. It's definitely not Bath, and if that's the vibe you are looking for you might be better off somewhere like Bradford on Avon or Devizes. BOA has a train station but you need to change in Bath for London, Devizes doesn't have one but there's talk recently of putting one in. But for easy links to the surrounding area (such as the aforementioned towns), the motorway (5 minutes away) and the train to London, Bath and Bristol (a 10 minute walk from my house), you can't beat it. If you were to choose BOA or Devizes, you'd have to come to Chippenham to get onto the M4.

A lot of families here are similar to us. They didn't necessarily pick Chippenham, they sort of migrated here either due to property prices or commuter links. But all I've spoken to have said that they have made their home here and can't imagine leaving. We have a good selection of primary schools and two of our secondaries are amongst the most highly rated in the country. The population is a mish mash of affluence and those living close to the poverty line, not unlike Putney, Wimbledon and probably 90% of the country. The town centre does have rather a lot lot of charity shops and cafes, but you can get everything you need. For super picturesque villages and country pubs, you're only a ten minute drive away from being in the heart of the Cotswolds (Castle Combe and Lacock are both very close by).

[TeetotalKoala]

PS We lived in Bath for years, then migrated to Corsham when we wanted parking and it was quicker to get to work from there, 9 miles away than it was to move to a suburb and battle the traffic across town. Then we migrated further East to Chippenham when we wanted a bigger property. Corsham is lovely but there's no train station and you need to use your car for anything other than walking into the town centre. I'm a city girl at heart so for me, being close to the station and having everything in walking distance us a huge draw. My DH uses the motorway to get to work and can do the 25 Mike journey in about 30 minutes.

[TeetotalKoala]

Mile*

[TeetotalKoala]

Frome is a pretty town with a train station, but your DHs driven commute wouldn't improve much.

[May09Bump]

Bath is nice. I wouldn't live in Teddington, Putney or Kingston upon Thames as just too busy. Marlow is pretty - but I've never felt relaxed there. Other areas - Guildford, Reigate, Dorking. I also liked Frome - but maybe too much of a hippie vibe, but some stunning period properties and countryside.

[EmmaStone]

I live near Bath, it's a gorgeous city, and with your budget I think you should be able to find something you're looking for, but given your other needs I wonder if it's too far from London (although sounds as though it's LHR you need to be commutable to?)?

I'd take some time to explore some of the Home Counties - Guildford, Reigate, maybe Kent (although the drive to LHR would be quite painful).

FWIW, it takes us about 2 hrs to drive to Heathrow, would prob be about 1.5-1.75 hrs from Bath, depending on what side you're on, the train goes into Paddington, so you'd have to go into London to get back out to LHR - probably longer than driving. Although would changing at Reading help? Perhaps not.

[Heronwatcher]

Have you considered small towns with decent high streets? They might be a bit quieter and in my experience most of SW London and outskirts suffers from the things you say you’re not keen on (traffic/ noise/ terrible parking). I would look at market towns such as Haslemere, Tring, Witney, Whitstable (outskirts), Rye, Southwold, Aldeburgh,
Berkhamsted, Hertford and maybe Buckingham.

[AppleTree16]

@NCParanoia

Jealous much, *@1981m*?

Bath sounds ideal if you already really like it. I've visited a few times and liked it too, but I'm the opposite and prefer bristols vibe 😁

Agree with PP that Berkhamstead would be worth looking in to. Lovely small town on a river, naice shops (a waitrose!) and on the main train line in to Euston.

I would try and avoid any lines into Euston for commuting purposes over next 5-10 years. National rail services will be impacted by HS2 building works (similar to Paddington was by Crossrail for years).