Good areas near Brunel university

[chopc]

I wasn't sure where to post this so I thought I will try here.

The husband of a good friend of mine from abroad would like to come to Brunel University to do his PhD. The family of 5 would like to come together. Mum, dad, 12, 10 and 4 year old.

Is anyone able to advise me about areas with good state schools with easy access to Brunel University? They don't mind the dad travelling a distance for a good area.

If anyone living in the recommended area could also give a ballpark figure of living expenses for a family of 5, 3 bedroom house or flat, state schools, non extravagant lifestyle, that would be wonderful.

Thank you in advance!

I think there may be more than one campus. Can you identify which location?

He will be doing engineering

How close is 'near'. Iver Heath, Gerrards Cross, Denham are all ok.

Yes all those I have heard of and are good areas. Thanks will take a look

A budget would be helpful. Brunel is near a LOT of places.
Would he be driving or using public transport?

And how far is 'a distance'? An hour commute or 20 minutes?

Sorry one more question - buy or rent

Engineering used to be split across a couple of campuses (Uxbridge and Egham) so worth checking.

He will need to get a UK license but I don't see driving being a problem. 1 hr commute is ok. They will be renting as may only be in uk for the duration of the PhD. Will find out which campus

What's his budget?

Having had a quick look, £1500 per month is a reasonable budget for the Uxbridge area. Council tax is payable on top and you need to establish if the house is furnished or not. Lots won’t be.

Denham is more expensive than say Slough, Uxbridge, Northolt etc. If it was me, I would look for houses in Uxbridge or on the Piccadilly Line. Hillingdon, Ickenham and Ruislip as well as Uxbridge itself. Going further into Bucks will be expensive because it’s Gerrards Cross and the Chalfonts. So expensive areas. However if he is ok driving further, places like Wendover or Aylesbury are possible. I’m not sure I’d go that far out though. Prices for houses won’t be cheaper.

The huge advantage of Uxbridge and being near a station is that there’s easy transport into London. Why wouldn’t you want to explore London and have it on the doorstep? If exploring the countryside is important, it’s not far to drive out to Oxfordshire and the Chilterns via the M40. This road also opens up living in places like High Wycombe, Stokenchurch, Chinnor and Thame.

You might find schools are the bigger problem. Good schools tend to be short on vacancies. So I would choose an area that suits and start looking but don’t have high expectations.

The M40 also opens up Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield but they are Expensive.

It would be advisable to contact the university because they will have an accommodation office. Most will have family accommodation and they can then look once they are here for a longer term let

Thank you for the help everyone!