Is Reading a nice place to live?

[ZsaZsahurrah]

If you live in Reading or know the area, would you recommend it as a place to live for a young couple who would eventually be looking to start a family in the more distant future?

@TodgerStrunk

If you never left the Oracle, Reading would look generic. And if you've ever got stuck on the IDR not knowing about the IDR then the traffic would be shit - for years there were policies about discouraging driving into town which is why the buses were plentiful and the fares were cheap, whereas parking is extortionate and, well, they built the IDR.

Caversham is nice but for me I'd want to go south of the river.

As for culture -
whatsonreading.com/
ediblereading.com/about/
www.readingmuseum.org.uk/

Also Wokingham district borders East Reading so you have the Waterside centre a short walk from Kennetside. You've got the Harris Gardens and the rest of the University to walk around. Dinton Pastures has a brilliant playground, loads of walks and you can hire boats and pedalos. Even Palmer Park has a velodrome! It's a bit short on swimming pools at the moment but there's a lido www.thameslido.com/ and everything. The museum, the abbey, the Forbury gardens, the rivers. And an Ikea.

What areas south of the river would u live? Do u feel unsafe in central Reading?

@LeaveMyDamnJam

Look at Sonning Common. It is on the border of Berks and South Oxfordshire but only 4 or so miles to reading. It has a large village feel with lots of amenities and schools. I don’t live there, but drive through it. It is a lovely family area.

You also have the chilterns in the edge of the village and all the lovely walks and pubs they offer, when lockdown ends.

Sonning common is ridiculously expensive...it has a spar, a post office etc and that's about it

[quote PattyPan]High crime compared to what, Sylvania? Reading has a lower crime rate than much of the country, including other nearby towns/cities such as Oxford, Guildford, Swindon and a lot less than Brighton, Bristol etc. propstats.net/crime-map-by-local-authority-england/[/quote]
Maybe but I've never felt unsafe in Brighton, Oxford or Guildford. I'm not sure how accurate the statistics are to be honest... I'd be very surprised if these areas have higher crime, having now lived in Reading a month...

@ZsaZsahurrah

If you live in Reading or know the area, would you recommend it as a place to live for a young couple who would eventually be looking to start a family in the more distant future?

Did you move to Reading in the end, and how have you found it?

Best things about Reading in Berkshire is the
M4 going East and the M4 going West. But, of course if you do not drive into Reading and who in their right mind would chose to, is the fantastic bus service

Very many thanks for the link to Edible Reading! Have forwarded it to my DC who is cheffy.