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Relocating to Bristol with small children.

17 replies

Notquitefeelingit · 03/02/2021 16:14

I didn't know if there was a specific moving topic?! We live in London at the moment and want to relocate to the South West this year, lockdowns permitting. We managed to get to Bristol last summer and really liked the look of Bedminster/Knowle area. It looked like it had lovely houses and nice parks. Our kids are three and five and we're looking at state primary and three bedroom for around £350,000.

Does anyone live in that area or nearby? Would you recommend to a family with small children?

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caringcarer · 03/02/2021 22:42

My dd lives on Bristol and there is a city farm that is free. It is lovely so after pandemic seek it out. Dd lives close to city centre and prices are quite high.

Notquitefeelingit · 04/02/2021 12:32

Oh a city farm sounds great!

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catndogslife · 04/02/2021 15:30

Agree that Windmill Hill City Farm is a good place to take young children.
I know what those areas are like OP and brought up my family there. If you want to pm me with any questions, please contact me. Lived there until fairly recently.

QuentinWinters · 04/02/2021 15:37

Bedminster is tricky - some is really nice and some is really not. Knowle is similar. I would be looking victoria park/windmill Hill area

lookdeepintotheparka · 04/02/2021 15:49

Agree with pp there are nice bits and places to avoid in those areas! Ashton is also worth looking at. Schools have generally improved a lot around there.

Might be worth exploring N of Bristol too just for contrast. Thornbury is lovely and great for families!

ellenpartridge · 04/02/2021 15:57

I know that general south Bristol area and would also recommend Ashton as a good neighbourhood to look at.

Ruddyfedup · 04/02/2021 16:00

Knowle isnt somewhere id live, some bits are about as rough as they get. Bedminster can be a bit hit and miss aswell. Most bits of South Gloucestershire are nice

chairofindefinitestudies · 04/02/2021 16:06

It's a wonderful area for families. We (me, DH, and DDs 5 and 2) live in Windmill Hill in BS3 (also relocated from London a couple of years ago) and even though we've been in and out of lockdown for half our time here we've completely fallen in love with it. The community spirit, particularly in the last 12 months, we've found amazing and completely different to the anonymity of (in our experience) London neighbourhoods. And yes, the farm is brilliant, as is Victoria Park, but the great thing about Bedminster is that if you get bored of what's on your doorstep it's only a 15 minute walk to Wapping Wharf and the harbourside (where there are restaurants and galleries and museums, and in non-covid times festivals, boat trips, even steam trains). The 'shopping' centre of Bristol is a bit further but still only a 25 minute walk. We were initially looking at Southville but came further east because of house prices and are so glad we did - all the shops and cafes of North St are still really close, but we're much better connected (a 15/20 min walk to Temple Meads, or it's a single stop from the local station) and you get much more from your money. Don't know Knowle anywhere near as well, but there are lovely parks and nature reserves there, too; from what I understand housing stock seems to be more 1930s semis (with commensurately more outside space) than the Victorian terraces we have down the hill. (The one downside for us has been not having a big garden, but that's more than made up for by the benefits of being so close to everything.)

Note that there are various developments on the cards around here - high-rise student accommodation, mostly - but they've been knocking around for a while and keep being quashed by local residents' groups. One or two do seem to be moving forward now, but having been adapted to make them much more beneficial to the local community - sadly, there are parts of Bedminster that are quite neglected and these developments, though by no means perfect, should go some way towards improving things. East Street at the moment has a lot of vacant shops but they're trying to encourage new local businesses in. There's no doubt the area is gentrifying, which is of course worrying in some ways, but there are a lot of people making a tremendous effort to ensure improvements happen in a way that benefits the whole community rather than just the up-from-Londoners clamouring for artisan bakeries and microbreweries (both of which we do also have!). The main reason I mention all this is because a) if you do end up buying round here, particularly up the hill, it's worth checking how the potential developments will impact you - the view west towards Ashton Court will in particular be changing, and b) in my completely inexpert opinion, if you're bothered about return on investment, I think purchasing around here will turn out to have been a very smart move in several years' time.

Anyway - I could rave about Windmill Hill and Bedminster for hours, but do PM me if you've any specific questions. Bristol as a whole is an amazing city - we have no family or background here but are so very glad we moved - and there are lots of lovely areas, but even if we had a bigger budget I honestly can't think of any part of the city that would be preferable to where we are now.

Notquitefeelingit · 04/02/2021 17:53

@catndogslife that's helpful, thank you!

@chairofindefinitestudies thank you so much for giving me so much detail!

I don't think we'll be able to get down before Easter for various reasons so I'll keep researching online. I'll put Ashton and Thornbury on the list, too!

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Rustyigloo · 04/02/2021 18:36

Another vote for North Bristol. I live near Thornbury so have the advantage of being close to the city but also in the countryside.

catndogslife · 05/02/2021 14:47

Thanks OP.
I can also help with schools in South Bristol too if that's where you decide to move to.
Depends what sort of area you want to live in, but there are lots of advantages in being close to the city centre and also having green spaces / parks too.

HappyTimeTunnelDinosaur · 05/02/2021 16:36

Personally not keen on Bedminster as they seem to get a fair bit of trouble there. With a family I'd be looking at the suburbs, maybe the nicer areas of Yate or Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath, Winterbourne etc. There are some very decent schools round there. Chipping Sodbury and Rangeworthy are also lovely, but you'd have to see if there was something in budget.

mootymoo · 05/02/2021 16:40

We live to the west (North Somerset) and my neighbours have young kids your children's ages and say it's an amazing place to raise kids. At least 50% of the houses here are families, or people upsizing ready for a family (we stand out a little as being old! But university kids still come home and stop this yearGrin)

The city centre is lovely and between lockdowns it was lovely being able to jump on the bus and go into the city but still have the pebbly admittedly beach on my doorstep.

Kitsmummy · 05/02/2021 16:48

I would suggest Totterdown for your budget. It borders Knowle and has a great community feel. I think people saying to avoid Knowle will mostly be talking about Knowle West. Knowle itself, with the Victorian housing is great.

TreesoftheField · 05/02/2021 16:49

Knowle/Totterdown is pretty different to Knowle West.

I'm not sure much of Bristol is rough really. I live on an East Bristol estate that has a bad rep but we've got a big garden, drive, lovely green spaces and friendly neighbours. Local schools are all good too.
South Bristol has a lot of amazing benefits but be aware traffic is much worse (public transport in Bristol is expenses and appalling so everyone ends up driving). If one of you is going to have to commute you'll want to either live within walking distance or get a bike!!

TreesoftheField · 05/02/2021 16:53

People have really different perceptions of what is rough. If you're living in a fairly diverse part of London already, I don't think there's anywhere in Bristol bar a few streets that you need to avoid.

Notquitefeelingit · 10/02/2021 17:36

That's a good point, central London life does tend to mean everywhere else seems LOVELY in comparison. I'm sure it isn't always.

Sigh. I don't know if we are going to be able to move down there this year. Not many teaching jobs coming up in Bristol. I'm back to researching flight paths to avoid in West London....

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