Moving to reading

[DeeReading]

Hi
We are planning to relocate to Reading . Both me and husband will travel to London post Corona and our daughter is likely to start at Kendrick this september . We do not know much about the Reading area as such, so looking for help on where to buy . We saw www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87769249?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard but not sure of the area . Saw there are a few student lets etc nearby. It is difficult to get a feel of the area now as there is not much traffic/students right now
Or is it better to look at Earley/Caversham areas

I'd definitely look at caversham heights,

Where you are looking now has nightmare parking and lots and lots of traffic!

Or look anywhere above the river much nicer, easier transport, and quieter too

Central reading is a traffic hell hole

Thank you. The close looked so quiet when we were driving around. Lockdown effect I guess. Is Allcroft road the one with big traffic ? Is it ok to have student flats nearby ?

If you're ever planning to leave Reading by car, live on the outskirts or surrounding towns.

If you're more likely to head into London by train, Caversham is a good option. Central Caversham to the station is only a 15-20 minute walk. Outside of lockdown Caversham has a nice centre with shops, cafes, pubs, butchers etc so you can be pretty self sufficient there.

Reading is a bit grim. If you're commuting, look at the surrounding villages and small towns that have train stations, such as Pangbourne, Goring, Streatley, Twyford ..... all very pretty.

Theale has direct trains to London and is quite nice. Also Mortimer it has train station but is on Basingstoke line so you would have to change at Reading.

Really depends on budget. And whether you want village or town life.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4145416-Is-Reading-a-nice-place-to-live

Loads of Reading love here.

It’s definitely quite students round there, but also some nice roads too.
I’d personally look in Caversham. There will also be lots of girls going to Kendrick from there too.

I live in Reading, most of it is not grim at all, thank you very much. Area depends what you like, really. I wouldn't live there just because it's near Kendrick. The prices around there are inflated because of being near the hospital and university. Is that the budget you have? Is that the size of house you're happy with for that money? Would you prefer suburban or closer to town? I wouldn't live in a village if you're on the verge of having a teenager, you'll be forever driving her around. Do you like period houses or are you not fussed and could live in a nice relatively new housing estate?

Thank you for your ideas. We will expand our search further out. Is there a good bus service from Caversham to Kendrick ?

Kendrick is very central, you could get a bus from Caversham to the town centre and walk from there. Many girls will be walking from town as many come into Reading on the train. Where do you need to get to from Reading? I think Caversham can be a bit overpriced, many people paying through the nose to get in Caversham primary catchment which you won't need. Tilehurst might offer you more for your money. Most areas of Reading will have a bus that'd take you to the centre and it'd be a short walk to Kendrick.

That is a desirable area close to the private and grammar schools and it’s close to town. Bit of a nightmare for traffic but so is caversham which can be horrendous. Caversham heights is also not really walking distance to the train station, only lower central caversham is, and there are fewer bigger family houses around there and you will probably end up in a bidding war as the market is so competitive in that area. Caversham is fashionable for upper middle class (Waitrose!) and you won’t get as much house for your money as you would up near the uni.

I would recommend looking at old Earley (rather than lower Earley). Still a good postcode but not the horrendous mark up/competitive market like caversham. Buses into town every 15 mins for Kendrick. Nice houses, good sized plots. But critically, it’s much easier to drive out of reading from there! Close to M4 J10 and there is also Earley train station. So you don’t have the traffic nightmare. And there’s lots of green space around, the uni campus, maiden earleigh lake, southlake, the Loddon.

Ps. Tilehurst also nice but can be tricky to pick out the ‘good’ areas, also a nightmare for traffic and the wrong side of reading for London.

Thank you for all the ideas. It is a difficult choice between convenience and a calm village I guess

@Rockettrain all good points, Caversham is dreadful for heavy traffic, overpriced and condensed housing, but does have a few nice shops and it is easy to get to the countryside from there. It's a long walk or a bus journey to Kendrick or Reading station and will take you at least 20 mins to make it to the M4 by car:

Lancaster close is nice and is a good location for Kendrick, the station, town and not far from Morrison's, Aldi and Asda etc. There's a parade of shops close by with a nice pub, bakers, takeaway etc.

I would search in an RG6 postcode to see what's available for your budget, there's lots of lovely housing within the boundaries of Church, Wilderness, Whiteknights, Upper Redlands road. East Reading gives quick access to Junc 10 of the M4 and you can get to the river, countryside etc quite easily for walking, village pubs etc at the weekend.

Reading is not grim!

I think Earley (which like @Parkmama says is basically the RG6 postcodes) would be a good compromise between convenience and a calm village. Although the villages surrounding reading are all very nice, they can be expensive and also not have great transport links into town. If your daughter was getting the train then she’s still got a 15-20 min walk to school from the station. Whereas Earley would be a bus ride. It also has lots of supermarkets, dentists etc as well as direct rail link to London. But also got the nice green spaces nearby; close to Dinton pastures as well which is lovely.

This house is the same money and is a bit more attractive from the outside - plus its a pleasant leafy area too.

The traffic in town has aged me since I moved here. Wouldn't do it again.

The view that Reading is a "bit grim" is daft and old fashioned. It's a prosperous, well-connected, vibrant, multi-cultural university town. Not sure which part of that is unpleasant.

The area that house is in, OP, does have plenty of students but also loads of families. You'd be walking distant to the centre (and a very easy walk to Kendrick) but also very close to the gorgeous University campus for green space.

I'd agree Earley and Caversham are also good possibilities too.

Have you thought about the surrounding villages? Theale and Mortimer have trains to Reading. Your daughter can walk to Kendrick from the station, (The Abbey Senior School is just across from Kendrick) so lots of girls do it.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73133379#/ This is v close to Kendrick and beautiful.
However this -
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88734397#/ is also on a bus route to town.

Thank you for all your suggestions. We did drive around and saw the house. The close is nice but we decided against so near to traffic etc. Saw a few houses in Caversham and Early area from outside. Caversham felt more like where we want to live. But bus routes seem to be better. Will have to continue looking. All your suggestions very much appreciated.

How are you getting on OP? My DD 24 relocates soon and selfishly I’d love to hear your feedback. @DeeReading

We lived in Reading for six years. We liked it well enough: it had its "grim" side but what town of its size doesn't?

We rented for a few years in the heart of student-land, between London Road and Erleigh Road, and wouldn't do that again - sometimes the nearest parking space was two streets away, drunk students serenading me at 3am got old fast, and the traffic on London Road is a disaster area. It was good being in walking distance of town though. I can't think you'd have that issue up the hill where the house in your OP is though.

I found that areas near Central Reading were very granular. There'd be a few lovely streets and then some awful ones all squished together.

We ended up buying a house in the area between Tilehurst Road and Bath Road, east of Prospect Park. I'd consider looking round there, as there were some lovely quiet streets with nice period houses and easy access to Reading West station and the town centre, plus multicultural Oxford Road (although I would have thought twice about walking there late at night). The local All Saints Infants and Junior Schools both looked really good too, though in the end we moved before we had children of school age.

Oh, slight zombie thread, sorry!