Cheltenham v's Reading v's Bristol

[Alexis26]

Hola! Can anyone advice which of these places would offer a good life for a youngish 30s person looking for a bit of 'buzz'?

I have a budget of 350k for a decent sized modern 3-bed house, although admit I'm struggling to find much in Reading! I've spent a couple of days in Bristol but my initial impression was that it seemed a little run down, although I wasn't there long enough to get a proper feel for it.

Cheltenham appeals, although im mot sure if there are many 'bars' as opposed to pubs in the way of nightlife? It's nice to get your heels on and have a dance at the weekend!

Work wise, I work as a contractor in IT so will be looking for project management type roles.

Any info would be vert much appreciated !!

[quote AiyaNapawithmorenaps]@Alexis26 I don't think Bristol is for you. My cousin lives in Cheltenham, she's in her mid twenties and it's buzzy enough for her. Lovely park and good train routes.[/quote]
Can I ask why u don't think Bristol is right for me?

Don't crucify me but does anyone know Milton Keynes or Bicester and think they may be worth considering? I've been to MK twice and it did seem like quite a poor area and some of the housing estates were very rough. The hub has a lot of decent bars and restaurants there though?

Bicester, only because it's just 15 mins on the train to Oxford or a 20 min drive!

Cool. What makes u think a flat is a better short term option, as u have to pay around 1200-2000k a year in ground rent and maintenance fees? Plus flats can be hard to sell on, as everyone wants outdoor space now?

I'm just not sure you can afford a house right now in the kind of area you want. A flat is more affordable and then in 2-3 years and possibly with a partner, you can get a house. And plenty of flats have some outside area.

Personally I'd want to live in a city for at least a year (possibly renting) before deciding which area I want to settle down in.

Personal decision though of course

On your budget I'd look at flats like these...

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107825207#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110823980#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109884599#/?channel=RES_BUY

Or if you're happy to live further out, you could get a house rather than a flat in a nice area like Downend:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111078149#/media?id=media0&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

@Alexis26 because you have to love all of it and I think you'd find more that you don't like about Bristol compared to stuff you do. There are poor areas because there are poor people! You can't afford Clifton and that's the only part that isn't slightly shabby around the edges. Living in a community is about seeing things and trying to make them better, rather than just choosing to live somewhere that's as far removed from pockets of society as possible. Read your posts back. You don't really want a city with massive drug issues, homelessness, poverty and crime. I feel safe in my city but I've grown up here and know which bits are ok in day but not at night. You won't find a city where every part of it is safe.

AiyaNapawithmorenaps Of course you don't have to love all of it Do you think the same about London or Manchester? Most people never even see all of the city they live in, or even most.

@mocktail I can't comment on them as I've never lived there. I certainly loved the grittier parts of London, stayed in Newham and Camberwell. Great food and markets.
You have to ask yourself why you want to avoid whole sections of a city, you think there's no beauty in Hartcliffe or Kingswood? There's beauty and good people in all parts of Bristol. You don't have to choose to live there but don't pretend these parts don't exist. If you live in Clifton, the people serving you coffee and wrapping up your vegan brownie is probably from one of those areas. Cities are a community after all.

I agree with all of that, but it would be daft to rule out Clifton because you don't like Hartcliffe and vice versa.

@mocktail I'm not saying rule it out but OP is asking about run down areas as if she wants to live somewhere with no run down or poor areas. I was saying that these places will always exist. I can't think of one place where they don't, even Bath has the moorlands area (where DP's relatives are from ) it's like This Country in those parts!

I agree, those areas will always exist. In any city there will be areas you wouldn't want to live in, because they're too far from the centre, too busy, too quiet, too soulless, too upmarket, too down-market, whatever. That's why ideally I would want to own or rent somewhere relatively short term to get to know the city properly before choosing where to live longer term.

I'd happily live in either Bristol or Cheltenham, but personally Reading wouldn't be for me. But obviously the OP may have different priorities, or have seen a side of Reading I haven't

I hope you manage to make a decision OP!

@mocktail exactly. There are things which Zoopla can't tell you. My friend bought a 'too good to be true' house at a bargain price. The stats for crime in the area were low, they did a walk around, the schools looked good. It was only after they moved in they found out it was an actually a massive crime and drug hotspot, with this one street being the only 'rough' one in the whole area, therefore not reflecting on the crime stats. They lost a lot of money on that house, which they then had to sell at a loss. One overnight stay near the house would have saved them a lot of time and money.
OP rent a place in Bristol for a while and get a feel for the place.

I wonder if the OP realises how ridiculous she sounds with her dislike of poor people and areas and then considering Milton Keynes over Bristol.

[quote AiyaNapawithmorenaps]@Alexis26 because you have to love all of it and I think you'd find more that you don't like about Bristol compared to stuff you do. There are poor areas because there are poor people! You can't afford Clifton and that's the only part that isn't slightly shabby around the edges. Living in a community is about seeing things and trying to make them better, rather than just choosing to live somewhere that's as far removed from pockets of society as possible. Read your posts back. You don't really want a city with massive drug issues, homelessness, poverty and crime. I feel safe in my city but I've grown up here and know which bits are ok in day but not at night. You won't find a city where every part of it is safe.[/quote]
That's pretty unrealistic. It's highly unlikely that anyone likes every part of the city they live in. They probably like it in general and the bits they visit or live in but not all of it

I think if you positioned yourself in the South of Cheltenham, you could manage to go about your day to day life without venturing into any rough areas. The thing about living in towns is that instead of living in a dull bit of a city and having a big buzz eg central London to venture into, you can live in a nicer area and exist amongst the smaller daily buzz.
Your wish list will need to be compromised on. Your square footage is too ambitious- with a house of that size, you will be competing with families. To achieve that size you will need to live in a dodgy area / dullsville. That really doesn't sound worth it given you are single.
Service charges are something to take into account, but as a house owner I can assure you that houses cost at least that on upkeep, so don't let a modest service charge put you off. If you wanted to go for Cheltenham, I would recommend a flat or small house in Monpellier/ Tivoli/ The Suffolks/ around Bath road. All are safe, have a nice buzz and you can walk to bars and festivals etc.

It's hard to know what you want. You have said you want a buzzy area which to me means trendy, but then you said it doesn't need to be trendy but you don't want it to be slightly edgy/with rough bits. Generally that's the definition of a buzzy area- they are generally up and coming. You can't afford the really nice areas with are both buzzy and nice if you want a three bed house. That's why I said a two bedroom one. I think you need to decide which is more important, size or location? We went for size over location for our first house, which I regret big time. It was a pretty rough area, not buzzy and I felt unsafe walking at night. But we sucked it up and lived there for 6 years before we were in a position to go for size in a very nice area. You can't have it all straight away and it sounds like you do.

I disagree about Clifton being the only nice area in Bristol without rough around the edges bits. There is Redland, Henleaze, Stoke bishop and Bishopston. All are expensive and that's because they are nice areas. They are mostly older families as those are the people who have worked their way up the ladder to afford to live there.

I agree Henleaze and Stoke Bishop are mainly families, but I'd say Redland and Bishopston/St Andrews also have plenty of younger people. Gloucester Road can be a bit rough around the edges, but in a good way I'd say

Redland is great for being walking distance from both Gloucester Road and Whiteladies Road, as well as having nice pubs and restaurants of its own. Not cheap though - you'd be looking at a flat not a house.

Cheltenham every day. I've lived there as a young 20 something and a a mother and wife. Love it there

Leamington spa sounds like a place for you. Good transport links, lots of different styles of property from Regency to masses of new builds. Tons of coffee shops and artisan doodas. Choc full of young professionals. Easy to navigate and lots of festivals, events things going on and gyms galore. Birmingham and Coventry for jobs as well as Silicon Valley and JLR and the big car makers. Handy station for London Marylebone. Warwick university. Theatre in Stratford, Birmingham and Coventry. Countryside, sailing clubs etc.

[quote AiyaNapawithmorenaps]@Alexis26 because you have to love all of it and I think you'd find more that you don't like about Bristol compared to stuff you do. There are poor areas because there are poor people! You can't afford Clifton and that's the only part that isn't slightly shabby around the edges. Living in a community is about seeing things and trying to make them better, rather than just choosing to live somewhere that's as far removed from pockets of society as possible. Read your posts back. You don't really want a city with massive drug issues, homelessness, poverty and crime. I feel safe in my city but I've grown up here and know which bits are ok in day but not at night. You won't find a city where every part of it is safe.[/quote]
Ok I see what u mean. What I meant to say was, I want to go to bed knowing my car will still be on the drive in one piece in the morning and go for an evening walk when it's dark and feel reasonably safe, obviously sticking to roads and well-lit areas x

Leamington spa seems the best option

@kirinm

I wonder if the OP realises how ridiculous she sounds with her dislike of poor people and areas and then considering Milton Keynes over Bristol.

Haha I don't have a dislike of poor people!!!! But I went to MK twice and I was surprised to see a lot of poverty, bearing in mind I live in Crawley which is hardly wealthy!!! I understand cities are diverse and you get a mixture of everyone. When I say 'buzz' I just mean some good bars and pubs and restaurants rather than a ton of cultural stuff. At this moment Im not really considering MK, I just thought I'd throw it out there in case I got the wring impression, anc housing is fairly reasonable

I think Bristol is a much more interesting city than either Cheltenham or Reading. Cheltenham is pleasant enough but quite small and not very exciting. Reading is not particularly nice or interesting, but it is easy to get to London. Or East Oxford is quite funky?

Ah. 350k won't get you 3 beds in the part of Oxford I was thinking. Sorry.

@irregularegular

Ah. 350k won't get you 3 beds in the part of Oxford I was thinking. Sorry.

Lol which parts of Oxford? I've seen 3 beds in Bicester, Whitney, Abington, Carterton, which have been a decent size but Whitney I'm told is full of old people with not much going on and Abington is apparently a bit better but I've not visited yet

@cleocleo16

It's hard to know what you want. You have said you want a buzzy area which to me means trendy, but then you said it doesn't need to be trendy but you don't want it to be slightly edgy/with rough bits. Generally that's the definition of a buzzy area- they are generally up and coming. You can't afford the really nice areas with are both buzzy and nice if you want a three bed house. That's why I said a two bedroom one. I think you need to decide which is more important, size or location? We went for size over location for our first house, which I regret big time. It was a pretty rough area, not buzzy and I felt unsafe walking at night. But we sucked it up and lived there for 6 years before we were in a position to go for size in a very nice area. You can't have it all straight away and it sounds like you do.

I disagree about Clifton being the only nice area in Bristol without rough around the edges bits. There is Redland, Henleaze, Stoke bishop and Bishopston. All are expensive and that's because they are nice areas. They are mostly older families as those are the people who have worked their way up the ladder to afford to live there.

Ok I guess what I meant by I'd like to live somewhere buzzy is near somewhere buzzy as opposed to where I am now, which is an hours drive to anywhere decent. I'm happy to drive 10-15 mins to get to these places. Where the property is actually located doesn't have to be in an affluent posh trendy area - I'd just rather not live where there's a real chance I'll get mugged walking down the street, where my car may not still be in one piece in the morning, (or there at all ), that kind of thing. Crime of course happens everywhere, but I'd rather not live in the worse part of town That's all. By buzzy I just mean lots of bars, restaurants etc, not full of chavs (forgive me)