Southampton a nice place to live?

[MiracleBaby2022]

We want to move to the south coast, can't afford Poole, but was thinking Southampton, or somewhere near there. What do people think of it as a place to live? We'll have a little baby in March so need somewhere child friendly and quiet that is close to the sea (max 30 minute drive).

Isle of Wight.

@OldTinHat oh I know! I found my dream home there a couple of years ago, but we dismissed Isle of Wight at the time due to wanting easier access to mainland. I still dream about that house though 😭

Will reply to everyone else as soon as!

@MiracleBaby2022 I dismissed it too. I've lived here three years now! 😂 The mainland access thing isn't too bad as you get a small discount on travel being an island resident and every quarter Red Funnel and Wightlink put a booklet of vouchers through your door. All my family including my sons are on the mainland, I moved here alone not knowing a soul and don't regret a thing! My social life is hectic, I've made so many friends, theres so much to do and it's the best move I ever made! Do consider it!

Oh and I bought a 200yr old three bedroom cottage instead of a one bedroom flat in Southampton for the same money!

@OldTinHat oh I know I know I've been pulling my hair out over this absolutely stunning house that I found and dismissed. Everything about it was perfect 😭 😭 I doubt I'll ever find a house like that again tbh, it even had my nickname as the street name 😂

Quite a few in Bournemouth like this:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115434404

@Daftasabroom thank you very much, traffic + sea breeze is important information 😉! Yes the Jurassic coast was originally dismissed for that reason and West Sussex is too expensive. It's so tricky. We currently live only 100 meters from the sea where we are now, but for lots of reasons we've got to move on.

Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight...*chants, waves pompoms, does a little dance!

See, that house is obviously meant to be if the road is your nickname. Don't ignore fate! It's meant to be!

Send me a PM when you've succumbed and let's go for coffee!

@OldTinHat hahaha - yes but the house sold more than 2 years ago! Someone else has turned it into their dream house now 😢 . Will definitely have a look at the Isle again though, perhaps it's an option. What about schools there? Any good?

I love the Isle of Wight. I'd move there tomorrow if DH wasn't so sensible and boring about logistics.

@Swirlywoo that was exactly my problem two or so years ago too. However, now we're having a baby he might be a bit easier to convince 😉

It would be a lovely place to bring up kids! And much better value than the mainland (Southampton and Portsmouth being already better value than the rest of the South, from what I can tell. It's so expensive here!)

@Swirlywoo my heart literally aches for that house I found... but no point dwelling on it. There will hopefully be another house like that somewhere, even if not on the Isle of Wight. I did see some MN threads at the time about kids being so bored there and just getting up to mischief from lack of stimulation, but I'm thinking as we're into watersports this shouldn't really be a big problem

@MiracleBaby2022 Plymouth has good ferry links to France and Spain.

Have you looked at Folkestone? Way nicer and fab sandy beach / great play areas and good schools

Ps for what you want I wouldn’t recommend Southampton or Portsmouth.

I live locally and Southampton doesn’t fit your requirements but you’d probably find something else nearish… however to the pp saying a Southampton was built up, it’s got hidden but vast areas of green space in it, going from the city centre up to the sports centre. But it is a city that hides its assets behind apartment blocks and warehouses…

The Isle of Wight, as well as the expensive and timely logistical problems, has rubbish healthcare and, on the whole, not brilliant schools. It’s a beautiful place but, having had family live there, would not recommend it.

Have you looked at Hayling Island? Perfect for sports such as windsurfing etc. Big festival there every year and great beaches (sandy!).
Can be difficult to get on/off at peak times but if you don't need to commute, not too much of a problem.
This has home office, garage, 3/4 beds and minutes walk to sea.

Ramsey Road, Hayling Island
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105546749

Re: the Isle of Wight - my DH grew up there and couldn't wait to get away! Fine for young kids, but unless your kids are into yachting etc there's not an awful lot for teenagers to do, and it's a real pain getting to and from the mainland, in his opinion. Expensive (even with resident discount) and frequent delays/cancellations. Obviously now we have our own DCs we love to visit, but he's still relieved he was able to get away!

[quote nessnessness]Have you looked at Hayling Island? Perfect for sports such as windsurfing etc. Big festival there every year and great beaches (sandy!).
Can be difficult to get on/off at peak times but if you don't need to commute, not too much of a problem.
This has home office, garage, 3/4 beds and minutes walk to sea.

Ramsey Road, Hayling Island
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105546749[/quote]
It may be near the sea but it’s pretty grim. Much nicer places around.

@irisetta thank you, yes that's what I've heard too. Probably better as a place to visit than live.

@Driposaurus that's good to know, thank you!

Eek re Isle of Wight…schools are not great and it’s a terrible place for teenagers to grow up - nothing to do and a big drugs problem.

Nice to retire too, maybe!