Moving near Slough

carousel17 · 2022-04-08T14:28:35+00:00

Hello! We currently live in a two bed house in London but are looking to sell early next year and upsize before having children. I work on the Slough trading estate (mostly remote at the moment) whereas my partner works 3 days a week in Charing Cross. Currently we are considering Beaconsfield or High Wycombe so that I have a short commute to Slough and my partner would only need to go a few stops on the Bakerloo line from Marylebone to Charing Cross. Our budget would be around 925k and ideally we would want 4 bedrooms and two bathrooms. Interested to hear any experiences of Beaconsfield/High Wycombe and whether our budget is realistic. Also interested to hear any other suggestions for location. Thanks all!

TheEconomista · 08/04/2022 16:14

Do you have kids? Do you want to be in the grammar system? In both Beaconsfield and High Wycombe you'll be in 11+ territory if so. Grammars are very good but secondary options are certainly mixed. Some areas of High Wycombe really aren't nice so do your homework. I wouldn't want to live anywhere walking distance from the station to be honest so you'll need to factor that in. Beaconsfield is lovely but prices have rocketed in the last couple of years.

You could look at Maidenhead (goes into Paddington). Central Maidenhead is still a sh*thole in spite of all regeneration talk, but there are some nice areas, again further from the station (longish walk or bike distance)

TheEconomista · 08/04/2022 16:17

Sorry just seen you don't have kids. Look closely at the primary school options and understand the catchments before you buy. It sounds so far away but it comes up fast and you're unlikely to want to move again if you are looking at a four-bed house. There's huge variation in the ethos and quality of schools especially in High Wycombe, and it's worth knowing which ones are desirable and if your particular property would be in catchment.

DFOD · 08/04/2022 16:29

Do you see yourself in a town/urban environment or village/semi rural?

What sort of things do you want to do with you down time and do you need to travel to family / friends regularly in any direction?

Original poster

carousel17 · 08/04/2022 17:47

Thank you for the advice so far! Yes we don’t have any children yet but trying to plan ahead with our next move now that my job is more settled. We are happy to rent first but still want a better idea of area to narrow it down.
I see myself in more of a town/urban environment whereas my partner wants more green space. Currently we live in Wimbledon and we both enjoy running and cycling - we have easy access to Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park so being near green space would be a plus. I love the buzz of London and having easy access to lots of shops and restaurants - but don’t anticipate needing this as much when I have children and probably wouldn’t want it raise young children where I live now. I have family in Winchester and Brighton so would like them to easily be able to visit at weekends but don’t anticipate either family being able to help with childcare every week - so focussing on making sure that we buy close to where I work to help with nursery drop off and so on.

OP posts:

Hellosunshine1993 · 08/04/2022 17:50

Windsor?

Fairyarmpits · 08/04/2022 18:57

I doubt you will get a 4 bed/2 bathroom house in Beaconsfield for that money. The cheapest on Rightmove at the moment is £1.2m.

Your budget for High Wycombe would be fine but it's very much a mixed bag. You need to get out into the villages if you want somewhere nicer.

I don't know what it's like now but historically the traffic trying to get on to the trading estate has always been pretty awful. There are a lot of large companies with head offices and there aren't enough access points for traffic. Similarly traffic through High Wycombe and up the A404 (between the M40 and M4) can be dreadful so don't assume High Wycombe to Slough is a short commute.

Areas I would look at are:-
Stoke Poges
Taplow
Hedsor
Bourne End
Wooburn Green
Flackwell Heath
Marlow
Penn
Seer Green
Winchmore Hill
Amersham
Little Chalfont
Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Giles
Gerrards Cross

Some places are nicer than others. Some might still be out of your budget (i.e. Gerrards Cross and some of the Chalfonts).

Fairyarmpits · 08/04/2022 19:00

@carousel17

Thank you for the advice so far! Yes we don’t have any children yet but trying to plan ahead with our next move now that my job is more settled. We are happy to rent first but still want a better idea of area to narrow it down. I see myself in more of a town/urban environment whereas my partner wants more green space. Currently we live in Wimbledon and we both enjoy running and cycling - we have easy access to Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park so being near green space would be a plus. I love the buzz of London and having easy access to lots of shops and restaurants - but don’t anticipate needing this as much when I have children and probably wouldn’t want it raise young children where I live now. I have family in Winchester and Brighton so would like them to easily be able to visit at weekends but don’t anticipate either family being able to help with childcare every week - so focussing on making sure that we buy close to where I work to help with nursery drop off and so on.

You're not really going to get an urban buzz in Buckinghamshire! Lots and lots of green space though.

The closest thing to Wimbledon would probably be Marlow but again £££ for somewhere decent.

DFOD · 08/04/2022 19:27

Agree urban buzz limits you to Windsor or Marlow - if you like villages, muddy walks / runs across fields and forest go for the villages or smaller towns like Gerrards Cross, Beaconsfield, Old Amersham. Good idea to rent first to see what suits you.

IchBinAnnaOfCleves · 08/04/2022 19:35

Fulmer is nice and Stoke Poges, Wexham is ok. Farnham Common nicer than Farnham Royal but house prices reflect that.
There’s also Hedgerley you could look at.

m00rfarm · 08/04/2022 19:46

Marlow is great. Not sure about your budget but it’s a fab place to live.

Blusy · 08/04/2022 20:59

I’d imagine either Marlow or Beaconsfield is closest to what you’re looking for. I used to live not far from where you do now, and whilst you’ll never quite get the London buzz in Buckinghamshire I’d imagine either of these is probably closest to ticking all of your boxes, and both lovely places to live as well.

Iwasneverafanofthat · 08/04/2022 21:07

Burnham? close to Burnham station for Paddington, and Burnham Beeches for woody walks?

Netty909 · 08/04/2022 21:11

Dorney is nice, it's between Eton and Maidenhead. Quiet and small, can see Windsor Castle in the distance and not too far from shops. It would be easy to get to the Trading Estate, probably no more than 10 minutes. I'm not sure about your partner's commute though.

mumofEandE · 08/04/2022 21:11

Be REALLY careful with High Wycombe!

mumsiedarlingrevolta · 08/04/2022 21:22

Hi @carousel17

Traffic around Slough is horrific during school run/rush hour-so easily congested and at a standstill very often

I am happy to help-have lived in and had DC in schools in GX/beaconsfield/windsor

I think windsor ticks most of the boxes-
would not go as far in the wrong direction as high wycombe
beaconsfield and GX very suburban
the chalfonts are much further away in reality than on a map
anything that means you have to drive through slough makes like much more difficult-I'd be on the windsor side of it for sure

Happy for you to PM me!

Whattodo121 · 08/04/2022 21:26

I work in Wycombe and would be cautious about living there. The traffic is awful and the town centre is not great. The whole grammar system is stressful. If you’re Driving to Slough you can be anywhere on the M4 really and Maidenhead and Twyford are both on the main line to Paddington. Henley is my favourite place round there, but it’s on a branch line so the trains are crap and the traffic into the town down the hill can be awful.

Fairyarmpits · 09/04/2022 17:13

@mumsiedarlingrevolta

Hi *@carousel17*

Traffic around Slough is horrific during school run/rush hour-so easily congested and at a standstill very often

I am happy to help-have lived in and had DC in schools in GX/beaconsfield/windsor

I think windsor ticks most of the boxes-
would not go as far in the wrong direction as high wycombe
beaconsfield and GX very suburban
the chalfonts are much further away in reality than on a map
anything that means you have to drive through slough makes like much more difficult-I'd be on the windsor side of it for sure

Happy for you to PM me!

I disagree with the comments about the Chalfonts.

If you wanted to get to Mars in the middle of Estate at 8.30am on Monday morning then Chalfont St Peter would be 8.9 miles and 20 minutes. Windsor is 4.2 miles and 12 minutes.

Traffic in Windsor can be awful especially the stretch between Slough and Windsor and up past Legoland. Also, your budget probably won't go that far in Windsor unless you are happy to live on the west side of Windsor which is a mixture of mainly Council and 70s housing.

Original poster

carousel17 · 09/04/2022 17:33

Thanks for all of your input - from what I have heard from colleagues the traffic near the trading estate is now close to pre-pandemic levels, so any local knowledge on commutes is really helpful. High Wycombe looked close on paper but probably isn’t such a good option if the best areas aren’t close to the station. Our budget may increase once we see a broker but might not stretch to Windsor or Beaconsfield (or we may need to drop a bedroom). Will definitely look into Marlow, the Chalfonts and the other places you have all suggested!

OP posts:

mumofEandE · 09/04/2022 17:38

Traffic into the trading estate at rush hour is bad!
Traffic between Slough and Windsor is horrific
Maidenhead town centre is v poor - needs a rejuvenation (like Bracknell has had recently)
As you are planning on DC I would put that idea too at choosing where to live!

Original poster

carousel17 · 09/04/2022 17:39

Also I know that any of these options will be a big change from London - I only mentioned it as I probably would prefer a small town to a village whereas my partner isn’t as bothered. Am keen to be able to make friends when I move too, so don’t want to be too isolated.

OP posts:

321zyx · 09/04/2022 20:47

Windsor - it has 2 stations, Windsor & Eton Riverside into Waterloo so a short stroll to Charing Cross and Windsor & Eton Central to Paddington via Slough. Windsor is within budget.....the drive to Slough Trading Estate really isn't that bad compared with London traffic! It's 3-4 miles (depending on destination - easy bike or even walk if need be!)....

Fairyarmpits · 10/04/2022 22:20

@321zyx

Windsor - it has 2 stations, Windsor & Eton Riverside into Waterloo so a short stroll to Charing Cross and Windsor & Eton Central to Paddington via Slough. Windsor is within budget.....the drive to Slough Trading Estate really isn't that bad compared with London traffic! It's 3-4 miles (depending on destination - easy bike or even walk if need be!)....

Walk?!

It would take almost 1.5 hours to walk from Windsor to Slough Trading Estate.

You can't walk up the bypass so it would be via Eton Wick or Eton/Chalvey. Neither would be safe after dark.

mumofEandE · 14/04/2022 14:16

@321zyx

Windsor - it has 2 stations, Windsor & Eton Riverside into Waterloo so a short stroll to Charing Cross and Windsor & Eton Central to Paddington via Slough. Windsor is within budget.....the drive to Slough Trading Estate really isn't that bad compared with London traffic! It's 3-4 miles (depending on destination - easy bike or even walk if need be!)....

That would be one hell of a walk!!