Gloucestershire Areas Please

[MrsG2017]

Hi Everyone

We have just moved back from overseas and have decided on the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire/Worcestershire region. We are currently staying in an Air BnB in Upleadon and are now about to start the process of looking for a small property to buy.

I would be really keen to know your impressions of areas to avoid.

We have a five year old son so need to factor that in. Would only be looking for a 2-3 bed home in the region for £300k. Just feeling a bit overwhelmed as to where to start

Thanks everyone

X

I think going to different places and having a walk around in different towns is the way to go. When we moved to this area we also bought the local paper wherever we went to get a feeling for the issues in different places but also what is going on - clubs, fetes etc etc. We thought when we needed to move to the area that one particular place would be right but when we visited and had lunch there so we could people watch, it just didn't seem right. So we went and looked at another place and it just felt like somewhere we belonged.

Local daily paper (Echo, Citizen) replaced by once a week, sent up from Bristol.

Gloucestershire Live website is a bit shit, if I'm honest.

£300 wouldn't get you much of a house near a good secondary school in Cheltenham. Very expensive. Gloucester a much better bet for house prices.

Balcarras in Cheltenham is one of the best schools in the South West and very high achieving. Cotswold school in Bourton also excellent.
I agree though that the grammar system does skew things.

We had a similar budget and ended up in Brockworth. £300k won't get you much in Cheltenham or Churchdown.

Brockworth isn't for everyone (there's a fair amount of social housing and LOADS of snobbery against this in Gloucestershire) but it ticks the boxes for us- good community, countryside (the cheese rolling hill overlooks brockworth and is less than a mile to the top from Brock centre), good schools (Brock primary requires improvement ofsted but has significantly improved) and close to transport links (we're at junction 11a).

If secondary schools are important, look around Bourton in the Water, and the Cotswold School (state).

@MrsG2017 I moved to Gloucestershire in 2001 - I relocated with the same company but no one I knew from my previous (London) office moved with me. I had just broken up with a long-term partner so it was a complete move across the country on my own.

Best thing I ever did. Folks round here are lovely.

I rented in Hucclecote for a while, then bought near the Quays and now I'm about to move to Tewkesbury.

There's a few conflicting opinions on this thread which is the tricky part about asking people what they think! 😅Definitely worth having a drive around to see what appeals. The Forest, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Stroud areas all have very different pros and cons (as well as different prices!!) so it's worth having a look at them all to see what appeals the most.

I love Tewkesbury its a lovely place to live.

I'm in Longlevens. Perfect for Cheltenham and quays. One of the better areas in Glos and there are some rough areas so be mindful. Lots of new houses being built in Innsworth and Longford and Twigworth too.

Loved Cirencester. Find Stroud incredibly eerie and get a very bad vibe from the place.

Cirencester is lovely but I think it might be out of the OP’s budget.

I live very close to where you are staying. It was the property prices that brought me here. In Gloucestershire the further west you go, the better value. Outside of the Cotswolds is generally more affordable, though Stroud area remains reasonable.

More people from outside are moving into the forest, it used to be very 'local' but not so much anymore, though still is a bit of a backwater with lots of retirees.

Ledbury is really nice, great facilities, lots of young families. Big new estate on the edge that is quite far out of town. A 50s house closer to the centre would be better.

Newent is nice, quiet, very affordable. Coming up a bit with some new shops, a big new estate is planned on the edge.

Malvern, lovely but expensive.

Dymock and Highnam are drive-through villages. Dymock seems to have some community events going on, traditional countryside stuff.

Cinderford is a bit run down I'm afraid.

Newnham on Severn is pretty, but quite far out.

Pershore may be worth looking at, though I don't know it.

Of places I know, this looks like a cracking house. Close to the (2 lane, not too busy) motorway www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127234643#/?channel=RES_BUY

Ledbury has a really good secondary, a decent array of shops and eating places , supermarkets as well as a train station. There are some lovely villages around there, and you'll get more for your money with a HR postcode rather than a GL one. Malvern is lovely and again fairly good in terms of budget - again that has a train station as well as a good theatre and OK selection of shops. Lots of walking and a good leisure centre too - we plan to retire there.
Avoid Newent, it's not a nice town anymore and has a lot of drug/crime issues and the comp has a terrible reputation. Upleadon is a nice village though, as well as Brand Green, Redmarley, Pendock and Dymock. We're literally 3 miles away and I've lived here my entire life.........!!