Warwickshire move - advice please

[LittleFilly]

Would love advice on a Warwickshire move. We're an international family planning a move to the area after years overseas.

We're looking for a town or village with great schools and a strong sense of community. Beautiful green spaces for outdoor recreation, sports and activities for kids and good coffee / food options are also important to us.

We've mostly lived in cities previously, but seeking more space for our growing family. Would be nice to find somewhere with a metropolitan feel. Ideally welcoming, used to incomers and not excessively-provincial in outlook.

We have three children age 6 and under, so excellent schools are a top priority.

Be grateful for input on the following areas: Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth, Stratford, Alcester and surrounding villages. Open to as far south as the Cotwolds and as far north as Solihull. Proximity to train links to London would be helpful.

Please do suggest specific villages and reasons for or against particular towns. Any specific school or nursery school recommendations also appreciated. Prior experiences of moving into the area would be great to hear about too.

We know Warwickshire well, but lack a parenting lens on these towns and their suitability for a young family. We want to plan this move eyes open and with a realistic picture of what awaits us.

Thanks very much for your help!

Leamington has the most vibey and cosmopolitan/international feel with a lot of creative events. It's also very foodie and has some great festivals. Very friendly community too. Houses tend to get snapped up pretty quickly. We had our eye on one and it was sold in a week.

My experience was not welcoming and not metropolitan in Alcester/surrounding villages. Just visit a park there, they are mostly empty, then visit Victoria, St Nichols or Jepson Park and you will see an instant difference. You will not get a taxi or takeaway food (I only wanted it when in a pinch as so rural) and there are no pavements to the surrounding areas so you will be driving everywhere. Commuting takes forever and I found the locals were self contained and in bed very early. They are initially friendly but ultimately rural not like townies (which is why they like it). The food festival is great, it's pretty and we liked that there was a Waitrose and the Arrow Mill but do not let that convince you it's metropolitan. My health visitor said they get many isolated mums there who end up moving or on anti depressants because of isolation. I moved and I'm so glad I did (and so are my children).

Warwick is very family friendly but it's not really cosmopolitan

Leamington more so.

Solihull if you want more of the ease to get into big city. If you look at Knowle and Dorridge then you'll get best of both worlds. It comes at a price but also has fantastic schools and when kids are older the flexibility of hopping on trains into Solihull and Birmingham easily.

I spent my early 20s in Solihull and still connected to K&D, and it was brilliant for giving close to big city ease. Only moved away as DH been there all his life and wanted a fresh start.

The villages around Henley inArden and Alcester are very villagy. In a good way. I would recommend Aston Cantlow or Wilmcote. They are very family orientated. Aston Cantlow has no primary school but it is 5 minutes drive from Wilmcote. The primary at Wilmcote is a small village school. Ignore the ofsted. It doesn't reflect the school at all. There's a new Head etc who's made a massive difference.
Wilmcote is on the main line to Birmingham and can get ( with one change) to London.

Personally I think Warwick has gone downhill a lot lately, town centre looked a bit grim the last time I was there a couple months ago. Startford upon Avon is lovely but expensive

Solihull is much more cosmopolitan than its reputation would suggest. Lots of families who have moved into the area, many internationally. There is a thriving Hong Kong Chinese community.

Fewer Solihull children go to the grammars since the Birmingham King Edward schools introduced geographical catchments but there are still children who travel to Alcester and Stratford for the grammar schools.

Arden lost its 'outstanding' status last year but is still well-regarded. Tudor Grange is the most heavily oversubscribed school in Solihull and the catchment is very tight, especially as their admissions requirements have changed to favour children at feeder primaries.

Things will probably have changed pretty significantly in the secondary school landscape by the time a child under 6 gets to Year 7. The drop in the birth rate is significant so schools will have to reduce PAN, and there may be closures. I would aim for an area with a couple of decent secondary options for the future. There is less pressure on primary school places for Year 1 and below at the moment.

Which bit of Warwick were you in? I can't think of any part of town which would be grim!

I work in Warwick and it is quite dispiriting. Nowhere to get a nice salad for lunch takeaway except one place you have to pay cash. It feels limited to Costa type places and charity shops. That road down towards the station looks nice but is too far for a work quick walk

I was in Stratford a few weeks ago and to be honest that was a bit shit. Unless you want to fixed prix sitdown lunch for 30 quid it was a bit limited.

Just had a lovely afternoon shopping and lunching in Leamington. Yes, the shopping centre part has some empty shops but there are some great boutiques and independent stores and loads of fab cafes. I was schooled in Kenilworth. A new high school has been built and mum has been telling me that the students there really love it. Well worth a look.
I was very happy growing up in Kenilworth.

@unlikelychump It's worth going to Smith St (the road on the way to the station) - it's no more than 5 mins from the Market Square. Bread & Co and Happy Puccia are both great independent cafes there, plus there's another one just over the road from the bottom of Smith St. The Craftsman is a new inde cafe-bar at the top of Smith St, but I don't know what their food offer is.

There are so many independent cafes/coffee shops in town though (along with Costa/Nero), but independents far outnumber them - Jack's Shack (my fave), Two Brothers, Wylies, Thomas Okens... and just a short walk away is Warwick Street Kitchen. One thing Warwick does well is independent retail/food.

@unlikelychump you need to venture further: Two brothers bakery, their cafe, on the square or Dough & Brew are fantastic independent eateries in Warwick right in the town, and Jack's Shack and others mentioned above are also brilliant.

It's got more full retail units than a lot of areas!

Stratford has some amazing places to eat, a great zero waste shop, beautiful riverside, and I love the smaller theatre venues which offer great value entertainment (The Attic, Bear pit, etc). ALL towns, countrywide, are probably struggling these days but there are FAR far worse places. Try living in North Warwickshire...