Please tell me I won't regret moving to Winchester!

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DH and I are fairly sure we are going to a move to Winchester with our young baby. We are coming from a vibrant, diverse city. We live pretty centrally in a buzzy, multicultural area that we love. We make the most of city life and have made a lot of friends since having our baby. Really the only reason we are moving is to be close to family (my parents are brilliant and will be very involved) but Winchester probably isn't somewhere we'd have chosen otherwise. SW London would have been more ideal but really not within our budget. We did look at Southampton and Portsmouth but weren't too fond of either. We think Winchester is beautiful and we love the history but we know it is quite small, not very (at all?) diverse and definitely not buzzy. Will we regret moving there? Will we find it cliquey and hard to fit in? Please tell me wonderful things about Winchester as I really do want to love it ...

One minor shopping issue, the M&S is small and pretty rubbish, and no John Lewis, but better M&S and JL within easyish reach in both Southampton and Reading.

I think Winchester is getting an unfair bashing - I grew up there, most of my family is still there & I find there's plenty going on, you just have to decide if it's your sort of thing, because of course it's not the same as living somewhere like Bristol or Sheffield.

There's all sorts of historical events, music and art exhibitions on, often associated with the Cathedral, but not necessarily religious. The theatre gets good comedians, but for plays/musicals you're better off going to Southampton. Good local live music scene at the Railway Inn too. Winchester College also regularly hosts plays in their gardens in the summer. Science Centre & Planetarium is great for kids. The cinema is an Everyman so you get a good mix of standard commercial stuff & more niche things. I think there's an annual literary festival now too?

Shopping is patchy, but it's not dead like other similar sized places - the high street isn't helped by the big empty old Debenhams, but head towards The Square & streets around the cathedral and there's a lot of good independent shops/cafes/restaurants. The Hambledon is your best bet if you really care about fahsion. And if you need a bigger range of high street shops, Southampton and Basingstoke are easy to reach.

It's so good for outdoorsy stuff - SUP on the River Itchen, wild swimming, so easy to get into the countryside for running/cycling/walks. Some of the best fishing in the country if that's your thing, or down to the Hamble for sailing. The city itself is super walkable. I think it's a great place to grow up, it always felt safe, teenagers could be independent from an early stage, and it's an hour on the train to London for when you feel you need an injection of excitement!

I live in central Winchester so I’m biased. My children are 1 and a half and 5 and I am happy here. I lived in London long ago so can’t really compare having a young family there. My routine is fairly repetitive (2 very small toddler groups, kids events at the library, swimming and the theatre is lovely) but presumably if you were in a suburb of London you would keep going to the places that were within easy travelling distance anyway. You might also come into contact with a similar number of people even if they were from a smaller pool? I suppose it depends how you meet people.

There are most things you need here but not much choice. Mind you, I’ve taken the kids to Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth and London for events and it hasn’t felt like a massive chore. There won’t be an endless list of interesting new restaurants or pubs to check out, unfortunately. Buzzy it is not.

It isn’t truly diverse but I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of parents at my older one’s school who aren’t British (husband isn’t either) we hear plenty of different languages at the school gate. Like everywhere else in England class sizes are ridiculous but parents are pretty involved and the schools around here are good. It was my priority when choosing where to be, as our money would have gone a LOT further elsewhere.

I think ultimately it depends where you’ll live. I walk everywhere and my house is near school so we are really part of the community and know the neighbours well. Your life will look different depending on how far out you are, if you’re used to just hopping on a bus etc. I’m a massive introvert with horrible social anxiety but have found the people here welcoming. Mind you, my life revolves around the kids and that’s the main way I’ve gotten to know people. Many moved here, often from London, for the same reason, school.

I like Winchester, but then I liked living in Romsey. I don't live in Winchester mainly because of cost (currently in Basingstoke.) Driving in the centre of Winchester is crap, though I still do it on occasion. I think there's lots to do, but it depends a bit on what you're into.

I think it depends what your needs are. If you're travelling into London for work every day, proximity to the station would count for a lot.

Winchester is nice. Small and quiet, but pleasant. I couldn't afford to live there but I live nearby (Fareham).

It's easier to think of South Hampshire as one big suburban/urban conurbation (Winchester, Fareham, Southampton, Eastleigh, Portsmouth, Gosport) as everything is fairly close together, although you'll be far more reliant on your car than you would be in London.

It would be useful to know what you don't like about Southampton, as it seems to me it would be more to your taste than Winchester, and it's the closest thing to a "proper" city in this area.

What I've learned since moving to the region (I'm from the North East originally) is that there is a huge amount of snobbery here. and people will dismiss a whole area (let's say Portsmouth or Gosport) without really knowing much about it. It's water off a duck's back to me but some people might be bothered by it.

I like it here. I would much prefer to move back to the NE and live in Newcastle or Durham, but that's not an option at the moment. I think my preferences and tastes are very different to yours though.

One advantage of living in Winchester itself, seeing as you're coming from London, is that it has fast trains to Waterloo taking around an hour.

Winchester is Tory central. I lived there for a short while and found it stifling. Move to south London.

Prior to 2010 Winchester had had a Lib Dem MP for 13 years

I think a place can be politically quite liberal, while being socially very hierarchical - not 'socially conservative' in the way it's normally used. It doesn't help that these terms are borrowed from US politics and they don't track. So I'm sure nobody in Winchester would have cared two hoots about me being bisexual. But if I'd objected to the rank sexism in the choir I joined, I would probably have been politely excluded. And God forbid you wear anything less than Dior perfume to midnight mass at the cathedral.

The present Tory MP's majority is 985 over the Liberals and he's standing down, presumably not fancying his chances. I was wondering what you call a seat with a bigger majority, very many of them. Tory very central or Tory very very central?

I live there and love it so much; I came here for uni 20 years ago and never left and many of our uni friends did the same. Happy to answer any questions you might have, I think it's a great choice!

If you really want SW London I would take another look at some of those links provided up thread. I think you could get something within budget if you are flexible.

Winchester is nice but you already have doubts and it is very very different to any of the London suburbs. Where are your family located if you are trying to be nearer to them?

Southampton would be a no from me. Southsea is nice but rammed with day trippers in the Summer and the commute is bad. What about Guildford?

Guildford is where everyone from SW London moves to when they leave London and still need a decent commute with easy access to the countryside, but a big mainstream town with loads going on!

One warning about Southsea - parking can be a bloody nightmare!

I grew up there - it’s very safe for bringing up kids. I felt like i had an adventurous young adulthood but by the time I got to 18 I was gagging to get to London. I’m still very close to all my school friends and other friends I made in Winchester

If it is buzzy/diverse you're after you're more likely to find the less 'naice' Soton or Portsmouth more your thing.

OP, i grew up in Southampton, went to sixth form in Winchester and now live in SW London.

I won't bother covering Winchester as pps have said pretty much everything.

For Southampton- I think it gets a bit of a bad rap. For your budget you could get a huge arts and crafts 30s house in Highfield, right by the common. Agree with the pp that it's the best spot to live in. The local CofE primary is lovely, although Not sure on secondary school situation these days.
Southampton is definitely not "naice". It has edge, can feel a bit hairy in places, and isn't the prettiest. But it's wonderfully green, and for me strikes the right balance between interesting and community minded. Lots to do for teens. It's very diverse, and the amenities reflect that. Its also brilliantly located for London, the new forest, the coast, other parts of Hampshire. It's got a decent music scene, if that's your kind of thing.

The PP who shared the rightmove links in London is right - you could afford what you're looking for in Streatham, Tooting, or Wimbledon. For secondaries, Look for the Dunraven catchment in Streatham Wells, the Woodmansterne catchment in Streatham Common, and the Graveney catchment in Tooting (this last one is the tightest catchment of the bunch). There are more good primaries than you can shake a stick at through this partt of London. Also big green spaces (Tooting common, Streatham common, Crystal Palace park). Brixton, Clapham, Wandsworth and Battersea are all easy to get to, as are the Surrey hills or parts of Kent close to London.
The community feel here is brilliant, and very mixed- ethnically, socio economically, culturally. Lots of families from all over the world just going about their lives.

I'd also consider a look at Beckenham - officially in Kent but it's zone 4 London and very nice with great transport, big houses and good schools. Feels less "London" than the other areas mentioned, but may be worth a look.

I live in southsea and I love it. It's like a cool little micro community with loads for young families to do and the beach.
I'd definitely give it a it another look especially on your budget!

If you moved to Portsmouth, you've also got Chichester nearby. Lots of theatre-related stuff for children.

Well. I live there and love it. I don’t like majorly busy though (used to live in London).
It’s not cliquey, there is lots to do around for families. Theatre, Zoo, Science Centre. A large number of extra curricular stuff for kids… nice places to eat and meet up. You can be in middle of the country in 20mins, by the beach in 60mins and in London in 55mins (Waterloo).

My husband used to live in Southsea, he loved it. Didn’t have children then though but he said he had much more of a buzz. He then moved to Winchester…

Hello,

I’m not sure if you are still looking for input as appreciate this thread is a little old now… but wanted to offer for you to message me. We (young family of 4) moved away from winch a couple of months ago to York after living there for 4 years. Obviously hard to know whether you’d like it based on my experience but I definitely have a perspective to offer! :)

It's very much MC clone territory

(And I say that as someone who had a boringly MC upbringing and has a v MC type job)

Fine if you are keen on box ticking everything on a MC to do list

Less fine if you like variety and people who don't just blindly follow convention

City is historic and interesting but I lived there for a few years and found the traffic /pollution fairly grim, although that was a few years back.

On the plus side it's an easy trip up to London and if the traffic is ok (big if) then trips to the coast /new forest etc are manageable

Thanks for all the input and I'm glad to see some more positive comments, particularly from those with young families. I forgot to update the thread but we actually went for another proper look around including in the part of the city we'd be looking to buy (Fulflood is really where we've heard the most about) and both really liked it. I went in focussing less on my own desire for 'buzz' and more on where would be a lovely place to raise our child and felt a lot more positive. We also looked around parts of SW London and I felt mostly just overwhelmed by traffic (I appreciate comments on this thread saying Winchester has a traffic problem but also looks to be very walkable so hopefully we'd be a bit more immune from that?).

Yes, it mostly is walkable.

DH & I visited many many years ago, fell in love with the area and decided that was where we would live once we got tired of London. Over a year ago we decided to rent first to see what we thought....and we hated it. Within a month all of us including pre teen DD were bored. I did find it cliquey and made zero friends in the 9 months we were there. It’s not diverse, I am of S Asian descent and felt very out of place as a resident.

Even though we live in the central London and its always full of people, I found Winchester way more suffocating and tooo busy. We briefly looked at Teddington but decided central is where we belong to moved back to our original flat!

We visit a couple of times a year. We love it and often talk about winning the lottery so we could live there

Theres a lot of money swilling around.

OP its fine esecially if you havr a family… you will make friends. It is becoming more ethnically diverse- take that from me a Nigerian living in Winchester. I moved here for work (hospital dr) two years ago down from Birmingham, grew up in London. I was concerned about the lack of buzz but the city does give a kind of warm hug whenever I come back from visiting friends. We chose Winchester because we are also planning to start a family but I believe lots of people will be surprised about the number of non-white people who actually live here which is increasing.