Cheltenham Spa, Leamington Spa or Marlow?

[Mumsmet]

If you had to move to one of these places, which would you choose and why?

Depends on my budget, and whether you are talking about living right in those towns or would go outside - and where you need to get to. I live near Cheltenham atm, and bits are lovely and bits are really, really grotty. The town centre is looking a bit sad at the moment, but there are some really good restaurants. Secondary schools a bit of an issue if child isn't getting into the super selective grammar or grammars. Beautful villages around, no direct train to London.
Marlow is lovely but very chi chi and expensive. Lots of boutiques, less real shops. Great area. V good transport links
Leamington isn't thrilling, but I don't know it very well.

Marlow is in Bucks so has the grammar school system and it has the highly regarded Sir William Borlase mused sex Grammar School. It’s has a lovely high street, by the Thames but so so expensive.

I lived in Marlow until I was eight and sometimes visit for a day,taking a boat down the Thames and browsing the high street. However,I don't think I'd fit in very well if I lived there now,being a poor,single parent who cleans for a living. The cars and houses are all very grand.
I live half an hour from Leamington,its an attractive looking town but nothing exciting about the high street.Warwick is lovely next door.
I used to be a nanny in Cheltenham years ago and I liked the vibe and the countryside with a good choice of local towns.

Thank you so much to all of you for taking the time to reply.

I've lived in Cheltenham amd Leamington. It depends what you need really. Sone good schools in Leamington and great transport links to the Midlands and London. Cheltenham has bigger shops and more places to go out. Both have good areas and grotty areas.

I suppose I am looking for somewhere with a buzz with stuff to do within walking distance, and pretty parks. I am hoping for a community feel.

I have chosen places that aren't too far away from London for visiting friends and family on the train. I would like to live about a mile from a station and walking distance from a High Street with a good choice of shops and eateries. I hope for buses that run more frequently than once an hour.

I like the fact Leamington and Cheltenham are both well located for Birmingham and The Midlands and there are trains in all directions so visiting York and Manchester or Plymouth etc doesn't involve too many changes and avoids crossing London.

Marlow would be a safer and easier option as I already know people near there, the station is only a branch line but I could still get to London within an hour including the change. It's not particularly well located for anywhere else on the train though.

I'll have to visit all three towns and get a feel for them and see for myself which areas within the list of places I like or that I should be wary of. I guess it's a choice or smaller house in a nicer area or larger house in a not so well located area.

Thanks again for your responses.

Just popped in to say Marlow seems much more pricey, exclusive and small, but close to large conurbations. Leamington bigger and more multicultural and Cheltenham bigger again but with more of a rural feel. You definitely need to visit them all. I'd say they all have plenty going on and good communities, just different. Leamington and Cheltenham have some lovely Georgian terraces but less desirable areas- not sure about Marlow. Of the three, I'd go for Leamington or Cheltenham but that's just my taste.

The advantage to chelt is the proximity to the Cotswolds,some really beautiful walks not too far away at all

If you do chelt just get some advice on areas to avoid buying/renting. Hester's way, the moors and at Paul's can be a bit hit and miss as examples. Head to priest bury, leckhampton or Charlton kinds, or one of the outlying villages like bishops cleeve, woodmancote

Leamington has (or had) a community feel if you live near the town centre and get involved with the community projects. I haven't lived there in a while now so unsure if it's still the same but it has lots of sort of arty and hippy things. Certainly nice parks and good bus services to Warwick, Coventry, Stratford upon Avon. However there are pockets of deprivation as said. "Old town" by the railway bridge, and the area surrounding the canal used to be a bit sad and unloved, but all along the Radford Road down to Sydenham there are quieter areas.

I grew up 5 minutes from Leamington and loved it, it’s a nice town with lots of great independent restaurants and shops, plus a large retail park on the edge of town with the usual big name brands like M&S, Next etc. There are 2 lovely parks, a cinema and a couple of theatres which attract some fairly well known names in comedy and music. Warwick University is a quick drive away and it’s super easy to get to Birmingham and London by train. You’re fairly close to the Cotswolds and Biscester Village plus there are tons of lovely National Trust places nearby for walks and afternoon tea if that’s your thing. Hope that helps a bit!

Marlow is lovely but very expensive - I think it might be difficult living there if you are more middling income but if you have money it's nice. Leamington is a lovely town and full of people who sold London flats to buy period houses close to the town centre. Good transport links. The high street has suffered, not as much as some places, but it's not what it was. State secondary schools are not as good as they should be sadly.
I don't know Cheltenham really I'm afraid, but I hear nice things and think I could probably live there quite happily

I live in Cheltenham. I often wonder where I would move to if I left here - and then remember all the things I like about living here! It depends on your needs/wants though. We have great primary schools, but after that it’s selective Grammar/private/ large (not great) comprehensives.
Lots of great restaurants and cafes, and wine bars, lovely independent shops on Montpellier and the Bath Road. Town centre going downhill though.
We do have a couple of lovely parks, and the countryside is amazing.

If I was to ever move it would probably be to Warwick.

I live in Cheltenham with my family and we are very happy here. It has lots of lovely parks (for my two dogs), the Georgian architecture is fabulous, it is easy to walk around to the cinema, theatre, etc, there is a wide choice of schools (private, grammar and outstanding comprehensives), it doesn't feel like a huge town, people are friendly, and it has great bars and restaurants plus decent shopping. We moved here for schools and I thought that it would be boring and provincial. Be careful which bit you move to though. Montpellier/ Tivoli/ Leckhampton/ Lansdowne/ Charlton Kings/ Hatherley and Naunton are ace. Avoid St Marks, St Peter's and Whaddon. Pittville is mixed but has some gorgeous squares and the park is glorious.

I've lived in Cheltenham amd Leamington. Snap! and still own property in both.
I see Leamington as multi-cultural (but got shouted down about that on here) and Old Town is more student-y than run-down.
There is a good variety of cultural events (15 mins to the RSC as well) and lots of green spaces accessible. Employment opportunities abound, particularly in tech. Birmingham is very easy to get too and quite a few commuters to London.
Cheltenham is nice, I like the literary festival time.
I have a friend in Marlow and it is a nice place, but you will be looking at a far less splendid home - rental or purchase- there.

Very familiar with Cheltenham and I disagree with those above about the secondary schools. Balcarras is one of the best in the south west and its little sister school Leckhampton High is also excellent.
Primary schools excellent too (not all of them).
Montpellier is the perfect place to live, not far from train station or town and lots of nice shops, restaurants. Good access as well to the excellent festivals.
Train to London is not great but if you would consider the coach, you can get into Victoria is 2.5 to 3 hours.
Downsides are lots of antisocial behaviour in town and quite a "healthy" drink and drugs vibe among the teenagers.

Have visited both Marlow and Cheltenham. I'd opt for Leamington. Less snobby, more down to earth. Plenty to do. Handy for countryside but other towns/cities are easy to go to.

To be fair I forgot about the new Leckhampton high school, it only goes up to year 9 at the moment. Balcarras is a very small strict catchment, and in my opinion the houses in that area aren’t that special and the prices are of course over inflated.
Trains to London are definitely too slow!

My experience of Cheltenham is that it’s not a friendly place and somewhat bland. The villages outside are lovely. The area is beautiful and lots of great places to visit and great walks. Also well situated . I’ve been to LS once so don’t know it well. Never been to Marlow.

I’ve worked in one town and lived near the other two . My favourite would be Leamington Spa but if you want ease into London it needs to be Marlow . I would imagine what you can buy in or near Marlow though will be much smaller though I’ve not checked current prices

My memory of Marlow is/was lots of lakes/reservoirs and a lot of flat land. I'd want to be confident about flood risk.

I'd also want to check if the town is ever on the Heathrow flight path.

I quite like Cheltenham (not least because of its enormous Lido). We even toyed with moving up there 5 or 6 years ago, before deciding that the train ride to London was long enough to be annoying.

Blatant placemaeking as we have just decided we will probably try and move to Cheltenham and this thread looks really useful!
No small children and don't mind if trains to London are slow - it's only couple of hours, right?
More than that from where we are now so that's an improvement. 🙂

Thanks, all. Lots of food for thought, I'll visit them and update!

I lived in Marlow for years. It's gorgeous and I still have family there. I would move back but NOT if I had to commute to London. The train is rubbish. Realistically you have to drive to high Wycombe station or Maidenhead which then incurs parking costs and adds time

Trains between Cheltenham and Paddington take about 2 hours if they are running. I used to work with colleagues living near the town and they tended to drive to Swindon to commute to London if they needed to get in for a meeting.