Hampshire - Basingstoke/Aldershot

[BlueWhale47]

Hi,

Brief background is that I am a single parent on mid-range salary (38k). Have 45-50k saved for deposit & have a 3 year old. Currently based in London (family) but can't afford to stay here & need to be somewhere settled for when DD starts school.

Have friends living in Hampshire - Basingstoke & Aldershot in addition to Chertsey (Surrey?) and Slough. Also work over that way.

It seems as if moving over that way seems to be making the most sense affordability wise & also that I know at least a few people who don't live too far. Also decent transport links to get back to London to visit & commute to work isn't too bad.

I have kept an eye on these locations over the past couple of months but am waiting for a shift to finances (minuscule pay increase & drop in nursery fees) to improve affordability before making any applications/looking with intention to make an offer.

Just wondering whether anyone has any experience over this way and could offer some advice on where to look/avoid.

Looking for a 2 bed property - flat/maisonette. bedrooms are a non-negotiable. An area with a lot of green spaces/things for children would be ideal. Close to shops/main train-line & good primary schools.

have been considering perhaps a ground floor flat with access to a garden - still very much pondering!

thanks :)

@BlueWhale47 i get you! I was born and bred in posh Farnham! Only moved to Aldershot about 7 years ago. Good luck with your search, it’s great to get on the housing ladder! ❤️

I ‘d look at Bordon. There’s no train but that keeps prices down. Nearby Petersfield has the direct train to Waterloo. The whole town has been renovated since the army left and they’ve done it well. It had the same reputation as Adershit but I think people are proud of their town now. Has less feel of posh areas/wrong areas found in other small towns.

Lots of new houses but lots of green left and feels roomy not built up, wide streets good amenities. Tons of genuinely open countryside surrounding rather than farmers field with no access. Would be lovely with a small child.

Know both areas and it will depend on what 'bits' of the town / surrounding areas and the whole of Hampshire can look good / be bad and I am including Winchester here, that has a very interesting population, but is often sold as being one of the best places to live! Please don't believe the hype or the negative commentaries. I'd be looking at the reports on the local schools too, as this will give you a very good flavour of the immediate area, alongside the colleges. I've lived in Basingstoke but now live in one of the surrounding towns but all areas have their issues and Hampshire is a county on the verge of going bust if you believe their moaning about budgets, so be prepared for little or nothing from the county / local authorities. It does depend on which bit of which post code, so please do visit and drive around the areas. As for shared ownership, be aware of the issues with housing associations and them selling high, loading those that buy with the responsibilities and repairs, plus their constant increases of rent per year, so you might think it looks good when being persuaded to buy, but once you have you will find that it is not as good a deal as first proposed! You might find that our local towns have far fewer options than you'd expect, given there is less now than say 20 years ago and that huge developments are planned for both areas and we have the same issues with no increase in services but huge increases in population. Also think about how your children will access leisure etc., as public transport is dire in Hampshire. You could think about Fleet, Farnborough, Hook, North Warnborough, Andover, Alton - lots of areas that have much to recommend and some that have a little less!

I think Aldershot would be an absolute last resort if you couldn’t find anything anywhere else. Fleet is on a good train line to Waterloo, but options may be limited. Bits of Farnborough are not too bad, but choose carefully.

Basingstoke is dull as ditch water and had some relatively problematic areas in the past. I grew up in a surrounding village which was also quite boring and was built around everyone commuting to London. Alton is nicer quite quaint and Fleet is fine but also not too exciting. Chineham is a relatively cute village. I'd be surprised if that budget would go very far in most of the villages mentioned.

Portsmouth is probably a bit cheaper, dh was based there for work for a while and it was quite nice, lots of local attractions or Fareham is easy to travel from.

Lived in Basingstoke for 15 years. DH born there and didn't want to leave. I finally persuaded him. I hate Basingstoke - it has no 'soul'. Depends what you want of course. It's a high crime area with a big drug problem. No community spirit. Not safe to walk alone even in daylight. Good shops, police station, lots of new estates, lots of business parks. Some schools are OK, none of the secondary schools are good. Doctors are so so but there aren't enough for the amount of residents. Hospital is big and does most treatments. Place is becoming more run down despite a big increase in population.

I'm also jumping on the Alton bandwagon, great market town, better than Farnham imo. Every supermarket you could ask for, high st market every month, independent shops, cafes, train to London, has a good park that does events, very active community + great schools. Loads of walkers, friendly people etc. love it.

Not safe to walk alone even in daylight.

I've walked alone there at all times of day and night, over about 17 years...

I've managed to walk in Basingstoke for 40 years, day and night, without an issue. But our shops are crap and the police station doesn't really exist anymore as it's been moved to a business park.

Festival place is pretty good? Where else would / do you go.

Basingstoke - dull and soulless but not as dangerous as a pp seems to think. In fact not dangerous at all.
Aldershot - still mostly terrible despite attempts at improving the town centre. If you’re not white then I think it’s a pretty racist place to be. You’ve also got the Army culture which takes some getting used to if you’re not familiar with it.
Bordon - awful.

Live on one of the lines into Waterloo. Fleet would be lovely for you and your DD. Plenty to do and loads of good primary and secondary schools. Same with Hook.

I used to walk everywhere in Basingstoke too, regularly walked home from Chineham to Culver Rd. But by time I left 5 years ago it was impossible to walk near the station due to harassment from the drunks and druggies hanging about. War memorial Park also full of dodgy people. I never felt safe there. In 15 years I never made any friends or even acquaintances. Been in my current rural wiltshire town for 5 years and it's completely different. Everyone is friendly and chatty and there's a big sense of community and togetherness. Kids are more likely to carry a tennis racket than a knife.

As a parent I would avoid Basingstoke just for the secondary schools. None of them are any good.

5th anywhere with a zara, mango, uniqlo etc, we've lost all of them. And we've lost John Lewis Home now.
I don't really have time to go anywhere these days, I've been trying to eek out my wardrobe a bit since the pandemic.