Move to town/village near Bristol or Bath

[nicoleannette]

Hi, my husband and I, and our 6 year old daughter currently live in Surrey. There are a lot of pros, including schools and access to London (and multiculturalism). However we are also quite outdoorsy and find ourselves often heading West and looking for more relaxed vibes. I have a baby on the way, and we both now can WFH most of the time - husband will do one day a week in London most likely so we have some freedom to move.

We've been considering smaller towns near Bristol or Bath but struggling to settle. We would need good primary and secondary (big age gap), somewhere bit more relaxed but with community, access to shops, cafes etc. Would like to be near ish Bristol so when eldest becomes a teen she has access. Thinking in a couple of years - budget likely 950k ish though may change by then. Any ideas?? Thanks - appreciate bit broad.

Corsham ticks all those boxes
malmesbury has a really good secondary school

Two families i know in London are selling up and moving to Frome. Seems the place to be atm

We are in Keynsham. Its slap bang in the middle between Bristol and Bath.

It has a number of primary schools . I won't comment on them as my information is probably out of date, but I know at least one is extending.
3 secondary schools- Wellsway (has a 6th form which runs a multi campus set up with a couple of schools in the wider area), IKB (which is just an upper school) and Broadlands (no 6th form, but a lot of kids then go onto St Brendan's college in Bristol or Bath college).
BANES Council has some offices in the town and we have a Tesco, Iceland and Waitrose . There's a post office, pubs, independent shops, some charity shops , a library with a performance space and a leisure centre.

There's regular trains and buses to Bristol and Bath and beyond.

We have rugby, football and cricket teams.
At Christmas we have a Christmas fayre when the high street is closed and there's fun fair rides and stalls
This week is our music festival (no camping. You go home to your own bed!)

Keynsham is well connected for both, or Long Ashton is very popular.

Think not of what the west country has to offer you, but what you have to offer the west country.

You've insinuated there's no multiculturalism here (have to travel to London for that!) and show zero fucks about what it does to the community you want to join when twerps from Surrey come and buy houses for 950k.

We're all so relaxed in the west, it's a wonder there's any economy at all. All we do is walk the hills and drink cider.

Thanks - I've been looking at Keynsham, does feel like a great place to be. Will do some more digging.

I was actually insinuating that there is very limited multiculturalism in Surrey - which is why I'm glad for the access to London. For me it brings (not always of course) some open-mindedness, key reason I'd like my daughter to leave. Leaving the UK is of course also an option (though I've been here for 20 years now). I get the very real concerns about pricing out - and sense of belonging to a place and it needs to be managed better than it currently is - but the other reality too is people move around, inside and outside this country.

Sorry op, I'm in a filthy mood and should probably step away from the keyboard!

I'm in Bristol and there's a steady stream of incomers from London. Nice people but it does sometimes feel a bit overwhelming.

Bath is safe but very hilly and a bit of a pretend place. I think kids there get a shock when they leave.

Keynsham is convenient but can be a bit lairy.

If I were minted, I'd move to Westbury on trym. Good access to city, near countryside, I imagine schools are good.

I do think it's weird how no one ever asks where the former inhabitants of Frome have gone.

Do you definitely want a town or village? Not much multiculturalism going on there. Lots of nice areas in Bristol that don’t have a congested city feel (well, other than the traffic). I wouldn’t want to live in Bath- too touristy and quaint. Somewhere in north Bristol where you can access Bristol Parkway station would be good to look at.

Clevedon? Easy to get to Bristol but only a few steps into countryside, nice restaurants and local shops, excellent schooling. Or any of the villages between if that’s more your thing - Tickenham, Cleeve, Long Ashton.

I would second keynsham. I live further north which I love but we are a bit more rural and quieter.

I looked at keynsham but it was that bit too far away from family but I think it would have suited us well and everyone I know there is very happy.

If it helps, whilst I am a 'local' in that I grew up around here and my family are here albeit I moved to London then came back, many of the active people in our local community are people who moved here from London. We have an aging population as so many people made the move I did and we needed a bit of energy back. We are not very multi cultural here that is true but that's not unusual for a rural area and Bristol itself is.

Clevedon's a great suggestion - also Portishead and Nailsea.

Very handy for Bristol, thriving towns, train links at Yatton and Backwell and the M5 on the doorstep. Welcoming, good schools, not particularly multicultural but lots going on and Bristol has all the multicultural and culture you could ask for right on your doorstep.

Your money will go a long way here.

I do think it's weird how no one ever asks where the former inhabitants of Frome have gone.

They made a fortune by selling their houses to Pearl Lowe and Danny Goffey and are touring the canal network barefoot and out of their minds on cider. Fair play.

I used to live in Bath and loved it. I'd actually just live in Bath if budget allows. Good train links to Bristol and London. The issue with the villages around Bath is that some of them have terrible public transport links to the cities and also driving is a nightmare once you get into the city.

People with more local knowledge can advise better though

I don’t quite understand why people complain about others moving into their town. Maybe it’s because I’m from London where of course people come and go to and from all the time but I’ve never heard Londoners complaining about the influx!

ps we’re moving out soon and plan to go to Frome, already mentioned up thread. Lovely place!

I agree @Spidey66, it’s bizarre all this incomer business. I’m Bristolian and lived in London for years, lots of friends from the South West lived there too. Why is it ok for people from all over to flock to “that London” but everyone gets sniffy about any Londoners moving to their area. The hypocrisy is annoying.

@Spidey66 I think some of it is pricing. One guy in my team is born and bread Bristol as is his wife. They couldn't afford a 3 bed semi in an 'ok' Bristol suburb despite having a good deposit, good jobs etc.

Also in our town (which is big village/small market town) size, there is a lot of community/culture/history with some things having happened for literally hundreds of years. As per my earlier post, we are lucky that our 'incomers' have taken the traditions on and made sure they continue but I guess that gets lost in some places?

Maybe not far enough west for you, though is technically in "the West Country". Royal Wootton Bassett is a lovely place to live and has excellent primary and secondary schools. 50 mins into Paddington from Swindon on the non stop 7:40 train.
There's a fab house for sale for £850k in the high st and lots in your price bracket in the catchment area but more rural.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147612422

Not everyone owns a house though, do they?

This is it.

Plus - usual gentrification stuff. People are drawn to a community, flock in and push up house prices, then a few years on they sell up to people drawn to good investment prospects, there goes your community.

It's happened where I live. Within ten years or so a thriving community is yuppified.

Nailsea and Yate are other well connected satellite towns of Bristol.

I've worked in Nailsea and the town has a station and buses to Bristol. . There's a big Tesco in town and a decent sized shopping precinct.
I have family in Yate. Again it has a station.

I grew up in Bath and had a good chuckle at that.

Yeah, my eyes were opened when I left the ‘Bath Bubble’.

Nope. It's a bloody shame so many people own two or more and that no new building is being done. Hopefully that will change.

Oh go don’t move to Bassett, it’s a small minded shit hole. I went to the secondary school there.

Bristol is v multicultural and Bath less so. Can’t imagine any of the villages are particularly mixed either although may be wrong.

Oh go don’t move to Bassett, it’s a small minded shit hole. I went to the secondary school there.

It's lovely! Great community spirit.