one hour away from oxford

[Mousie]

thinking of moving from london. want to downsize - more space for less money. want good state schools and a proper life - not just a pretty village. my husband adores idea of cotswolds - but worried just full of second homers... any ideas - parents in Oxford so one hour from there in any direction would be my ideal choice (we will change jobs so could in theory start again from anywhere...)

all thoughts appreciated

Thame is nice

west into wiltshire

i'm near henley

some very nice towns nearby -- henley, marlow, beaconsfield, the chalfonts

cotswolds lovely to take a break in but could be lonely to live there, esp if you're used to london

we chose henley as a good compromise. mind you, 17 months on (from leaving london) and we're still renting, still waiting for the perfect house...

mm, hadn't thought of bucks - was thinking more of up towards gloucestershire way. good thought. should really just get a map and do a circle like kirsty does on the telly....

Ah the Chalfonts, such a nice family

Very at you living in Henly. Nice part of the world. I used to go there to row when we lived near Thame

mm, hadn't thought of bucks - was thinking more of up towards gloucestershire way. good thought. should really just get a map and do a circle like kirsty does on the telly....

at titter

yup, mb, tis lovely. i think marlow has the edge, but it has a miserable commute, so henley it is

if we ever find a house. well, we have found one, but unsurprisingly they failed to accept our 16% below asking price offer...

Cirencester, Faringdon, Marlborough?

tbh, if access to london is not a priority, you'd be better not looking near here

too many people like us (with commuters in the family) forcing prices sky high

The West Midlands is about an hour away on the train. Not necessarily Birmingham and Coventry though - there are some nice villages dotted around, which generally have free parking at their railway stations.

what chonky says
good state schools in ciren and malborough particularly. re faringdon I don't know about schools but you could look generally at the villages down the a420

in fact, henley smells a lot. of wee

We moved from London 4 years ago to these parts , and haven't regretted it. We're now looking to move further west (due to work), in fact we have a house for sale ?

East of Oxford will always be pricier as it's London-commutable, which may or may not be a bad thing in your eyes.

Witney schools are good, quite a nice town too.
Faringdon is a bit, well, rural, iirc.

We are S of ox in a reasonable size town and the secondaries are a bit mixed but we like it. Handy for Didcot (Paddington 45min) for London outings too.

(NB 'downsizing' usually means less space, not more...)

Why don't you look in Kent - Tunbridge Wells to Tenterden and all the villages in between?

Great state schools.

Would also agree with Marlborough, Cirencester, Leamington, Stratford & Warwick. There are some great towns/villages to the east of bath (in wilts) well within 1 hour to Oxford.

we used to live in odiham, and i would move back there in a heartbeat, brilliant schools and a real sense of community

One of my best friends lives in Henley in Arden in Warwickshire. It is totally lovely. They have a brilliant social life and there is a real sense of community.

What's your approximate budget
Are your children primary or high school age?
How big/how many beds do you want the house to be?
Are you looking to be able to commute to a big city?
Do you want old/new?
Garden/grounds how big?

Ok - 4 beds
a view (ideally)
kids 5 and 7
don't mind if old or new really..

gardens - yes

budget 600k

i want to be near a proper town or city - that has cinema and sports opportunities for kids etc.. and work possibilities.

How about North Oxfordshire -- there are some lovely villages near Banbury...Bloxham, Deddington, Adderbury. All have great facilities, particularly the first two. Bloxham has one of the best rural secondary state schools in the country (The Warriner), plus there are excellent nurseries and primary schools locally.

Shopping in Banbury isn't brilliant, but you're not far from Oxford, Stratford, Birmingham. And then London is only about 70 mins by train.

Your budget will get you a very decent 4 bed house in this area, and you will be about half an hour from Oxford.