Reading - Whitley Wood

[Alchemist5]

Hi I’m looking to buy a house and I’m interested in a property in Whitley Wood in Reading. I’m not from the area so I have no idea what it’d be like to live there. The price is fairly affordable so - is it a safe/nice area to live in?

Many thanks in advance!

It was always the area of highest crime in South Reading when I lived there. It might have changed but not an area I'd move to.

It was known as whiffy Whitley when I lived in Reading, does it still smell?

Ricky Gervais comes from Whitley. I grew up nearby and never thought bad of the area.

No, they built homes over the sewage farm!! Still rough though.

Stay away, it's a reasonable price because it's not a nice area

Whitley Wood is the nice part of Whitley according to my friends who grew up there.

Supposedly Whitley as a whole is awful, but to be honest it looks OK when I pass through.

I've found that MN hates Reading in general though.

It's a big old-skool council estate so it will always have a "reputation". Haven't lived that way for years, but in my day it was where you went to more "edgy" parties with people you barely knew 😁, but you never felt at risk walking home through Whitley. I'd say it's an area you need to assess personally for how you feel about the vibe because asking online will only get you people giving you the council estate snobbery.

Thank you. To be honest I felt a bit suspicious because of the price, so I knew it wasn’t going to be perfect. It seems that Whitley and WhitleyWood have the same reputation. I was hoping this wasn’t the case. Many thanks your comments were super helpful!🙏