Relocating Devon to Bath - recommendations please!

[KennedyD22]

Me and hubby are thinking of relocating to Bath, we've visited there before and often talk about how much we'd love to live there. We currently live in a rough area in Devon and feeling really unhappy here. We're looking at towns surrounding as we like to live in quieter places but be able to get into a city for days out etc.

We have 2 DDs aged 4 and 3, our current area is really isolating for shopping, live music, secondary schools not great! I feel being close to Bath and with Bristol not too far, our children will have much better teen/young adult years. I grew up in London till I was 25 and it's too busy and expensive for me now but I had a great childhood and experienced so much! Also at just over a 2 hour drive, Bath doesn't feel so much like we're too far away from family (in Devon).

Please let me know thoughts on areas! I really love Bradford-on-avon but it is pricey, hence I was looking at Trowbridge as its more affordable as we will buy our first home and hoping to move to a forever home in Bradford-on-avon without moving too far. I've also heard it's not the best area there but budget wise we need to start low!

Work wise (if it helps!), I am a registered nurse, hubby a driving instructor.

We're heading up in Easter to check out areas so please drop some suggestions!
If you relocated up that way yourself, how do/did you find it? Did you stay? I have seen some older posts of the same nature, but keen to hear some updated recs!

So not Bath itself?

It's a case of looking at rightmove to see what's affordable to you. Trowbridge, Devizes, Calne, westbury are all lower prices than Bath. Nearer to Bristol consider Keynsham as between the 2 with good bus links. I'm not up to date on schools because mine are young adults and I didn't live here when they were school age.

I personally prefer being closer to the M5 corridor as it's better for transport, and whilst I love Bath itself way too touristy

What’s your price budget, and what sort of house are you looking for? Do you know where you’re likely to be working? Does your DH have a view on what sort of radius he wants to keep for his lesson provision?

Trowbridge is fine. It’s a small town with a mixed demographic, ranging from people who’ve lived there their whole lives, people who’ve been priced out of Bath, and including some deprivation - like lots of places, but it just seems more of a stark contrast in Trowbridge because many other towns in the Bath area are disproportionately affluent. Public transport between Trowbridge and Bath and Bradford-in-Avon and Bath isn’t great, though.

Peasedown, Timsbury and Midsomer Norton are worth considering. A lot of people rate Keynsham as an area well located for both Bath and Bristol, relatively affordable and with a nice community. I think it’s a bit of a nothingness sort of place, personally, but worth a look as a potential option.

I think that you should base your search based on accessibility to your work. If you're based in the community its not such an issue. However getting to the RUH on the north west side of the city may be a nightmare if your travelling from somewhere that's not close by or on a bus route.

(I live in Keynsham and to get to the RUH I have to get a bus to the bus station in the centre of the city and them catch another one from there to the hospital. Otherwise I have to get off the bus just as it gets to Newbridge and then it's a long uphill walk).
Have a look at the BANES website for details on schools. It's a small county and there's a lot of kids come out from the City of Bristol Council and the South Gloucestershire Council areas to schools in BANES.

I would like a community nursing job, but am cautious that I do not want to risk myself not getting a job at all if I limit myself to only that. I am hoping to secure a job before we head up, HR in NHS can take months, so that can help guide us I suppose! I've heard driving into Bath can be a nightmare, would a drive from Keynsham to RUH be off the cards?

Thank you RE schools, will take a look!

Also, as a driving instructor, I believe that the testing centres are in Chippenham and Bristol, so that may have an impact on choice.

Trowbridge can be lovely, but has had an awful lot of new build estates around it, so it outgrowing the centre.

Bath is a have/have-not city.

We're lucky, we live in a nice area, but there are also some really rough parts. Ditto Bristol.

Peasdown St John has nothing really there, and no secondary school.

Midsomer Norton/Radstock have good access to schools, but public transport to Bath and Bristol isn't great. Likewise, the commute into Bath is hideous, if you hit the wrong time.

Paulton doesn't have much, but does have a community hospital.

I live in South Bath, and commute to Radstock. Bath suits me, I don't like Bristol, it's too busy. But, the other towns don't have enough amenities for the children. Here, we can do gymnastics, music, theatre, swimming, even without a car. We avoid the centre in the middle of the summer, but it is an interesting place to live.

£300k max, 3 bed house with garden ideally. I think we would need to rent for a year first as not sure how logistics of getting a mortgage for our first home would work with moving to a new area. I will try and secure a job before we move up so that could help us decide a lot! DH not sure yet, I think he was going to call up some driving schools to find out demands in areas etc.

That sounds fair about Trowbridge. From google earth etc it looks a lot nicer than our rough round where we are, we'll get a better idea when we visit. But will definitely have a drive to those areas when we go, thank you :)

We love Bath as a small city, but also both really like to live in a quiet area, preferably with countryside views as I can feel a little claustrophobic in a city for too long. Where we live now is not a city but is heavily populated and part of the reason I don't like it. Thank you for the tips re other places, will check them out!

This is amazingly detailed thank you so much!

Bristol definitely too busy for me too!

Gov said there's a driving test centre in Trowbridge which would be ideal!

@KennedyD22 I can only speak as a patient or visitor to the RUH so can't speak about the staff parking situation. I was taken into A&E last week by DH around midnight from the west side of Keynsham and with clear roads it took 20 minutes. Its nearer 40 minutes via Saltford in rush hour (more when there's roadworks ).

Have you thought about Chippenham? Good schools and much more affordable than Bath but on the train you could be there in 15 mins.

@Zazu44 that's great to know, I didn't realise it was so quick on the train between Chippenham and Bath. On my rough job searches I have found more nursing jobs in Chippenham too. Will add to the list to have an explore!

We did a move in the opposite direction, Frome to Devon. It would be really interesting to know where you are in Devon to figure out what you're looking for elsewhere that you can't get from your current home. Are you too far away from Plymouth or Exeter to use them for theatres and shopping?
Bath is a great city, but living in somewhere like Trowbridge is a world away from that.

@Hannahthepink We are in the middle of Plymouth & Exeter! Still, both well over an hour on train. I am a huge music fan and many artists that play bigger shows, the closest arena is either London, Cardiff or Brum, all of which travel & accommodation on top makes this really expensive. Plymouth Pavilions if artists ever play, is an awful venue (sound quality wise). Seaside towns in my experience tend to feel quite deprived as they are so seasonal, the towns around me have businesses closing left right and centre. It's really quite rundown. (appreciate this could just be a national thing & we have considered emigrating abroad, we're trying last resort to find somewhere in UK that suits us better!).

We also love the consistency of architecture in Bath and surrounding, it is really quite different to here! Devon also just feels so far from anything! I don't rate Plymouth at all, Exeter is pretty but I'm not sure it has quite the same feeling as Bath!

If it’s Bath you like for its character and architecture and vibe I think you need to narrow your search and look at places much closer to the city, and at jobs in the city itself, so you’ll be in the city on a regular basis. Life with a young family is busy and once you’ve got your DC in local schools where they make local friends and go to local clubs, and begun to immerse yourself in the community you live in and made friends of your own, you’re going to end up spending most of your free time in the place you actually live. If that’s somewhere like Trowbridge or Chippenham with enough local amenities that you don’t need to travel out for schools, jobs, everyday shopping, leisure etc then ultimately you aren’t very likely to be wanting to hare into Bath to hang out on a regular basis once the initial novelty has worn off.

I do think that Bath is a beautiful city, but I honestly believe that if you're not getting what you need from Exeter or Plymouth, then you will be quite disappointed at the reality of Bath. The Forum is (I think) the biggest venue, and there are a huge number of empty shops there too, even with the boost of a very wealthy population and plenty of tourists, it is looking nearly as bad as everywhere else post-covid. I suppose that the architecture does a lot of heavy lifting!
Bristol has much more going on with some good venues, but the towns around Bath are really quite a trek from there. You're still looking at the best part of an hour on the train from somewhere like Trowbridge. In reality, if you want a life where city buzz is important, I would try and get as close to Bristol (and as nice an area as possible) that budget allows.
Teenagers in Trowbridge or Frome or BoA etc still hang around the park, bored, like every other town, they don't travel into Bath or Bristol because public transport is time consuming and expensive.

To add, £300K or just over, if you’re prepared to buy a bit of doer upper, could probably get you what you’re looking for in parts of south Bath itself. Areas like Twerton, Southdown and Odd Down used to have a bit of “reputation” when I was a kid, but with new housing development, Bath’s large student population living all over, and just the general creep outwards of people who can’t afford to buy in the most affluent parts of Bath anymore, they’ve gentrified and become a lot more mixed. I grew up in Bath (my parents still live there, just off Englishcombe Lane) though have been in London most of my adult life and in recent years a lot of old friends who also moved to London have been moving back “home” to take advantage of parents who can provide childcare, and settled on the southern slopes.

Oldland common. Not far from Ruh and pretty much countryside.

@Hannahthepink I think I probably sound contradictory now but we do not want city buzz. I want to be somewhere quiet and quaint, I'd like my children to have the opportunity to travel by train to a city which isn't an hour away, like I did as a child/teen. I lived in Surrey but could easily go up to London on the train. Trowbridge ultimately is a stepping stone as it is affordable, but I'd personally opt for a smaller village if money wasn't a factor!

And music wise, I mean that Cardiff for large venues is easier to get to than from where I am now, and doesn't require an overnight stay, rather than specific venues up there. And we just really like Bath 😂

Without being too personal, what rough area of Devon did you move to? Are you enjoying it?

@ComtesseDeSpair that's great thank you! I do have a preference to be more countryside though, and from what I could see, houses that have a bit of those views in Bath are quite expensive compared to cheaper towns surrounding. Given me a lot to look into though, I'll check all these places out in Easter, thank you!

I'd definitely second this, Chippenham is so well connected to Bath, especially if you can find somewhere easy walking distance to the station. I'd suggest looking at Monkton Park or Pewsham. I much prefer it to Trowbridge. Corsham is next door too, which is lovely and has good amenities for families (arts centre, gymnastics, good park etc)

I live in one of the towns mentioned and I'm afraid I'd avoid Trowbridge if possible. It's a really struggling town centre full of empty shops and unsociable behaviour. If you do look there, consider 'nicer' areas on the outskirts like Hilperton or Staverton maybe. The schools are a bit hit and miss but some are doing pretty well.

300k for a 3 bed with a garden isn't completely impossible in BoA, although you'd probably need to do work. Look south of the river at the 60s/70s housing stock - there's a lot of families and a nice community feel quite often in these areas. As everyone says, it's a lovely town but the traffic is awful.

Chippenham is definitely worth a look - the train connections are excellent and it's in easy reach of a lot of other nice places too.

Good luck!

Try Chippenham. I work there (am a nurse) and live near there.

12 minutes to Bath on the train, good transport links via M4, good local network with buses, near to Corsham, Devizes etc. which are lovely towns.

Very good senior schools, plenty going on and surrounded by lovely villages and countryside.

We moved to Torquay (St Marychurch area) and we absolutely love it. We wanted to live near the coast and so far have spent much more time outdoors, both on the beaches and on the moors, than we ever used to in Somerset. Ironically for this thread topic, we've also found ourselves at the theatre more, both in Plymouth and Torquay. We're not big on music though, more comedy or plays/musicals. I find it really interesting to hear someone want to move to around Bath to be more connected to places, as that just wasn't our experience of the area at all. Each town was nice enough, but going to Bath was something to be largely avoided unless necessary. Driving to the RUH was a big stress, or required two buses. I worked with a bunch of teenagers, and they didn't go to Bath either very often. They very very rarely went in the evenings because public transport home didn't exist, and taxis were totally unaffordable.
We have friends just outside Cardiff, and although it's more miles, the drive now from South Devon is actually easier than from Frome as we just head up the M5. It took about 20minutes extra to get there recently than we're used to.

I live in this area too, and I think Chippenham not Trowbridge too. Good luck with your search 😊

We live in Bath, with DD(17). If your DH is willing to start early/work after 4pm or work some school hols/weekends there is huge demand for driving instructors. I seem to remember that the Unis have 28,000 students between them, which is another factor for driving instructors being busy.

They tend to get passed around by word of mouth, rather than working for franchises.

I'm hopeless with house prices, but be aware that rural bus services aren't great. I've lived in Bath for decades, but I'm not sure that I've ever set foot in Trowbridge or Peasedown. Renting for a year makes sense. I know a few families who relocated for a rural life and moved to be more central within a few months.

Visit Bath by train or use the P&R.