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Bicester/Surrounding villages

6 replies

MsNevermore · 01/04/2025 18:41

Hello you lovely lot,

We’ve just put in our preferences today for our next move (military).
We are currently overseas but have put available UK slots as our first order of priority. One of those is the area I’m originally from and where we were before this posting, but one of the other UK options is near Bicester.
I’ve never really spent much time over that side of the country so please: tell me everything!
Whats the area like?
Schools?
Things to do?
Job market?
I’ve been having a perv on RightMove and am seriously impressed with property prices compared to our other U.K. option!
Just feel very daunting making a choice about where we are going to live for the next 3-4 years when I’m 5 and a half thousand miles away 🫣🫣🫣

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ScoobyDoesnt · 01/04/2025 18:52

Personally I don’t like Bicester itself, although it has good train access to London / Birmingham and Oxford.

The villages to the west are lovely, takes you into the edge of the Cotswolds.

If schools are important, if you go a bit further north you get to Buckingham, where you have the grammar school system. I’ve no idea about schools in Bicester.

Jobs - depends what you do. Oxford is close by for technology / education / retail etc. London is commutable.

Things to do - close to Oxford and the Cotswolds as above. London in less than hour, Birmingham in just over an hour (both by train). Bicester village for designer outlet shopping (although personally I hate the place), lots of National Trust, historic houses, canals, etc.

MsNevermore · 01/04/2025 18:56

ScoobyDoesnt · 01/04/2025 18:52

Personally I don’t like Bicester itself, although it has good train access to London / Birmingham and Oxford.

The villages to the west are lovely, takes you into the edge of the Cotswolds.

If schools are important, if you go a bit further north you get to Buckingham, where you have the grammar school system. I’ve no idea about schools in Bicester.

Jobs - depends what you do. Oxford is close by for technology / education / retail etc. London is commutable.

Things to do - close to Oxford and the Cotswolds as above. London in less than hour, Birmingham in just over an hour (both by train). Bicester village for designer outlet shopping (although personally I hate the place), lots of National Trust, historic houses, canals, etc.

Some of the houses I’ve looked at are in Buckingham and I love the vibe of the area from what I’m seeing!

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theresnolimits · 01/04/2025 19:09

Bicester has come up a lot in recent years - the influx of new housing has brought in lots of families and the closure of the army base ( mostly) has helped the ‘squaddie town’ vibe.

The new David Lloyds sports club has great facilities, the golf club has a good spa, there are plenty of supermarkets, DIY stores, Next, M and S food store etc. No one I know who lives there ever goes to Bicester Village ~ it’s a tourist trap.

There are some excellent primary schools but secondary provision is still weak - maybe this will change as the years go on. Worth noting are the great parks - Bure Park and Langford Fields are excellent town parks. You’re close to Oxford, the M40 and good train links plus some lovely countryside. It’s still developing and there seem o be lots of jobs although not necessarily ‘ good’ jobs like Oxford.

However, the town centre is still a bit grim and people tend to go elsewhere for pubs and restaurants.

Each new development has a different character: the earlier ones like Bure Park and Langford Village are established and leafier; Kingsmere is further from the station and is still being built with less ground and less greenery.

As with anywhere, the prices are reasonable for a reason - it doesn’t have the charm of say a Buckingham, Waddesdon, Thame, Wallingford, Witney so it really depends what you’re looking for with jobs, commute, schools etc.

OttersAreMySpiritAnimal · 01/04/2025 19:16

I've lived in Bicester a couple of times but not for the last 9 years. It's well connected and good amenities. There used to be a bit of a drug problem and I wouldn't often go to the high street on a weekend evening as it was a bit of a hotspot for beered up blokes and all that comes with. That said, it's since expanded a lot housing wise and I expect that has diluted the issue.
The surrounding villages are lovely. I also really like Buckjngham.

ScoobyDoesnt · 01/04/2025 19:16

@MsNevermore I will admit, I live in Buckingham and it’s a lovely town. My 2 DC went to school here, and one DC went to the Uni here.

It’s a really good community, lots going on for a small place.

Milton Keynes has a decent shopping centre and cinemas, theatre, pubs and restaurants etc. I use the station there to go to work in London once or twice a week, it’s about a 20-25 min drive depending on traffic, then 35 mins on the fast train.

Plus Oxford is only 45 mins the other way.

MsNevermore · 01/04/2025 19:58

I’m used to having to drive 20-30 mins to get anywhere because that’s exactly how it was where we were previously living - I like living in a more rural area but still having the convenience of a short drive to civilisation….so Buckingham and other surrounding areas seem like they’d be a good fit!
I have 3 primary school age DCs so schools is also a big factor in our decision.
(I’m doing all this research and then just my luck the powers that be will say “actually, you’re going to Japan” or one of the other pacific stations we categorically do not want to go to 🫣🫣😂)

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