Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth - new family

[ChirpyBeaker]

Hi all,

We are expecting and looking to move out of Birmingham.

We are quite budget tight relative to the areas (£330k or so for a 2 bed) and don't especially know them too well, moving for a closer commute.

Is there any particularly watch ours/areas to avoid/areas to consider that we may miss?

We have been quite used to living in a city suburb with walking distance to a high street, nice parks etc. We have had a drive through the south of the area too like Harbury which seemed nice but a bit remote?

Thanks in advance

Harbury is very much a village and the area around is possibly too remote for people used to easy access to parks, shops etc. I think Warwick and Kenilworth are quieter that Leamington, but both have lovely areas. I'd start with Leamington town centre and work out from there, concentrating on the north of the town for the best areas. I lived in the centre of Leamington, and rented a lovely Georgian flat. I loved it there but couldn't afford to buy so we bought a small house in the village of Radford Semele, overlooking fields and with a large garden. 5 minutes drive to anywhere in Leamington, but I missed just walking onto the high street for the shops, restaurants etc. I don't live in Warwickshire now, but we had planned to move closer to town and had looked at Old Miverton or Lillington as our favoured spots, as the town centre was a little out of budget. However, you can still find a decent array of properties for close to your budget, it just depends on your requirements. If you need a garden, you'll have to search a little further out of town.

It's a lovely area but expensive. Depending on where you are commenting to you will get more house for your £ in Stratford Upon Avon or heading more towards Banbury or just into Northamptonshire.

Where do you need to commute to? You will get a lot more for your money over towards Alcester or Studley.

The commute is to Northampton, so that triangle puts it to 40-55 minutes.

Stratford is a little too far, and Rugby/Banbury seem quite quiet in comparison but I don't know anything about them! Neither about Hatton

Hi, primarily it would be a 2 bed with a garden and a down stairs loo. I think we are due a drive out through Lillington etc to see what the vibe is

Lillington used to be a bit rough (probably not compared with a city, TBF) but I could be out of date on that one.

Rugby has some nicer areas and rougher areas. Southam? That's not far from Harbury and is far out enough to be less expensive, but Leamington is still accessible.

We moved from Birmingham to Southam - it’s a small town so very different, but there’s a high street with post office, Co-Op, cafes, charity shops etc, primary and secondary schools, a leisure centre and a bodybuilding gym, Aldi and Tesco. Depends what you want, but most of Southam is in walking distance of everything.

Southam might feel a bit remote, but I do like that you can be in Leamington, Coventry, Banbury or Daventry in 20-25 mins. It’s also cheaper than the areas you mention- you should get 3 beds for that price.