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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Good road in poorer area or poorer road in good area?

20 replies

Speckledeggy · 12/07/2009 17:54

Anyone able to offer any advice on these two houses:-

Village location, very nice area, within area outstanding natural beauty, school is excellent (Ofsted Report is all 1s), very small high street within walking distance, however, road isn't so great and house is ex-local authority.

Big house in very good road, surrounded by woodland on all sides, within walking distance of park, swings and town (15 minute walk), town is varied with much poorer areas and school isn't as good as one above (Ofsted Report is all 2s).

Thanks

OP posts:

MissisBoot · 12/07/2009 18:01

Difficult - I'd probably go for big house in good road. Good to be walking distance to town and swings etc.

englishpatient · 12/07/2009 18:09

Both sound nice but I'd probably go for village in aonb

mrsmaidamess · 12/07/2009 18:13

First one, adn you can make the house your own

TotalChaos · 12/07/2009 18:13

what are public transport links like in village?

Babbity · 12/07/2009 18:24

First one definitely.

HerHonesty · 12/07/2009 19:03

gosh, thats quite tricky. what do you mean by "very good road"?

Elibean · 12/07/2009 19:03

Both sound good, with pros and cons....I think for me it would come down to how I felt about a)the school and b) the house in each.

For instance, dd's school wasn't considered the best in the borough by any means, when we looked at it - but I liked it far more than any other, and had a great feeling about dd being there. All correct, as it turns out.

What is your gut/heart/instinct telling you about each house/school?

MrsBadger · 12/07/2009 19:05

I need to be able to walk to shops / library / doctors so unless village provided all these I;d go for 2.

NB where do the other kids on the 'nice' road go to school? A mate of mine got it wrong and ended up on a road where eveyrone else except them was so nice they sent the kids to prep school and hers were outcasts.

nkf · 12/07/2009 19:08

The standard advice is location. Worst house in best road etc. I'd go for good school. And I'd think carefully about parks in a poor area. If it's a place for dodgy characters to hang out, then you won't like it.

LyraSilvertongue · 12/07/2009 19:09

I'd go for 2. Being within walking distance to amenities can make the difference between going out a lot and staying in a lot (if I have to get in the car to go somewhere I often can't be bothered).
I agree you should check out the schools to get a feel for them before making your decision.

elvislives · 12/07/2009 19:18

A school that gets 2s is a good school!

We are looking at houses near schools that get all 3s..

Original poster

Speckledeggy · 12/07/2009 20:20

Thanks girls

The first house is nice if a bit shabby at the mo. We could definitely do a lot with it although the drive and garage aren't what we would like ideally and there's nothing we can do about them. I'm not too sure about public transport links and I'm not too worried about that as I drive and have a car. There is a co-op, post office, bank, butcher, library, gift shop, delicatessen, hairdresser, beauty salon - everything you need for day to day and there are also two play areas, one of which has just built and is fantastic. It does have a real community feel there and I am sure there would be quite a lot going on for a SAHM. Henley and Wallingford are about 8 miles away and Wycombe is a 20 minute drive.

The second house is larger (four bed semi with double garage). When I say good road I mean it's well kept. All the cars are decent and it looks as if people really care about their houses. It is a little pocket of suburbia tucked away in the centre of Wycombe. Everything would be within walking distance and there is lots to do in the area if and when I get in the car. I wasn't even aware that there was any problems in the park (never encountered anything before) but apparently there is a problem with drugs and people urinating(?!). It's a huge park so not sure how prevalent this is or how it would affect me (would need to walk through top of park to get to town). I do dream about living within walking distance of everything but it obviously has its implications.

Ideally I would like a nice house in good road in a good area with an excellent school but haven't managed to find that yet and need to compromise somehow - just not sure how!

OP posts:

HerHonesty · 12/07/2009 20:59

well if it were me i would go for 1...

Elibean · 12/07/2009 22:19

You sound a bit more enthusiastic about #1 I think.....?

Original poster

Speckledeggy · 12/07/2009 22:26

I think I'm more enthusiastic about 1's area just not so sure about the house really.

Me thinks we should just be patient and wait to see if anything else comes up. It is a big decision after all.

OP posts:

Fizzylemonade · 13/07/2009 10:03

We went for a house that was near to a school that was all 1's on Ofsted as opposed to 2's.

The thing we always looked at was the opening paragraph, so the school my son goes to takes from a relatively nice area. The school up the road is all 2's takes from the local council estate and has a fair number of travelling families in the school.

So I don't just consider the ability of the school but the people that go there.

My friend works in a school that takes children from a very deprived area, they have lots of problems with the parents, social services are a big factor and yet it comes up as a 2 on Ofsted.

I'd plump for house number 1. Re waiting it would depend how soon you would need to get a school place for your child as to whether you can wait.

We are desperate to move but there are no houses for sale round here

Elibean · 13/07/2009 12:58

Yes, if you can be patient (ie not in desperate need to move) it may well pay off in more ways than one

Original poster

Speckledeggy · 13/07/2009 22:31

We're not desperate to move but having had to wait a while (my dad was very ill) I'm keen to get on with it. Then again, it's important that we are both happy with the decision.

That's an interesting point about the opening paragraph, fizzylemonade. My friend is ex-teacher and she said exactly the same thing. She now lives in a very posh area with a very good school. Would quite like to live there but it's a bit out of our reach!

OP posts:

AppleandMosesMummy · 13/07/2009 23:20

Location location location, always buy the worse house in the best area, that really is the only rule.

HarrietTheSpy · 15/07/2009 14:06

You're right to wait for a bit and see what else comes up. Also, with the OFSTED OUTSTANDING school you should try to find out about exact catchment areas and waiting lists, etc. You could find that if it's that popular and they have various criteria apart from just geography your kids might not automatically get in.

In our area there is a really popular state infants/junior school and the estate agents are forever marketing this and that road as in the catchment area. But the council's criteria have changed and people have not gotten in even from roads which are close enough to the school that you would believe the estate agent who told you your kids would get in.

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