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Rural living

Looking to relocate to the countryside? Find advice in our Rural Living forum.

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Original poster

Relocation to Shropshire

17 replies

MrsAmumof3 · 21/08/2017 16:16

Hi all, I'm new to mumsnet and joined to get some advice.

Me and my husband have be looking at moving to Shropshire for a number of reasons. Mainly because we would like more things to do with our 3 children and compared to were we are living now there is a lot more to do outdoors. More countryside etc. And it is central-ish to families and other areas of the UK we are yet to explore. In theory it looks perfect for us but I'm well aware that the grass is not always greener.

So basically I'm looking for some advice please.. on places we should look? Ideal places for us to live and work? (My husband currently works at our local hospital in procurement.)
Has anyone recently moved there? What are your experiences?

We will probably be looking to rent somewhere as we can't move until my husband has found a job there.

TIA

OP posts:

scurryfunge · 21/08/2017 16:18

Just avoid Telford

scurryfunge · 21/08/2017 16:25

North Shrops will get you value for money but South is very pretty but more expensive. Anywhere near the Marches is also good value property wise but you'll be further from the bigger towns.
RJAH is a big, well respected hospital on the Welsh border so that may be worth thinking about.

Original poster

MrsAMumof3 · 21/08/2017 16:40

Is that avoid Telford all together? Housing and work?

We have been looking north and the boarder of Wales. There has been a few jobs in Wrexham come up too. What is Shrewsbury like? Do you know where the best schools are?

Thank you

OP posts:

scurryfunge · 21/08/2017 16:45

Working in Telford is fine .
Shrewsbury is a great town and any of the villages around it. Plenty of facilities, shopping, services, etc.
I'm not too sure about schools as we relocated after my son had finished schooling.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 21/08/2017 17:03

Shrewsbury is lovely. Good state schools in a little town called Newport: Adams' Grammar School is a selective state grammar for boys, and there is an equivalent girls' school.

Original poster

MrsAMumof3 · 21/08/2017 19:23

Thank you both for replying. I'm trying to research places etc before we move anywhere. Shrewsbury has came up quite often as being a good place to live we were there for an hour or 2 a few weeks back but i dont think you can't really tell what a place is like until you have lived there.

OP posts:

macshoto · 23/08/2017 23:20

In South Shropshire, if you want to be more rural, Ludlow is a lovely town, but housing relatively expensive. Bishops Castle is smaller still, more rural, and only has schooling to 16 but also has good community. Employment opportunities outside the major towns are not exactly extensive and likely will define where you might want to look.

The smaller villages can be lovely, but likely mean buses to school for children, and longer commutes into work.

I would echo the comments about avoiding living in Telford.

Anjelika · 24/08/2017 08:43

Hi MrsAMumof3

We've just moved to Shropshire and are really liking it here. We only ever planned to move to Shrewsbury as we wanted to be in town rather than out in the country. Like you I've got 3 kids - mine are all in juniors now. Feel free to pm me if you want to know anything. We visited Shrewsbury for a few hours the first time (although both of us had been here once or twice as children) and drove around trying to get a feel for the different areas and looking at where the houses for sale online were actually situated. We then visited for a weekend a year later (last October) to look round a bit more and test out what a family weekend would be like here. We also went round a few houses we'd seen online. We put ours on the market in Feb and are now living in the first house we went round!!

doleritedinosaur · 24/08/2017 08:48

I live just outside of Shropshire & have moved from a city & I do find it difficult living so rurally so if you're thinking Ludlow/Welsh borders just be mindful of that.

It is lovely around here for outside things to do, a lot of woods/nature trails/national trust.

My DS is a bit off schools yet but I have found secondary schools to not great around Ludlow area, from parent's POV.

Definitely have a look around. Shrewsbury is a great town & there is a few museums around there too.

specialsubject · 24/08/2017 10:10

Rjah is indeed a well respected hospital, especially for spinal injuries. It has no a and e, be aware that the two county hospitals (Shrewsbury and Telford) are under great strain. Plan at the moment is for a and e only at Shrewsbury and planned care only at Telford. Love Shropshire but don't come here if you are sick, or certainly not to the western side.

Otherwise it is a fantastic place. Except Telford.

2littlemoos · 24/08/2017 10:22

Watching with interest

BlackThumb · 24/08/2017 12:57

Sad about the Telford bashing. Lived there for 20 years.

There are good things about Telford, and nice bits.

It has a lot of convinient things, shops, ice rink, libraries, parks, cinemas, restaurants. Shifnal, Madeley, Ironbridge, Coalbrookdle, Wenlock, bits of Wellington and others are all nice.

Depends what you want. Lots of the "nice" towns in Shropshire are very pretty, but low on any sort of shops and transport, with quite bad traffic. There are a few good areas in Telford with access to these things and period properties, or newer estates built in the 80s before they decided everyone only needs rooms for half a car...

BlackThumb · 24/08/2017 13:00

Sorry about typos...

user1485639128 · 24/08/2017 13:01

Highley is a lovely little village but away from most things. Bridgnorth too

Original poster

MrsAMumof3 · 26/08/2017 20:15

Thank you all for your fed back.

All of the advice has been great.

We are hoping to visit again soon. so we can get a feel of places. so knowing all the areas is great. I think this is going to take a little while and a lot of planning.

one thing i forgot to ask is do you know if these places have beavers, cubs and scouts? As we are a scouting family and this would be one thing we would miss.

OP posts:

Anjelika · 26/08/2017 21:19

Yes there are Beavers, Cubs etc. There's more than one group in Shrewsbury. I've managed to transfer my 3 across.

teaandbiscuitsforme · 27/08/2017 21:21

I know you said you'd be looking to rent first but just thought I'd mention that the housing market in Shrewsbury is pretty crazy at the moment. The same is probably true for rentals. Anything remotely decent, particularly for families, is going really quickly because the supply isn't meeting demand. So if you get to the stage that you're looking on rightmove etc but you're not in the area, just be aware that things might well have gone before you can get up for a visit.

But the positive is that it's a place that's very much in demand and people are willing to spend their money!

I'm not a Shropshire native but I think it's a brilliant place for bringing up a family.

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