Moving to South Oxford

[hagrid74]

Hello everyone

We are thinking to live London and move to Oxfordshire. We already saw some properties around little Milton, Great Milton and Chinnor.

DH has to commute twice a week so we are targeting villages 15 mins drive from Haddenham. Also looked at Banbury earlier but commute is not as good.

DH is more ready to go but I am more scared of living London. We don't really go to London very often - maybe 4-5 times a year but it's more network of friends, diversity and the convenience although the areas we are looking at just 45 mins drives from where we live and my family.

I guess I am not sure if am just having a bucolic dream of the country but then will struggle being on my own and having a slower pace of life. I am also on the artistic side and being in a less diverse community is something on my mind. Yet I could see myself living in the properties we saw with some fantastic gardens and I won't miss the noise and pollution of London.

Our 8 and 4 yrs old love the idea but what about when they will be teenagers in a small village? Ok Oxford is 10 miles away and they could possibly go there by bus. Anyway lots of this questions in my mind

I am concerned I may regret not doing this move in future but similarly I have this gut feeling that I am not sure I would fit although I already live in West Sussex 10 yrs ago but that was without kids

If any of you has already done the move I would very much appreciate any advice.

Many thanks

Moved to a village 10 minutes from Wantage last year. Drive to Didcot to commute once a week. Love it!

I was worried for the same reasons as you but DH persuaded me and once I'd visited the idyllic village primary (with space - one thing to check before you view houses) I was sold. It is wonderful. If I had £1 for every time I've said 'I'm so glad we moved' I would be very rich by now!

Thank you for your message - which village do you live in if you don't mind me asking. We have not looked so much around Didcot but villages around Haddenham

Which villages did you look before moving? Did you guys have an area in mind or were you more driven by the house?

What do you find more different from London life and what do you miss the most (if any).

Sorry for asking so many questions but it's great to hear from someone who recently did the move

Hi

Happy to answer but it's a bit identifying!

Can you PM me please? I can't figure out how to do it on the app!

Didcot itself I wouldn't recommend to live in or too near but for trains it's great as 42 minutes to Paddington and cross rail will eventually be there too! Some trains were down to 35mins (although not many of those) Pre COVID19.

I really do whole heartedly recommend doing it.

Should have said that we looked as North as Banbury and almost as far South as villages north of Newbury. We driven by the schools, house and easiest commute (I go into London 1-2 times a week normally).

The village we picked has 2 schools, 2 pubs and 2 churches with lots of walks on footpaths all around through fields and forests. The house drew us in as did the school (only one had space) and the easy access (14 min drive max) to Didcot for trains to Paddington rather than Mareleybone (which the other line goes into).

Once we had visited the school I was sold.

Don't worry about being artistic, we live next door to a sculptor and there is an artist in the next lane who gives painting and meditation lessons. Also a hut selling natural, organic things in the village.

There is a lovely village atmosphere, it has a village newspaper quarterly and a weekly email newsletter. They even organise village trails for the kids in the holidays with entry forms from the village shop! During COVID19 they've set up a special one for kids to find things around the village.

Thank you so much for your feedback

Sorry for the silly question but how do I PM you? :-)

Hi, we are also thinking of moving to Little Milton, Moulsford or Aston Tirrold. Any advice on the best location will be appreciated-:)

Little Milton is on the rat run between Stadhampton and the Motorway
Aston Tirrold is nice and quiet; close enough to didcot, but far enough away. Close to the hills. The pub has just shut again; shame as he was on MasterChef. Tim Henman's in the village
Moulsford doesn't have much, but is on the river, close to Wallingford, close to the hills etc. The pub has just reopened (well, before lockdown) and is very nice again. Main road is busy though

Aston and Moulsford are best, and probably the latter best of all

We made the move from Surrey to Thame in Oxfordshire approximately 18 months ago and absolutely love it here. We have a 5.5 year old and he goes to one of the local primary schools here and is thriving. We didn’t know anyone here but he and we as a family quickly made friends.

Haddenham is a 10 minute drive away. Thame is a beautiful market town rather than a village so more amenities than the neighbouring villages such as Chinnor. There is also a secondary school in Thame that seems to serve the local villages also to a large degree.

We absolutely love life here in and it’s the absolute best thing decision we ever made to move here. I just wish we did it a decade ago!

Many thanks both. We've been viewing properties around the area and have been to Moulsford pub. It is great.
Just dreading the commute to London and the cost of it. K xx

The commute (from G&S) isn't too bad. But how much commuting will be going on in the near future?

That's true. Good point-:)