WANT TO LIVE IN POOLE - WHAT ARE THE GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD PARTS?

[Bettina777]

My DH and I are planning a move to Dorset and have decided that Poole in particular seems to be a good fit for all we want from life. No DCs so schools are not an issue. The problem is that we don’t know Poole in the slightest from a living point of view though we have visited a couple of times. As it is quite a big town and has lots of suburbs, we haven’t a clue which is a good area and a not so good one and we don’t want to end up in a “what on earth have we done” scenario.

If anyone has a good knowledge of Poole, I would really appreciate any help in guiding us through the areas. We do know enough to realise we can’t afford to live in Sandbanks or Canford Cliffs! Crime is a big issue to us too so we want an area with low crime and not hoodies dealing or boy racers at all hours. So the more desirable parts would suit us better for peace of mind and hopefully a better life.

Look forward to hearing your views!

Off the point but Ashley Road has the best charity shops ever! There is also a really really nasty traffic warden, watch out for her, you will know its her because she will give you a ticket even if you don't own a car.

Last time I went to Ashley Road, I noticed that there was a lot less chazzers than previously, especially near the Victoria Cross. Three places I love there though: Big Brother Records, Waitrose and Butchers Dog pub

Baiter sounds good apart from the privacy element. Where we live now is very private which is difficult to give up although we are aware we won’t get much in the way of garden near the coast.

We are really fussy because we don’t want to live on a large housing estate - just a handful of properties would be the max. We are an estate agents nightmare!!!

There’s a newish development in Upton called Frenches Green, but any new builds here/in Poole will likely have small gardens.

Yep if they had big gardens, hidden by trees and no obvious neighbours, you're not really talking about a new estate near the town centre and certainly not right by the sea front and a beautiful lake and park. Only Southbanks meets some of that criteria and then you're talking about multi-millions.

You still haven't said your budget which would at least help us understand better what's affordable.

I’m under no illusion that we will have to make compromises if we want a new build and so we don’t expect much in the way of garden/outside space but we would rather not be directly overlooked and would hope for some degree of privacy from trees/shrubs at least. We would probably get a little more with a newish non-new build. The budget is up to 1m new or 800k fir newish to put our stamp on it.

Wow, that's a big budget. I'd assumed you were talking about £400k. You could easily find somewhere nice in Ashley Cross, Lilliput, Whitecliff, Penn Hill, Lower Parkstone for £800-£1m. Current offerings:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E187&maxPrice=1000000&minPrice=700000&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

I would just ask for updates on that search

I've just spent the week down in Poole and stayed just off Sandbanks Road rather than in Ashley Cross where I normally stay when visiting. Personally, I think Ashley Cross is better if you want the village vibe but I live in a terraced house and don't mind living in close proximity to others.
You may be able to get something less overlooked down towards the sailing clubs e.g. www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/61500590/

One thing that's noticeable about Poole over the past 20 years is that there's a lot of knocking down old housing stock to build composite-clad homes with glass balconies. Penn Hill Avenue is full of these, as are the larger roads off Sandecoates, towards Sandbanks.

Thanks BovineJuice and SE13Mummy for the links and info.
I never seem to find any houses that come up on Penn Hill Avenue on Rightmove etc so they must get done up for their owners. Or they are ought of our price range.

I will keep looking at the BH14 and the other areas you have mentioned and I’m sure we will find the right house eventually. We need to be patient - though we are itching to move!

Yep I have been following that search for about two years (albeit at £600k max) and places come up but usually I have a reason why I don't like a particular property. I also search on Branksome and Oakdale and some gems turn up there with great offices/bar in garden etc but I don't know the roads well enough to judge their true value.

We search on Rightmove etc every day now but always come up with a reason why a house isn’t right just like you. The fact that we don’t know the area or any of the roads is our main issue. I guess Lilliput/Whitecliff/Lower Parkstone is fairly safe whichever road it is. Of course we know everywhere where we live like the back of our hand so it’s always going to be a problem moving to a new and unknown location. That’s why I posted on here for all you lovely mumsnetters to guide me - it is so amazingly helpful.

What is it you like about Poole? If you can afford the nicer parts near the beach then part of me gets it (but then again I would hate the clique snobbery that also comes from a lot of people in/around these areas), but as you are looking in Oakdale I suspect not. Aside from that, I don't get the attraction with Poole...the town centre is chav/charity shop central, only along the quayside is it pretty.
They are building loads of houses on the outskirts of Christchurch/New Milton/wimborne. What is it that you want from somewhere? Community? Easy access to the purbecks? Easy access to the motorway...oh wait...there aren't any in Dorset. For me, you may as well live somewhere pretty 5-10 miles from the beach than somewhere 3 miles on a faceless semi-urban estate...but that's my opinion obvs.

Also don't want to cast assertions, but am sure I've read somewhere there are pockets of subsidence around Whitecliffe area

*aspersions

Penn Hill

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126254648 - with one bed annex and two offices in long garden

We moved from London to Whitecliff in Jan and absolutely love the area. We stumbled upon it somewhat (relatives in Branksome park so we wanted to be close but too £££), and had friends in Parkstone. It's great to be close to the bars and restaurants of Ashley X, within walking distance of the station to go into London when needed, near some lovely coffee shops (coast is great), and 5 mins from Poole park. It's also a lovely walk up to the harbour and sandbanks is walkable too. Our 4 bed semi was ~£800k at the beginning of the year without needing any work, it's a long term house for us so suits us. The market has got noticeably quick in the last 6 months though.

We looked at Hamworthy but it felt too industrial for us.

Yep parts of Hamworthy heading back to Poole Quay are very industrial.

Thanks for the Penn Hill link Bovine. We are ideally looking for a 3/4 bed detached with garage.

Thank you blindedbythefright for your views on Whitecliff. It’s interesting to note the proximity to pretty much everything and, for us, houses seem to be a little less expensive on Rightmove than Lilliput so that could work well for us if we found the right property. It’s certainly a great time for us to be looking for property at the height of the market!!! I congratulate you on your timing though!!!

Also thank you and Bovine for your Hamworthy comments. We had thought the area a good option initially but as we’ve gone along (and due to the comments in this thread) we think we will not look there any further as it looks a little soulless and definitely don’t like the sound of “industrial”.

Yes, Whitecliff is not as close to the bright lights of Ashley Cross as Lilliput and probably that little bit further away from schools etc, but not quite close enough to Sandbanks to make it expensive. Very close to the Park and marina areas though.

Yes that sounds good. We are going to focus our search primarily in that and the surrounding areas.

We are moving from Oakdale. We sold 1930 extended detached with 4 bed 2 bathrooms.

It's a nice area, quiet, people are not sociable but only because they are already entangled in their own families. Good buses till late if you want to go out for a meal. NOT true all areas though.
GPs good, Hospital is fair.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra do concerts in Poole.
About £55 each way to London Waterloo only, no cheap tickets.

We moved from London and find the place dull beyond description. Old High St Charity shops and Bus station feral foul mothed 12yr olds.
Sailing Clubs are good if you are fairly good, crewing for others is possible. Adults joining would be expected to know something. Golf Clubs are quite good I believe.
PM me if you want specific info.

Buy an annual Network Railcard and that £55 will be reduced.

Oakdale is good value for money and you're right bus service is good. One of the downsides to Oakdale is it's a residential area and that's about it. You have to go into Poole for shops and social. That's what makes Ashley Cross so good if you want to go out in the evening.

The Lighthouse is pretty much it for concerts and shows. Bournemouth offers a little bit more but you may have to travel to Southampton or Bristol for anything major. Ultimately Poole is all about the sea. The Quay, the Harbour, Sandbanks, Brownsea, etc are all wonderful. If that's what you're after you'll be very happy. If you want a banging night life it's probably not for you.

It’s not all about the banging nights for us. It’s more about exploring the area and what it has to offer.