Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

https://media.rightmove.co.uk/dir/cr...ax_476x317.jpg
Obviously the above home is very attractive and on a nice size lot. My friends are open to several types of detached houses. She likes homes with a modern traditional design, and he prefers older properties. This home is a Thatch roof home but I question how practical it would be because they might require added upkeep compared to a sturdier type roof.

What type of style home would you recommend, a modern design with a built on garage, a older home with charm, or a historical property that might be a few hundred years old?

Thank you.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Very nice area, I live in Berkshire. Excellent schools and good commuting links to London. Ascot is longer by train, they might want to consider somewhere nearer Twyford or future Crossrail stations (i.e. Maidenhead) if they want a fast connection to London.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

What I would recommend may not suit them. I think they should just view as many houses as possible when they're over, to narrow things down and work out what they may like.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

:goodpost:

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Agree, rural Berkshire is indeed very nice. I winced when I saw Maidenhead mentioned, but I guess that depends on just how close the OP's friends want to be to a station that serves major routes.

christmasoompa, when you say Twyford, I guess you mean the one near Reading and not the one near Winchester?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

My friends looked at quite a few very nice homes in Maidenhead, and Berkshire in general has become a top 3 area for proximity, and over-all quality of life. Your thumbs up of Berkshire is a helpful confirmation for them. A 30 mile travel distance to London is perfect! Travel time probably under one hour and the area is quiet and pleasant. Bristol is only 90 miles away. I must say this effort to help search out a comfortable place to call home for my friends has restarted the discussion in my home about a possible move to the UK. My wife is the Brit and we moved back to the States because of necessity. But I know she truly misses her family and the culture. Our oldest has less than two years remaining in school and then we can seriously consider what decision will make our family the most happiest. But I've noticed of late that my wife has been peeking at homes a lot more.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

And where did your Brit wife hail from, out of interest?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Manchester. I was impressed with it even for the short period we spent there. I was very glad to get back to the States but now several years later we have ironed out some of the complicated reasons that led to our return, and we finally are able to take a deep breath. Things are very good and we feel blessed. We'll see how things look in a few years. I do not bring up the subject because it's a trigger point. But she does.

Happy wife Happy life!

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Indeed. Can sometimes be tricky to maintain it though, so don't take your eye off the ball. ;)

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

So true. I do all I can to stay away from the tricks of life. I make sure the festivities of Halloween happen only once a year at my house.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Back on track (forgive the pun) the rail from Portsmouth to London Waterloo is good (probably as good as UK rail can be) and the fast trains are, well, fast.

Some lovely towns and villages down that way, worth a look.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Thank you for that. My friends are leaving in about 5 days and both of them are excited and nervous. I think they'll use Mass Transit only some of the time while there. Just easier with little kids in tow to rent a car. I seriously doubt if his wife has ever been on a train traveling 100 mph. They have driven cars to so many places. They are about to experience a lot of first times doing something new.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I don't mean Maidenhead itself (bleurgh), but near there, and I was specifically meaning for a quicker trip to central London. If it's major routes they're after access too, closer to Reading station would be better as it's a main terminal and they can get to a lot of different places from there.

Well yes, I was talking about Berkshire! Not sure Winchester would get the OP's friends in to central London within 25 mins somehow. :lol:

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

The commuter mentality is quite strong in much of the UK. Bus systems and Train systems appear to be the top mode of transportation. The same is true in a few major cities in the States but they tend to be the exception in America because transportation by car is still king. I wonder if my friends are going to be able to adapt to that major change because he truly LOVES his car and truck. He spends a ton of time doing various things to his truck. He's the Brit and yet he influenced me into buying a pickup truck. Going to be interesting to see him and her becoming a little less big geography people and settling into a place that demands a change of thinking. This guy loves his GMC pickup truck.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

;) Very true. I must have lapsed into a nostalgia moment. We used to go down to Hampshire for weekends basically to explore and drink beer - Gales Ales - and I developed a taste for Hampshire villages, their pubs and certainly the beer.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Just wanted to give a update because you guys have been so great offering advice and tips. My friends informed me that they have booked hotels in several different areas of the UK. In fact their family is going to celebrate the holidays in Brighton. Apparently they have family that live there and his fam from Scotland are all going to be in town. So that should really give them the chance to see that area for a substantial amount of time. They have also booked rooms in Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and near Oxford. After a month of on the ground research they should be far better prepared to make a smart decision about region and city.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

https://media.rightmove.co.uk/dir/cr...ax_476x317.jpg
Here is a very cool looking house in Oxford with TONS of charm and very livable for a large family. I'm starting to think Oxford might be similar in price to buying a home in Berkshire.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

https://media.rightmove.co.uk/dir/cr...ax_476x317.jpg
Now I see why my friends included Oxford among their areas to seek out a place to call home. Excellent Proximity and the homes are Classic! I think they would find similar houses for the same price range in Berkshire but maybe with more land.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I have a question. What cities would you pick as your top three to call home between Newbury, Berkshire, Cookham Dean, Pangbourne, Oxford, or Upper Basildon, and why?

Thank You

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Again, I'm not sure there is much point in us giving you opinions when really your friends just need to visit and form their own opinions. The above are all so different as well, you can't really compare a tiny village like Cookham Dean to a major city like Oxford?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I appreciate the feedback and I agree they will learn a lot from being on the ground and seeing many things firsthand. The information I learn simply adds to their base of knowledge and of course it's always better to be as informed as possible when making a huge decision. They are leaving tomorrow for the UK and I couldn't be more happier for their family. It makes me happy to see my friends go after, and achieve their dreams. And I'm a little bit of a preparation guy, were I like being over prepared for situations when possible. And through this process I'm learning a lot as well. Hope I'm not asking too many questions. And thanks for all the help!

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

As chrismasoompa rightly says, comparing cities/towns to villages is a no go. I personally would go for Cookham, or indeed anywhere around there on the Thames (Hurley is lovely) but idealistically draw my line at Henley. Only reason being, I don't like towns, and less so cities. I'm well rural. ;)

And we're all different in what we want, after all.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I think your friends will work out what suits them, and then best to suggest they sign up for themselves on BE rather than you pass info on to them. Hopefully they'll find somewhere to call home on their trip, if they do sign up to BE do let them know they're very welcome to pick my brains about Berkshire if needed.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Thank You Buckinghamshireboy. Very kind to offer your input. Deciding between a small town versus an actual city, I agree, are vastly different comparisons. Some of these places I've never been to which explains my lack of knowledge about them.My friends have told me a time or two that the added help I've given them, with all this research, has made them even more excited. His wife was nervous at first about leaving everything behind that is familiar, but now she has turned a corner, and understand that this adventure is going to be a huge positive. They thanked my wife and I for helping to put her mind at ease. And what a kind thing it is to appreciate someone's efforts. But I know how she feels because I went through the same emotions when my wife wanted to move to her home of Manchester. Going through that experience changed the way I view the idea of home. As long as I'm with the most important people in my life, and I have some of my must have creature comforts, I'm home.

Have you always preferred living in the countryside?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

They will work it out for sure. It's a process figuring out logistics that make sense, and that also feels right. Thank you for your input.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Yes, I have always preferred the countryside. I grew up in a small village in Buckinghamshire, was used to taking long country rambles with my dog, and despite living in several towns in southern UK - even London on two separate occasions - I always went back to rural life after a couple of years.

We've just quit Switzerland (outskirts of Geneva) for Belgium, the last place we had there was about 7km out of the city, at the end of a cul-de-sac and backed on to a park, so very quiet. That said, I'm actually happier location-wise in our new place; from the house, turn right and after about 1 km I'll be on the 'main drag', with shops, buses (ok a bus). If I turn left, 1 km will bring me to gorgeous forests with walking trails, lakes, even a castle.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

That's a stunning picture you just described there! Can certainly understand why someone would feel at peace living in such a picturesque place. I can almost imagine the Belgium chocolate shops, which btw I've heard are amazing. I'm sure that's a whole other reason to pick Belgium;)
By all accounts living in Switzerland is very expensive and if that is actually correct, maybe Belgium is a better place on many levels. I've met a couple Belgium people and they were very nice. No plans of ever returning to the UK?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Cookham Dean is a village, not a small town. It's a lovely village, but vastly different from Oxford with all of the amenities that has to offer.

FWIW, I'm a country bumpkin too. I've actually lived in Oxford, albeit over 20 years ago when I was a student there, but I love village life. I love the fact that I don't have to lock my doors or car, the community spirit you get in a village, that I can walk the dogs from my backdoor without going near a single road, and that I can go for days without seeing another living soul other than my own family and the deer/partridge/guinea fowl etc in the garden! But it sounds like your friends want more amenities and access to things like live music (not my scene at all), so a tiny village may not suit them.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I'm in unchartered territory vis-a-vis the chocolate shops. Like limiting visits to only once a week :blink: Or trying to...

We quit Switzerland due to the impending slashing of my company pension - I took early retirement about a year ago - and after the slash I figured that we really could no longer afford to live there. You are correct, Switzerland is hugely expensive, it's a great place to be when one is earning a decent wage, even better when two are.

OH got made redundant a few years back, and despite literally hundreds of job applications, no go. Having decided to get the hell out of Dodge, we looked first at Portugal, Spain, France, Greece, but finally decided on Belgium for family reasons. OH was born and bred here, we have loads of family within a 20-30 minute drive, I have good friends (both ex-colleagues) about an hour's drive away.

The people here are really great, if anyone tries to tell you that Belgians are boring or unfriendly, take that with a pinch (bucket) of salt.

As to the UK, I - sometimes we - visit every two or three years, but to move back there, absolutely no way. I've been away too long, and I could never subject OH to that.

Happy wife, happy life. ;)

Back to your friends, suggest to them to have a good look at the Thames valley... :nod:

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Very :goodpost:.

I guess that OP's friends will get a much better feel after 'feet on the ground' for a few days...

This is becoming a humming thread, UkWinds5353, please post us updates, and if your friends have other questions while there, then fire away.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I know what you mean. It's becoming very rare to find a place where people have the upmost respect for others including a complete stranger. Now days that is definitely more of a township(aka Village) thing. I grew up in a place like that where pretty much everyone knew each other and you gave people the benefit of the doubt. And if you got in trouble as a kid someone scolded you then told your parents about your behavior. There are still a few small towns and townships where you can forget to lock your front door and you're as safe as it you had. That's a nice way to live.

My friends are city people that prefer living in a calm area of the suburbs. Maybe they'll find that near Oxford, Bristol or possibly even Brighton. They will be in the UK for about five weeks which is plenty of time to make some magic happen.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Not taking anything away from those other countries that you mentioned but Belgium was a very good choice.. Cool people, awesome culture and amazing sights. But that's just for starts. The food is ridiculously good. You did quite well for your selves. And actually I've heard nothing but positive comments about the Belgians. The one's I've met were quite out going and quick to buy you a drink. A few wanted to stay in touch which is nice, but I hate Facebook. It feels pointless.

I am curious...do you miss Switzerland and the lifestyle?
My friends are definitely looking at the Thames valley area which is quite large and I think includes Berkshire and Oxford.
What is your opinion of Upper Basildon?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

You and me both. ;)

Three and a bit months in, the answer has to be a resounding no, apart from three sets of immediate neighbours, that is. The lifestyle here is to my mind a whole lot better, everything feels much more accessible, we have family and friends in proximity, the local restaurants are superb and one learns the traffic flows fairly quickly, not that we have need to go in to the big city that often. Maybe the last 18 months of planning and executing 'project move' had gotten to both of us a bit, but I feel that any residual stress is now peeling off in chunky layers. I was back in Geneva for three days last week, and simply couldn't wait to get home.

I have no knowledge of Upper Basildon at all, so sorry, can't help there. Just a case of too many villages, not enough time ;). My stomping grounds along the Thames were from Henley down through Hurley, Marlow, Cookham and Taplow.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

You have a Merry merry Christmas. I hope Santa is extra good to you.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

That'll be somewhere in Hertfordshire then? :lol:

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

I had a couple hot totties and went to bed early last night. Hertfordshire huh. Anything good there?

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Sitting to the north of London, it's prime commuter land. I don't know it that well, apart from Watford (for football and music) and Knebworth (for music).

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Sounds interesting. Any area with a decent music scene is a major plus for them. My friends are staying in Bristol Monday thru Wednesday , then over to Oxford metro area for 3 nights. That should give them excellent insight into what places to eliminate. They will do day trips into the surrounding townships. The following week they will be in Manchester and Liverpool. Then one week in Europe. Lucky them!

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Just want to wish everyone a VERY Happy New Year!

Here's hoping you have great success with your New Year's resolutions.

Re: Best relocation areas in the UK?
 

Best wishes to you and yours as well,

Resolutions? End February at best. :nod: