I am in the process of moving back to the UK from the US and am looking for a town to live in. I don't want to be in a large city but want somewhere that has good transportation links and the basic necessities within the town. I am considering the Chippenham and Melksham area, and wondered if anyone already living there or knows of the area can respond with their opinions? Thanks in advance.

It depends on what you call "basic necessities" and what you want from life. Sorry, but your request, as it stands, is just too broad. Maybe the following link would be a place to start:

www.upmystreet.com

I am in Thailand, but going back to an existing house I own in Shropshire.I know little about Melksham, though Wilthsire is beautiful. look at houses, to rent or buy ( Perhaps rent first) www.rightmove.co.uk, then look for each one you shortlist, on Google Earth. - if you type in Jobs, Shropshire, you may find what you seek. Good area - There is work there, my Wife, could not speak enough English - but will be fine soon. lots of NHS vacancies, I see. - but if you do fancy Shropshire, please, run it by me - some places, are not good, around Telford. - but it is confined to two areas. dontheturner(aged 80)

Chippenham was on our short list before we moved back from Australia.

We went to have a look and liked what we saw. Quite busy and lively, train links, beautiful countryside around, and close to Bath. We were also looking at Corsham and Box, but it gets more expensive as you move towards Bath.

We ended up in Gloucestershire. Schools were a big part of our decision.

Thanks for the info. It is hard to decide when you cannot afford to travel over a bunch of times. Having to rely on the internet and mail to decide on places. Eventually will make a trip over to decide for sure but trying to narrow it down. Transportation links are very important so I do not have to get a car, at least at first.

Easy access by bus or walking to grocers, doctors, vet, etc is what I meant by basic necessities. Also good train links so that you have a wider area for job hunting. Yes, I have looked at the site, thanks. It is quite good. Just curious what anyone else thought of the area that might have been there before. First hand experience is always helpful, and someone might know of another area that could be of consideration.

Thanks for the info.

York, and surrounding areas.

Well, El_richo, Nice work if you can get it! Maybe a little bit expensive?

There are places around York that are not too bad - I'm from between York and Leeds and there are some decent prices there. That area is too flat for me though.

Not at all. By surrounding areas i mean commutable. There are many towns and villages where the housing is very affordable and the commute times to the major Yorkshire cities (Leeds, York, Sheffield, Hull, Doncaster, etc) are very easy.

You can get a very nice house easily for under £200k.

Can I suggest the west midlands, Cities like Wolverhampton have great links with the rest of the country either by road or rail. housing is relatively cheap and there is some lovely countryside on the doorstep plus more facilities than you can shake a stick at. Starbucks are a bit thin on the ground however.

Hi, we used to live about 5 miles from Chippenham in a lovely little village. Chippenham has the train and bus links to many larger cities. Not much night life, a couple of clubs, quite a few pubs. A really nice shopping center, and I would say plenty of affordable housing, although there are areas which are a little less desirable, but when looking around this will be more than noticable.
If you want a bit more of a larger place then you may want to have a look at Swindon, again very good transport links, and public transport. Probably more job opportunities to be found as well. Feel free to ask any questions and I will hopefully try and help out.
A lovely area all round, we are now wondering why we ever left?

West Mids?????? Is this a joke? 24% of Wolverhamptons shops are now closed.....................

Even that budget is probably beyond the means of a lot of MBTTUK-ers, so I wouldn't describe it as affordable. Many returnees are coming back broke, in their 40s and 50s. I struggled to buy a 165k house, on a decent salary, and the mortgage will carry me 10 years into my retirement.