oldfossil

Newton Longville

Woburn

Olney ( more of a small town)

Cosgrove

Emberton

Sherington

Then there is Milton Keynes Village ( where the name comes from).

There were 11 original villages such as Tattenhoe and Willen which were built round thus making them part of the town.

Also have a look at www.amazing-mk.co.uk and www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk for further information on the area.

(Psst have a look at my sig )

golgo13

Thank you oldfossil, you dont happen to work for the local tourism board do you

usoruk

Born and bred in Wycombe. Not the same as before though but most areas still cheaper than the villages around Bucks and nice new shopping center. My brother gets the train into London. Quick service but costs him over 500 pounds per year to park his car there and then the train fare on top of that. But still better than driving to London. Beaconsfield/Gerards Cross/Penn gorgeous but very pricey, excellent schools. Brother in law walks to Beaconsfield train st. to get train into London. Aylesbury not bad, probably better than HW have not been back there for 20-30 yrs.

If I could go back, the villages in and around Oxfordshire are very tempting...good schooling even better uni's. City is great if you could get a job there...good luck

golgo13

Thanks usoruk, the aim is work in London or the SE in general really, the aim is to try and find work then pick an area to live in.

bandrui

St Albans is very nice. My cousin lives there, works in London. An easy commute.

christmasoompa

OK, so for the High Wycombe/Aylesbury area, I'd look at Wendover, Beaconsfield, Amersham, Great Missenden, Gerrards Cross. All much nicer than High Wycombe/Aylesbury, but still towns with amenities and in any of them you'd be within walking distance of a Chiltern Line station.

Wendover - lovely market town surrounded by countryside, approx 45 mins from Marylebone on the Chiltern Line. Nice restaurants and shops, will be the cheapest option of the towns listed above as it's the furthest out of London.

Beaconsfield - another lovely town, quite upmarket (has a Farrow & Ball shop, which tells you everything really!). There is an 'old town', very picturesque, and a 'new town' (where the station is). New town will be cheaper, approx 30 mins from Marylebone.

Amersham - again, a new town where the station is with all amenities including lots of good restaurants, and an incredibly beautiful old town (where various movies have been filmed). The advantage of Amersham is that it's also on the tube (Metropolitan Line) so you have both options for getting in to London. My husband used to do this journey every day, we lived in a village close by so he cycled to the station and then got on the train, 28 mins in to Marylebone.

Great Missenden. A lovely town, smaller than the others, but still has banks/post office/library/restaurants and a small supermarket. Lots of very good pubs too, and a fabulous Thai restaurant (hmmm, I miss it!). 35 mins or so from Marylebone.

Gerrards Cross. Very, very expensive and a bit snooty to be honest - not sure why really as I don't think it's anywhere near as attractive as the other towns, it's more modern. But still a nice town with good amenities, approx 25 mins from Marylebone.

All of these towns have some lovely villages around them if you want to move out in future years, and all have incredibly good schools.

Hope that the above helps.

Lorry1

Whats Buckingham like, please?

Bob

I don't know that well, only been through it a few times and the like, do know the uni is private and very pricey though...and the roads are nicely lit up...you only really notice it when on the M40 and hit Oxfordshire, where it's suddenly a bit shit in comparison

oldfossil

Buckinghams not good traffic wise.

Is twenty miles from MK. The link may help.

Buckingham website

oldfossil

Not a chance. owning a forum you get to know where to find the information required.

Lorry1

Thanks for the link. What do you mean 'not good traffic wise'? does it have alot of Milton Keynes commuter traffic going through?

oldfossil

Going through Buckingham can be a pain.

There are two roads between Buckingham and Milton Keynes.

The A421 can be a nightmare due to the road leading all the way to the M1 and beyond to the A1.

The A422 is usually a more quieter road except there are more twists and turns.

ergyngfeld

if you're likely to be working in London, surely moving to London is best?

golgo13

Very concise christmasoompa, Amersham looks like it is ticking all the boxes particularly on the transport front.

christmasoompa

Glad I could help. Amersham is lovely, and has everything you'll need i.e. banks, restaurants, a large Tesco's plus other smaller supermarkets (M&S Food etc), coffee shops, a swimming pool/gym, library, etc. It's also got an Aston Martin dealership just in case you're in the market for one.

The old town is beautiful and has more restaurants and lots of different shops - basically posh antique shops, clothes shops and art galleries etc. Nice for a mooch round on a Saturday morning after a large brunch at the excellent cafe there though, followed by a cake from the cake stall. My husband's commute was 1hr 10 mins door to door, which included a 3 mile cycle ride to the station from our village, and then getting across town from Marylebone to Victoria at the other end.

I know you don't need it yet, but the schools are amazing, particularly the secondary school (Dr Challoners) which is one of the top grammars. The main advantage of Amersham imo, is that it's smart and nice, but isn't quite as smart (and therefore snobby) as places like Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross, so the best of both worlds.

I know Amersham particularly well, and the surrounding villages, so do shout with any questions.