Bnet36

OP we are pretty much looking at the same areas. From my research Oxford is the most expensive although it gets cheaper as you venture further away from the city centre.

Cambridge is lovely I lived there for 5 years. Chelmsford is alright. Stevenage is great for London commuting but had become expensive when we left, that was our train route.

Sally Redux

We were talking to someone who's moved here (Birmingham) from Oxford, and he said it's much sunnier there.

christmasoompa

It's just really grotty, run down and not industrial. Not a nice town at all imo, and you certainly don't need to go to such a big town to get the things you've mentioned - we have all of the above in my tiny village! 3 pubs and 2 cafes in fact, plus high speed broadband.

I should caveat this by saying that I'm not a town kind of girl, so I'd never choose to live in a town or city anyway, and would always go with the countryside. But if I were to choose a city/town, then some of your other choices (Oxford, Cambridge) would come far above Reading for me. I lived in Oxford as a student and it's a fantastic place.

If you want the Reading area but not a village, then I'd look at somewhere like Wokingham or Twyford. Great train links in to London (high speed train from Twyford to Paddington, 25 minutes, my husband gets it), amazing schools for your primary school child (as before, some of the best in the country are in Wokingham borough), and you'd have beautiful countryside around you. Not as cheap as Reading though, but as with everything, you get what you pay for!

HTH, good luck and if you do decide on the Reading area and want to narrow things down a bit, feel free to ask. I only really know the south side of Reading, but happy to help if I can.

dunroving

Not sure - but it is relatively easy via Wikipedia to see long-term climate data on various cities and areas in the UK.

Certainly, compared to Glasgow (where I am) it is a lot warmer!

Bnet36

Oh that's good to know!

Worth the extra cost of living

LondonSquirrel

I wouldn't take any notice of the rubbish about south London. Just consider that Richmond, Putney, Wimbledon and Dulwich are in South London. I think for your rent budget you would get a 2 bed flat in Crystal Palace but I don't know how many children you have and if you need 3 beds. Personally I would neouver consider living in North London, some areas there sound quite dangerous like Tottenham. If I had to go North of the river it would be way north into Hertz or Cambridgeshire or even Grantham Lincolnshire where my mum lives which is on the fast train line to Kings Cross. Fastest train is exactly one hour and for the same cost as my one bed flat in Crystal Palace you can get a detached 3 bed house.

Sally Redux

Whaaaat?

North London is absolutely fine.

Molly Coddle

Some lovely places in Hertfordshire, it's not too far from London either, you are looking at around an hour-ish depending which town. Easy access into London using the train and house prices aren't too pricey. It also has some of the best schools on the skirt of London.

Cape Blue

I lived in Chelmsford for a couple of years in the early 90's - man that place was dull then - the County Town of Essex but it didn't even have a cinema at the time. I do remember some hideous nightclub (Dukes?), but otherwise it was a place to leave at the weekends. That said, I did hear they had revamped it a lot over the last 10-15 years.

Cape Blue

A friend of mine is moving back to the UK next year and is considering the midlands - what are the nice parts of Birmingham Sally?

Sally Redux

Yes it was a dull place but they've revamped it enormously and apparently it's got some better clubs now too. For families I reckon it's not bad at all and the schools have a good reputation.

I left the area in 1980 and didn't go back into the town centre until recently. Outdoor dining? I thought I was hallucinating

Sally Redux

Depends what they're looking for - lots of nice parts. It's nice around here, Edgbaston, Harborne, Moseley, King's Heath, Bournville. There are some cool apartments in the centre of town, by the canal, Mailbox and so on if they want very urban. We used to live in Solihull which is a nice suburb for families. Shirley is miles better than I remembered.

Let me know if they have specifics.

I was at a gathering in Selly Park recently, there is a huge rivalry between Selly Park and Harborne; on mentioning that we are in the process of buying there I was reliably informed that 'Harborne is shite! What have they got apart from M&S and Waitrose and all those pubs!'

Cape Blue

Thanks Sally - will forward the info.

dunroving

Selly Park I grew up there in a 2-up, 2-down terrace down a small avenue off the Pershore Rd between 3 and 11 years, after which we ended up in various council flats until I left Brum at 18.

Surprised how expensive some of these tiny terraces in Selly Park are these days.

Sally Redux

People gut them, extend out the back and into the roofspace - that's what they were trying to persuade us to do and there does seem to be a nice community feel around there.