Beedubya

Oh that's the name I remember now!! My nephew and I patted my brother on the back and said "Well Done" like he had performed a heroic deed or something...........well he did!!

Mind you when we were in the Cotswolds a bit later I was going off him , then Rugby, Oxford oh I can't remember how many places we went through, my s-i-l kept phoning saying "What county are you in now?" and I would take a pic of the latest scenic view on my mobile and send it to her ha ha!!

huddm

sjz
We moved to Oxfordshire when we returned from Canada. We rented a house in a village 10 miles south of Oxford. Boys were 10 & 11 when we returned and found local schools very good. We them moved to Kent( new job and to buy a house). The only downside for us that rural Canada house values are so low compared to rural SE England. I would recommended Oxfordshire to move to if you can afford the housing.

We lived on the outskirts of Dover and there are lots of nice villages around. It take me 108 minutes to get to London when I travel on business. We paid £180K for 3 bed house on quarter acre plot in Kent (2008). It currently worth about £250-£260K,(we modernise the house totally). Similar house( with the land) in Oxfordshire is around £400-£450K.

Hudd

Seneca21

I'll tell you one thing: Oxford traffic is possibly the worst in the country, I think, but certainly its ring-road is the third most congested in the country. Taking 90 minutes to drive the 14 miles home was totally standard. Throw in a break-down on the ring-road (more common than you would think) and the whole thing grinds to a halt. Two hours, three hours to get home. I promise you will become very familiar with every back-road and farm-track in Oxfordshire as you try to get away from the gridlock on a Friday night. Commuting into the city by car is very difficult indeed. The city council has comprehensively destroyed the whole city for motorists with the use of double yellow lines, concrete bollards all over the suburban side streets and also terrible one-way systems that are designed to cause more congestion, with the ultimate goal of making people give up the cars and use the public transport.

In addition, house prices are some of the most expensive in the whole country and despite the universities the city can be rather insular and provincial. If you want to live in the city itself a nice five bed house in Summertown, for example would cost well over £1 million - semi-detached I should add. A detached would be well over 1.5 million by now, and this is in a cool market.

On the upside, there's excellent access to London by road or train, and some amazing pubs and libraries.

MNandMN

Agreed. try getting out of Oxford on a Friday evening, my husband works there often and it is a nightmare trying to get home after work (to Leics). He now refuses to attend any meetings there that end after 3pm!

Seneca21

I don't blame him, it really is a horror show. The traffic there is phenomenally badly managed. Another example is how when it rains heavily - and that is a lot, of course, we are talking about England - the ring-road floods in the north and everything grinds to a halt. A popular escape route to the west was through Boar's Hill, but then people caught on to this and the traffic lining up to get out on to the main road often now stretches two or three kilometres up the hill on a Friday night.

Grayling

I have found the traffic far worse in Brisbane than in Oxford......I lived in Oxford for over 20 years and most of my family are still there.

Oh.....and the rain is far worse in Brisbane as well......and also brings the traffic to a halt

Seneca21

I've heard bad things about Brisbane traffic, but I would add two things to your comment. First, I'm sure the traffic is worse in Brisbane because its population is two million, compared with Oxford's 150,000, and second, I am positive Brisbane's rain is rarely drive horizontally by a -5 wind.

sjz

All, thanks for your many replies, opinions and suggestions. Is anyone brave enough to comment on my earlier question about British Rail? I see there’s been a big announcement on funding today… or ??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11834531

MNandMN

My husband commutes to London from Market Harborough, Leics, a few times a month. The company pay for him to go first class, which is £130, the usual cost (for peak time, other times are cheaper) is £97. I think this is an outrageous cost, as it takes just over an hour to get to St Pancras. Companies will pay these rail fairs, so that is why they charge them I suppose. If no-one went first class it would not be a half empty carriage whilst everyone else is standing room only. The trains tend to run on time - local radio announce when they are late, and it is usually maximum a couple of minutes (so far this year, but snow just about to arrive). Excellent service, just spoiled by the cost.

Seneca21

The last time I travelled by rail in the UK the train was an hour late, there were no seats for a three hour journey, I had to stand outside the toilets in between the two carriages the entire trip, the toilet door was broken in the open position so we all had to look at the toilet the whole way and then the train went past my station without stopping.

I vowed to get a car, which I did and I have never travelled on a British railway since.

Beedubya

The only similarity I have to your story is that there was not always enough seating depending on where you got on.

I think Brit trains are fabulous personally, the sheer speed is breathtaking after Aussie trains, however I agree with the other poster, the train fares are very expensive unless you book in advance (not all routes).

Seneca21

Speed? When I used to return from Paris on the Eurostar it was frankly embarrassing. We would go from almost flying on silent rails to click-clacking at about 40 mph from Kent to London. Maybe they improved this, but years ago this was pretty embarrassing.

EnglishRose15

Just curious as to what you see as the positives to living in the UK?

Seneca21

Closer to family.

I would say easier access to Europe, but it would be better to live in Europe and have easier access to family in Britain.

Beedubya

At Thirroul, there are an average of two trains an hour, taking about 80 minutes to cover the 70km to Sydney. "We have a transport disadvantage in the region," Dr Laird said.

Seneca, I don't know what part of the world you are in, but the above is what I have been used to in NSW, Australia. I did this trip for a number of years on overcrowded trains so I know what I am talking about.

British trains were a breeze in comparison and on some journeys there were buffet cars to get food, drink and a magazine.