Where would you like to live? SE England (Hampshire, West Sussex etc.)

Scuzi

Scuzi

Scuzi

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Our whole operation is moving down south this November and as a result I will have to relocate. I will be working at Swanwick in Hampshire (J8/9 M27) and need to start looking at areas within a half hour drive so preferably within 25ish miles. I'm not really familiar with the area so I turn to yourselves for some advice.

I need to start scoping out places now so I'm ready for the move. I currently have a house in Windsor and love it here, ideally I'd like to stay but it's a hell of a commute. Are there any places down on the south coast which are like Windsor? I'm after an upmarket sort of town, plenty to do, plenty of restaurants, cafes, bars and that sort of thing. Chav areas and housing estates are a big no.
This probably makes me sound like a right snob but I know what I like and I'd hate to move to somewhere that I hate :p

What I want is a Windsor on the south coast and within 25ish miles of Swanwick. Winchester has been mentioned but I've never been there. Can anyone comment on it? I lived in Christchurch for a year which I thought was OK but it's a bit far to drive I think.
Due to the extortionate house prices I won't be buying for a while so I'll probably be looking to rent a 2 bed apartment, hopefully something quite fancy. Does anyone know of any new developments which may have properties like this going?

It's all a bit daunting at the minute but I'm preparing to go on a few fact finding missions. I don't want to drive around aimlessly looking for a nice area, I'd ideally like to know where I'm going, suss the place out properly and draw my own conclusions from that.

So, can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks :)
 
Winchester was decided to be the #1 town to live in in England on that Channel 4 programme "The Best and Worst Places to Live in England". Seems like a nice place by all accounts. :)
 
daz said:
Winchester was decided to be the #1 town to live in in England on that Channel 4 programme "The Best and Worst Places to Live in England". Seems like a nice place by all accounts. :)
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That's a hell of a lot of brownie points for Winchester then!
Would anyone who knows or lives in Winchester care to comment??
 
Yeah come and live in Winchester. It's very nice, although the nightlife struggles after 11. Fits the bill 'upmarket sort of town' as well as any other place around here, and closest to Windsor.
Also, it's only an hour from London.

You'll be pleased to know we have the chav population under control here as long as you stay on the right side of the railway line.

Failing that, Chichester is probably just on the boundary of your 25mile radius.
 
Lol i work in winchester, lovelly place to live, but not if your young and livelly imo lol the place literally dies at 7pm, but during the day the place is packed, but i live in eastleigh myself 10 min drive from winch, it would be a nice place if it wasnt overun with chavs and cats, why i got a dog ;) deals with both problems
 
Also winch is expensive lol, i read few weeks ago a prime parkinspace went for like £30k or something stupid like that :/
 
Fireskull said:
Also winch is expensive lol, i read few weeks ago a prime parkinspace went for like £30k or something stupid like that :/
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:eek:!
That was my worry hence I can't afford to buy. I'd rather rent in a nice area for a few years than buy a house in a dump. I suppose I could afford up to about £1200 a month for a 2 bed place but I'd want something nice if I were going to spend that much. It would need a parking space, there's no way I'd pay £30k for one! :p

Winchester is looking like a favourite at the minute. Chichester might be a bit far out in the sticks, it would play havoc with my social life :p
 
I know Winchester quite well i only live down the road. Its a very nice town. If I had to live around there I would most definatly live in Winchester.

Also salisbury isnt too bad. If you choose a village surrounding it.
 
Scuzi said:
:eek:!
That was my worry hence I can't afford to buy. I'd rather rent in a nice area for a few years than buy a house in a dump. I suppose I could afford up to about £1200 a month for a 2 bed place but I'd want something nice if I were going to spend that much. It would need a parking space, there's no way I'd pay £30k for one! :p

Winchester is looking like a favourite at the minute. Chichester might be a bit far out in the sticks, it would play havoc with my social life :p
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Lol i reckon you would get a place in winch for £1200 a month, its expensive to buy but renting is quite reasonable, though 2 high for me being able to rent here :/
 
Scuzi said:
:eek:!
That was my worry hence I can't afford to buy. I'd rather rent in a nice area for a few years than buy a house in a dump. I suppose I could afford up to about £1200 a month for a 2 bed place but I'd want something nice if I were going to spend that much. It would need a parking space, there's no way I'd pay £30k for one! :p

Winchester is looking like a favourite at the minute. Chichester might be a bit far out in the sticks, it would play havoc with my social life :p
Click to expand...
Chichester isn't so bad - there is *some* life there but probably not much different from Winch. If I were young free and single and working down that way I would check out the commute from Bournemouth. Pompey might be out if you don't like chavs but on the plus side it is getting better and as it's a uni town there is plenty to do.

Good luck on the reloc!
 
I used to live about 2 miles from Swanwick, in Locks Heath. The days of catching the train to school from Swanwick station...

There are, or at least were in 1998, some nice areas in the immediate viscinity of Swanwick - take a look at Park Gate, Locks Heath, Sarisbury, perhaps the new development out at Wightleigh.
 
If you're looking for a nice place to live then you could try Port Solent.
It's a marina development just outside Portsmouth, nice houses/flats to rent there, got a cinema, gym, shops and bars.
Think there's only one company that deals with the property there Waterside

They also deal with another development called Gunwharf Quays, but this is right in the centre of Portsmouth, and it can be a pig to get in and out of.
There's a similar development in Southampton called Ocean Village, but don't know what that's like.

Swanick is just down the M27 from Portsmouth but it can get a bit sticky in the rush hour
 
Winchester is a very nice place to live. I grew up there and only wish I could afford to move back. Lots and lots of pubs but it does tend to shut down at 11pm.

The surrounding area is also worth a look as there are lots of quaint little villages.
 
Winch is pretty nice, so is Chi, what's even better is the very nice roads between them, vroom vroom :)
 
As others have said Winchester pretty much dies in the evening, and what's left is not exactly lively. There are no upmarket areas that also have what you talk about.
Port Solent is quaint, but small, and a fair way from anywhere else, also the housing is somewhat cramped.
Gunwharf Quays has a *lot* more going on, but you're right in the middle of Portsmouth so getting out in the morning could take you a little while and it's still a little industrial with a lot of building work going on.
Over in Southampton you have areas like Bassett, very nice houses there, and not too far from the city centre.
Straight down the main road from there into Soton and you'll hit London Road and Bedford Place, there are a whole variety of bars, pubs and restaurants here, then 5 mins further and you're into the city centre.

Overall, if it's got the amenities you want you'll never be *that* far from people you probably won't like, for example there are many roads in southampton where you have lovely old 3 storey victorian houses on one side, and council houses on the other.
 
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