Reading

billy87

just got offered work in Reading. just wondering whats it like to live? work is in the centre of reading, anyone any experiences of wheres nice to live etc? thanks in advance.

Fratton Fred

billy87 wrote: »

just got offered work in Reading. just wondering whats it like to live? work is in the centre of reading, anyone any experiences of wheres nice to live etc? thanks in advance.

Reading is a vibrant large town with regular fast trains in to London. It has all the amenities you could want.

Are you movie moving alone or with a family?

5p9arw38djv2b4

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Reading is a vibrant large town with regular fast trains in to London. It has all the amenities you could want.

Are you movie moving alone or with a family?

It's ok, a lot of shopping, a few Irish bars if you fancy that kind of thing, but you can always watch the GAA. Good train links to London. Accommodation pretty standard expensive for south east £950 for 2 bed row house on average, council tax around 120 a month. Lot of restaurants, good night life, half hour to London. It can be rough though, had several bikes stolen, had the house robbed while we were living there. Really nice leisure facilities, council gym etc that it top notch, decent kayaking and rowing, Caversham - village on the edge of town close to train station is really nice to live in.

dd972

It's a lot better than the other places equidistant to London in other directions, the town itself is nothing amazing but habitable with decent shops, places to eat and drink, good train links to the midlands and the north, loads of 30 minute non stop expresses to Paddington plus Oxford and Bath are nice places within easy reach, you could do a lot worse than Reading as a place to live, Slough and Swindon nearby both suck.

Not especially rough either bar a few 'council estate suburbs' and Saturday night rumbles outside theme pubs and kebab shops, both of which are easily avoided. It's also where you get the first 'ooh-arr' accents going West from London !

minnow

I have been offered a job in Reading, just off the motorway and am considering where best to live. I would like max 30 minute commute (car). With 3 young kids, good schooling and a biggish house are high on the shopping list.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it better to be in Reading itself, towards London, or even further out? Main decision will be based on School and Mrs being happy.

Thanks

5p9arw38djv2b4

If your decision is on schools and lifestyle I would suggest look maybe at Wokingham? Schools here are difficult to get accepted to, people sometimes end up with kids in different schools. All school league tables are published and families move to the school catchment area for the school they want their kids in which means property prices near those schools can shoot up. If you enrol the kids at a catholic school my understanding is you can get around some of that but then I believe they do check attendance at mass etc. Wokingham is nice though, so are a lot of the villages further out of reading towards Swallowfield.

minnow wrote: »

I have been offered a job in Reading, just off the motorway and am considering where best to live. I would like max 30 minute commute (car). With 3 young kids, good schooling and a biggish house are high on the shopping list.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it better to be in Reading itself, towards London, or even further out? Main decision will be based on School and Mrs being happy.

Thanks

Fratton Fred

If you're just off the M4 then you have a massive choice from Maidenhead to Newbury along the motorway or Wokingham, Binfield, Finchampstead etc to the south.

You have a choice of large towns right down to country hamlets. All of which have pros and cons.

Have you a preference for rural or urban?

minnow

Fratton Fred wrote: »

If you're just off the M4 then you have a massive choice from Maidenhead to Newbury along the motorway or Wokingham, Binfield, Finchampstead etc to the south.

You have a choice of large towns right down to country hamlets. All of which have pros and cons.

Have you a preference for rural or urban?

Thanks Fred, my Mrs would definitely prefer a large town. Getting a good primary school would be the other main consideration.

Fratton Fred

minnow wrote: »

Thanks Fred, my Mrs would definitely prefer a large town. Getting a good primary school would be the other main consideration.

Maidenhead is a good bet, it has several good primary schools, is pretty large and has good access to both London and Reading.

It has some good bits and bad bits but is generally considered a good place to live.

Wokingham isn't particularly big but has easy access to Reading.

Windsor is superb as well and is probably a 30 minute drive to the Madjewski stadium.