Milton Keynes - House buying and commuting
16 February 2005, 08:59 PM
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Milton Keynes - House buying and commuting
I'm looking for a little advice from anyone who lives in or commutes from Milton Keynes to London on a regular basis.
Both my wife and I currently work in London (me in the City, my wife near Euston). In a few weeks my wife will start her maternity leave with our second child. One of our goals during her maternity leave is to move to a larger house which makes her commute to work a little easier, still allows me to get to work reasonably easily, and gets us closer to parents (who live near Crewe in Cheshire).
From what has largely been internet research so far, one place which could fit the bill is the Loughton area of Milton Keynes. It's a few minutes walk from Milton Keynes station yet still appears very leafy and green, has what look like decent schools and a nursery, and for under £500k it appears possible to buy a good sized 5-bed detached.
Of course what the internet doesn't really tell you it what it's actually like to live there. Are the trains always cancelled/late/overcrowded? Is the place really an urban jungle full of concrete cows? Are the roads permanently grid-locked? Are there enough local ameneties and entertainment facilities for a growing family? Etc.
Advice from any locals very much appreciated.
Gary.
Both my wife and I currently work in London (me in the City, my wife near Euston). In a few weeks my wife will start her maternity leave with our second child. One of our goals during her maternity leave is to move to a larger house which makes her commute to work a little easier, still allows me to get to work reasonably easily, and gets us closer to parents (who live near Crewe in Cheshire).
From what has largely been internet research so far, one place which could fit the bill is the Loughton area of Milton Keynes. It's a few minutes walk from Milton Keynes station yet still appears very leafy and green, has what look like decent schools and a nursery, and for under £500k it appears possible to buy a good sized 5-bed detached.
Of course what the internet doesn't really tell you it what it's actually like to live there. Are the trains always cancelled/late/overcrowded? Is the place really an urban jungle full of concrete cows? Are the roads permanently grid-locked? Are there enough local ameneties and entertainment facilities for a growing family? Etc.
Advice from any locals very much appreciated.
Gary.
16 February 2005, 09:22 PM
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I don't live in MK but nearby in Dunstable, but I can say the roads are rarely gridlocked if at all, although it does tend to get busy around the shopping centre. Also if you own a Scooby you will love the masses of roundabouts.
Theres also plenty to do as well with Xscape the indoor snow dome/cinema complex, the Easycinema, the Hockey/Football stadium and if you like cycling it has one of the best cycling networks in the country.
Theres also plenty to do as well with Xscape the indoor snow dome/cinema complex, the Easycinema, the Hockey/Football stadium and if you like cycling it has one of the best cycling networks in the country.
16 February 2005, 09:43 PM
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10 mins train journey north is Northampton - with some of the most charming villages!
Another 10 mins is Long Buckby - again some seriously nice places around there too!
Just depends on how much time you are willing to spend commuting I guess.
500k get you a lot of property in those parts.
Another 10 mins is Long Buckby - again some seriously nice places around there too!
Just depends on how much time you are willing to spend commuting I guess.
500k get you a lot of property in those parts.
16 February 2005, 10:59 PM
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Yup Loughton is one of *the* places to live in MK. But to be honest there are many other places that are cheaper and only a 5 minute drive to the station (70MPH roads throughout)
Roads are always clear apart from city centre on Saturday morning when all the lemmings go shopping
We used to have ultra fast non-stop virgin trains from MK to Euston (40 mins ish) now they have stopped running them during rush hour so figure in 50 to 60 mins journy time to Euston.
Once you get used to the modern layout of the city, it actually works really well, 10 minutes and you are in the countryside. 5 mins to M1 J14 or J13, Westcoast mainline trains to London, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Liverpool, Glasgow etc
24 hour supermarkets etc so it does a lot of things quite well..
House prices are rocketing all the time though
Roads are always clear apart from city centre on Saturday morning when all the lemmings go shopping
We used to have ultra fast non-stop virgin trains from MK to Euston (40 mins ish) now they have stopped running them during rush hour so figure in 50 to 60 mins journy time to Euston.
Once you get used to the modern layout of the city, it actually works really well, 10 minutes and you are in the countryside. 5 mins to M1 J14 or J13, Westcoast mainline trains to London, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Liverpool, Glasgow etc
24 hour supermarkets etc so it does a lot of things quite well..
House prices are rocketing all the time though
18 February 2005, 08:13 PM
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Thanks for the replies.
To be honest we are pretty much constrained to live close to the station. Once we take into account our working hours, additional travel times, possibility of parking being difficult arriving at a station after nursery/school run it makes the whole scenario no longer viable for us. If it was just me, things would be different. London is still the hub where my wife and I regularly go out with friends after work, and driving to the station makes this more difficult.
We're going to take a look around the area tomorrow and see what we think.
Gary.
To be honest we are pretty much constrained to live close to the station. Once we take into account our working hours, additional travel times, possibility of parking being difficult arriving at a station after nursery/school run it makes the whole scenario no longer viable for us. If it was just me, things would be different. London is still the hub where my wife and I regularly go out with friends after work, and driving to the station makes this more difficult.
We're going to take a look around the area tomorrow and see what we think.
Gary.
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