Moving to Maidenhead/High Wycombe

[philiphenslowe]

My husband has been offered a job in Maidenhead + it looks like we'll be moving West in the summer. I don't know these areas at all + was hoping somebody could advise me.

I'll still be working in Covent Garden 4 days a week + I don't drive so I'll need to be within 1 mile of a train station. I have a 6 month old boy + I'll be at home on Mondays + Fridays.

We're going to look at a few areas soon but until then I'm frantically googling. Is there more to do in High Wycombe than Maidenhead? I've lived in London all my life, except for university, and I'm so used to the freedom I have here - I'm dreading being stuck somewhere with an hourly bus service which won't let me board with my pushchair.

Are there any other ares we should consider within a fairly short drive of Maidenhead + on a direct train line to London?

Thanks x

[philiphenslowe]

I should have said we'll be renting for a year initially, as we don't want to commit to buying in a particular area before we've done a lot more research on schools etc.

[Claire29]

Sorry don't know too much about the area's but having moved from east dulwich to "surbibia!" last year having a car is essential, well for me it is having 3 kids. Would you consider taking driving lessons before you move, been able to drive opens up so many opportunities, and would make life so much easier and enjoyable for when you are home with little un. That way you wont end up feeling so claustraphobic in the area. Good luck with the move!

[womanofdulwich]

Learn to drive NOW. seriously. Growing up outside London with out being able to drive will be very hard- all that ferrying children to and fro- parties/ football/ school. If you only have one child ,learn while you can.

[Elfy]

I grew up in Maidenhead (well Taplow) so know the area well. I actually moved back for a year or so, and decided it wasn't for me and moved back to London. Different strokes for different folks, though. There are some nice places all around and it's really not that far from London. Plus it will be on Crossrail which will make life easier (and perhaps put house prices up?)

Neither of the town centres are that inspiring. Maidenhead is now charity shop/pound shop central..(I love the charity shops though, you can get a real bargain!). It's not that good a place to go out either. Much nicer pubs, etc in the villages all around. And Windsor's not bad for a bit of social life.

There are some really nice towns and villages near to Maidenhead (Cookham, Marlow, Taplow, Bray) but you would definitely need to drive. In fact, you would need to drive even if you lived in Maidenhead itself. Going to the supermarket, etc would be a mission. The buses are not great.

They have lots of issues with schools there too , ie too many children and not enough places. If you're going to buy a place, definitely get familiar with the schools and catchment areas. It sounds like ages away for your little one, but it creeps up on you.

My advice would be to spend quite a while driving round and see what takes your fancy. Beaconsfield is also really nice (and v posh). The houses are very expensive but it depends what you can afford. The train line is good from there too.

PM me if you want any more info...

[miss]

High Wycombe is a fairly ordinary town in the middle of some very beautiful Chilterns countryside. There are lots of pretty villages and small towns around. There are some very affluent parts (e.g. Beaconsfield, as Elfy mentioned) whilst parts of HW are less prosperous. The town centre has recently been redeveloped with a new shopping centre but the John Lewis is out of town, near the M40.

I would strongly echo the other posters' urges for you to learn to drive. There are reasonably good bus services in and out of HW but they're not terribly frequent and they are expensive compared to London buses. You will really need a car to make the most of the area.

one further thing to consider - HW and the surrounding areas operate a grammar school system with the 11+. I don't know whether the Maidenhead schools are similar but this may have an impact on your decision.

[Elfy]

Maidenhead secondary schools are not grammar, but you only have to cross the river and they are. Maidenhead is in Berkshire and over the river it's Bucks (the whole of Bucks is a grammar system). Just to complicate things, Slough (which is in Berkshire) also has grammar schools.

I did the 11 plus and went to a grammar whereas my brother went to a school in Maidenhead, which was a comprehensive. Depending where you live, there is a little bit of choice. (This may have changed..it's a while since I was at school!)

[Smiler]

Another vote for learning to drive. Am in suburbia elsewhere and it's hard to do much without driving. Had a few months not driving after a C-section and got fed up using infrequent, pricey buses competing with the buggy with many elderly passengers with shopping wheely things. I still miss london buses!

Also agree re checking out schools, there can be shortages of spaces, tiny catchments and so on.

local parks. Where we are there is lots of outdoor space, but it's all "wild", and no facilities, so not as good for children as London parks, and in the week at least we probably spent more time out and about when we lived in London!

When looking at trains, check out the actual times, for early and late trains too. We thought there were three an hour where we are, but they are not evenly spaced, so in fact it's more like one every 30 mins, which can be a pain when leaving work in a rush.

[lucie1979]

There are some lovely villages around Twyford/Hurst. Can get to Paddington in 30 mins on the train from there - loads do it (and its a couple of stops , c 10 mins from Maidenhead itself). Grew up around there and it's great. You are near to Reading and Maidenhead for shopping and really easy into London on the train. Village school in Hurst is excellent and some pretty good state secondaries plus choice of private schools around. PM me if you'd like further details, but definitely agree I wouldn't go for living actually in Maidenhead....

[lorraineliyanage]

How about Ealing if you don't want to leave London? The train from Ealing Broadway is direct to Maidenhead (30 minutes) in one direction and Paddington (10 minutes) in the other.

[philiphenslowe]

Thanks for all the replies - we went to both places to look round and although I wasn't taken with either plac, it looks like we'll be renting in Maidenhead for the first year until we get to know the area. I've also realised that I really do need to learn how to drive (I last attempted that 18 years ago!).

Thanks again

[canela]

loads of nice smaller villages around the area if you prefer somewhere picturesque. otherwise i would suggest Reading as lots more going on, easy commute to both london and maidenhead.