Working in Slough, where to live

[Croutons]

Steve Campbell said:

lots of useful stuff.

Thanks, appreciate this, may drop you a line.

Thank you for the other contributions, sounds like there are some great options, provided I avoid Slough itself!

Edited by Croutons on Monday 21st March 20:43

[hornetrider]

Ha! I did this thread about 5 years ago. Let me find it.

[hornetrider]

Here you go.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Fwiw I ended up staying with friends in Twyford. Nice small town with a few good pubs and a Waitrose. Super easy commute by train into Slough. I even drove a fair bit and it wasn't much bother.

[AC43]

Croutons said:

Anyone in Marlow itself? Is it just a 1* pub or is there more to it?

I live in London so can't comment on what it's like to live in some of the places on the thread but the company I work for has an office in Marlow and I'm there 2-3 times a month. It's very pretty and has good schools but also very small. When there's leaving drinks they always seem to go to the same bar. It's also hard to get in an out of on a train as it's on a branch line. So pretty & good schools but small and a bit cut off. To put that last point into perspective people from Marlow face a very lengthy commute to our city office which involves schlepping to either Wycombe or Maidenhead, taking a train into Paddington and then crossing London on the tube. If you ever found yourself working in London that would be a right PITA.

Beaconsfield is a lot bigger and has the feel of a market town. Good rail links and also on the tube. Even better for schools but incredibly expensive when I looked about three years ago. I presume a lot of Londoners cash in and move there when they have kids. Then they stay put. I could have seen myself living there and there was enough to keep teenagers happy (plus London is easy to get to) but the price differential wasn't big enough. Probably even more eye watering now. Also, because people don't move, when we wouldn't have been able to get our kids into the local primary - we'd have had to send them to one in Slough to start. I'm used to lots of churn in London but people in Beaconsfield seem to put their roots down and plan long term for the grammar schools.

Edited by AC43 on Monday 21st March 22:04

[Lynch91]

Beaconsfield and High Wycombe are both nice

[Danm1les]

Croutons said:

Steve Campbell said:

lots of useful stuff.

Thanks, appreciate this, may drop you a line.

Thank you for the other contributions, sounds like there are some great options, provided I avoid Slough itself!

Edited by Croutons on Monday 21st March 20:43

Where in Farnham Royal are you Steve? Always suprises me how close people are!

Back O/T you could have rented my spare room short term if this was 2 months in the future!

[The Moose]

I was born and raised in this area (although I hasten to add not in Slough itself!).

Windsor is nice, but I wouldn't want to live there. Often a nightmare with the number of vehicles and people around.

I now live in Beaconsfield and can recommend it. Lots going for the place and not a huge amount against tbh.

We have a rental portfolio in Beaconsfield and have a few bits coming up for rent shortly at various different points in the market if I can be of some help.

I would avoid High Wycombe - nothing like as nice as Beaconsfield. Also if you're looking in Beaconsfield then I'd suggest avoiding Holtspur - it's not Beaconsfield!!!!

The main roads to the trading estate can be a pain, however it's really easy to cut through various back routes - some of which are fun to drive.

Spent a lot of time in Farnham Common (and still do), however I think Slough is starting to encroach (even just mentally) - that extra few miles into Bucks is important!

[Marvindodgers]

The Moose said:

I would avoid High Wycombe - nothing like as nice as Beaconsfield. Also if you're looking in Beaconsfield then I'd suggest avoiding Holtspur - it's not Beaconsfield!!!!

Just in defence of High Wycombe, it is a completely different proposition to Beaconsfield! Beaconsfield is small town of around 10k people, whereas Wycombe is a large town of around 120k population with a surrounding population approaching nearly 200k, so it inevitably suffers in comparison on the looks and community feel front. However, it has every facility you would need, a fast train link to central London, some of the best schools in the country and plenty of beautiful scenery and villages surrounding it.
Easy access to Slough as well from the original question.

[deckster]

Marvindodgers said:

Just in defence of High Wycombe...suffers...on the looks and community feel front....a fast train link to central London...plenty of beautiful scenery and villages surrounding it.

Shamelessly misquoting you I know, but I have highlighted what I feel to be the important information you need to know about High Wycombe. It's ugly and unfriendly, you can leave the place relatively quickly, and it's nice once you aren't actually there any more.

[The Moose]

Marvindodgers said:

The Moose said:

I would avoid High Wycombe - nothing like as nice as Beaconsfield. Also if you're looking in Beaconsfield then I'd suggest avoiding Holtspur - it's not Beaconsfield!!!!

Just in defence of High Wycombe, it is a completely different proposition to Beaconsfield! Beaconsfield is small town of around 10k people, whereas Wycombe is a large town of around 120k population with a surrounding population approaching nearly 200k, so it inevitably suffers in comparison on the looks and community feel front. However, it has every facility you would need, a fast train link to central London, some of the best schools in the country and plenty of beautiful scenery and villages surrounding it.
Easy access to Slough as well from the original question.

Do you live in HW?!

HW is a short drive/train ride from Beaconsfield. The 200k in surrounding areas probably include Beaconsfield! There are quite a lot of areas in HW that I really wouldn't recommend people to live in (based on my research when buying a while ago) whereas there's nowhere in Beaconsfield that I wouldn't be comfortable with the misses being on her own of an evening.

Obviously we're both going to advocate our own choices!

[okgo]

HW was a dump when I used to visit with my grandfather 15-20 years ago - has it got better?

[eybic]

okgo said:

HW was a dump when I used to visit with my grandfather 15-20 years ago - has it got better?

I used to live in Windsor up until about 4 years ago and considered HW to be not a great area then, maybe I was wrong but I wouldn't call it "nice".

[colin_p]

Maidenhead.

Perfectly situated almost on the M4 with easy access to the M3 and M40 and better still on Crossrail / Great Western mainline. You would struggle to find a town better situated in terms of transport and road connections. As with everywhere in the South East, particularly near London, the traffic is terrible though.

I grew up in Slough many many years ago and it was a lovely place, was. We even bought out first place there back in the early 90's. I still think of Slough as home but there is no way I'd want to live there these days.

We moved out to the Northern edge of Maidenhead from Slough, almost twenty years ago and have been very happy.

[blindswelledrat]

Croutons said:

Thanks peep, useful stuff,

Its a contract with Blackberry (they wanted perm & would do so immediately) but I'd before I buy given their solvency. I've moved the family around a lot of late (currently in Cheltenham, a well balanced town; it has a chip on both shoulders for reasons I simply cannot fathom).

Anyone in Marlow itself? Is it just a 1* pub or is there more to it?

Where have you got this impression from?
Marlow is a lovely and lively little town. Summer days by the river and evenings in one of many lively pubs and decent places to eat. Were it not for the fact that transport links into London are crap I would happily live there.

[eps]

I grew up in that area... nearby. Horses for courses really and there are some 'suburbs' of HW that are quite good, but for the main I don't think it's what the OP is looking for.

Schooling wise - you don't say what schools, Primary or Secondary?

Getting to Slough - I think you ideally need to be on the right side of the A404(M) if you are commuting on a daily basis - otherwise get up mega early and leave mega late! It's always bad around that area.

FWIW HW does have a lot to offer and has, dare I say it, improved, but it does take an age to get in and out of and there is a lot of construction work going on round there, at Handy Cross and the old American Airbase.

Marlow is fanastic - I went to school there, but it is just so busy now, all the time. I've got friends and family who live there, but it is not for us.

I think we need a little more info about the family size/make up and also what the OP wants to do outside of work / hobbies etc... How long is the OP planning on living there, etc..?

Maidenhead and various areas can be great. There are lots of villages and also smaller towns between Marlow and Slough to consider. Beaconsfield, Burnham, Bourne End, etc... Most of this is in Bucks. Maidenhead has changed a lot in the recent few years, it's quite sizeable - smaller than HW, but slightly similar.. Cookham as well..

I guess it depends on which 'side' of Slough you want to live... or rather NSE or W of it... Access to London?

[gmaz]

We lived in Iver for 10 years, it is very good for transport, you can get to the M4, M40, M25 (maybe) M3 within 10-15 minutes, Trains to/from paddington every 30 mins and free parking near the station. LHR is 15 mins away.

It is noisy though being next to the M25 and during our time there we noticed it change from nice village to Langley overspill. It is also popular with travellers occasionally.

[DeltaTango]

Grew up in Gerrards Cross and am back living there now, 30 years later. Went to school in High Wycombe. Amazing school but yes the town is a hole and is only getting worse.

Many good suggestions above. For value, property wise, Wexham could work. Windsor is nice, but pricey. Marlow isn't that close to Slough. You won't get anything in actual Beaconsfield for £900k, you will also struggle in Gerrards Cross.

Also try Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St Giles. Even Amersham if that isn't considered too far.

[fastgerman]

Let me rank it for you :-)

Virginia Water / Henley at the top, no questions
Englefield Green
Ascot
Windsor
Marlow / Twyford / Shiplake
Beaconsfield
Maidenhead
Egham
Staines.

We'll stop there, nobody wants to live in High Wycombe, full of tramps and I worked in the town last year for a year. Market day has Jamaican music playing and goats roasting...

[RichB]

Let me have a go at that :-)

Marlow - at the top, prefer it to Henley, less Hooray Henrys
Henley – if you don’t mind the Henrys!
Windsor – Nice town, ok to visit and for shopping but too touristy as a place to live
Beaconsfield – Also a nice place but not on the river
Twyford – ok
Maidenhead – town’s rubbish but on the river and good trains to London
Ascot – slower trains and not on the river
The rest all sleepy ok places
Virginia Water but there’s not much there
Egham - ditto
Englefield Green - Ditto
Shiplake – middle of nowhere!
Staines – why?

[fastgerman]

haha to be fair, similar lists and orders :-)

Englefield Green has the Saville Garden entrance to Windsor Great Park so thats why it's high up on my list

Oh and Staines = St Aines Upon Thames :-)