Move to Banbury
Discussion
Hello
My husband and I are looking to move from London to Banbury. Having read a previous post on someone doing a similar thing I wanted to pick the brains of any Banbarians out there.
Our first choice of location would have been Oxford but you don't get a lot for your money in Oxford and we'd like to be in a small town but with easy access to the countryside but still within striking distance of London. So we're looking at Banbury.
A couple of questions for any locals out there: Does Banbury really smell of coffee? We've been twice so far and I haven't detected it but I've a rumour the Kraft plant can create a whiff. Is there much of social scene for two thrity-somethings? We've hung up our clubbing shoes but we don't want to end up in a retirement town just yet. We're looking for character properties, there are some lovely Victorian houses very close to the town centre, Marlborough Place, Dashwood Road etc, is that a decent area?
Any advice is much appreciated!
My husband and I are looking to move from London to Banbury. Having read a previous post on someone doing a similar thing I wanted to pick the brains of any Banbarians out there.
Our first choice of location would have been Oxford but you don't get a lot for your money in Oxford and we'd like to be in a small town but with easy access to the countryside but still within striking distance of London. So we're looking at Banbury.
A couple of questions for any locals out there: Does Banbury really smell of coffee? We've been twice so far and I haven't detected it but I've a rumour the Kraft plant can create a whiff. Is there much of social scene for two thrity-somethings? We've hung up our clubbing shoes but we don't want to end up in a retirement town just yet. We're looking for character properties, there are some lovely Victorian houses very close to the town centre, Marlborough Place, Dashwood Road etc, is that a decent area?
Any advice is much appreciated!
Banbury is ok, we usually end up shopping there so know it pretty well. Has it's problem areas like every town but not a patch on London I imagine. I know where those two roads are and think they're fine. If you travel for work like me it's a great base - M40 is usually pretty good in the morning if you're commuting south.
I can confirm the Kraft factory gets a bit whiffy when they're making whatever it is but it's not everyday
I can confirm the Kraft factory gets a bit whiffy when they're making whatever it is but it's not everyday
We live about 10 miles out of Banbury, and tend to avoid it as much as possible. It does stink!
Have a look at the villages between Banbury & Stratford. Quiet areas, but have buses to Banbury & Stratford albeit not too regular. We tend to go out in Stratford, but avoid the Stratford house prices living where we do.
Have a look at the villages between Banbury & Stratford. Quiet areas, but have buses to Banbury & Stratford albeit not too regular. We tend to go out in Stratford, but avoid the Stratford house prices living where we do.
Depends alot on what you need, commuting?
Banbury is ok, but as has been said before its has its problems and areas you'd want to avoid (like any town really), but there are also lots of small villages nearby, that offer good choices. Not that stinky most of the time, but depends where in town your going to be.
Also worth a look at Bicester.
Banbury is ok, but as has been said before its has its problems and areas you'd want to avoid (like any town really), but there are also lots of small villages nearby, that offer good choices. Not that stinky most of the time, but depends where in town your going to be.
Also worth a look at Bicester.
fatboy b said:
We live about 10 miles out of Banbury, and tend to avoid it as much as possible. It does stink!
Well you obviously have not been anywhere near Banbury for at least 15 years!I've lived here for 22 years and have no plans to move. Easily commutable for both Birmingham and London, terrific town centre and adjacent shopping centre.
Beautiful countryside and some absolutlely amazing village pubs. Plus Hook Norton brewery just down a village lane!
Certainly worth thinking about.
SV8Predator said:
fatboy b said:
We live about 10 miles out of Banbury, and tend to avoid it as much as possible. It does stink!
Well you obviously have not been anywhere near Banbury for at least 15 years!I've lived here for 22 years and have no plans to move. Easily commutable for both Birmingham and London, terrific town centre and adjacent shopping centre.
Beautiful countryside and some absolutlely amazing village pubs. Plus Hook Norton brewery just down a village lane!
Certainly worth thinking about.
Agreed, the surrounding villages are lovely, and some excellent pubs! That's why we live in one of the villages. And now we use Ocado for shopping, we hardly ever have to go to Banbury. Bliss!
fatboy b said:
Says what? That I'm sensible enough to avoid a 15 miles round trip to a supermarket to clog up an already clogged-up car park?
IMHO Banbury isn't a bad place. They've spent a bit of money on it and it looks fine to me. It got bashed in the last moving to Banbury thread as well - I just don't understand it. I thought your comments weren't helpful to someone moving from London. Having lived in West London myself I imagine Banbury will seem like the Promised Land by comparison. Your comments came across a bit snobby and you do seem somewhat obsessed by chavs and tackiness that's why shopping at Ocado says it all. Don't Fortnums deliver? 
grumbledook said:
fatboy b said:
Says what? That I'm sensible enough to avoid a 15 miles round trip to a supermarket to clog up an already clogged-up car park?
IMHO Banbury isn't a bad place. They've spent a bit of money on it and it looks fine to me. It got bashed in the last moving to Banbury thread as well - I just don't understand it. I thought your comments weren't helpful to someone moving from London. Having lived in West London myself I imagine Banbury will seem like the Promised Land by comparison. Your comments came across a bit snobby and you do seem somewhat obsessed by chavs and tackiness that's why shopping at Ocado says it all. Don't Fortnums deliver? Most of the products are of a higher quality that Sainsbury's or Tesco's. Snobby it's not - believe me. Sensible it is. It also saves us a good 2-3 hours a week by not having to go shopping for food. I think you just need to open your eyes a little.
WRT chavs in Banbury, just need to have a walk around the town centre most days. I'm sure there are nice places in Banbury, but on the whole it's a below average town. And the Castle Quay area is nasty tacky.
Yawn. If you girls are going to scratch each other, do it in the car park.
Banbury is pretty good, all things considered. It's big advantage is that you can live in a nice house within walking distance of the town centre without having to pay a fortune as you would in Stratford, Leamington or Oxford, all of which are a much greater arse to get into and around. Lots of lovely villages within easy reach, the Kraft factory doesn't fill the town with stench as some would have you believe (sometimes the bakery does, but that's rather nice, makes me hungry), excellent transport links, and a huge range of employment choices.
Are you renting or buying?
Banbury is pretty good, all things considered. It's big advantage is that you can live in a nice house within walking distance of the town centre without having to pay a fortune as you would in Stratford, Leamington or Oxford, all of which are a much greater arse to get into and around. Lots of lovely villages within easy reach, the Kraft factory doesn't fill the town with stench as some would have you believe (sometimes the bakery does, but that's rather nice, makes me hungry), excellent transport links, and a huge range of employment choices.
Are you renting or buying?
ajcj said:
Yawn. If you girls are going to scratch each other, do it in the car park.
Banbury is pretty good, all things considered. It's big advantage is that you can live in a nice house within walking distance of the town centre without having to pay a fortune as you would in Stratford, Leamington or Oxford, all of which are a much greater arse to get into and around. Lots of lovely villages within easy reach, the Kraft factory doesn't fill the town with stench as some would have you believe (sometimes the bakery does, but that's rather nice, makes me hungry), excellent transport links, and a huge range of employment choices.
Are you renting or buying?
Each to their own I guess. IMO Banbury = shiitpitBanbury is pretty good, all things considered. It's big advantage is that you can live in a nice house within walking distance of the town centre without having to pay a fortune as you would in Stratford, Leamington or Oxford, all of which are a much greater arse to get into and around. Lots of lovely villages within easy reach, the Kraft factory doesn't fill the town with stench as some would have you believe (sometimes the bakery does, but that's rather nice, makes me hungry), excellent transport links, and a huge range of employment choices.
Are you renting or buying?
Thanks everyone for the comments. We're selling up in London and looking to buy in Banbury. What attracts us is there are some lovely Victorian properties that are in our price range. We're completely priced out of Oxford, Leamington etc.
Having lived in London for 10 years we like the idea of being in a town, we're not quite ready for village life yet.
On our two visits I thought it was quite a nice town. The Reindeer pub and Also Known As bar seemed like great venues.
I don't have a sense of whether there's much of a community feeling or what the best areas of the town are, any thoughts on that would be great.
Thanks all!
Having lived in London for 10 years we like the idea of being in a town, we're not quite ready for village life yet.
On our two visits I thought it was quite a nice town. The Reindeer pub and Also Known As bar seemed like great venues.
I don't have a sense of whether there's much of a community feeling or what the best areas of the town are, any thoughts on that would be great.
Thanks all!
If you're looking for Victorian housing then around Dashwood Road, running up behind the Oxford Road is quite pleasant. Obviously check the amenities immediate to any house your looking at won't affect you. After that there are some nice houses around Bath Road, between the Warwick and Broughton Roads. Bottom of the pile is Grimsbury.
The coffee smell will only affect you if you shop at Tesco or live in the few houses nearby.
The coffee smell will only affect you if you shop at Tesco or live in the few houses nearby.
hols you will look out of place up dashwood road cos its all care homes lol
as for nightlife yes theres plenty,as long as you are a hard man you will be ok
cos when the council estate boys come into town all hell breaks lose
banbury is one nasty place i know cos i was born there and lived there for many years
i lived in queens road and had my car damaged at least once a week i then moved up timms estate
a so called nice area all i got up there was dids who wanted to tarmac my drive
come back to banbury never never never !
as for nightlife yes theres plenty,as long as you are a hard man you will be ok
cos when the council estate boys come into town all hell breaks lose
banbury is one nasty place i know cos i was born there and lived there for many years
i lived in queens road and had my car damaged at least once a week i then moved up timms estate
a so called nice area all i got up there was dids who wanted to tarmac my drive
come back to banbury never never never !
If you look on Google Maps, keeping west or south of the town centre is good advice - look for Bath Rd, Queens Rd, Kings Rd, Crouch St, Broughton Rd, Prospect road. It's not that big a place, you could spend an afternoon walking around and get a good feel for most of the streets. Off-street parking is sometimes hard to find in those areas, so check the arrangements. As a balance to the posters who seem determined to present the town as a vast open-air crack den, my experience is: I've lived in the town centre for 4 years now, two of them on one of the more 'characterful' streets (Britannia Rd) and in all that time my TVRs have been parked on or just off the street, never had any problems. I've been out in the town pretty regularly for the last fifteen years and never seen a fight. The town does lack a really decent restaurant, but there are some cracking pubs in the nearby villages for that.
If you want a view on a specific street or property, post it up or PM me, be glad to help.
If you want a view on a specific street or property, post it up or PM me, be glad to help.
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