Maidenhead or Windsor or Twyford?

[SteveDyson]

Hi,

We are looking for a 2/3 bed property in either windsor or Maidenhead or Tywford as i will be working from slough.

I was in maidenhead and in windsor last week and i liked both areas but didn't have much time to look around alot.

Which area is good for families? We have got 2 kids under age 5 so we like live near good schools. I have checked the ofsted reports for primary schools in Tywford, Maidenhead and Windsor, all three areas has got good schools but i think Tywford has got outstanding schools and then Maidenhead and then windsor.

Are there any areas to avoid in Maidenhead or Windsor?

Apart from Twyford which city has got good town with more departmental stores and food shops like tesco and sainsbury?

Is Halton CT (off springfield road) good area in windsor? Also Hever Close in Maidenhead?

[Old Merc]

I think you will find Twyford gets the vote,I love the place.I`ve never lived in Maidenhead or Windsor but judging by all the comments in a recent topic on here Twyford was top of the list also.Check out "which is the better place".

[wackojacko]

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

[BrightYellowTVR]

Twyford or Wokingham or woodley area all easy a329m/m4 to slough wife commutes (driving) daily Winnersh to slough on that route and 45min average at rush hour. Twyford to slough on train is quicker if you are near the station in slough or your co. Run shuttle buses like O2 for instance.

Cheers Jon

[5678]

Wokingham, Windsor or Twyford out of that lot IMO.

For reference, I live near Jct 12 on the M4 and commute to the trading estate in Slough. On a clear run it's 25 mins, Worst case scenario (usually Tuesday mornings, it can be just over an hour.)

[touching cloth]

I see this a lot but it's kind of a funny question as to which is better. Firstly it's all rather subjective, but also the question kind of hinges on an assumption of a like for like house in each of these, which also assuming a set budget won't happen. On another thread people were advising against Bracknell and recommending Windsor/Twyford etc.. but the thing is you won't get the same level of house. This may be fine for young couple who will happily live in a 1 bed flat so that they can be town central and stagger home after a night out, but as a family it may be that you choose to forfeit slightly on "best location" to simply get a lot more living space. You mention shops etc, at the end of the day you can drive to any of the nice shopping places regardless of where you live so I personally wouldn't get too hung up on this. Schools do throw another spanner into the mix (to mix my metaphors) - but again be careful about finding an area with a really good school and decide that's the place, a lot of these good schools will be an oversubscribed first choice anyway, you may pick somewhere with a great first choice school, but it's massively oversubscribed because the second option is diabolical, what if that's what you get offered. Personally I'd throw a wide net over the whole area and see what comes up, check that there are at least 2 schools you would be happy with withing striking distance and try to find a decent balance of house and placement.

[Famous Graham]

And make sure those schools educate your offspring on the merits of paragraphs

Having lived all but the last 6 years out of 38 in Reading and its environs, and the last 3 months in Windsor (the intervening 5 3/4 yrs in Edinburgh), I wouldn't suggest either of those town centres. Reading for it's roughness and Windsor for its expense.

Reading's only saving graces are the 30 mins to Paddington and the shops & cinemas available. But then, Twyford and Wokingham are minutes away from it if you need those, anyway.

So yeah, smaller towns within striking distance of Reading would be my bet.

[touching cloth]

pssht shut it you it was enough I bothered with punctuation and capital letters

[mattdavies]

In answer to you original question, I personally live in a village outside of Maidenhead towards Windsor, and have lived around Maidenhead all my life thus far can only give you my opinion on the area. Areas to avoid in my opinion would be Woodlands Park and Larchfield, not particuly 'dodgy' but if I had kids i wouldnt want them playing on the streets there.

Shops wise the Main supermarkets are Sainsburys and a Waitrose, although there is a small tesco in the town centre. If you prefer Asda or Tesco Supermarkets then you can always do that in Slough. The town centre is reasonable shopping and has a few high street chains, all major mobile phone shops, a number of Nail salons and Most high street banks. The Town centre is currently in the process of being re-vamped.

School wise, there is a all boys, all girls and mixed schools all in the area, in Marlow there is a Grammer school easily accessible from Marlow train station, to get a place here you have to pass your 11+.