Places to live in Oxford

[bobski1]

Mods - if not in the right location please can you move.

Got a new role which requires a relocation to Oxford. Previous to where I am now I did a stint in Essex which was expensive but looking at Oxford it is even worse!

Can anybody recommend any areas to either within Oxford or the surrounding areas which are a little more reasonable, ideally budget is £750/month but can stretch to £850/month max, ideally 2 bedroom unfurnished but flexible on both if it means staying within budget & not house sharing.

[bobski1]

I'll be commuting to near Grove so ideally outskirts is better to avoid the traffi.

I might start to look at some of the areas outside like Abingdon but the reason for choosing Oxford were for the facilities & the events etc which occur but I guess if I want that I'll have to pay for it. How difficult is it to commute in for some shops on a weekend?

Both the Mrs & I have cars so getting around isn't that bad but I do know Oxford hates cares or so they say.

She hasn't found a role yet & being a teacher is flexible where she can go so no worry there it's more my commute & having access to some of the Asian shops etc in Oxford.

Edited by bobski1 on Thursday 11th May 09:02

[bobski1]

What is council tax likely to be per month, I estimate around £175 which is why /month I want to keep the rent as low as possible.

Starting to think I should have negotiated for more

[bobski1]

Upped the price range & ones between £850-£950 seems to be the right ones, just means will have to tighten the belt a little more than planned, nothing impossible mind.

Any other tips/areas please feel free to share, the area itself appears to be somewhere I could see myself settling in permanently, don't dare look at the house prices yet!

[bobski1]

Is Cowley a place to avoid?

Looking on right move around the south/west of oxford & there seems to be lots more around Cowley towards the lower end of the budget.

[bobski1]

Understood on Cowley.

I don't mind Wantage, prices seem okay but doesn't seem to be a whole lot there, Asda Wheatley is 30miles away!

It may just have to be Abingdon for the 12 months of rent then look a bit closer to the time when it comes to buying.

[bobski1]

illmonkey said:

egomeister said:

bobski1 said:

Asda Wheatley is 30miles away!

Other supermarkets are available

Literally ANYTHING, it truly is a horrid horrid place.

Only I reason I say that is currently doing a lidl/asda shop has saved us a fair few £ this last year & if want to buy around Oxford then need to save all I can.

I think it might be worth a trip down next weekend to check the areas out & see how they are.

[bobski1]

illmonkey said:

bobski1 said:

Only I reason I say that is currently doing a lidl/asda shop has saved us a fair few £ this last year & if want to buy around Oxford then need to save all I can.

I think it might be worth a trip down next weekend to check the areas out & see how they are.

Those shops do exist around these parts The particular example you gave is nasty though!

Take a look here if you do pop down, for things to do: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Oh, I misunderstood that, looking on google that was the closest one, is there one closer?

Cheer for the link to the thread, will have a quick look although I think we will be scouting out potential places to live & how close things are then heading back up.

May explore more when actually come to get a place, never ever been so bothered about a place to live but the prices are absolutely ridiculous, even making me second guess whether the job is worth the hassle.

Edited by bobski1 on Monday 15th May 16:30

[bobski1]

Belnot Phist said:

Have lived round here all my life so may be able to offer some helpful advice. I certainly wouldn't come in from Oxford each day, the roads can be pretty congested, and Wantage itself has several thousand new houses in the pipeline, which will only exacerbate the situation.

The Hanneys are very nice, as are some of the smaller villages, Denchworth, Charney Bassett, and so on, but can be pricey.
Stanford in the Vale is OK, going further out towards Faringdon/ Swindon would definitely be a cheaper option. Grove itself is just outside the Oxford 'Halo' so prices aren't quite as eye watering.

Wanatge isn't a bad place at all, and you're just on the edge of the Downs so there is some beautiful countryside on your doorstep if that sort of thing is what you like.

I think it will be Wantage for the first year & will have to revisit once we look to buy, love country side & wouldn't mind getting into some watersports.

I don't want to be going through oxford as traffic is a nightmare, the only reason for Oxford is purely for some of the asian shops etc that I need. The triangle between Oxford, Swindon & Reading seems to be really quiet for that kind of stuff, Oxford being the closer place but I don't want to be paying through the nose for something when it comes to buy.

Edited by bobski1 on Friday 19th May 11:41

[bobski1]

TheVole said:

Hi - I live nearby (Kingston Bagpuize/Southmoor). To be local to Grove, the obvious place is Wantage, which is alright, nothing special.

After that, a few nearby places:

-Kingston Bagpuize/Southmoor (lots of new houses going up at the moment)
-Letcombe Regis/Bassett - sleepy but meant to be quite nice
-Denchworth
-East and West Hanney
-Goosey
-Stanford in the Vale
-Faringdon
-East Hendred
-Rowstock
-Steventon
-Abingdon

Avoid Oxford itself if you can - the prices are astronomical and the traffic, as already mentioned, is insane.

Off topic - the car scene around here is pretty big, myself and a few friends run one of the biggest car clubs in the county, Limitless - not sure on the rules on linking here but we're on Facebook

The car clubs are something I am definitely looking forward too, not on facebook but once I am settled I will drop you a message for some links perhaps?

Any other information or places of interest you know, send them on

[bobski1]

been looking regulalry and everything seems to be going really quickly, although since I don't need anywhere till mid July. Feels that it is still too early but anything nice I see goes within a week or 2 so bit of a balance between paying a little more for a month to get a nice place ready for when I go & rushing around last minute, might just be overthinking this....

Got 2 appointments booked for Saturday, one in Farringdon & another in Wallingford, any idea on the kind of commute from either of those places? Or would you pick one over the other?

Edited by bobski1 on Thursday 1st June 15:51

[bobski1]

Think I am going to cancel the appointments for this weekend, it seems to be a little too early to be signing up for a place yet, 6 weeks of wasted rent.

Open to the small villages/towns, went down last weekend so got an okay feel of the distances but not the levels of traffic.

Will go down in a few weeks to find somewhere, genuinely appreciate all the help and info you guys have given, has made this move a lot less of a hassle and the more I'm looking the more decent places I'm finding.

For the first 12 months of rent I don't mind where I am, more when it comes to buy.

Also how is crime and general riffraff down there, all seemed okay when walking round, no issues or worries but can't always get a full feel in a few hours

Edited by bobski1 on Friday 2nd June 13:47

[bobski1]

Thanks, currently looking around Faringdon, seems like a very nice little town, plenty amenities & where currently looking is way within budget & seems to be quite a quiet area too.

Commute to grove doesn't seem all that bad & the drive to/from Oxford doesn't seem all that difficult either, again traffic not really representative of weekdays.

So, next question I have diesel seems to be around £1.25/ltr seems extortionate compared to other places, where are the good fuel stations?

[bobski1]

thunderpigeon said:

I'm usually filling up with ultimate or v power diesel so I have a smaller selection to go on. I have an app called Petrol Prices, which you can use to see what's best in the area. Very useful in areas I don't often visit to find what I need without resorting to motorway prices! Give that a go. The jet near Williams f1 at grove is often cheap, as is the sainsburys in Wantage. Didcot is usually 1 or 2p more on average from memory. Heading further west from Wantage will not give you much choice as not many big towns and supermarkets giving cheap fuel.

I tend to stay away from supermarket stuff, might try Jet but again always tend to stay with either Shell of BP, get the best MPG from there.

I know there is a Shell in Oxford so might just visit then when going for a few things on a weekend, full tank gets me around 500miles anyway so enough to last at least a week.

[bobski1]

thunderpigeon said:

There is a BP in Wantage, and on the A34 junction for Didcot. Plenty of choices, but I often have to make slight detours for the fuel I want. But its only once every 500 miles as you say

Ah then that makes things better as I will likely drive through/around there, slight detour isn't a big hassle.

Really looking forward to moving now though, looked at some of the houses for sale, Oxford obviously is just ridiculous but there are some towns/villages where you can still get a decent amount for your money & probably only 50k or so more than the equivalent up North but if the prices keep rising then good potential profit in the long run.

[bobski1]

thunderpigeon said:

Yes. House prices around here are mental. I live in Didcot, which gets the fallout from Oxford and London prices and the house went up 60k in two years!

60K?! wow thats crazy, will look to get onto the ladder as soon as I am in the area, profit to be had!

[bobski1]

Next round of questions, any good VW specialists around the area?

At the moment I have a friend who has a VW specialist so I tend to go there to do any work on the car & pull on the guys there if I have any issues. Will probably take some time to build another relationship like that though.

Or if there aren't any good ones anywhere that does ramp hire?

[bobski1]

TheVole said:

seiben said:

Can't help on VW specialists, but if you want ramp hire this place is awesome:

http://thisisyourgarage.com/

Can confirm, TIYG is a great place and Dick and Dave (the guys who run it) are both lovely chaps. They're a sponsor of Limitless - so you'll get your time a bit cheaper if you're part of the club

Also, our monthly meets (first Sunday of every month, 12pm-4pm) are held there. Here are some of the pictures from our last one.


Edit - Faringdon is a pleasant little place, I went to school there. Good main road links, and getting to Grove will be easy using the A420 and A417.

Edited by TheVole on Friday 9th June 12:29

Will look into TIYG & the meet, looking at the website it looks like a really good place.

Faringdon does look really nice, quite excited about moving now tbh

[bobski1]

In the area now, seems like a good little place, getting to/from work hasn't been all that difficult tried a few different routes including some back roads which has been fun driving.

Could people suggest places to visit/things to see, want to take advantage of the green sites and take my camera with me as much as possible, first stop is the sculpture just outside the Grove Technology Park, looks ace.