Moving to Reading area

[Thewitcher]

Hi everybody,

ı am planning to Reading area but also looking at google maps and i see many places with short driving to Reading .like 20 - 30mins
Also i read many things and i talked some people about Berkshire area and really confused I am.Probably we dont prefer to live in city center because you know cities always crowded and more busy etc...

We are married couple with one child. We looked at some places like Bracknell,Earley,Wokingham,Caversham,Ascot,Binfield,Warfield,Winkfield,Maidenhead etc. We can drive to reach Reading ,no matter

So do you have any advice for families about choosing a place?

Thank you in advance

[Voiceoftreason?]

Hello thewitcher . Whilst Google maps might say 20-30 minutes, it can vary to double and sometimes triple that, depending on time and traffic. You might see Old Man’s posts on the general chat page, as he travels Basingstoke way each working day and gives a report - you can see the differences he has sometimes.

I’ll leave others to jump in with their recommendations, but I’d say the West of Reading/Tilehurst, Burghfield are nice and have parks nearby, decent schools round and about and doctors surgeries/nurseries/playgroups. Near enough to town to take a bus if you want, but near to open countryside too. Caversham can be pricey but depends on your budget and kind of house you want. Likewise Ascot and Wokingham. Don’t know the other areas well, Earley can be popular with young families.

[piwacket]

Hello Thewitcher

Hopefully you’ve read other other comments on there… many people ask the same as you have done.
One thing you must take into account is the travelling - Reading traffic is very heavy and so are the roads in and out of town. And how does the travelling relate to where you will be working every day. So if you will be working on the East side of town, don’t buy a house on the West side for example…. Getting across town can be very frustrating and time consuming.
We live in Earley (not Lower Earley (which is an estate development 2 miles away) - lived here for many years because it’s fairly easy, with various routes to either get into town, or within a short distance be out in the countryside. Schools are good, a local shopping precinct for everyday requirements and the right side of town to go to the big out-of-town stores on the A33 by-pass (Rose-Kiln Lane). There’s even a small railway station for trains to `London (Waterloo). Thames valley Business Park is literally just down the road. All this is the same for the area called Woodley which is a short distance away… that used to be a small village, but has been considerably developed with most of it now more modern housing. There are good links to the M4 and onwards to where-ever. Lots of green space and easy access to larger parks (Palmer Park or Dinton Pastures, which is particularly attractive).
Twyford is just along the A4, and also has a Railway station, and a good selection of shops.

Of course I do know Tilehurst, Calcot areas as we have friends there, and what VoT (above) has said is quite right, but sometimes the flow of traffic I’ve found is not so easy as it is from our area.
Caversham is very nice too, but you have to remember that to get into town means getting over a bridge over the Thames, and that can be quite a drawback sometimes.

As said, I’d say it depends where you’re working.

[Thewitcher]

Hello thewitcher . Whilst Google maps might say 20-30 minutes, it can vary to double and sometimes triple that, depending on time and traffic. You might see Old Man’s posts on the general chat page, as he travels Basingstoke way each working day and gives a report - you can see the differences he has sometimes.

I’ll leave others to jump in with their recommendations, but I’d say the West of Reading/Tilehurst, Burghfield are nice and have parks nearby, decent schools round and about and doctors surgeries/nurseries/playgroups. Near enough to town to take a bus if you want, but near to open countryside too. Caversham can be pricey but depends on your budget and kind of house you want. Likewise Ascot and Wokingham. Don’t know the other areas well, Earley can be popular with young families.

Hey , thanks for the information you gave to me, i am sure it will be very helpful.I will look at Tilehurst and Burghfield

[Thewitcher]

Hello Thewitcher

Hopefully you’ve read other other comments on there… many people ask the same as you have done.
One thing you must take into account is the travelling - Reading traffic is very heavy and so are the roads in and out of town. And how does the travelling relate to where you will be working every day. So if you will be working on the East side of town, don’t buy a house on the West side for example…. Getting across town can be very frustrating and time consuming.
We live in Earley (not Lower Earley (which is an estate development 2 miles away) - lived here for many years because it’s fairly easy, with various routes to either get into town, or within a short distance be out in the countryside. Schools are good, a local shopping precinct for everyday requirements and the right side of town to go to the big out-of-town stores on the A33 by-pass (Rose-Kiln Lane). There’s even a small railway station for trains to `London (Waterloo). Thames valley Business Park is literally just down the road. All this is the same for the area called Woodley which is a short distance away… that used to be a small village, but has been considerably developed with most of it now more modern housing. There are good links to the M4 and onwards to where-ever. Lots of green space and easy access to larger parks (Palmer Park or Dinton Pastures, which is particularly attractive).
Twyford is just along the A4, and also has a Railway station, and a good selection of shops.

Of course I do know Tilehurst, Calcot areas as we have friends there, and what VoT (above) has said is quite right, but sometimes the flow of traffic I’ve found is not so easy as it is from our area.
Caversham is very nice too, but you have to remember that to get into town means getting over a bridge over the Thames, and that can be quite a drawback sometimes.

As said, I’d say it depends where you’re working.

Thank you for this detailed article.I will consider

[Voiceoftreason?]

Hello thewitcher . Whilst Google maps might say 20-30 minutes, it can vary to double and sometimes triple that, depending on time and traffic. You might see Old Man’s posts on the general chat page, as he travels Basingstoke way each working day and gives a report - you can see the differences he has sometimes.

I’ll leave others to jump in with their recommendations, but I’d say the West of Reading/Tilehurst, Burghfield are nice and have parks nearby, decent schools round and about and doctors surgeries/nurseries/playgroups. Near enough to town to take a bus if you want, but near to open countryside too. Caversham can be pricey but depends on your budget and kind of house you want. Likewise Ascot and Wokingham. Don’t know the other areas well, Earley can be popular with young families.

Hey , thanks for the information you gave to me, i am sure it will be very helpful.I will look at Tilehurst and Burghfield

Welcome. As Pi says, might pay to you to be mindful of which ‘side’ of Reading you settle, in relation to where you work. Crossing the town, or passing through, can be a nightmare.

I’ve found this website helpful, rather than trawling individual agents..... https://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/ ... y/reading/

[dave m]

Hi
It basically comes down to where your work will be, and go from there initially.
As said, crossing the town is likely to add considerable time to a commute.
If using trains, make sure a bus route is near you as town centre parking is expensive although some parts of town have smaller stations that easily link to the General Station.

Once you get a reasonable idea of what is acceptable job wise, people seem to check out areas based on schools, even if their child is not yet of school age. My area has a sought after school in it so the catchment area adds a premium to the cost. I don’t have kids.

[Thewitcher]

Hello thewitcher . Whilst Google maps might say 20-30 minutes, it can vary to double and sometimes triple that, depending on time and traffic. You might see Old Man’s posts on the general chat page, as he travels Basingstoke way each working day and gives a report - you can see the differences he has sometimes.

I’ll leave others to jump in with their recommendations, but I’d say the West of Reading/Tilehurst, Burghfield are nice and have parks nearby, decent schools round and about and doctors surgeries/nurseries/playgroups. Near enough to town to take a bus if you want, but near to open countryside too. Caversham can be pricey but depends on your budget and kind of house you want. Likewise Ascot and Wokingham. Don’t know the other areas well, Earley can be popular with young families.

Hey , thanks for the information you gave to me, i am sure it will be very helpful.I will look at Tilehurst and Burghfield

Welcome. As Pi says, might pay to you to be mindful of which ‘side’ of Reading you settle, in relation to where you work. Crossing the town, or passing through, can be a nightmare.

I’ve found this website helpful, rather than trawling individual agents..... https://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/ ... y/reading/

Hello, thank you again, i am sure that web site will give some more info about prices and locations

[Thewitcher]

Hi
It basically comes down to where your work will be, and go from there initially.
As said, crossing the town is likely to add considerable time to a commute.
If using trains, make sure a bus route is near you as town centre parking is expensive although some parts of town have smaller stations that easily link to the General Station.

Once you get a reasonable idea of what is acceptable job wise, people seem to check out areas based on schools, even if their child is not yet of school age. My area has a sought after school in it so the catchment area adds a premium to the cost. I don’t have kids.

Thank you , i will pay attention .
And yes school bases are more important for families

[OLDMAN]

Hi Thewitcher and welcome

One simple question – where will you be working (general area / industrial estate etc will do rather than actual company etc) as that helps with guidance etc

[Thewitcher]

Hi Thewitcher and welcome

One simple question – where will you be working (general area / industrial estate etc will do rather than actual company etc) as that helps with guidance etc

Hello Oldman

will be working in Bracknell area

[piwacket]

will be working in Bracknell area

In that case then, you’d probably be better off looking for property to the East of Reading. You can go along the A329M which starts along the London Road by the railway bridge.

[OLDMAN]

Agree – try your search in the RG6 1xx area and move out 'East' from that - I’m in East Reading (born, bred and still in the area) and Pi is just up the road in Earley
I come under RBC, and she is under WBC as the councils borders run through the area so can make a difference but nothing to really worry about

There’s quite a few agencies in the area so you should be okay to find a place

There are several good schools / good buses and a ‘local’ train station at Earley (both will get you to Bracknell as a back-up or the Town Centre) - and if you get into the No17 bus route area that runs 24/7

Only thing I will add for now is if you find somewhere in the area make sure you go to work a little earlier than normal (if a 9:00am start) as traffic can be bad along the A3290/M - I did it for 4yrs in my last job so can advise once you get closer to finding anything and as you do, ask about other bits it the area and we can update accordingly

And from your original list – Bracknell (okay depending which bit) Earley (which is covered with East Reading) Wokingham (okay but expensive housing) Caversham (I’d say no as would mean traveling across the town which can get bad) Ascot (bit far out for Reading and very expensive) Binfield (okay) Warfield / Winkfield (okay if you like ‘villages) Maidenhead (sort of okay but sadly the town is slowly dying off)

[dave m]

Also, consider Winnersh or Wokingham?

Winnersh (with respect to anyone who lives there) is a bit of a ribbon development at a crossroads on the way to Wokingham.
There is are schools and a few developments as well as older houses.

Wokingham can be expensive

Both are on the Bracknell rail line and Winnersh is easy to access the Motorway.

[Thewitcher]

Agree – try your search in the RG6 1xx area and move out 'East' from that - I’m in East Reading (born, bred and still in the area) and Pi is just up the road in Earley
I come under RBC, and she is under WBC as the councils borders run through the area so can make a difference but nothing to really worry about

There’s quite a few agencies in the area so you should be okay to find a place

There are several good schools / good buses and a ‘local’ train station at Earley (both will get you to Bracknell as a back-up or the Town Centre) - and if you get into the No17 bus route area that runs 24/7

Only thing I will add for now is if you find somewhere in the area make sure you go to work a little earlier than normal (if a 9:00am start) as traffic can be bad along the A3290/M - I did it for 4yrs in my last job so can advise once you get closer to finding anything and as you do, ask about other bits it the area and we can update accordingly

And from your original list – Bracknell (okay depending which bit) Earley (which is covered with East Reading) Wokingham (okay but expensive housing) Caversham (I’d say no as would mean traveling across the town which can get bad) Ascot (bit far out for Reading and very expensive) Binfield (okay) Warfield / Winkfield (okay if you like ‘villages) Maidenhead (sort of okay but sadly the town is slowly dying off)

Thank you very much again.And i will consider wht you said about locations.I visit rightmove.co.uk and notice that Ascot and Wokingham are expensive

[Thewitcher]

Also, consider Winnersh or Wokingham?

Winnersh (with respect to anyone who lives there) is a bit of a ribbon development at a crossroads on the way to Wokingham.
There is are schools and a few developments as well as older houses.

Wokingham can be expensive

Both are on the Bracknell rail line and Winnersh is easy to access the Motorway.

Thank you for your help