jill the potter Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I might be jumping the gun a bit here, but my OH has an interview for a job at the end of the month, and if he gets it he will be London based and it would mean us relocating I don't want to move too far from Manchester, but it has to be close enough for him to commute (no more than an hour preferably) So have been doing a bit of homework and it would seem the outskirts to the west of Northampton would seem like a good area. We would like something with a bit of land or a very large garden so we can grow more veg and keep more hens Have seen a couple of properties in West Hadden that look ok, but of course it's hard to tell online (especially when OH has told me not to look till he's had the interview ) So just wondered if any one out there could suggest any nice areas an hour from London but near the motorways (M6 M1) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Northampton and South Leicestershire are lovely areas. That corridor alongside the M1 between Northampton and Milton Keynes has some lovely villages and the area is very pretty and rural once you are away from the big town areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 just looked at the map - West Haddon is very close to Crick. Beware the smell from the very large pet food factory at Crick! My parents live at Nether Heyford, a bit further south, by junction 16 - beautiful village, very community minded as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill the potter Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 just looked at the map - West Haddon is very close to Crick. Beware the smell from the very large pet food factory at Crick! My parents live at Nether Heyford, a bit further south, by junction 16 - beautiful village, very community minded as well. Thanks for that Snowy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireG Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 We live in Northants and DH works all over the place But is based in Manchester and goes London way a lot. He thinks the A1 is better and quicker to get to London than the M1 so it may be worth looking at places near the A1/A14. The A14 also joins the M6 and M1. Villages near Rugby which is actually Warwickshire might be a good bet. May however be slightly more than an hour from London. Also, some of the villages between Kettering and Wellingborough are lovely and easy to get to A14 from. Which part of London is he trying to get to? This will give DH more of an idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill the potter Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 He will be based near Old Street tube station. He would hopefully like to travel by train, the motorway connection is for me to get back to Manchester to see family and friends and for them to visit us. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little cluckers Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Do you have children Jill? As you'll be needing to take schools into account if you do. I live in Weedon 3 miles from Nether Heyford and the primary school is fantastic (my twins go there) but I don't feel the same way about the local comprehensive. We're considering home schooling as we feel so strongly about it! If you need any info I'll be glad to help West Haddon feeds to Guilsborough Comp. which is doing really well at the moment. Lovely village too and a fantastic little restaurant there too 'The Sheaf Inn' - well worth a visit if you go for on a house hunt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireG Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 The mainline from Corby goes to St Pancreas. There are several nice villages on that line with stations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I grew up around the Towcester / Milton Keynes area and there are lots of lovely little villages. I'd certainly advise choosing somewhere within easy reach of a mainline station because even 13 yrs ago it used to take me well over an hour and sometimes up to 3 hours to drive to work on the outskirts of NW London. You'll get more for your money in the area you're already looking at and there are some cracking villages near Corby too - I used to work at Avon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill the potter Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 Thanks for all your replies - lots of things to research Do you have children Jill? As you'll be needing to take schools into account if you do. All our children are grown up and living in the North which is why I want easy access to Manchester (although my only daughter (23) lives in Edinburgh which will make her further away and I don't see enough of her as it is ) But have to be realistic as she is a bit of a traveller and could end up settling anywhere! - and I don't mean just the UK!!! Kids eh?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I was relocated a couple of years ago to work in Luton. I decided I didnt want to actually live in Luton so turned my attentions away from it to the surrounding area. Northamptonshire is ideal as your money goes so much further when you are out of the traditional commuter area. We settled on the area west of Northampton for a few reasons one of those being the local town which is lovely (Towcester) there are sewage works to the east of Northampton so we avoided the Billing area. We found Wellingborough and Kettering a little rough round the edges so avoided those too although many of the outlying villages are very nice and money goes even further on the east side of the county. The west of the county works well for us though, the M1, M6 and M40 are all close by, crime levels are quite low and communities on the whole very welcoming. the more sought after villages can be expensive to buy in but we got a house in our desired area by buying an ex council house - its not pretty but the views are lovely and it has the big garden that we wanted Bus services in to Northampton are poor in some areas though and the country buses are under threat with all of the recent spending cuts so a car is vital really although my husband mopeds the 10 miles in to Northampton for work We did look at some villages nearer to the M1, Long Buckby, East Haddon, Flore, Harpole and Kislingbury were all on our list but when we viewed houses the noise from the motorway was bad so we moved our search area out a bit towards Towcester I remember discounting West Haddon and Althorp because of railway noise. Further in to Northampton Chapel Brampton and Church Brampton are both nice and on a good bus route. We really liked Ravensthorp and Pitsford too. Moving to an area you know nothing about is hard, my recommendation is to just drive and look at the areas first, go in to shops and speak to locals - I also looked out for village noticeboards and village hall boards to see what goes on in the community. Another tip is to Google, Google, Google - we put an offer in on a house and while we were waiting for the response we dicovered that a 1500 house estate was going to be built on the field opposite! Not long after we moved I was seconded to a project in SW London and can commute there in about an hour and a half via the A43 and M40 which is a far better commute than the M1 should your OH decide to look at driving instead Good luck with your search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 We live in East Northants on the Rutland Northants border. It is lovely around here. Maybe a bit far out for you. OH goes to London sometimes, he spends a lot of the week in Telford so goes from there a lot but if he is at home and goes from here he goes on the train from Corby, he says it is much better (and cheaper) than from Peterborough but there are a limited number of trains. Much easier to collect him from the station too, you can actually park As a child I lived in Farthinghoe and Brackley, both lovely but I think they have changed a lot since then, some lovely villages in that area too. Good luck. Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Banbury! High speed rail link and right on the M40... lovely town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I live on the Northamptonshire/Oxfordshire border. Our little village is the most heavily armed village in South Northamptonshire , But we are very friendly just a little odd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill the potter Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks for all your help guys, we have a lot to think about - assuming he gets the job!!! (I secretly can't make my mind up whether I want him to ) I just thought it would give me a bit of a head start if I could ask people in the know. My sister used to live near Towcester, but that was over 20 years ago and I didn't get to see her much, and places change. Thanks again. Will let you know how the interview goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 My goodness Towcester has changed in 20 yrs - I bet your sister wouldn't recognise it! It's an enormous place now, and it's due to get a whole lot bigger too. Good luck with your husband's job interview Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill the potter Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Well OH didn't get the job and I'm not sure how I feel. I'm upset for him as I know he wanted it, but relieved that we don't have to upsticks and move - although I had started to get my head around it and saw it as a bit of a challenge. Stupidly had been looking at houses on the web and had seen a couple of places that I really liked (which of course had more space for chooks!!!) Thanks for all your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 It's fate - you're destined to remain in the frozen/soaking wet North! Sorry about your husband's job though, rejection is never easy particularly if it's something you really wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welovemarmite Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I live on the Northamptonshire/Oxfordshire border. Our little village is the most heavily armed village in South Northamptonshire , But we are very friendly just a little odd you must be round the corner from me..... i am on the oxon.nhants border too.... and i think you are just over the a43 to me.. My husband uses the M40 daily as he works in reading. Far better than the M1. Easy access to birmingham and the toll road to get up to manchester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Well OH didn't get the job and I'm not sure how I feel. I'm upset for him as I know he wanted it, but relieved that we don't have to upsticks and move - although I had started to get my head around it and saw it as a bit of a challenge. Stupidly had been looking at houses on the web and had seen a couple of places that I really liked (which of course had more space for chooks!!!) Thanks for all your advice. Ah sorry to hear that. But as Jools said, it obviously wasn't meant to be. Something better will be just around the corner for you both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jill the potter Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Thanks again everyone. OH feeling really fed up as the person who got the job was the one who he thought had been 'groomed' for it - so it was a bit of a 'stitch-up'. I'm so annoyed that they put us through the whole lengthy process when they new all along that they wanted this person Suppose that's how big business is - they have to be seen to be 'fair' (Can't tell you how mad I feel for him!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
