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Vague Location Recommendation Question

Badgers

Badgers

Mr Big Shrimp!
R.I.P.
I know London fairly well but wanted some Urban input. My little sister, her fella and 1 year old are leaving the metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire that is Sheffield this winter. She has a choice of three locations that work will place her in and I am not a great expert on these places.

* Bushey Heath (Hertfordshire I suppose)
* Stanmore
* Uxbridge

Train/tube access is less of an issue for her as they have a car but would be a bonus to be able to get into the centre. I suppose the main factor they have is the one year old little person.

Anyone live or know these places well? My first thought was Stanmore but know little to nothing about the other two. Not asking anyone to decide where my sister should live, just would help to have some input.

Cheers :)
 
I'd start by dropping Stanmore as being completely soulless. Uxbridge itself isn't tremendously inspiring either. Bushey Heath is only a very slight improvement.

Moving further afield leads to a couple of options. South is Harrow, which has some pleasant areas, but which is likely to be hideously expensive. South East is Neasden which is heading relentlessly downmarket and should be avoided because within five years it will be a complete hellhole. However to the North West and North there are some vaguely acceptable bits of Hertfordshire between Bushey and Watford. Alternatively, to the South West is Ruislip. Not a wonderful place in and of itself, but Pinner and Eastcote aren't entirely appalling places, have good tube links to central London, and at least some housing that doesn't look like it fell off the back of an architect.
 
Cheers EJ,

The issue here is that it is an army posting so there is no choice past these three places, not even a mile or two down the road.

Bushey Heath looks (based on the little info I can find) to perhaps be the better choice for a young family? Maybe these places are not the ideal Urbanz locations but just trying to gather some input.
 
I'd take Stanmore over the other two, but only at gunpoint. Uxbridge is a shithole, and Bushey Heath is the middle of goddamned nowhere. Nothing whatsoever to recommend at Stanmore, but not quite so much against it either. At least there's the Jubilee.
 
Chz said:
I'd take Stanmore over the other two, but only at gunpoint. Uxbridge is a shithole, and Bushey Heath is the middle of goddamned nowhere. Nothing whatsoever to recommend at Stanmore, but not quite so much against it either. At least there's the Jubilee.
Click to expand...

Cheers Chz,

Bushey Heath seems quite nice for a family location (from what I read) but not my kind of place really. My first thought from the little I know was that Uxbridge was a NO and Stanmore was just about ok. They do have the advantage (if you can call it that) of living on an army estate so the home life and neighbours would be pretty much the same as they already have. More interested in the daytime stuff and parks then the nightlife. Also they are going to be based there a while so stuff for kids will come into play at some point.
 
Uxbridge is crossed off the list now.

Anyone else got any feedback on Bushey Heath VS Stanmore?
 
I've visited the family quarters at Bushey Heath about 20 years ago, and the quarters were quite nice then (don't know about now, given that maintenance is privatised). There's plenty of nice countryside within a short hop, as well as the metropolis. Public transport is a main line station at Bushey (goes into Euston) and the Met line at Watford. Buses in that neck of the words can be a bit pricey, too.

Pros: Quite quiet, Watford indoor and St. Albans outdoor markets are good.

Cons: Load of Brylcreems at the Bushey Heath reservation, given how many RAF holdings there are in the area.
 
Maybe Stanmore of those three - if nothing else it's the quickest route into town and on a line that crosses London pretty well, so it's easy to travel to a few place. You say it's not important because of car, but it London it's often easier to tube it!
 
They ended up at Stanmore in the end
Seem quite impressed with the area, if not the actual house, which needs a fair bit of work doing to it

Uxbridge was ruled out based on the feedback from many sources (((Uxbridge)))
Bushey Heath is for the 'rank and title' only
 
Despite critiscisms of suburbia , Stanmore does have a bit more character . shops and history , decent services well enough , lots of arterial buses , and the Jubilee line with a nifty change at Wembley Park knocks another 15 mins off the journey to central London and the city. Decent countryside , lots of country pubs near by and a good bagel shop up the road at Radlett.
 
Thanks guys. Family are settled in Stanmore and so far so good. Early days and they have not fully explored but nothing bad so far.
 
Come to this a little late in the day but Stanmore is prob the best option they had
Seem to recall fairly good magic mushie fields up there.......for when the sprogs are older like!!:D:D
 
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