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Bristol - suburbs, nearby towns, nice places to visit on a reccy

ChrisFilter

ChrisFilter

Like a boss.
Dearest Pals,

There's a chance I might choose to relocate to our Bristol HQ. It makes sense from a job perspective, but it'd be a potentially challenging move for Mrs F as she'll have a new-born baby and no friends in Bristol. We're going to weigh it up over the next few months.

Thinking of doing a reccy next weekend to see what she thinks.

Priorities are:
Nice family area
Can get a decent 3 bedroom house - budget up to about £1,300
Good playgroups/schools
A sub 30 min commute by foot or bike from St Thomas St, BS1 (if within Bristol)
Not too painful a drive if from a nearby town

I've been recommended Henleaze, Bishopston and parts of Bedminster and all seem to have the right sort of house for the money, but those aside where should I consider and, more importantly, what cool sights should I show the Mrs to persuade her that this wouldn't be a totally stupid idea?

Ta :)
 
Show her some countryside

Unlike London, you can get out of town and see cows and stuff pretty quickly
 
For that kind of money you could live almost anywhere you want. I would probably go for Bishopston, near St Andrews park. Loads of playgroups, family activities etc. Schools are a bit of a problem in Bristol and are particularly oversubscribed in Bishopston so choose somewhere very near a school (within 500m certainly) - Bishop Road, Sefton Park and Ashley Down schools all have good reputations.
 
As for cool sights - the area around the harbourside is nice and there's a museum about Bristol there (MShed), Arnolfini cafe is a good stop. Maybe a wander round Clifton village. Ashton Court estate is good for muddy walks/seeing deer. Stokes Croft has lots of trendy cafes - Canteen is worth it for a meal. Gloucester Road is a traditional high street with lots of independent shops and St. Andrews park is lovely.
 
Show her the Suspension bridge and the observatory, Clifton village, St Nicholas market /Corn Street, Gloucester Road, Harbourside.
 
Forgot about the suspension bridge! I'm scared of heights so try to never go near it :D Clifton village + suspension bridge is good visitor trip.
 
St Andrews/Bishopston can be a bit studenty although the further up Gloucester Road you go the more family orientated it is, some of my friends with kids live in Horfield and one of my friends is a headteacher at one of the schools there.

I spent many years living in St Andrews and Bishopston when I was younger and it was brilliant, although if I could go back there again now I am not sure that I would.

If schools are important to you, you might want to try living somewhere out of Bristol, there are some nice villages and towns in North Somerset although the commute can be a bit nightmareish at times.
 
I've been thinking some more about this.

For a commute to St Thomas Street within Bristol by foot or bike, I think you'd be better off in east or south Bristol. It would be an easy walk from Bedminster, Totterdown/Knowle/Brislington. My friend lives in lower Knowle on the Totterdown border and it is nice round there - they have little cafes, independent bakeries and that kind of thing. She has two kids so the schools must be OK. For cycling, east Bristol is good as there is easy access to the railway path, which will take you right into the right part of town for St Thomas Street. The railway path goes through a lot of different areas.
 
Bedminster / Southville, Tottadown, Windmill Hill, it's geographically more or less the same area. Southville is mostly residential houses going off North Street. Generally the area IME is populated by teachery types, blowins like myself, native Bristolions, few students, young proffessionals who couldn't afford the traditionly posher areas. (Not that I think places are that cheap round here now, IDK.)

There's loads of bards and cafes, few decent proper pubs. Some awful ones too. People are dispareging about Bedminster, the high street areas itself. But there are good local shops there, butchers, green grocers etc. The whole area is only a 15 minute walk to the harbour side and city centre, 20 - 30 to Bristol Templmeads. There's a local train station but I've never used it.

St Thomas street. That's where the Fleece and Firkin is right? I worked nnot far from there. I reckon it's a 25 minute walk from my flat in Bedminster.
 
My sister lives in Windmill Hill and it is quite good round there for baby/family stuff - there are children's centres in Redcliffe and Bedminster, there are lots of baby and toddler groups/classes at the Windmill Hill city farm and in Southville (Southville quite yummy). Schools are a mixed bag - Victoria Park primary not so good, Southville primary apparently very good but you have to live within a couple of hundred metres, St Mary Redcliffe the same but not sure what their faith requirements are. Hillcrest and Knowle Park are also good and perhaps not quite so oversubscribed at Southville (eg. 500m might be close enough). And Compass Point/South Street in Bedminster has an amazing children's centre and nursery and apparently a (now) very good primary, but had a poor reputation a few years ago so is undersubscribed.
 
I must be missing something, or perhaps I'm just used to London's massive rental market, but I'm searching in Bishopston, St Andrews, Beddington, Southville, etc for 3 bedroom properties with gardens for under £1500PCM and there's fuck all showing up. Maybe 3 or 4 places per area, all of which look a bit grotty. I'm confused! :confused: I thought for that kinda money you'd be able to get a really nice place.
 
ChrisFilter said:
I must be missing something, or perhaps I'm just used to London's massive rental market, but I'm searching in Bishopston, St Andrews, Beddington, Southville, etc for 3 bedroom properties with gardens for under £1500PCM and there's fuck all showing up. Maybe 3 or 4 places per area, all of which look a bit grotty. I'm confused! :confused: I thought for that kinda money you'd be able to get a really nice place.
Click to expand...

rightmove is weird. If you drop the maximum to 1400 and research you should find some. repeat.
 
At the top end of that is likely to be student houses I reckon, which might be why they are a bit grotty?

These two in Windmill Hill look nice enough to me:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-36954085.html
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-37200919.html

One in Southville:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-25568337.html

Hotwells:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-25035789.html

These look pretty nice to me in Horfield:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-37167343.html
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-25582995.html

I would love to live in St Werburghs:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-25129092.html?premiumA=true

Or Montpelier:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-25044951.html

I reckon the biggest issue will be weeding out the student houses.
 
But also - yes, you're not going to get a massive selection of family homes to rent in quite middle-class areas where most families will be homeowners. Even where I live where more families rent there are only 6 3+ bed houses available within 1/2 mile of me.
 
Thanks, William. Thanks again, Thora. Looks like it's on. But not until a couple of months after our baby's born. Any move won't be until late July, early August.
 
We visit Bristol frequently, you never know we might just bump into you and other Bristolians at some pint

(omission of that letter deliberate! :D )
 
Had a look round a few of the suggested areas today. Very nice. None, Clifton aside, seemed very leafy. Are there leafier suburbs further out?
 
ChrisFilter said:
Had a look round a few of the suggested areas today. Very nice. None, Clifton aside, seemed very leafy. Are there leafier suburbs further out?
Click to expand...

parks is an issue.

We live on the Bedminster/Southville border and tbh I wish there were more parks (Victoria Park is about twenty mins, Greville Smythe is about 10 but I don't like it) .... OTOH when I pop to the lcoal cash point and look down the road i see the fields outside the city and Ashton Court is a 15 minute cycle.

IME you aren't going to get tree lined avenues.
 
wiskey said:
parks is an issue.

We live on the Bedminster/Southville border and tbh I wish there were more parks (Victoria Park is about twenty mins, Greville Smythe is about 10 but I don't like it) .... OTOH when I pop to the lcoal cash point and look down the road i see the fields outside the city and Ashton Court is a 15 minute cycle.

IME you aren't going to get tree lined avenues.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. Thought that might be the case, Clifton aside. And def don't want to live there.
 
no, my friend accidentally bought a flat on Suspension Bridge Road without really understanding Clifton and it took her a very long while to integrate because she wasn't 'Clifton' at all.

When we moved here we drew a circle from the station which was an hours walking distance (I need to commute by train) and started looking up Stokes Croft/Cheltenham/Gloucester Road area but we saw two properties and knew it wasn't right. We came south and it all just felt better. And it's suits us, I love where we live - it has two fully functioning high streets (East and North St's), a swimming pool, a brand new leisure centre an twenty minute bus ride (Hengrove), it's ten minutes by car from the city limits and it's a half hour lovely stroll into town.

Having said that Easton/Whitehall also look nice.
 
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