Was looking for a bit of feedback from the locals on what Newbury is like as a place to live. Cost/standard of living, the town amenities, traffic etc. Is it "nice" or is it ASBO central?
Have been given the option of a better job, but would require relocation from Ireland to Newbury.
Newbury is not a bad place to live, despite some of the things you may read on here.
A reasonable selection of shops and eating places as well as a new cinema coming towards the end of November.
The cost of living is on a par with most towns and transport services on the whole are more than acceptable.
Newbury does not have too much trouble during the evenings, except from the drunken element of our younger generation which from my experience is less than some other areas.
I've just looked at the website Up my Street because I was going to put a link here but their demographic description doesn't describe the Newbury I know! Newbury is a good place to be, there's a lot happening here to make improvements, some disliked by the locals but, by all accounts, people who move here see it as it really is, a pleasant place to live. You should find it friendly.
Depending where you come from and compare to, property prices can be high but presumably your new salary will take that into consideration. There are areas just outside Newbury which are a little cheaper.
Despite current disruptions, traffic on the whole isn't too bad. Occasional hold ups if there's a particular problem but no more than you would expect. For a town this size the shopping offer is good, trains run regularly and quickly to London, and run to and from areas such as Thatcham/Hungerford. A good selection of eating places and bars, a great Corn Exchange to tickle your cultural side, a racecourse on the doorstep if you like the geegees. From mid November a seven screen cinema including 2 3D screens. A very pleasant park, a beautiful canal .... Is that enough to start you off?
A nice rundown there Factfile and definitely enough to get me thinking. I saw that UpMyStreet write up as well and must admit it didn't tally with my impression of what Newbury is like. Hence, why it's good to get a local's view on the place and I think you've pretty much confirmed what I thought. A town big enough to have all the required amenities [2 young kids so good schools would be important in the future Torchy], but small enough that there is still a feeling of community.
With it being a stone's throw from London, I didn't expect it to be the cheapest place on earth to live, but neither is Ireland so there may not be that much of a difference. Rent looks pretty steep though if you're gonna need a 3-4 bed house!
I currently live about a mile from a racecourse as it is, so would be no change there
I think the Upmystreet profile is spot on for the town centre (when I typed Newbury in it took me to a West Mills postcode). You have to think that most of the nicer/wealthier parts of Newbury are not actually that close to the town centre. It is more likely to be rented accommodation and flats.
Good luck with finding a place Salmon but as with most towns Newbury has it good parts and it is not so nice parts, if I were you I would do as much research as you can. One area to watch is school catchment areas. I know of people who have relocated to Newbury and moved to an area that on paper looks fine but when it came to choosing schools found themselves with one choice (well they could put others on the form but as nobody wanted to go to their catchment school they were slotted in there, even when they didn't put it on the form). Actually there were two other choices move or go private.
Are you sure of this or are you making assumptions ?.
What makes it the worst secondary school in your mind ?
There is normally only one way to base any assumption of how good a school is and that is by using the much maligned league tables. I have had a quick look on the BBC and the GCSE stats (the proportion of pupils attaining five or more good GCSEs and equivalents at the end of Key Stage 4 including English and maths) for Trinity in 2008 was 28% compared to Park House 58% and St Barts 56%. What are your assumptions based on?
I agree, but it wasn't always like that. Trinity used to be a very good school. My daughter and son went there and they both did well. My son went to college and my daughter went to university. It is sad the way it ended up. That happened when Mrs Roscoe left.
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