I have had the opportunity to move to the area to run the UK side of the company i work for and I’m struggling to see any negatives of moving there with the family (3 month old and 18 month old) from Oldham where we are at the moment and trying to escape anyhow.

House prices are more granted, however we may be able to get some help from the mother in law so that should negate that somewhat.

Riding should be decent still shouldn’t it, not sure what the Cotswolds are like for riding but there are the Malverns, FOD, welsh borders etc.

Are there any reasons I shouldn’t go?

Are there any reasons I shouldn’t go?

Nope. I’m a fellow Northerner (Stockport) who moved down here 14 years ago.

Cotswold riding is fun, although not bursting with gnarr (although it is to be found). Countryside is beautiful, more country pubs than you can shake a stick at. ‘Nam is a nice town, currently living in Cirencester which is nice but a bit twee(d).

One minor point, the locals are not as friendly as oop North. I’m not saying they’re horrible by any means, but there isn’t the same ‘man in the street’ friendliness as you get in the North West.

Can’t think of any, although you’ll have to get used to going to see some proper rugby.

Hope to move back myself in the next year or so for my third stint. Will also have a young family so hopefully will be long term. I went to Uni there 20 years ago, and many people from all over the country stuck around after to make their lives there which should tell you a lot. Its all relative, but depending a bit on school catchment, I don’t think house prices are that bad, compared to parts of Birmingham, anyway.

In seriousness, Cheltenham is not particularly cheap as a place to live, Gloucester is, for good reason 🙂 , far cheaper, Job wise, there have been alot of redundacies in the town in recent years. So you might find your self having to commute a little, but that does depend on what you do for a job.

With Kids, be-aware that, i guess same as anywhere, there is alot to be said of picking the right area to avoid certain schools. In particular the Pittville and Christ College catchments, although with your oldest being 18months secondary school choices is a way off yet!

Riding, beware the cotswold winter dust!!!! but not much beats blasting through the beech woods on a midsummers evening. Lots of lanes if road is you thing. Plenty of people on here and in clubs, and some decent bike shops to learn the trails.

One minor point, the locals are not as friendly as oop North. I’m not saying they’re horrible by any means, but there isn’t the same ‘man in the street’ friendliness as you get in the North West.

Cheltenham is BY FAR the friendliest town round this way I’d say… Certainly I go there and it’s a lot friendlier than Worcester, Gloucester, or any other reasonable sized towns. Maybe still not as friendly as up north if you’re from that way, but go and chat to strangers on a night out in Worcester and they’ll look at you like you’re a sub species, go and chat to strangers on a night out in Gloucester and you’ll probably get the shit kicked out of you, go and chat to strangers in Cheltenham and 9 times out of 10 you’ll have made some new friends!

Biggest negative for Cheltehnam will be the house you can buy for your money won’t be as big as where you’re from, or even just down the road. There are cheaper areas of Cheltenham obviously, but there’s also a couple of areas to avoid like the plague as they are/were pretty bad areas.

Another problem with Cheltenham is if you tell outsiders you live there, you’ll often be confused for a middle class snob. Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to be a middle class snob to live there, just it’s the image it has to a lot of outsiders, probably perpetuated by things like Cheltenham Ladies College, the Gold Cup, the Promenade with all its olde worlde style shops, and all the huge Georgian town houses.

As for bike riding… Well you’re spoilt! Lots of riding pretty much from your doorstep, I know people that live in Cheltenham that ride every week and never stick a bike in the car! You’re also very close to the FoD if you want to go down there, the Cotswolds, Bristol is only 40 mins away, Malverns the same. Cheltenham also has lots of bike shops, and a massive club that meets every Saturday for a ride. Every time I visit Cheltehnam, it makes me jealous, and has done for many years!

Oh, and if you buy somewhere on the Racetrack side of town, and you’re savvy enough to go on holiday for a week when the Gold Cup is on, you will be able to rent your house out for a week to a load of Irish men for a silly amount!!!

All seems good then as I hoped, the only downside being the house prices!

One thing i have looked at is Malvern for buying a house, and there are some really nice houses there for not the silly money i would have expected. I quite like the idea of living somewhere with a village feel but am i missing something here?

Is Malvern a realistic road commute also, looks less than 20 miles so its within commuteable distance, maybes not daily but at least weekly?

Cheers for your thoughts guys

Would it be Cheltenham where you’d work? As above, there may be other options worth exploring depending on your requirements. Not that I have anything against ‘Nam as it was one of my haunts when I was growing up (Gas, Sh!teOwl anyone?).

Gas – jesus, that takes me back!

we used to make the trek from Ross for the indie/student nights to get tw%tted on snakebite’n’black and get our goth/mosh on 😉

Malvern is nice (and great riding to be had), but there may be other villagey-feeling type places closer to hand.
At 18 months I guess schooling isn’t top priority, but maybe be slightly governed by primary school catchments/ofsteds etc? As mentioned above, from talking to friends who live in ‘Nam there’s a bit of an east/west divide around good schools in town.

Avoid Hesters Way in Cheltenham 😉

Used to commute for Worcester to Cheltenham daily, if you are plannings digs in Malvern (great place to live btw), depending which part of malvern you move too, driving via Worcester in the morning will mean hitting traffic snags at Worcester in the morning and on your return, which will add time to your commute and p you off big time.

Never tried the other direction, via Hanley Castle/Upton, but the river can flood there at the river crossing at some times of the year which again causes problems.

I moved to ‘nam last June – best thing I’ve ever done. Plenty of brilliant riding, plenty of pubs and plenty of friendly people to enjoy both with.

That reminds me, I’ll be in the JBM tonight with the cc-cc lot 🙂

Dave

edit: Just spotted you’re considering living further out. I work down in brockworth, so I’ve got a 7 mile commute which only takes 20 minutes by bike. The short commute is one of the best things about living here. I work flexi-time, so I go in early and get home by 5ish, leaving a lot of time for evening riding/fettling/boozing 😀
Don’t underestimate the value of your own time! A 20 mile commute twice a day soon adds up to a lot of hours!

Leave Oldham? How could anyone contemplate such a thing? 😉

if your gonna work for GCHQ then make sure you remove the zips from your North Face holdall 😯

Leave Oldham? How could anyone contemplate such a thing?

What will you do for a fight on Friday nights? And the chippies will have no gravy, no mushy peas, no ‘curry’. The local name for muffins will be alien, and the first time you say ‘Alreet, lad, how art?’ you’ll be shunned, shunned, Ah tell thee.

You’ll miss it, mark my words.

Gas! What a dump, but frankly Mondo’s was worse

Chelts was a fab place to live and I’d have no problems moving back there

One thing i have looked at is Malvern for buying a house, and there are some really nice houses there for not the silly money i would have expected. I quite like the idea of living somewhere with a village feel but am i missing something here?

I’d live in or near Cheltenham any day of the week over Malvern. Malvern has its nice parts, it also has its rough parts too, but on the whole I don’t find it a very friendly place. Great Big Hills to go riding on for sure, but you’d have even more local (and varied) trails to ride from living in Cheltenham though. And the Malverns are VERY bitter when it’s raining, or windy, or cold… That is to say they’re nice for about a week, in the middle of July! 😉 Seriously though, I’d move to Cheltenham. Though if you want to live slightly more rurally, with a village feel, take a look at Bishops Cleeve perhaps.

As for the commute from Malvern into Cheltenham, wouldn’t be too much of an issue if you wanted to do it. Probably best way would be go to Upton, then down the A38 to the M50, M50/M5 to Cheltenham. Probably 30-40 minute drive, depending where exactly you’re starting from and ending up. You wouldn’t bother driving to Worcester from Malvern, only to change direction and head south IMO.

malvern to cheltenham by car is an ok commute. traffic is not really an issue

(depending on which side of malvern & chelt you need to get to.) generally 35 mins there are couple of routes, motorway, or back roads. floods do happen occasionally , which can cause roads to close, but not frequently enough to be a real issue.

malvern to cheltenham by bike is about 25 miles on nice roads. (quiet, not much traffic)

cheltenham is nice, but I wouldn’t live there as I’m a staunch ruralist.

I was born and brought up just outside Cheltenham and Gloucester lived and worked there for 43 years, moved away 7 years ago but family are still there, Cheltenham is more expensive then Gloucester but in my opinion Gloucester people are friendlier.

Both have good and bad areas as all towns/city’s do.

Let me know which area your thinking of moving to and I will give you a heads up.

Shaun

Cheltenham is a great place to live but is becoming a bit of a commuter/retirement town. I love living there but often work away which is hard with a young family. If you have a job set up in the town itself you are very lucky. There are good parts and bad parts as in any town so if you do move then it would be worthwhile getting advice which areas would meet your requirements. I guess that school catchment areas will figure highly in your choice.

Areas that I would recommend would include Leckhampton, Charlton Kings and Up Hatherley – I live in the latter and it is convenient for riding in the local hills and a bit cheaper than the others – fewer pubs and cafes though.

I once spent a very entertaining weekend with a bird from Montpellier, and she was smashing.

Areas that I would recommend would include Leckhampton, Charlton Kings and Up Hatherley – I live in the latter and it is convenient for riding in the local hills and a bit cheaper than the others – fewer pubs and cafes though.

whilst i would agree on Leckhampton and Charlton Kings, i would be a bit wary about Hatherley these days. It is a very mixed bag, yes it has good parts but there are a number of issues on the new estates and the lakeside area.

Only areas of town i would definitely avoid are Hesterway, Arle Farm, Whaddon, Rowanfield and the council parts of St Pauls, The Moors and St Peters. Most of these are on the West side of town, there is a definite division east west.

@mrmo I agree that there are maybe a few dodgy parts of Up Hatherley (and Warden Hill) but we have not had any problems since moving from Leckhampton a year ago.

We moved for a bigger house and to ensure our daughter would get into Bournside comprehensive – Leckhampton is a bit of a no mans land for secondary schools as it falls between Bournside and Balcarras. I was reluctant to consider Up Hatherley at first as I liked being in easy reach of the Bath Road and Suffolks but it has worked out well.

It is very easy to cycle up Leckhampton Hill via Farm Lane and Crippetts Lane too 🙂

WALTER SOBCHAK was in ‘nam for a while – did him no harm….

Tis a nice place as big places go. Though I’d get some big bike locks and guard dogs if you want to hold on to your bikes!

Born ‘n’ bred in Cheltenham, now live at the foot of the Malvern hills.

Havent lived there for years. It’s not the town it once was, but it’s still a grand place. TBH, much of the above is as subjective as it is objective. You really need to explore the area on your own and get a feel for it. There’s a few little towns from which to commute to chelt, or larger villages. I love the severn valley/vale of evesham, it’s my home, and I came back here after 7 years in London 6 years ago because I missed it. Personally I find Worcestershire one of the friendliest places in the world.

Biggest problem is probably the green welly brigade are quit strong there, but its similar in most of the rural south.

Cheltenham’s fine enough – moved here 11 years ago from Keele. Lot’s going on, lot’s of good places to ride. Forest of Dean is close enough, welsh borders, Malverns, Cotswolds. Up the escarpment are some great little villages with great little pubs and it’s friendly enough. Areas are odd especially for schools. Some really nice areas are in really shitty catchment areas and the opposite is true. We’ve been in Up Hatherley for 8 years and never had trouble of any sort and we’re close to the Lakeside school – quiet, suburban area – but – half mile away and still in Hatherley are some less nice places. Avoid Hesters Way, St Marks, St Pauls, Fiddler’s Green, Whaddon. Any questions then ask. Oh – and great festivals and places to eat.

Personally I find Worcestershire one of the friendliest places in the world

Really? I was born in Evesham and we had a ‘culture shock’ when we moved to Lancashire as the people were so much friendlier. I still find Evesham and it’s people a bit odd whenever I go back to see my Grandma!

Im a village dweller, so cant vouch for the towns I suppose.
Just always found the villages, especially ones that have pubs around which the community coalesces to be very welcoming and friendly. Ive lived in loads of them with my parents, as an adult and when working on farms across Glos & Worcs.

Don’t move to Cheltenham; you will get your bike nicked.

Come to Gloucester. We have a Cathedral.

Air quality! Google air quality and Cheltenham.

Don’t move to Cheltenham; you will get your bike nicked.

….by someone from gloucester.

😀

Oldham is getting a tram.

Sometime.

Apparently.

Don’t move to Cheltenham; you will get your bike nicked.
….by someone from gloucester.

who recently moved to Cheltenham and got in with some bad boys 🙂

There is lots of good riding round here. Cheltenham has better cars

hopefully they have changed there ways but…

link to youtube of bike thief.

echo story

also seems to be a strong suggestion that he is involved in nicking fishing tackle and bikes.

plus the minor detail i was almost run off the road by someone who looked very like him driving a nicked Subaru a couple of years back. I know the car was nicked, the police told me when i reported him…

Banter aside, Cheltenham really is a fine place and the people who live there are very proud of it. If we want to do some “proper” shopping we would go there rather than here in Gloucester (don’t get me started on Gloucester Quays). There is some excellent property, too

I have friends from Chelt, the Stroud Valleys and FOD who all ride together in each other’s back yards, Mostly from our front doors.

Gloucestershire is ace 🙂

And the chippies will have no gravy, no mushy peas, no ‘curry’.

I can confirm that most chippies down here now do mushy peas, and a growing number do ‘curry’. Gravy is still a rarity however, and if you a babbys’ead you’re screwed.

Ah, Charlie’s Chips in Nam!

b0leyngr0und – Member
Cheltenham’s fine enough – moved here 11 years ago from Keele. Lot’s going on, lot’s of good places to ride. Forest of Dean is close enough, welsh borders, Malverns, Cotswolds. Up the escarpment are some great little villages with great little pubs and it’s friendly enough. Areas are odd especially for schools. Some really nice areas are in really shitty catchment areas and the opposite is true. We’ve been in Up Hatherley for 8 years and never had trouble of any sort and we’re close to the Lakeside school – quiet, suburban area – but – half mile away and still in Hatherley are some less nice places. Avoid Hesters Way, St Marks, St Pauls, Fiddler’s Green, Whaddon. Any questions then ask. Oh – and great festivals and places to eat.

b0leyngr0und – What did you do at Keele, i was there 99-02 and then did a year as SU president in 03!

I can live without curry, gravy and mushy peas, ive already sacrificed battered sausages as im from monkey hanger land originally, not to mention garlic sauce and Parmo’s.

Id be running the company which would have me in the office and people on site, with some site work and travelling overseas so it would be a mixed bag but the office is on Rodney Road, so very central.

Im not sure the worst estate in Cheltenham would be half as bad as where i live in Oldham but it would be nice to get it right first time round. Might even be able to afford car insurance in Cheltenham as oppose to being ass raped as we are in Oldham, that will be nice.

I think the next plan is to come and bring teh family down for a week, might bring the bike and get out with some of you guys too if thats ok, then try weigh up where we want to be and if it IS in the ‘Nam itself or a bit out. Whats swaying us at the moment is at full stretch we could afford a 2/3bed terrace in @Nam, wheras in Malvern we could get something approaching this des res

bland – word of warning about buying around malvern.

Anything on the hill flanks on the east side will have limited direct sunlight during the year. In summer evenings you will get 3-4 hours less direct sunlight than those on the upper west flanks of the hill.
Houses can be a bit dank and cold as a result. And it can affect your psych well being in some cases.

I recommend getting on Allan Morris & Ashton’s books, as well as Goodwins. Two decent agents for Malvern area.