Moving to Reading, Berkshire.....

moneysavingmonkey85

Hi all,

I am moving (from the Midlands) to Reading area for husband's job in August, and looking to rent. Does anyone have any recommendations for GOOD areas, CHEAP areas or reliable agents/LL with reasonable fees?

Thanks in advance,:T

Helen

not_tonight_josephine_2

Hi, it really depends on your budget and what kind of property you are looking for (eg a family house or a flat etc). I would say that Caversham/Caversham Heights is the nicest "central" part of Reading by far, or there are nice areas a little further out such as Wokingham, Pangbourne etc. If you want a cheap area, then West Reading is probably better for you, although there are some parts which aren't that nice.

Whereabouts will your husband be working? You want to make sure you are on the right side of town for work as the traffic can be horrendous if you have to go through/near the centre.

In terms of agents, Nicholas were definitely the best I have used in terms of service. Jon Hallett were fine too. There are a couple I would never use but probably best not to name them here!

baileysbattlebus

moneysavingmonkey85 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am moving (from the Midlands) to Reading area for husband's job in August, and looking to rent. Does anyone have any recommendations for GOOD areas, CHEAP areas or reliable agents/LL with reasonable fees?

Thanks in advance,:T

Helen

Reading is quite a big area, we live to the east of Reading, renting is not cheap, it depends on what you want -

here is an agent who covers Reading and surrounding areas - if you look at a map you will see where the out lying places are in relation to Reading, some are very close others not.

I don't know how good they are or what they charge - but they've been around a while.

http://www.jonhallett.com/propertysearch.aspx

Just noticed the post above - totally agree about the traffic -

maninthestreet

Avoid Whitley Wood area of Reading (sorry if you live there).
Woodley, to the east of the A329M isn't too bad.

cowbutt

I lived in Reading for about five years. My favourite area was Lower Earley, Tilehurst is OK if you pick the right road (avoid the Dee Road estate area), Oxford Road is OK, but has a very transient population, so no real sense of community.

Friends lived in Emmer Green (nice, but means crossing the Thames at one of two congested points to get into Reading proper), Woodley (nice, expensive, good access to motorways), Three Mile Cross (rural, very nice). I also worked in Pangbourne and Theale, villages just outside Reading which seemed OK, but far from cheap. No idea of what they were like in the evenings, either!

Gwhiz

Pangbourne is lovely but not cheap. Nice pubs and river walks.
Lower Earley - massive estate and cheap.
Woodley - in the middle pricewise.

spugzbunny

Hi,

I moved from Derby to Reading and they are very similar places. I like East Reading - particluar what is known as the 'University Area' it isn't all students and you can get some nice well priced terrace houses. I also like the community feel.

Letting agents - can we name and shame on here? Please feel free to delete it if I can't! ... Don't use EuroLet. I've been with copperfields and they only charged fees and then we had to deal with the landlord direct after that. I'm with LA Property Management who mainly deal with houses in Wokingham but they are very good. I've also heard Romans are good.

Good Luck!

baileysbattlebus

Agree with all of the above posts -

We live in North Woodley, near Sonning Golf Course - it is far from cheap here. But the Southlake area is quite reasonable as are parts of the Airfield.

My daughter lives in Lower Earley at the Sindlesham end - it's not too bad there.

Access to the M4 is easy as is public transport to Readng.

Pangbourne, Sonning, Wargrave, Henley etc are lovely but expensive.

Avoid Whitley Wood, parts of Tilehurst, personally I don't like the Oxford Road area, or Cemetry Junction on the other side of town - busy with traffic all day - and parking issues.

spugzbunny

Do you know where your Husband's office will be or the company he works for? As many of said here - the traffic in Reading can be a nightmare if you live on the 'wrong side'! We could probably recommend something on the right side if you can give some info.

tilly78_2

Do you have any kids...or thinking of having any as you would then need to think about being near a decent school.

Like all the other poster's i'd find out where your husband's office is as getting to differnt areas in Reading can be a nightmare at rush hour. But do think about what you want from a local area as if your husband only wants to drive 5 minutes to work and you are fine being somewhere which might not be too desirable then fine, but if you want to be somewhere that that is pleasant then your husband may need to drive a bit further in the morning.

I live in Emmer Green and the traffic varies day by day to get to tilehurst, anything from 15minutes to 45minutes.

Being slightly biased caversham/emmer green is pleasant to live in, just avoid amersham road area.

Also try letting agents in the area you want as they will be more knowledgable and have a greater selection of properties. Nicholas/walmsley/kings/drummonds for caversham.

Voyager2002

Check out an agent called Lawson Mann: I used them as a landlord, and they seemed very professional.

As for choosing an area: University area, if that would work with the job.