Buying/renting in Bristol

spirit

giddypenguin wrote: »

Patchway, Filton, Downend are all good areas - some parts of Fishponds and Staple Hill can be a little rough.

Welcome to Bristol (when you get here)!

Except that Filton is studentland for UWE

giddypenguin

The same can be said of all those areas as UWE owns/has ties properties everywhere in the surrounding areas.

If you are trying to avoid students in a city with 2 universities and over 50,000 students, not to mention 2 other unis in nearby Bath, good luck!

hennagirl

baby_fuzz wrote: »

That's funny... We had no problem with doctors or dentist. Both pretty close to us, and easy to sign-up (not over-subscribed or anything). The one in Frenchay is NHS.

Frenchay Dental Practice
Beckspool Road
Frenchay
Bristol
BS16 1NU

Bearing in mind that I looked for a doctor etc about 4/5 years ago in Downend area, things may have changed or be better in Frenchay.

Mum_of_3_3

hennagirl wrote: »

I would class decent areas close to Frenchay as being Downend, Bromley Heath, Frenchay itself, Emersons Green and Winterbourne........... Personally we went for Downend because you get a decent sized property for a good price, transport links are good without getting caught up in rush hour traffic and the schools have good performance results.

I agree with Hennagirl about the locations she has given. I know a few families that live in Downend and Emersons Green and they all love it and haven't had any problems with crime or anything like that. I would throw Redlands in as well, it's maybe not so easy for getting to work, but people I know that live there love it.

Unfortunately, Bristol as a whole hasn't got a fantastic reputation as far as schools are concerned, although I believe the council are trying to do something about this.

Here are links to the league tables for Bristol schools:
Secondary schools
Primary schools

I have no knowledge of Westbury-on-trym, but I have always liked the look of it. The fact that it has it's own mini high-street, family-sized big houses, not too far from the city centre and also close to the Durdham & Westbury Parks. Perhaps someone on here knows this area better?

Maybe a good idea is to rent somewhere for 6 months before purchasing?

Good luck with your move!

pingu2209

I know the area really well. The best areas for schools, both primary and secondary, and close to Frenchay are: Winterbourne and Frampton Cotterell. Basically do a search under BS36 in Rightmove.

Sadly, it is the most expensive area to live (although Frenchay is also expensive).

Do not go to Yate or Bradley Stoke as they have totally different catchment areas.

Wee_Willy_Harris

To be honest, a budget like yours would easily get you into Bath and the surrounding villages or North Somerset. Some fantastic places to live there.

geri1965_2

ceh209 wrote: »

Stapleton and Easton are much more inner-city type areas, so IMO have higher crime rates etc (don't know if that's really true or i'm stereotyping!)

Stapleton is not an inner city area - are you confusing it with Stapleton Road, aka the most dangerous road in Britain, which runs through Easton?

pingu2209

Mum_of_3 wrote: »

I agree with Hennagirl about the locations she has given. I know a few families that live in Downend and Emersons Green and they all love it and haven't had any problems with crime or anything like that. I would throw Redlands in as well, it's maybe not so easy for getting to work, but people I know that live there love it.

Unfortunately, Bristol as a whole hasn't got a fantastic reputation as far as schools are concerned, although I believe the council are trying to do something about this.

Here are links to the league tables for Bristol schools:
Secondary schools
Primary schools

I have no knowledge of Westbury-on-trym, but I have always liked the look of it. The fact that it has it's own mini high-street, family-sized big houses, not too far from the city centre and also close to the Durdham & Westbury Parks. Perhaps someone on here knows this area better?

Maybe a good idea is to rent somewhere for 6 months before purchasing?

Good luck with your move!

Please don't listen to this advice. My husband was born in Downend and lived in a 5 mile square radius and we lived in the area as a family for 13 years.

You need to look at moving to South Gloucestershire, not Bristol, as the schools are a lot better in South Gloucestershire.

Westbury on Trym and Redland is miles from Frenchay and will be a nightmare to commute to and from. Although, yes both of these areas are nice. However, both are Bristol and the schools are dreadful. They are expensive areas and many people send their children private.

Downend is an okay area but the secondary school is dreadful, Mangotsfield secondary is better by league table, but actually both schools are [EMAIL="!!!!"]!!!![/EMAIL].

Emersons Green is a large new housing estate linking Downend to Mangotsfield. Emersons Green is cheaper but the secondary schools are still Downend and Mangotsfield.

If you want primary schools the areas of Downend and Mangotsfield and Emersons Green have a whole range of schools but none are that great. There are a huge amount of houses in the area so all schools that are average to good have huge over subscription.

To get into Mangotsfield Primary School you pretty much have to live within a few streets of it. To get to the best school in the area which is Bromely Heath Primary, you literally have to live within 200 yards.

If you are moving to the area and want to transfer children then you are highly unlikely to get into any of the good schools and will be given Blackhorse or Deers Park (which has been renamed but still as bad).

The primary schools in Winterbourne, Colepit Heath and Frampton Cotterell are not oversubscribed but are much much better than Downend, Emersons Green and Mangotsfield. However, Colepit Heath is not within the catchment area for the best secondary school in the area, called The Ridings.

stmatt

I am starting to panic about the whole school thing. I think we'll probable aim for sending kids to private secondary school so not too worried about secondary schools at the moment. We do intend to rent and are worried about the whole school-oversubscription thing. I think I'm probably going to have to sit on the phone for a few evenings and phone around some schools and see if they have spaces. Eldest child would be going into year 1 so presumably this will be easier to get into that Reception. He's currently in a private school with a class size of 15 so i think he's going to be a bit shocked by the differences.

Pingu2209, which areas in South Gloucestershire would you recommend that would be easy to commute to Frenchay.

Thanks for all your helpful answers, its making me feel a lot better about the fact that we need to re-locate halfway around the world again.

pingu2209

stmatt wrote: »

I am starting to panic about the whole school thing. I think we'll probable aim for sending kids to private secondary school so not too worried about secondary schools at the moment. We do intend to rent and are worried about the whole school-oversubscription thing. I think I'm probably going to have to sit on the phone for a few evenings and phone around some schools and see if they have spaces. Eldest child would be going into year 1 so presumably this will be easier to get into that Reception. He's currently in a private school with a class size of 15 so i think he's going to be a bit shocked by the differences.

Pingu2209, which areas in South Gloucestershire would you recommend that would be easy to commute to Frenchay.

Thanks for all your helpful answers, its making me feel a lot better about the fact that we need to re-locate halfway around the world again.

Stay away from Downend, Mangotsfield and Emersons Green. They aren't bad areas, however, the primary schools are very oversubscribed and they are not all that great either. The reason they are oversubscribed is that the area is full of young families (Emersons Green especially) so there are lots of children!

Stapleton is next door to Frenchay so would be a quick commute, but the area is pretty rough and the primary schools are rubbish. The private secondary school in Stapleton is good though, for future reference!

I would opt for Winterbourne or Frampton Cotterell. You can quickly get to Frenchay from these areas (no more than 5 miles tops). The primary schools are not oversubscribed yet in the league tables over the past 10 years the schools in the area have always been top. It is a more expensive area to live than Downend and Emersons Green etc.

The schools that are all equally good are: Elm Park, Brockeridge Infants, Highcroft Junior, Frampton Cotterell C of E, the Manor at Colepit Heath. You should easily get your child into any of these schools and they are all lovely. Personally I would chose either Elm Park or Frampton Cotterell C of E.

Do not go to St Michaels C of E school in Winterbourne - it is next to the few council houses in the area which is reflective in its results and children!

As your son has been to a private school, you could look at Silverhill in Winterbourne.

All of the primary schools use a before and after school club called Oscars, which is located in Frampton Cotterell C of E. If you intend to use this facility you need to put your child(rens) names down now. It is very overbooked, especially the after school.

There is a preschool in the area as well, depending upon how old your younger children are.