Council Swap Milton Keynes

brogusblue

I currently need to move due to the dreaded bedroom tax coming in april..

I have lived in my current property for 21 years and need a fresh start as i was carer for 21 years and need to move away asap

So i have decided on Milton keynes as my perfered choice .. i have a 2 bed now and looking for a one bed ..

I have heard about fishermeand,coffee hall, bean hill and the lakes estate are a no go areas .. is there anywhere else i should avoid or any areas which might be worth looking .. i don't drive so need near as centre as poss..

newsgroup_monkey

I'd avoid Springfield too, but that's my personal opinion.

it's unlikely you'd be on the Lakes estate - that's in Bletchley.

Any particular reason for moving to MK? The job situation is far from perfect and it's not particularly well paid considering the proximity to London and being home counties and all.

xoAmyox

To be honest most of the estates that are surrounding the city centre are not places I'd choose to live.

There are many that are just a 5/10 minute bus journey away from the city, but much nicer.

I disagree on the job situation - it is better paid area than some others nearby. I also find that the mix of head offices/industrial estates/small business and retail outlets offers a good range of opportunities for each job sector.

newsgroup_monkey

xoAmyox, I'd agree it's better than other areas nearby, but it's hardly a comparison when places like Stevenage and Hitchin provide far better wages.
Most of Hertfordshire is far better paid (hence why I work here - I get at least a 33% premium compared with what I can earn in MK)

Many of the large companies based in MK have been downsizing in the last few years, particularly in the banking and IT sector (RBS, Santander) and even the large retailers like Argos/Homebase aren't taking people on - their business is suffering.

With a few exceptions, MK is hardly the sort of place either to take on unskilled staff either - whilst retail opportunities are good, the pub and restaurant industry is poor IMHO - very few opportunities compared with similar size cities.

In the care industry, it's not old enough really to have enough older people. The average age is 35 which is considerably less than the national average. It is 5th in the country (outside London) for the fewest number of pensioners (source ONS)

To give you an idea.....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/nov/24/wages-britain-ashe-mapped

It's not the bottom, but it's certainly not ideal. If I had the choice to move anywhere in the south-east with no ties, I would be considering many other places before MK.

Not that I have a problem with MK - I heavily utilise its resources for shopping, entertainment and leisure. I moved to the area as my job had been moved from Slough (I'm not complaining about that btw, although the wages and opportunities are considerably better).

Nagme

If you're still considering MK, avoid Netherfields as well.

Jellybean_Jo

I would say Greenleys and Eaglestone would be ones to avoid as well.

it's unlikely you'd be on the Lakes estate - that's in Bletchley.

It's still in Milton Keynes, so not any reason why they wouldn't be in Bletchley. Which I would also avoid for the most part.

Edited to Add: Considering I've lived here for most of my life, when I look at a map of MK estates, there are almost more where I wouldn't live, than those I would!

mk_78

Here's my lists I did for a relative when they were looking to buy here...

Places in MK (western flank) I would live are:

Emerson Valley
Furzton
Shenley Church End
Shenley Brook End
Shenley Lodge
Westcroft
Tattenhoe
Kingsmead
Oxley Park
Medbourne
Grange Farm
Great Holm
Crownhill
Loughton
Two Mile Ash

There may be others non-western flank that I would consdider but here are some overall 'not if you paid me' estates

Fullers Slade
Lakes Estate
Fishermead
Oldbrook
Netherfield
Coffee Hall
Peartree bridge
Beanhill
Springfield
Eaglestone
Conniburrow
Greenleys
Bradville
Stacey Bushes

A-Z

* Bancroft YES

* Bancroft Park YES

* Beanhill NO

* Blakelands YES

* Blue Bridge YES

* Bolbeck Park YES

* Bradville NO

* Bradwell POSSIBLY

* Bradwell Abbey NO

* Bradwell Common NO

* Broughton and Atterbury NO

* Browns Wood YES

* Caldecotte YES

* Campbell Park NO

* Central BletchleyYES BUT DEPENDS ON WHERE IN BLETCHLEY

* Central Milton Keynes NO

* Coffee Hall NO

* Conniburrow NO

* Crownhill YES

* Downhead Park POSSIBLY

* Downs Barn NO

* Eaglestone NO

* Emerson Valley YES

* Far Bletchley YES BUT DEPENDS ON WHERE IN BLETCHLEY

* Fenny Stratford POSSIBLY

* Fishermead NO

* Fullers Slade NO

* Furzton YES

* Galley Hill NO

* Giffard Park YES

* Granby NO

* Grange Farm YES

* Great Holm YES

* Great Linford NO

* Greenleys NO

* Hazeley YES

* Heelands NO

* Hodge Lea NO

* Kents Hill YES

* Kingsmead YES

* Kingston YES

* Lakes Estate NO

* Leadenhall NO

* Loughton YES

* Loughton Lodge YES

* Medbourne YES

* Middleton YES

* Milton Keynes Village YES

* Monkston YES

* Monkston Park YES

* Neath Hill NO

* Netherfield NO

* New Bradwell NO

* Newport Pagnell YES

* Oakgrove YES

* Oakhill YES

* Old Farm Park POSSIBLY

* Old Wolverton YES DEPENDS ON LOCATION THOUGH

* Oldbrook NO

* Oxley Park YES

* Peartree Bridge NO

* Pennyland NO

* Shenley Brook End YES

* Shenley Church End YES

* Shenley Lodge YES

* Shenley Wood YES

* Springfield NO

* Stacey Bushes NO

* Stantonbury NO

* Stony Stratford YES

* Tattenhoe YES

* Tattenhoe Park YES

* Tinkers Bridge NO

* Two Mile Ash YES

* Walnut Tree YES

* Walton YES

* Walton Hall YES

* Walton Park YES

* Wavendon YES

* Wavendon Gate YES

* West Bletchley NO

* Westcroft YES

* Willen YES

* Willen Lake YES

* Willen Park YES

* Wolverton YES DEPENDS ON LOCATION THOUGH

* Wolverton Mill YES DEPENDS ON LOCATION THOUGH

* Wolverton Mill East and South YES DEPENDS ON LOCATION THOUGH

* Woolstone YES

* Woughton Park YES

* Woughton-on-the-Green YES

lady_noluck

Jellybean_Jo wrote: »

I would say Eaglestone would be ones to avoid as well.

I take slight offence to this *mock horror* I've lived on Eaglestone for 3 years and love the place!
My flat is near a great convenience store, in front of a huge park with lots of outdoor gym equipment, (the parish council are even spending £150,000 restoring the basketball court in become all swanky with a roof) there's an activity centre with nursery,fitness classes and squash courts, the neighbours all over the estate are the friendliest i've encountered (I've lived in MK 14 years and the 'richer' the estate the snottier the residents :mad:) I don't know any other estates in MK that provide as much as Eaglestone does yet it always gets bad publicity???
I'm looking to exchange our flat to a house somewhere purely because we need a bigger place (growing family) but if we could afford to buy the first place i'd be looking at would be Eaglestone!

Jellybean_Jo

lady_noluck wrote: »

I take slight offence to this *mock horror* I've lived on Eaglestone for 3 years and love the place!
My flat is near a great convenience store, in front of a huge park with lots of outdoor gym equipment, (the parish council are even spending £150,000 restoring the basketball court in become all swanky with a roof) there's an activity centre with nursery,fitness classes and squash courts, the neighbours all over the estate are the friendliest i've encountered (I've lived in MK 14 years and the 'richer' the estate the snottier the residents :mad:) I don't know any other estates in MK that provide as much as Eaglestone does yet it always gets bad publicity???
I'm looking to exchange our flat to a house somewhere purely because we need a bigger place (growing family) but if we could afford to buy the first place i'd be looking at would be Eaglestone!

I'm glad you've been happy there. Doesn't change the fact that I would definitely not like to live there. Seems I'm not the only one either, but thanks for singling me out for your *mock horror*

Possibly the reasons for it's continued bad publicity is that it (and the surrounding area) has higher crime rates than some of the other areas of MK that people have recommended.

I pretty much agree with all of mk_78's posts. I prefer the west side of MK generally...not that I'm biased or anything