Good areas to live in Exeter

snowman11

Hi all,

I am looking to move to Exeter and have been looking at different parts of the city to live in. Can you please suggest good areas to live in Exeter. Any suggestions will be really appreciated.

Thank you.

Fiveboy

I have live in Exeter all my life and currently living in Heavitree, but moving to new estate called Newcourt between Countess Wear and Topsham.

This is my personal order from best to worst but I have only lived in St Leonards and Heavitree

St Leonards
Pennsylvania
Boardfields
heavitree
Pinhoe
Alphington
Exwick
St Thomas
Countess Wear
Whipton
Wonford
Beacon Heath

Each area other than St Leonards Pennsylvania have good and not as nice parts, you need to think what you want close by to you schools, M5 etc, I avoided Alphington, Exwick and St Thomas because I hate the traffic at the Exe bridges coming into the centre on town.

Exeter is expensive and prices are still on the rise at a rapid pace.

snowman11

Fiveboy wrote: »

I have live in Exeter all my life and currently living in Heavitree, but moving to new estate called Newcourt between Countess Wear and Topsham.

This is my personal order from best to worst but I have only lived in St Leonards and Heavitree

St Leonards
Pennsylvania
Boardfields
heavitree
Pinhoe
Alphington
Exwick
St Thomas
Countess Wear
Whipton
Wonford
Beacon Heath

Each area other than St Leonards Pennsylvania have good and not as nice parts, you need to think what you want close by to you schools, M5 etc, I avoided Alphington, Exwick and St Thomas because I hate the traffic at the Exe bridges coming into the centre on town.

Exeter is expensive and prices are still on the rise at a rapid pace.

Thanks for your reply. I have looked online on rightmove and was considering the western part of the city, possibly around Pinhoe. I want to be close to transport links and not too far from the city centre. Is Pinhoe a good safe area and well connected to the city centre?

stator

All of Exeter is unaffordable!
Poor people can't afford to live there so take your pick.

Fiveboy

snowman11 wrote: »

Is Pinhoe a good safe area and well connected to the city centre?

Pinhoe is safe.

It's a long walk to the centre however There's Bus Routes and a train station and you can get to the M5 quickly, there are plenty of new builds being built in that area (I can think of at least 6) so traffic is going to increase.

Sainsbury's is nearby and Aldi

snowman11

I have seen a few new homes on right move. Which house builders are good to buy from or have a good reputation?

snowman11

Any other views on the good areas in Exeter or good house builders for new homes would be appreciated. Thanks

mynameisclare

I live in Exeter, and Fiveboy's list seems about right. But do bear in mind that even the worst part of Exeter is still safe. Crime is relatively low here. I lived in Liverpool before moving here, and "areas to avoid" is a different concept there!

I live in Pennsylvania (the bottom end where it's more affordable) and I really love it here. It's green and spacious, there's plenty of parking space, lovely woodlands & park nearby etc. There's not much here in the way of shops/pub/takeaways etc, so go elsewhere if that is important to you.

Before buying we rented in Redhills (edge of Exwick) which was fine, but it was a bit of a pain to get to work from there so we opted to move to the other side of the river.

Most of my friends have been buying in Heavitree. There's lovely old houses there, and seems to be a real community spirit, but personally I find it too crowded and busy (parking is an absolute nightmare - there's a consultation on at the moment to bring in a huge residents only zone).

If you're moving from elsewhere, I'd recommend renting for a bit before you buy though, so you can find out which areas best suit your needs.

snowman11

mynameisclare wrote: »

I live in Exeter, and Fiveboy's list seems about right. But do bear in mind that even the worst part of Exeter is still safe. Crime is relatively low here. I lived in Liverpool before moving here, and "areas to avoid" is a different concept there!

I live in Pennsylvania (the bottom end where it's more affordable) and I really love it here. It's green and spacious, there's plenty of parking space, lovely woodlands & park nearby etc. There's not much here in the way of shops/pub/takeaways etc, so go elsewhere if that is important to you.

Before buying we rented in Redhills (edge of Exwick) which was fine, but it was a bit of a pain to get to work from there so we opted to move to the other side of the river.

Most of my friends have been buying in Heavitree. There's lovely old houses there, and seems to be a real community spirit, but personally I find it too crowded and busy (parking is an absolute nightmare - there's a consultation on at the moment to bring in a huge residents only zone).

If you're moving from elsewhere, I'd recommend renting for a bit before you buy though, so you can find out which areas best suit your needs.

Thanks for the reply. I would prefer a quiet safe neighbourhood and with good transport links. Renting for a bit is a good idea. There are quite a few new developments coming up in Exeter especially on the western side. Have been looking at the Pinhoe/Monkerton/Sowton area. Are there any parts of Pinhoe/Monkerton/Sowton I should be avoiding? What are your thoughts?

mynameisclare

snowman11 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I would prefer a quiet safe neighbourhood and with good transport links. Renting for a bit is a good idea. There are quite a few new developments coming up in Exeter especially on the western side. Have been looking at the Pinhoe/Monkerton/Sowton area. Are there any parts of Pinhoe/Monkerton/Sowton I should be avoiding? What are your thoughts?

I'm not so familiar with those areas. I was a bit put off Pinhoe & Monkerton by the amount of new developments going on at the moment - you don't really know what the area is going to be like in a few years' time. Plus quite a bit of Monkerton is marked as a flood risk on the Environment Agency maps, so check that first. But, if you do want a new build there's plenty there (not cheap though!).

We viewed a couple of places in Sowton (bits the estate agents refer to as Clyst Heath and Kings Heath), but personally I found the area a bit sterile with lack of gardens etc. That's just my opinion though. The houses were pretty nice, but I thought it was a bit overpriced round there.

snowman11

mynameisclare wrote: »

I'm not so familiar with those areas. I was a bit put off Pinhoe & Monkerton by the amount of new developments going on at the moment - you don't really know what the area is going to be like in a few years' time. Plus quite a bit of Monkerton is marked as a flood risk on the Environment Agency maps, so check that first. But, if you do want a new build there's plenty there (not cheap though!).

We viewed a couple of places in Sowton (bits the estate agents refer to as Clyst Heath and Kings Heath), but personally I found the area a bit sterile with lack of gardens etc. That's just my opinion though. The houses were pretty nice, but I thought it was a bit overpriced round there.

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping to get your thoughts on Alphington and Exminster? I have seen some properties online in those areas. I was currently just looking at the western side of Exeter (thinking its more better with transport links) but would appreciate your views on those areas or the eastern side.