Good areas to live in Exeter

SternMusik

I live in the Haven Banks area (technically St Thomas), with a river view and a lovely garden, and wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Exeter I walk to the cathedral in 10 minutes. The only downside is the Exe bridges traffic.

Traditionally, St Leonhards is seen as the best area to live in Exeter. Pennsylvania is nice but a bit boring. Heavitree also has a lovely feel to it.

It depends on what you are looking for in terms of the property as well. If you want off-road parking and a decent size garden for example, finding something in St Leonhards will be extremely difficult (unless you are a millionaire).

snowman11

Thanks. What about Exminster or Alphington? In terms of traffic is it better to be on the east or west of the river, for commuting to the city centre or going to the motorway?

SternMusik

For commuting into the city centre, east of the river is best. The bridges get terribly congested at rush hour. For the motorway, Alphington is quite good as you are close to the A30 junction which gets you to the M5 very quickly. Exminster less so (you would have to either cross the river and drive through town or go back towards Alphington and then take the A30). No idea what the traffic is like to and from Exminster at rush hour. However Exminster is a lovely place and really popular with families. Several people I know have moved there.

Madmel

I moved to Exeter 17 years ago. At the time we needed to be close to the M5 but commutable to the university. All the EAs were pushing Exminster and Alphington because technically they are near the M5. Exminster is "near the M5" because it passes over the road in on a viaduct. Alphington is nice but a pain to get to the M5 from. You may not be aware that the last river crossing before the M5, near Countess Wear, has roadworks for the next year or so, meaning crossing the river is now a nightmare.

Pinhoe, Monkerton and Sowton are on the east side of the city. They are close to the M5 and A30, so handy for going north, south or east. They are also close to the airport. Pinhoe has a station on the Exeter - Waterloo line. There are some shops in Pinhoe as well as a Sainsburys and Aldi which someone else has mentioned. I am surprised to learn that Monkerton is at risk from flooding because it is higher than a lot of the surrounding countryside.

We moved out of the city 10 years ago for various reasons. The traffic is Exeter is awful, especially in the rush hour. Many open spaces have been filled in (Kings Heath and Newcourt are both large developments built recently) but the road infrastructure has not kept pace, although to be fair, they recently opened a couple of new stations on the Exmouth line.

To give really good advice, it would help to know where you need to be regularly in Exeter (work/leisure/whatever) so we can be specific. However, if you need to be in the centre, I agree that St. Leonard's is lovely. HTH

snowman11

Madmel wrote: »

I moved to Exeter 17 years ago. At the time we needed to be close to the M5 but commutable to the university. All the EAs were pushing Exminster and Alphington because technically they are near the M5. Exminster is "near the M5" because it passes over the road in on a viaduct. Alphington is nice but a pain to get to the M5 from. You may not be aware that the last river crossing before the M5, near Countess Wear, has roadworks for the next year or so, meaning crossing the river is now a nightmare.

Pinhoe, Monkerton and Sowton are on the east side of the city. They are close to the M5 and A30, so handy for going north, south or east. They are also close to the airport. Pinhoe has a station on the Exeter - Waterloo line. There are some shops in Pinhoe as well as a Sainsburys and Aldi which someone else has mentioned. I am surprised to learn that Monkerton is at risk from flooding because it is higher than a lot of the surrounding countryside.

We moved out of the city 10 years ago for various reasons. The traffic is Exeter is awful, especially in the rush hour. Many open spaces have been filled in (Kings Heath and Newcourt are both large developments built recently) but the road infrastructure has not kept pace, although to be fair, they recently opened a couple of new stations on the Exmouth line.

To give really good advice, it would help to know where you need to be regularly in Exeter (work/leisure/whatever) so we can be specific. However, if you need to be in the centre, I agree that St. Leonard's is lovely. HTH

Thanks for the reply. The area which I would like to move to should have the following in order of priority high to low:

-Safe
-Quiet
-Easily commutable around Exeter and the M5/A38 as for my work I may have to go to nearby towns/villages.
-Shops and green areas/parks

mynameisclare

snowman11 wrote: »

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.

My partner used to live in Alphington - it's nice there, but a bit away from work etc for me. We work right on the eastern edge of the city so I prefer being on this side of the river, but it depends where you need to get to. As others have said the traffic from Alphington can be awful. Though I'd actually say the main problem is Alphington Road rather than the Exe Bridges roundabout - it all backs up from there onto the bridge.

I don't have any knowledge about Exminster.

buttonmoon

I live in Exwick. Exeter is only small so I work the other side of the city and it takes me 30 mins if I go through the city centre or 20 mins via the M5 (which is a longer but quicker route). Although I'm further away from the M5, I'm only less than half a mile from St David's train station so in is very handy for the train. Also, I normally walk into town as it is just over a mile and it is close to the river (and I like to go for a run). What do you mean by safe and quiet? I would say all of Exeter is safe but oviously some areas are nicer than others. There aren't any really bad areas (compared to other cities I have lived in). Exeter is pretty quiet compared to other cities (I grew up in Bristol)

snowman11

buttonmoon wrote: »

I live in Exwick. Exeter is only small so I work the other side of the city and it takes me 30 mins if I go through the city centre or 20 mins via the M5 (which is a longer but quicker route). Although I'm further away from the M5, I'm only less than half a mile from St David's train station so in is very handy for the train. Also, I normally walk into town as it is just over a mile and it is close to the river (and I like to go for a run). What do you mean by safe and quiet? I would say all of Exeter is safe but oviously some areas are nicer than others. There aren't any really bad areas (compared to other cities I have lived in). Exeter is pretty quiet compared to other cities (I grew up in Bristol)

Thanks for the reply.
By safe and quiet I mean that it not noisy from traffic and neighbours especially at night. I have lived in a student area before and there is always drunk people making noise late at night and I would like to be in an area where there is not much crime e.g. burglaries, car theft etc.
What would be the nicer areas in Exeter for you?

snowman11

I have seen quite a few estate agents online, some are local and some are national. I would like to go and see some of them. Any recommendations for good estate agents in Exeter would be appreciated. Thanks