Milton Keynes: Where to live & Estate Agents

getmore4less

Willow101 wrote: »

-> MK station specifically because we work inthe offices near the station, so we need to be able to reach the station but how we do it we don't mind..

That opens up train/bus options into MK, with car as a back up.

Thanetia

getmore4less wrote: »

That opens up train/bus options into MK, with car as a back up.

Indeed, plus pretty much anywhere in central MK is within 30 mins of the station if you're willing/able to cycle on the Redroutes, but plently of choice within a 30 min walk.

Edit - re EA's agree less critical when buying. We used and liked Carters in Stony, but this was a few years back. Concur that Michael Graham are (were) very professional in our dealings.

dc197

Willow101 wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies - so helpful. It's really interesting and helpful getting other people's views and I will start looking into the areas mentioned tonight.

Just to clarify some of the questions that came up:
-> MK station specifically because we work inthe offices near the station, so we need to be able to reach the station but how we do it we don't mind.
-> When we say 30 mins commute; preferably it would be a nice walk but we don't want to rule out a nice area or village which we might not have heard of for the sake of a 25 minute drive. We're in the Luton & Dunstable area ATM and unfortunately commute takes more like an hour, sometimes more so thats why we're looking to move. It also looks like the schooling is better further north and we want to get our children into the best possible school.

Ah OK. It sounded like you wanted to commute from the station into (e.g.) London.


Unless your office offers parking, trying to park near the station will be difficult or expensive.

Pretty much all the buses go via the station, so you can likely get there by bus from everywhere.

Here's list of maps, the first hit is a map of the red ways (pedestrian & cycle roads): https://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/streets-transport-and-parking/cycling/cycle-routes-and-maps

Despite our suggestions for nice areas, all areas will have corners that are not so pleasant. So it's probably better to see a house on Rightmove and then cross-reference that to these lists, rather than to try to search for a house in a given area. Plus rightmove is not very good at limiting to local areas within a city.

There are some lovely villages just the other side into the Northamptonshire border, but which are near or even abutting MK. Cosgrove, Old Stratford, Yardly Gobion, Grafton Regis.

Big_Red_Machine

OO-OO!

I've joined just to reply to this as I know something about this.

You've has a good list of estates already, I'd just like to add Emerson Valley and Furzton, both north side. These are covered by the school in Shenley Brook End which is the second best one in MK, the best being Ousedale in Newport Pagnell and Olney.

Olney is another consideration as it's a lovely town and about 25 minutes from MK. I used to live there and drive into work directly opposite the station.

As for agents; interestingly having just had a very bad experience with Michael Graham I wouldn't go near them and I know the owner! I would say they are all much of a muchness.

mleach101

Big_Red_Machine wrote: »

OO-OO!

I've joined just to reply to this as I know something about this.

You've has a good list of estates already, I'd just like to add Emerson Valley and Furzton, both north side. These are covered by the school in Shenley Brook End which is the second best one in MK, the best being Ousedale in Newport Pagnell and Olney.

Olney is another consideration as it's a lovely town and about 25 minutes from MK. I used to live there and drive into work directly opposite the station.

As for agents; interestingly having just had a very bad experience with Michael Graham I wouldn't go near them and I know the owner! I would say they are all much of a muchness.

I've rented in Olney for 6 years - absolutely love it. It's got the nice mix of being between a village and a town (ie. supermarkets, take aways, choice of pubs). Ousedale has a good reputation and you can probably commute to the station in less than 30 minutes by car. The Stratfords (Old & Stoney) are probably worth considering too.

Unfortunately I'm about to move out of the are towards Bedford as I'm buying and couldn't find anything that ticked the budget boxes in Olney but would move back in a heartbeat.

BoxerfanUK

Obviously I'm biased living in West MK but I prefer the west side myself.

Also not mentioned that are also nice, Crownhill (NW side) Medbourne, Grange Farm, Oxley Park, Great Holm, all close to good primary and secondary schools (Hazeley academy, Denbigh), nice walks (North Bucks Way) Furzton Lake, Teardrop Lakes, Lodge Lake, Shenley Woods, and all close to CMK and train station.

Lots of new homes being built in the Western expansion area which will eventually all but link up to Stony Stratford, although premium prices and you never know exactly what's going to be built behind or around you.

The newer housing developments on the eastern side all seem to be very crammed in and close together, whenever I get back west I feel I can 'breathe' again lol.

Willow101

Thanks again for all the responses. i've now got lots to look into. Will hopefully find a dream home in a good area soon. Any more advice ways welcome.

mleach101

Willow101 wrote: »

Thanks again for all the responses. i've now got lots to look into. Will hopefully find a dream home in a good area soon. Any more advice ways welcome.

As for agents, I can recommend Stephen Oakley & Co. Their lettings team have looked after me as tenant extremely well.

mk_78

Here's a link to my Yes/No/Maybe list for each estate which I compiled for when a relative was moving to MK. Obviously it's personal opinion but gives you an idea of estates you might like to consider.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/65674530#Comment_65674530

I live on the Western flank and if I leave my house at 07:40 I get into CMK at 07:50, if I leave after 08:00 it can take 40 minutes to get into CMK. Strangely coming East>West in rush hour seems to be much quicker but I much prefer the Western flank.

dc197

Someone in that other thread said the following. Excellent advice, and our and their listing of good and bad estates is a sweeping generalisation. They said:
The thing with MK is that it is a planned and designed town, rather than a haphazard jumble which has grown over centuries. Because of this, nearly all the estates contain a full spectrum of housing from 1 bed flats to 6 bed executive homes, and consequently nearly all estates have good bits and not so good bits. You'll have to check things out on a street by street basis rather than just by area.