Leamington Spa

Atole

We're hoping to move to the Coventry, Leamington Spa, Warwick area for work and would like some advice! I've seen a couple of nice affordable looking places in Whitnash in south Leamington, but I've also read that south Leamington can be a bit rougher. Any thoughts? Trying to find a reasonable size family home that's not going to be too expensive!

LittleLu33

Leamington is lovely, I grew up in Kenilworth nearby. Leamington can be very pricey, and Whitnash is, as you say, more affordable I have heard that it's not as nice, but I can't personally comment as haven't spent time there.

You'd really have to get a vibe from the place when viewing. Are you hoping to rent or buy? Do you want to be in walking distance of a town centre? Amenities etc?

Buses are good from Kenilworth to Coventry and Leamington but not so much to Warwick. Also now has a rail station direct to cov/leam.

For buying houses (& especially if you have a car) - I'd recommend as well as Warwick and Leamington, looking into Southam, Kenilworth, Banbury (has good transport links) and there are also some smaller villages depending on how 'out in the sticks' you want to be. Bishops Itchington, Bishops Tatchbrook, Leek Wooten (bit pricier there perhaps? Worth looking into maybe). Coventry is also good in areas, but you'd definitely need to view. I'd probably look at Whitnash over Coventry firstly.

Generally, around there, cheap property is usually an indication of the desirability of location (and unfortunately the local prices are on the steep side.) Other more affordable options could be fixer-upper (although these are increasingly rare!) or potentially a new build.

I believe there's some new builds popping up around Leamington, near the train station and elsewhere - not sure if there's houses going up but might be worth looking into also?

Best of luck.

LittleLu33

Hatton is also good for families although i'm not sure if it's still as cheap as once was back when I lived nearby!

Doozergirl

Leamington is like architectural heaven on earth. I bet even the "rough" places aren't rough at all, just not Conservation Area perfection.

Atole

Thank you for the replies! I'm used to living in a city with amenities, I'm not a fan of driving and would like to be able to access trains to Birmingham / London. Leamington Spa seems to fit all of these! We're looking at a couple of doer upper places today in Whitnash so will see what feel we get for the area. Where we live now is a supposedly less desirable area of a town and I really like it!

Annabee

Sorry to hijack, but my daughter is also looking in the Warwick or Leamington areas. She would prefer not to be in a village. A lot of people seem to think that Sydenham (?) is not as desirable, but looking on a map, this seems to be about half/a third of Leamington! Prices are more reasonable there, and it looks OK on Rightmove streetview. Is it really all dodgy? And which is considered the better area of Whitnash or Sydenham?

1886

Whitnash and Sydenham are not particularly desirable areas of Leamington. A lot of areas South of the Parade are a bit run down. Both are cheaper than other parts of Leamington but a fair walk to the town centre.

Lillington and Cubbington are on the whole nice bar the Crown Way area. Southam is a bit of a turkey town. It's not particularly cheap and you'll just find yourself in Leamington all the time as there's very little there.

Kenilworth is nice but not a lot in the way of shops. Mostly charity shops and estate agents. Warwick is quite different again. Nice area with a world class castle, town centre small but has a lot of character. Few nice pubs and restaurants.

It depends exactly what you want. Leamington town centre is very good, very busy at the weekend and Jepson Gardens are really nice. Kenilworth is quite dull, it has a reputation of being very old. Warwick is quaint, a lot of very old buildings in the centre give it character.

Most of Coventry is cheaper than the above three towns although Stivichall, Finham and Earlsdon can be very expensive. Gibbet Hill £1M+.

I would go for Leamington but for me if you have to drive into town as you are so far out you could just buy in Coventry, it's 20 minutes from the centre of Leamington

Beenie

We have lived in both Leamington (Lillington) and Kenilworth (Windy Arbour). I would choose Kenilworth any day over Warwick, Leamington or surrounding villages.

Unfortunately you need deep pockets these days to get somewhere nice in Kenilworth, but if you are happy to get a 'doer upper' - of which there used to be quite a choice in Kenilworth - then you will end up in a lovely and peaceful part of Warwickshire.