Bedford or MK?

30ismorethan171991haha

I'm looking to buy a flat in Bedford or Milton Keynes.

Which is better to live in?
MK I know is more modern, and has better shopping but what areas are good or bad in both places?

jimbog

I have lived in both. If you live on the estates in MK you'll need a car and it can be a bit soulless (though the centre is a good place to socialise and shop).

Bedford is a cosmopolitan Victorian market town with the river being the highlight of the town with good transport links but has a struggling town centre as most towns in the UK now have. However a lot of independent shops are opening up.

There are lots of new estates in MK which I don't know much about but avoid Netherfield, Tinkers Bridge, Bletchley

In Bedford, good places are the Castle Road area, the Saints area and Poets area. Places to avoid - Midland Road near the station, off Ampthill Road and London Road and Fenlake

lincroft1710

It depends what you want.

MK is much larger, better and bigger shops and market, but is very modern. Bedford can get very congested, probably has fewer employment opportunities, has a plethora of apartments in converted office blocks and older houses. Castle Road area is good but comparatively expensive and has few flats.

Gemma3378

Check out the crime rates for each area...

LittleMax

What is your reason for moving? Where will you need to commute to? Will you be needing to go back regularly to visit friends/family in where?
I didn't particularly like either town and after renting in Bedford for 3 years we bought in Northampton. My family were in the West Midlands so this made visits home easier.

zagubov

When I lived there I noted that Bedford had a large student population, and plenty of pubs. For a market town in that location it had an ethnic mix that was pretty diverse.

MK was full of young families, had precious few places to go and you were totally dependant on a car. It also had fast motorway and train connections to London, where most of the young people were forced to go to for nightlife.

There seemed to be a law that every village had to have a pub called the Swan.

Murphybear

jimbog wrote: »

I have lived in both. If you live on the estates in MK you'll need a car and it can be a bit soulless (though the centre is a good place to socialise and shop).

Bedford is a cosmopolitan Victorian market town with the river being the highlight of the town with good transport links but has a struggling town centre as most towns in the UK now have. However a lot of independent shops are opening up.

There are lots of new estates in MK which I don't know much about but avoid Netherfield, Tinkers Bridge, Bletchley

In Bedford, good places are the Castle Road area, the Saints area and Poets area. Places to avoid - Midland Road near the station, off Ampthill Road and London Road and Fenlake

MK

Coffee Hall used to be bad.

When we were looking to buy in MK a few years ago we asked the EA about good and bad areas. He gave us some ideas but said just by driving round we could probably tell for ourselves. We did this and he was right.

MK has an unusual layout. The roads form grids and the housing areas tend to be self contained within the grids so areas don’t overspill. Back then it was easy to differentiate the areas by price, but it may not be so simple now.

mobileron

Less traffic problems in MK,Bedford is hell in the morning.
Some flats next to Wolverton station.

lookstraightahead

Outskirts of MK has some nice villages I believe.

kiddy_guy

Without knowing your reason for why it has to be either, it's impossible to say.

If you said commute to London I'd say MK for superior transport links. If you said for schools, I'd say the Harpur trust Bedford private schools. If you wanted a more city feel and better shops, then MK.

Give us something to work with OP 😉

30ismorethan171991haha

I work in Beds., but I want to know which is best to live in.
I won't consider Luton since it's a !!!!ing dive.
I'm not a rural person, so the neighbouring villages aren't for me.