Aldershot/ Farnborough

KrisSi27

We need to relocate to the area , but don't know it. Any suggestions of which areas to avoid when searching for a house? Any suggestions welcome.

OldMusicGuy

I used to work in Farnborough. Personally I would avoid both Farnborough and Aldershot. There's plenty of commutable places around there, provided you drive. Less so if you don't. I would look at places like Yateley, Eversley Cross, Fleet, Farnham. Crowthorne is nice if you can afford it. I used to live in Finchampstead and commute to the Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, perfectly doable.

x_gemms_x

Hiya, I have lived in Aldershot for years and can say I agree with OldMusicGuy. Aldershot and Farnborough Town centres are desolute shadows of what they once were about 10 years ago. alot of boarded up shops. you will need to travel to other towns for retail unless you need Iceland, Lidl, Wilkos or Charity Shops.
In terms of areas, I am more au fait with Aldershot than Farnborough, but Empress Park in Farnborough is nice, and Hawley seems nice also. Areas that are popular in Aldershot include Rowhill area, and Manor Park area.
They are building a massive amount of houses on the way between Aldershot and Farnborough if new build is your thing.
Farnborough and Aldershot do have good rail connections luckily with both serving lines to London Waterloo via Woking, Farnborough to Southampton and Portsmouth, and Aldershot with Ascot and Guildford. I hope this helps somewhat. if you need to know anything more specific i can try and help. 

NameUnavailable

I heard that Aldershot town centre is going to have quite a lot spent on it in the coming years, as a result of all the new build housing (and extra council revenue) on the old Army land. The biggest drawback for me would be the lack of decent pubs in the town.

x_gemms_x

Yes they're regenerating the town centre by demolishing boarded up buildings and building shops/ flats/ student accommodation for the Uni of Creative Arts in Farnham which I don't think has any designated student accom in Farnham. 
I agree regarding your point regarding no decent pubs in the town, and the Westgate Restaurant and leisure Complex that opened 8 years ago is now half empty from closures- although mainly due to companies going into administration rather than Aldershot related directly. 

NameUnavailable

x_gemms_x said:

Yes they're regenerating the town centre by demolishing boarded up buildings and building shops/ flats/ student accommodation for the Uni of Creative Arts in Farnham which I don't think has any designated student accom in Farnham. 
I agree regarding your point regarding no decent pubs in the town, and the Westgate Restaurant and leisure Complex that opened 8 years ago is now half empty from closures- although mainly due to companies going into administration rather than Aldershot related directly. 

An influx of art students will be a good thing I think.

Most town centres are the same as regards half closed and boarded up empty buildings. It's not going to get much better after lockdown either with the huge shift to online shopping. Towns need to adjust. I live near Croydon, that's much worse!

I think Aldershot also misses so many squaddies with nothing to do and money to spend at the weekends!

x_gemms_x

NameUnavailable said:

x_gemms_x said:

Yes they're regenerating the town centre by demolishing boarded up buildings and building shops/ flats/ student accommodation for the Uni of Creative Arts in Farnham which I don't think has any designated student accom in Farnham. 
I agree regarding your point regarding no decent pubs in the town, and the Westgate Restaurant and leisure Complex that opened 8 years ago is now half empty from closures- although mainly due to companies going into administration rather than Aldershot related directly. 

An influx of art students will be a good thing I think.

Most town centres are the same as regards half closed and boarded up empty buildings. It's not going to get much better after lockdown either with the huge shift to online shopping. Towns need to adjust. I live near Croydon, that's much worse!

I think Aldershot also misses so many squaddies with nothing to do and money to spend at the weekends!

Yes agreed, the town was thriving when more squaddies were here. I used to work in a pub in town and always extra staff required on "squaddie pay day" due to the spend increase for that weekend. Every area has its good and bad. I think op needs to go to aldershot and Farnborough and see how they are for a few hours. We considered moving to Leeds for a period and would spend weekends there, to see what the feel was. Drove round areas we liked and sat on roads we liked to check the vibe. Personal experience goes over a forum I think as some people on diff forums recommended areas and we hated them! 

NameUnavailable

x_gemms_x said:

NameUnavailable said:

x_gemms_x said:

Yes they're regenerating the town centre by demolishing boarded up buildings and building shops/ flats/ student accommodation for the Uni of Creative Arts in Farnham which I don't think has any designated student accom in Farnham. 
I agree regarding your point regarding no decent pubs in the town, and the Westgate Restaurant and leisure Complex that opened 8 years ago is now half empty from closures- although mainly due to companies going into administration rather than Aldershot related directly. 

An influx of art students will be a good thing I think.

Most town centres are the same as regards half closed and boarded up empty buildings. It's not going to get much better after lockdown either with the huge shift to online shopping. Towns need to adjust. I live near Croydon, that's much worse!

I think Aldershot also misses so many squaddies with nothing to do and money to spend at the weekends!

Yes agreed, the town was thriving when more squaddies were here. I used to work in a pub in town and always extra staff required on "squaddie pay day" due to the spend increase for that weekend. Every area has its good and bad. I think op needs to go to aldershot and Farnborough and see how they are for a few hours. We considered moving to Leeds for a period and would spend weekends there, to see what the feel was. Drove round areas we liked and sat on roads we liked to check the vibe. Personal experience goes over a forum I think as some people on diff forums recommended areas and we hated them! 

I was considering Aldershot at one point due to prices being lower there. I actually offered on a house but it was rejected and I was seriously considering one of the new build places for a while. I just decided in the end that the commute for me would be a bit too much.

I did stop over one weekend to mooch about the town and surrounding areas. I have to say that I thought it was OK. People were friendly and there's some nice parks etc. Yes the town centre shopping area is a bit run down but that's like many town centres these days and you have Farnham nearby if you want somewhere more genteel to shop.

KrisSi27

Thanks for all your replies