New job in Oxford - anyone know of affordable areas to rent around there?

gr8thingshappen

Hi all

My partner has just been offered a fairly well paid new job in east Oxford - Wheatley and is looking to move to an area that is affordable in terms of rent and reasonable in terms of distance to commute. We currently live in Cheshire but with parents. He will be initially living on his own to 'test the waters' before I jump in and move with him so a one or two bed flat/house preferably with parking would be the ideal.

Does anyone else commute to Oxford and have an opinion on affordable lets in the surrounding areas?

Any help or advice on renting in the local area would be gratefully received. Thank you

SquatNow

There arn't any.

If you can drive, rent a place out in the sticks and commute.

Tip: When you go for a job interview, buy the local paper while your there and check out house/rent costs. Works out how much more/less it will cost you to live there, and include that in your wage negotiations.

gr8thingshappen

I figured that asking where was cheap to rent in Oxford would be a stupid question and know he will have to commute which is not an issue...just want some advice from people who may know the local area and could perhaps suggest an actual town that is 'in the sticks' and is cheaper and within a reasonable distance to commute?

SquatNow

It's easily commuteable from anywhere on the M40.

M40 leads onto A40 which goes into Wheatley and then into Oxford.

ab7167

We live in Witney, which is about 14 miles west of Oxford, and the prices here are waaay cheaper than Oxford. I'm not so sure about renting, but we paid £232k a year ago for a 4 bed house with a nice garden, 10 minutes walk from the centre of town and on the main bus route into Oxford. Also on the A40, so getting to Wheatley is easy, just buzz along around the northern bypass. Only problem might be that there is a lot of traffic, but if he has flexitime you can avoid the main rush hours. Witney is a lovely town, and has the advantage of being (very nearly!) in the Cotswolds, so plenty of lovely scenery as well. We are about 4 miles from Burford, which is definitely in the Cotswolds.

beingjdc

What the other said.

What do you mean by cheap? You'll get a 2-bed flat / cluster for about £900 a month in Risinghurst. I know that might not sound cheap compared to the North, but it's well located for Wheatley, and given that Oxford is pretty much London prices, it's OK.

donna1987

Me and OH lived in various places in and around Oxford for a few years. Two areas that are very cheap, but I personally wouldn't recommend is the Cowley and Blackbird Leas areas. I lived there as a student and I was scared to leave my house after 8pm! lol. We lived in Ascott-Under-Wychwood which is a village in North Oxfordshire for over a year, but the rental prices where horrendous. The nearby villages of Shipton Under Wychwood and Milton Under Wychwood where more reasonable, but still quite expensive if your on a tight budget and you would also have to account for travel costs but the train runs from Charlbury(about 5 mins drive) straight into Oxford, if you would prefer not to drive. You would definately need a car though, cause it really is in the sticks! To be honest the villages in Oxfordshire can be just as, if not more so expensive than in Oxford itself.
Personally I'd agree with ab7167 and say Witney is your best bet. The rents are reasonable, you'd get a lot better for your money than you would in Oxford, or even than places in the sticks, it's a lovely market town and it's about 10-15 minutes drive to Oxford along the A40 (but ALOT longer during rush hour, so allow time). We used to go into Witney all the time when we lived out in the sticks.
Being a northerner myself, it took a while for me to get used to the rental prices down here. What other people considered cheap, I thought I was being robbed! In actual fact we are moving back up North early next month, we'll have a bigger house and be paying £200 a month less in rent and £100 less in council tax! lol. But I'm going to miss it here cause we live in a beautiful cotswold village, with a view money can't buy.

Here's some links that might help you find somewhere;
http://www.witneygazette.co.uk/homes/homestolet/
http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/homes/
http://www.theoxfordtimes.net/homes/
http://www.witney-estateagents.co.uk/
http://www.oxford-estateagents.co.uk/

Good luck with finding somewhere and with the new job.

SquatNow

Your probably better of going east toward Thame if you want somewhere cheap... it's also more convienient for Wheatley as you'll be on the correct side of Oxford and wont have to go through the outskirts of oxford to get there.

chappers

What about Wheatly itself probably as good a bet as anywhere or as has been said the surrounding villages my friend rents a two bedroom cottage in horspath for £750pcm but this is exeptionaly cheap.. Witney would be a pig of a commute in the mornings.
Not that it would be the ideal place for you but I have lived in Cowley/East Oxford for nearly 20 years and have never felt unsafe, co-incidently Donna before that I lived in Milton-u-Wychwwod and given the choice East Oxford would win hands down.

beingjdc

http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/unified_adboard.php?col=hftl

is a bit focused on the city, but may be of use to you.

mandelbrotlondon

Are you planning on commuting by car or public transport? I know of some people who bought in lovely Leamington Spa as Oxford prices were too high-34 minutes by train I think.

Good luck (and despite high housing costs Oxford is still a magical place to work etc.....have fun!)