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March 28, 2024, 11:37:45 PM

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What's Cheltenham like?

Started by Emma Raducanu, January 06, 2019, 08:04:36 PM

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Emma Raducanu

I might have to relocate my family to Cheltenham. We live deep in the North where the lads still wear flat caps and you can buy a house for a weeks wage.

We used to go on holiday in the Cheltenham area, Cirencester etc. my vague memory of it all, was extremely posh rural England littered with quaint villages and tea rooms.

Seriously though, if I were to work in Cheltenham, where's nice to live, bearing in mind my budget on a house would be like £170,000, which at a glance buys a tin shed in Cheltenham.

canadagoose

Quote from: DolphinFace on January 06, 2019, 08:04:36 PM
I might have to relocate my family to Cheltenham.
Have you been... recruited, wink wink, nudge nudge?

Emma Raducanu

I've been offered a 'job' wink wink and it would start in "September". I'm afraid I've only ever lived in my town and the idea of moving scares me, which is well gay.

The Lurker

I've been twice, it's a nice town and the people there are really friendly, they talk like farmers too. Mind you, I worked with a bloke from Cheltenham and he was a prick - he doesn't live in the town now though so you should be alright. The town centre is quite nice too and there's a few decent pubs in the area.

Consignia

Yeah, that's a budget that's going to struggle in 'nham. I think there's some estates around the periphery which might eek into that sort of price range. You may need to be looking at Gloucester, which I believe is a bit cheaper and there's barely any distance.

Cheltenham's nice but I don't know if I could live there. I've had stay there a few times for work, and it's nice but very quiet. I think there's a more of a buzz towards Bristol way which isn't too far South West of it.

Emma Raducanu

Yep, I'm thinking about where's within commutable distance but I've the geographical knowledge of a 3 year old. How longs Bristol by train?

Sebastian Cobb

Live somewhere like Evesham. That way Cheltenham will seem bustling and sophisticated.

Consignia

Quote from: DolphinFace on January 06, 2019, 08:37:39 PM
Yep, I'm thinking about where's within commutable distance but I've the geographical knowledge of a 3 year old. How longs Bristol by train?

I think it's about 30 mins. I'll be honest, I don't much about the public transport in the area, since I usually drive. For a commuter that might be a pain, since parking is a real pain in Cheltenham.

Pseudopath

Quote from: Consignia on January 06, 2019, 09:04:11 PM
I think it's about 30 mins. I'll be honest, I don't much about the public transport in the area, since I usually drive. For a commuter that might be a pain, since parking is a real pain in Cheltenham.

Lest we forget.

touchingcloth

Do you have a job in Bristol? I don't think Cheltenham is the place for you based on your budget as housing costs will be pretty similar in the two towns I imagine, so no point tacking on travel costs as well.

When I lived in Bristol, the places people used to move to be able to commute to work and house a family were Monmouth/Newport in Wales, Portishead, Nailsea and Long Aston in the west, or places like Thornbury or Yate in the north.

Would rail be the way you commute? It's a really, really expensive part of the country unfortunately, so I'd consider getting a car or other means of transport to make you more flexible in terms of where you can commute from, and you should be prepared to need to put some long hours in on Right Move to find a place that works for you.

Cheltenham's pricey and full of wankers, for a tl;dr.

northernrebel

Expensive and posh but also rough. Public transport dire, Cotswolds nearby and gorgeous. Not a lot going on but there are some cosy pubs. Gloucester sounds like a better bet, but despite the amazing cathedral I found it very dodgy. Would rather live in Cheltenham, even if the rent is higher. If you like posh sofas, Regency architecture, local ruffians with a touch of the Fred West look to them, and rich old bags who glare at you when you dare sit in the same cafe as them in your relatively shabby clothes, it's verily heaven on earth.

On the plus side I loves me a Glosterrrshirre accent, and the countryside is astounding, and the area is full of history.

Source: lived in Cheltenham for three years.

touchingcloth

Sorry, completely misread that your job would be in Cheltenham. That would give you the option of places around Gloucester and towards Worcester which are much less pricey than between Cheltenham and Bristol.

pancreas

Shit restaurants. Good pubs. Lots of private schools. Cobbled streets. The organ in the All Saints Church looks alright. I'm sure it'll be fine if you're happy eating in a Cote Brasserie or some godawful junk-hatch like that. It'll be fine, probably.

mothman

I work in Cheltenham. No, not THERE. It's alright. Have to admit I don't go out in the town at all, much, just for socials, Christmas parties, that sort of thing. I understand a lot of people (including from THERE) choose to live in Gloucester because it's more affordable, and really it's ten minutes down the A40 between the two. Though the traffic going in in the morning, and out in the evening, is a nightmare; the council are just beginning a multi-million pound program of improvements, including the A40 corridor (known as the Golden Valley) intended to improve matters.

As for where to live in Cheltenham (as opposed to Gloucester), I'm really not sure. Lots of the place names I hear coworkers bandying about mean nothing to me. I'd avoid Hester's Way (the area north of Benhall, where THERE is) as it's not a nice area. I'm conversely not sure about which are the really expensive areas. But the southern suburbs - Up Hatherly, Shurdington, Leckhampton - are OK I think.

One thing to be aware of: apparently, and ironically, given the presence THERE, the internet in Cheltenham is terrible in places.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Stroud is cheaper than either Cheltenham or Gloucester I think. But then you have to live in Stroud.

mothman

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on January 06, 2019, 10:47:23 PM
Stroud is cheaper than either Cheltenham or Gloucester I think.

Yes. I also know people who commute from there. Eventually I think I'll move closer to work, and somewhere Stroud way would be my preference, or somewhere between and also heading out towards Cirencester.

kittens

lads i'm from a town 8 miles from there. know it well. let me tell you now, cheltenham is fine. get a house in bishop's cleeve and ride your bike into work. sorted

Captain Crunch

Well done for getting a job at GCHQ!

You could live in Bristol and work in Cheltenham but you'd probably be better off getting the train, traffic in Bristol is beyond a joke and it doesn't look to be improving any time soon.

As to Cheltenham itself, I've only been for a couple of jobs and a test drive but I did go on a tour of twentieth century architecture there.  It was laughable really because the town tags itself as 'Regency' so – apart from the Lido – all the buildings we looked at were examples of how newer builds blended in with Regency ones, to the point of a block of flats which was just a carbon copy of the Regency frontage next door.  They also had a massive crow about this fountain but I think if you've never seen better you need to get out more:



What sort of place do you want to live in?  There's bound to be somewhere to suit you within commuting distance. 


Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: kittens on January 06, 2019, 10:51:51 PM
lads i'm from a town 8 miles from there. know it well. let me tell you now, cheltenham is fine. get a house in bishop's cleeve and ride your bike into work. sorted

Also do mad stunts on your bike to impress children

kittens

if you end up moving in next door to my mum or sister or brother or dad please send them my regards. i could come visit you next christmas, just pop next door and show your kids some awesome bike stunts. your new life is really shaping up well

touchingcloth

Try and rent that house where a spy got stuffed into a holdall. Bet it's cheap as.

mothman

Quote from: touchingcloth on January 06, 2019, 11:00:16 PM
Try and rent that house where a spy got stuffed into a holdall. Bet it's cheap as.

Except that was in London.

Oh, Bristol is OK. If you live in the northern parts - Bradley Stoke, Downend etc. - then you can get onto the M5 quite easily, and then it's just paying for petrol. The train, well, it's half an hour from Bristol Parkway, but you have to get to Parkway first so you're either cycling, or paying £7.80 per day to park there (there may be season rates).

Captain Crunch

No offence if it's your manor but North Bristol is a fucking hole.  Boring, expensive, rough and some bits of it are so white bread it's like being in the 70's. 

garnish

Quote from: Consignia on January 06, 2019, 08:29:14 PM
Yeah, that's a budget that's going to struggle in 'nham. I think there's some estates around the periphery which might eek into that sort of price range. You may need to be looking at Gloucester, which I believe is a bit cheaper and there's barely any distance.

Cheltenham's nice but I don't know if I could live there. I've had stay there a few times for work, and it's nice but very quiet. I think there's a more of a buzz towards Bristol way which isn't too far South West of it.

Bristol will probably take you 45 mins driving despite the distance, but there is a small town called Stroud that is much closer and has a bit of an arts scene - there's a decent music venue (hosting international acts) and if you look closely, you might spot local resident Keith Allen.


mothman

Quote from: Captain Crunch on January 06, 2019, 11:08:22 PM
No offence if it's your manor but North Bristol is a fucking hole.  Boring, expensive, rough and some bits of it are so white bread it's like being in the 70's. 

None taken. Not from there, just live there. In, yes, one of those really white areas. But it was the only way we could get on the housing ladder all those years ago. Solid Labour ward though, so the majority Tory council shits all over us every chance it gets.

It's 45 minutes (ish) by road. Cheaper and quicker than taking the train every day.

greenman

The areas perhaps not quiet as overwhelming posh/expensive as the image makes it, Cheltenham and Cirencester plus a lot of the smaller old villages are fit that but a good few other places aren't. Most obviously Gloucester is pretty much on the doorstep, a bit rough in places but not too bad then you have Stroud(lone Labour MP in a sea of Tories) were I am or places like Durlsey and Nailsworth which are more small working towns, nothing that rough but not chocolate box either.

Any more specific idea of what kind of place your after?

Ferris

Spent an inordinate amount of time in Tewksbury, Gloucester and Cheltenham; lots of friends out that way. Lovely part of the world. Lots of nice fields and pubs and that.

tookish

Gloucester is definitely a better bet than Cheltenham in terms of house prices. There's also places like Hucclecote (where my parents live) or Brockworth which have some affordable housing and are on the road from Gloucester to Cheltenham. Longlevens is also fairly reasonable although obviously it's all much more expensive than in the North.

Dr Trouser

Stonehouse - anyone mentioning Stroud is clearly wrong

For a cheaper (but hurry!) alternative to brizzle is to get across to chepstow/mathern/pyllmerric  - a bit quicker to to get to the Donut and you're in the land of free prescriptions etc. and a direct train from chepstow to cheltenham

Bristol is expensive and fucking tiresome.