Nice places to live near Southampton airport?

[tigersaw]

I'm thinking of applying for a post at Southampton airport - the job would mean I would have to live within about 30 or 40 minutes from the place.
I might go and have a poke around there beforehand - can anyone enlighten me as to the nice places to live, and the ****e places I need to avoid?

[mattSV]

30/40 minutes is not that far if you will be travelling during rush hour - you are probably looking at about a 10-15 mile radius.

Avoid:- Weston, Sholing, Lordswood, Lordshill, Merryoak, St Marys, Pilands, most of Eastleigh and obviously anywhere with a PO postcode!

Hamble is quite nice (some good pubs) but full of yachtie tosspots

Hedge End is ok, but no decent pubs

Fair Oak/West End are ok

HTH - if you find anywhere you like the look of PM me and I'll let you know what it is like.

Matt

[timwilky]

Do what my cousin did. Buy a place in Jersey, and fly to Eastleigh every day.

Originally Posted by tigersaw

Nice places to live near Southampton airport?

Portsmouth

Avoid Millbrook as well. There are a few ok bits of Shirley. Depends what you mean by nice, though. I don't think St Mary's is that bad, but then, it is the red light district of Southampton.

[mattSV]

Originally Posted by timwilky

Do what my cousin did. Buy a place in Jersey, and fly to Eastleigh every day.

I have thought about going out to Jersey to work, however Jersey laws no longer allow non-residents to purchase property, unless they have stacks of cash, and renting there is probably on a par with central London. I would get accomodation with the job however it would be a poxy little flat somewhere. Plus I don't think my bike could cope with the 40mph speed limit there!

Flying in and out of Jersey is great - apart from the fog which can shut the whole airport down

[tigersaw]

Originally Posted by timwilky

Do what my cousin did. Buy a place in Jersey, and fly to Eastleigh every day.

I'd prolly get free flights too!

Thanks for the replies so far, I figured Hedge end, West end etc would be mentioned, think my company has moved a lot of staff there.
I would not be traveling in rush hour, I'd be doing shifts like 0600-1400, 1200-2200, 0600-1800 etc.
Is there anywhere to the West, (from the map) Chandlers Ford, Romsey for instance?

'Nice' by my description would be detached with garage (essential) and garden, quiet neighbourhood - I need my sleep Pubs, shops, trainlines and schools don't matter - I head west into Somerset on my free days.

I wouldn't live in Southampton, then. Get out into the forest to the west and you'll find loads of nice towns.
Unless you want nightlife, in which case, you are far better off in Soton.

[mattSV]

Chandlers Ford & Romsey are both nice - can be a bit pricey though especially for a detached with a garage - for a 3 bed detached with a garage expect to pay around £270k upwards (if you can find one!) by comparison, I have a 4 bed semi with garage in a quiet cul-de-sac in Hedge End, which is worth around £220k.

If you decide to have a look around the New Forest, there are some rough areas in Hythe and Totton - Ashurst, Lyndhurst, Ower, Cadnam are all ok with pretty good accesibility to M27 - Lyndhurst can be a nightmare in the summer though due to all the grockles.

[Supervox]

Originally Posted by mattSV

If you decide to have a look around the New Forest, there are some rough areas in Hythe and Totton - Ashurst, Lyndhurst, Ower, Cadnam are all ok with pretty good accesibility to M27 - Lyndhurst can be a nightmare in the summer though due to all the grockles.

Nothing much worry about though if you're gonna use the bike to commute

You might also take a look at Whiteley - not particularly cheap - but a 'nice' neighbourhood.