Looking for MNrs near Northamptonshire/Oxford

[PetitFilou1]

We are thinking of moving that way and will have preschool dd and ds starting primary school in the year we are likely to move. I'm just wondering about good schools/nice places to live to start investigating. Dh is a doctor and will be working at the John Radcliffe for a while.

[earlgrey]

PF, if your husband's working at the JR, you don't want to be living in Northamptonshire!!!

Summertown's a lovely place, though some prefer the more cosmopolitan Cowley/Cowley Road. I find it a bit scarey, though!

Let me know what you're after, and I'll happily do my best to help!

[brightwell]

I live in Abingdon, south of Oxford. There are some lovely towns & villages fairly close to Oxford. Woodstock, Thame. I agree with earlgrey, Summertown is lovely. Good facilities, nice shops. Are you thinking of buying a house, Oxford is expensive, some areas a lot more than others.

[notasheep]

Worked at Jr,lived in Abingdon and Oxford.
LOads of fab schools and places to go.
Agree with earl grey northamptonshire-i dont
think so!

From a personal point of view i would have a huge victorian house in North Oxford,send ds to Radley College and dd to Oxford High school for girls(unless its changed its name)
St Helen and StKatherine in Abingdon is the best
so Sunday times says

[Callisto]

Bear in mind that rush hour Oxford is vile so you really want to live to the South or West of Oxford (I think that the Radcliffe is kind of South/west Oxford?) There are some lovely villages in the area but it is expensive. If you prefer quiet you don't want to be on the Brize flight line because it can get very noisy. And avoid the 'village' of Brize like the plague. Good luck with it all.

[PetitFilou1]

Thanks - this is really useful as know nothing about the area at all! The reason I put down Oxford and Northamptonshire is because dh is potentially working at the John Radcliffe and then in Northampton (I couldn't remember about the latter until I just asked him) so realistically we need to find somewhere in between to live in.
Btw, he is in the RAF so I assume he knows what it is like round Brize (I've never been though) At the moment we live in London so quieter would be nice but not dead - I would go mad if I was made to live right in the middle of nowhere - have lived here about half my life!

[earlgrey]

PF, Summertown is really nice, Cowley is for the beatnicks, Abingdon has a Waitroise (but Summertown has an M&S}.

Ooooh .. I'm even tempted to get H to share his opinion, too!

[earlgrey]

PF, H wouldn't give his twopenneth worth (we were in a bit of a hurry to get to a party last night) so I'm going to instead

NAS, God, that's my ideal world, too!

PF, you really do need to do a reccy. My sister lives in central London and is torn at the moment, because my nephew is coming up for secondary school and her choices are limited. She's either got Quintin Kinaston (sorry if I've misspelled that), Cardinal something-or-other - a Catholic school (where the boy gets detention if a button's missing). Despite the mum writing a note to say sorry she hadn't had time to sew it back on the reply was "He could have sewed it on himself". FFS!! And Cherwell School, in North Oxford. I really hope she chooses that - Tom loved it, I love having them here.

'Spose what I'm trying to say is she's finding the thought of moving from London to Oxford very hard - she thinks we're all yokels and will miss the fun of London. I moved here when I was 18 - 41 now and have never looked back!

Go for it, good luck, and CAT me if you need any more info.

XXX

[notasheep]

earlgrey- i was born in Abingdon,lived in Oxford and doing a bit of the those were the days,also having worked at JR feeling maybe a little envious of petitfilou.

petitfilou-here is another thought if dh is at Jr or Northampton then consider Banbury

[earlgrey]

Good idea, NAS Cheaper and more shops!

Out of interest, where abouts are you now?

[Elibean]

I grew up in North Oxford, my neice is moving to Cowley, and my Mum still lives in Old Marston....agree Summertown v nice, though no doubt expensive

Earlgrey, we've wondered about moving 'back' there next year too....just wondered if you knew, as an older Mum, would I be a total fish out of water in Oxford?? Lots in SW London, but don't want to be the only 40+ Mum with young ones...

[Elibean]

Yes, I thought about Banbury too - but its so long since I was there (or Kidlington, for that matter) no idea what its like now!

[notasheep]

earlgrey-i am in middle of nowhere Wales so no waitrose here or much else

[PetitFilou1]

Thanks all - you've made me feel much happier about it! Earlgrey - we are planning a reccy next year but this gives us something to work on - may CAT you nearer the time.
Elibean - I would be friends with you I'm just hoping that anywhere is less cliquey than SW London ....

[Elibean]

PF, that can't be hard - SW London, oy! I think certain sectors of Oxford life are pretty cliquey, I know my mother - freshly arrived from Paris via a couple of years in Staffs - found the university wives thing totally daunting. But then again, find me a place that doens't have its cliques - and what I loved growing up in Oxford was that there was a huge mix of cultures, nationalities, ages, thinking. Its heartening to know I'd have one friend in Oxford if I moved back, thank you

Earlgrey is much better placed to help you with info, but if I can help in any way - do shout (or CAT).

[Elibean]

ps did love growing up in Oxford...think its a great place for kids and teenagers alike. Or used to be, at least.

[earlgrey]

Oi! You calling me old, Elibean??

You'd be fine - plenty of Geri mums here too. You're always welcome to come and and have a mug of Horlicks round ours!

[Elibean]

Um, NO! I meant better placed as in, living there not just 'grew up there' a hundred years ago
Not too partial to Horlicks (my Mum is, though, and she's just up the Marston Ferry road ) but I do love a mug of a certain kind of tea.

Seriously, maybe with MN, I could just make the leap and abandon my safe nest of friends/family here...this thread has made me think!

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[PetitFilou1]

All the references to Waitrose.......
Elibean, I'm sure university wives have nothing on army wives. Try being the only RAF wife on a patch of houses where all the others are army. Plus I have a career (well part time anyway) and don't sell birthday cards from home. Now my brilliant next door neighbour has gone, I would move out of here like a shot.

[theUrbanDryad]

i've been looking for mumsnetters in northants for AGES! we live in northampton. it's dull. but oxford is lovely.

[Elibean]

Curious, do 'University Wives' still exist the way they did in the 60s? It was very cliquey then, lots of cheese and wine parties and academic one-upmanship...but that was a million years ago. My Mum was an artist, not an academic, French, pretty, and very much a SAHM, and felt totally inadequate until she discovered the Maison Francaise and an arty bunch to hang out with....but never knew if that was her being her, or if the Oxford women were really that scary (apart from my friend Nicholas's Mum, at primary school, who spent his 5th birthday party doing research into finding out how many 5 year olds knew the difference between an atom and a molecule: she really was a bit daunting).

Its true its really expensive - second most expensive place to buy property in UK after London, I'm told. Neice just found out how true that is.

[Elibean]

PetitFilou, shocking - not selling cards? Away with you

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[earlgrey]

Pruni, where did you move to?

[Elibean]

Pruni, thats so nice to hear - and makes sense. I'm remembering the 60s, and mostly the wives of Very Important Philosophers .
I wonder if back then, a lot of the women were frustrated, being 'wives' when they would and could have been a lot more - it would account for the competitive, hothouse behaviour I remember.

I think Oxford excels at evoking nostalgia...just remind yourself that it rains quite a lot in the Thames Valley, that May Morning and Morris Dancers are overrated, and that its always impossible to park in St Giles