I know this has probably been done to death but we are hopefully moving to Shropshire :D .

My husband will be working in Telford but we will need to travel to Hereford regularly to check up on his parents (we are currently living in Essex).

Shrewsbury looks nice, seems to have good schools and, has a good reputation so we thought we would centre our search here.

What areas are affordable (under £250k) for a larger family and which are best avoided?

My husband is prepared to travel up to 5 miles to Shrewsbury train station before he gets his drivers license so we are also looking at the surrounding villages.
What are Dorrington and Condover like? Are there, again, villages which are best avoided?

Many thanks for the info and we are getting quite excited about escaping the south east. Just need to get the house ready to sell :unsure: .

Hi there, and welcome to the forum. It's great to hear that you're so positive about Shrewsbury - people do use this forum to let off steam sometimes about the town's problems, but in reality it's a very pleasant place.

Dorrington is OK (and has a regular bus to Shrewsbury and Ludlow) but it is built around the main A49 road, which is probably best avoided if you're worried about children's safety. Condover and villages round about are good, as you can get to Hereford and Telford easily without going through the town, which can be a traffic bottleneck. Cycling to Shrewsbury station is feasible from Condover (along back lanes and then a dedicated cycle track), but is not so good from Dorrington. Other than that, the southern suburbs of Shrewsbury are generally all fine in terms of accessibilty and desirability - try Meole village and Belle Vue. It shouldn't be a problem to find somewhere affordable for your price range.

If all else fails, possibly consider Oswestry / Gobowen? There is a railway station at Gobowen, with some through trains to Telford (many people commute), and the houses are generally cheaper than Shrewsbury.

Thanks for that, particularly about the bike lanes.

We aren't too worried about congestion as, if it is anything like Hereford's, it will be a doddle compared to Southend!

Have a look at the Sutton and Bayston Hill areas. Sutton is on the south east end of town and Bayston Hill is to the south of Shrewsbury being one of the largest villages in England. Whilst Condover and Dorrington are fine places (great pub in the latter) they are smaller communities and so there won't be as many properties for sale.

I used to work in Southend and trust me, Telford is not even in the same ballpark.

Do you mean Telford is better or worse?

Well given that it used to take me nearly 40 minutes to cue up from Rayleigh to Victoria Avenue in town, Telford is like a dream come true.

I was pretty sure that was what you meant, Hereford is the same. Their idea of congestion is going slow for 5 minutes. :lol:

We don't even bother to use the car at weekends any more as it is too stressful. And going somewhere nice for the day is always totally wrecked by the journey back home.

My HB works in Victoria Avenue. Are you still with the same lot yourself?

In a taxi when I first moved to Shrewsbury, in response to having to wait in a queue of vehicles at Frankwell island, I remember the driver waxing lyrical about the 'bloody traffic in this town'. I don't suppose there were more than 10 vehicles there at the time. :D

I'd take a look at the Cherry Orchard area of town, there are some very elegant Edwardian and Victorian houses there and for £250k you should be able to get somewhere nice and reasonably big.

It is quiet and residential but close enough to the town centre that you can walk in for shopping, restaurants, cinema, theatre etc and you can take a shortcut across a park and be at the train station in 10 minutes on foot.

If you want to drive to Telford it's on the right side of town so you can get on the bypass/motorway easily.

Try streets like King Street, Alfred Street, Bishop Street, Canon St, Clifford St, Whitehall St, the lower end of Monkmoor Road or Underdale Road.

Cheers, jonesy55 (and everybody else!), for your help and suggestions.

We're checking out what's available in the Cherry Orchard area (and consulting Environment Agency flood-maps - some of the new-build and newer properties are in "blue" areas).

Regards

Schizoidgal's Hubby

hi. i just thought i would add to this as i live in Dorrington which is an area you mentioned and i moved away and came back, so it is a good area i think. A49 does go through but its not too bad. there is a good pub, which i think is important and the community is pretty friendly. if you have kids of school age i would also recommend this area as i think dorrington school is very good, and it is nicer as it is smaller so the children get lots of attention-if they are that age(my little one has just started at nursery there) but if your children are older i do think church stretton school is very good(as i went there :P ) again it isnt too large and there is a bus service for the children to stretton as that is the catchment area.
areas to avoid in shrewsbury would definately be harlescott, ditherington, telford estate. sutton and bayston hill are good, but bayston hill is on A49 again and looks hard to get out of in the morning onto A49, which i dont find is the case in dorrington, but if you get to learn some back roads that helps.
i think any villages around shrewsbury are lovely.
hope this helps

kateharris - many thanks, that is an enormous help. The A49 did worry us when looking at Dorrington properties (the old Post Office is on the market). Also glad to hear Dorrington has a nice atmosphere (and a good pub!).

Your advice on school is also very useful indeed - our three are aged 9, 7 and 2.

Once again, many thanks

Schizoidgal's Hubby

i am glad i could be of help :D
i know alot of people mention the A49 but it was never a problem for us although we live away from the main road on a farm. but away from the road there are lots of walks etc and i remember as a kid we spent lots of time near the brook in the summer so as long as kids are aware of the road they should only have to cross it once really. funnily enough my in laws have also been interested in viewing the old post office!! i know that is on the road but i also visited friends there when i was young and we never went near the road-there should be plenty of room behind there. and if you did move to dorrington our 2 year olds could end up in school together!!! the limes paddock also has a house on the market i think and this estate entrance is from the a49 but far enough away not to be a problem.
hope this helps too. (bank drive is a good area too but dont know if there are any on the market there)

Thanks for that and if we get our way, our two may well be going to school together!
We were looking for the old Post Office using an aerial map but couldn't work out which building it was, we drove the kids crazy trying to find it :lol: .

well fingers crossed then. at least at the old post office you would be close to the pub tee hee.

here it is:

http://www.hollandbroadbridge.co.uk/showproperty.asp?id=1694

ring Holland and Broadbridge and ask for Chris.

s.g.d.

Well, if my hubby can get time off work at Easter we will be looking at The Old Post Office.

Just got to get this ol' house on the market now........
Anyone good with a paint brush? :lol:

god dont talk to me about paint brushes!!
we have just converted a barn and i have had to paint it all-including wooden floor boards and beams on my own almost!!
wont be redecorating for a while :)

Only bought this house about 9 1/2 months ago and had to do quite major work on it (driveway, 2 bathrooms & kitchen), I have fitted new doors with only 1 to go and still have to neaten the edges of the bathroom. And then we intend to do it all over again. Are we mad? Surely!

hi schizoidgal
you do sound mad i have to say!!
i have been put off bui8lding etc for quite a long time.
just thought it was worth a mention for you to look at miller evens website as i have just noticed a new for sale board go up at a house near to the other pub in dorrington(yes we have 2 pretty good ones!) we used to call this nunu's house as the person that lived there and possibly built it used to play nunu in teletubbies-about as famous as our residents live i think, tee hee
but that looks like quite a nice house and the present owners have just built onto it to extend it to the garage.
miller evans also have a sign up for a house on limes paddock.
just thought this may help you in your search, although these teo are fairly new if you are into converting things.
also thought i would mention the pund at leebotwood is another good place to eat, although bit more expensive than the shoe-but we know the chef as he lives next door and is very nice
good luck ;)

Thanks for those details but all the others in Dorrington are either too small or too expensive at the moment. Condover has 1 house worth checking out though.