Milton Keynes?

[Half Time Pies]

Ive been offered a job at a sister company based in Milton Keynes. It comes with a 25% payrise, a relocation package and the advantage of no long commute in to London everyday.

However all I know about Milton Keynes is that it has a lot of roundabouts so I just wondered if anyone on NSC has knowledge of it and could offer me some advice, pros and cons, good/ bad areas to live? Also if there are any season ticket holders that travel down from there to the Amex, whats it like making home games?

We love where we are currently living in Kent so wouldnt want to move to a bad area.

Cheers

 

[Train Spotter]

Don't do it - it's a shit hole!

Stay where you are and commute - I do it from Preston Park!
Crap for Midweek Home Games, need the 16:02, so have to bunk out a bit early & hope everything runs OK.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

If you are fairly close to London in Kent, you could just commute from there. Fast trains to MK from London take about 45 minutes.

As to living there - i agree with the post above.

 

[Seagull58]

Its not a shithole at all. There's some very nice areas and some really nice villages just to the North such as Potterspury, Yardley Gobion and Paulerspury. If you want to live in MK itself its quite nice over on the East side round Willen lake and its also nice on the West side round Loughton and Shenley. Steer well clear of Fishermead! In the south there's the Woughton Park and Caldecotte Lake areas. I lived in Willen for a year or so and then a few years in Potterspury. Nothing wrong with the area at all. Stony Stratford is also good for pubs and restaurants. The Cock and The Bull pubs in the high street are the origination of the phrase "cock and bull story".

 

[Half Time Pies]

Don't do it - it's a shit hole!

Stay where you are and commute - I do it from Preston Park!
Crap for Midweek Home Games, need the 16:02, so have to bunk out a bit early & hope everything runs OK.

That must be a long commute! One of the reasons for considering it would be to reduce the commute I have currently got and the cost.

Do you go from Euston because it seems like there are often delays/ cancellations there going north? The offices are a few miles from Milton Keynes Central as well so not sure how I would negotiate getting from the station to work.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Its not a shithole at all. There's some very nice areas and some really nice villages just to the North such as Potterspury, Yardley Gobion and Paulerspury. If you want to live in MK itself its quite nice over on the East side round Willen lake and its also nice on the West side round Loughton and Shenley. Steer well clear of Fishermead! In the south there's the Woughton Park and Caldecotte Lake areas. I lived in Willen for a year or so and then a few years in Potterspury. Nothing wrong with the area at all. Stony Stratford is also good for pubs and restaurants. The Cock and The Bull pubs in the high street are the origination of the phrase "cock and bull story".

But do you know why!?

 

[Half Time Pies]

Its not a shithole at all. There's some very nice areas and some really nice villages just to the North such as Potterspury, Yardley Gobion and Paulerspury. If you want to live in MK itself its quite nice over on the East side round Willen lake and its also nice on the West side round Loughton and Shenley. Steer well clear of Fishermead! In the south there's the Woughton Park and Caldecotte Lake areas. I lived in Willen for a year or so and then a few years in Potterspury. Nothing wrong with the area at all. Stony Stratford is also good for pubs and restaurants. The Cock and The Bull pubs in the high street are the origination of the phrase "cock and bull story".

Thanks for the info, perhaps it a case of having to know where to go as it seems like others have got some strong views against! Have the areas you mentioned got their own amenities/ shops etc or do you have to drive in to the centre?

 

[Camicus]

My sister lives in MK and loves it. In fact nobody I know who lives there has a bad thing to say about it stay away from Bean hill and its all right same as any town good parts and bad. Villages are lovely and if you want somewhere nice have a look at Olney/Newport. Feel free to pm if you need to know anything specific and will try and find out for you

 

[Guinness Boy]

My sister-in-law lives in South Northants in a village close to Towcester and I have to say it's lovely. She has a way bigger house than us for £20,000 less, kid in a good school, nice country walks (it's flat), lovely country pubs and a 5 mile drive to the M1. MK is probably a 15 - 25 min drive depending on traffic and how fast you drive and the times I've been up there after work in London it seemed easier than the commute to Portslade (though not today as someone jumped between Watford and MK). That said my S-I-L uses MK for shopping and nightly entertainment because it's so close and I have honestly never been so depressed. Driving through a series of identical roundabouts you eventually find yourself in a car park that is so identikit you'll never find your car again. Eventually you'll arrive in a shopping centre so large and faceless it's like 25 Churchill Squares without the central reference point and, if you have a woman with you, you won't see her again for 4 hours. When you do eventually meet her you can 'refresh' yourself at a McDonalds, Frankie and Bennies or a chain pub selling overpriced pissy lager. The one time we went to the theatre we took her kids to a panto in MK. Our car was being cased by the local chavs before we got out of it.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

The Style Council - Come to Milton Keynes

The Style Council - Come To Milton Keynes - YouTube

 

[Questions]

They have plastic cows in MK.

 

[The Birdman]

I think there is a group of seagulls surpporters seagulls over Milton Keynes.

 

[mlg57]

I move from Brighton to MK in 1985 and was a little unsure at first but it been great. Commute to work is easy (I've had three different jobs in three different parts of the city), I started with a bigger house than I could have brought in Sussex and it is really is lovely being so close to the countryside. A ten minute walk and I am either by water or in countryside. I currently live in Newport Pagnell just on the edge of MK but lived for 20 years in Downhead Park which has a canal running through it and is very close to parkland. My Mrs loves the shopping centre, I think it's ok, the theatre is one of the best in the country and we have a ski slope which is pretty good. The city is arranged in a grid with plenty of roundabouts but it's fine they make travel in MK very easy. You can cross the city, north to south (7 miles)in 10 minutes.

I get my to the Amex 6 or 7 times a season and when not there follow the local Ice Hockey team.

 

[Bedsex]

Or you could look at somewhere like Flitwick, Ampthill or surrounding villages. About a 20 minute drive from MK and a train direct from Flitwick to Brighton.

 

[mlg57]

I think there is a group of seagulls surpporters seagulls over Milton Keynes.

And yes there is a group called the MK Seagulls who number around 30 members. We meet up when we can and travel to various games, home and away. PM me if you come and we will set up a meet.

 

[mlg57]

They have plastic cows in MK.

They are not plastic they are concrete ... See ... Concrete Cows - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One other thing I forgot to mention is that the city has a system of redways. These are routes all over the city which enables you to walk or cycle without needing to go on main roads. It's a superb system that I use all the time.

 

[Half Time Pies]

And yes there is a group called the MK Seagulls who number around 30 members. We meet up when we can and travel to various games, home and away. PM me if you come and we will set up a meet.

Thanks, that would be good.

I think we are going to go up this weekend and have a look around. Will check out some of the areas that people have mentioned. The Mrs is dead against it the moment but a visit might change her opinion.

 

[Questions]

They are not plastic they are concrete ... See ... Concrete Cows - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One other thing I forgot to mention is that the city has a system of redways. These are routes all over the city which enables you to walk or cycle without needing to go on main roads. It's a superb system that I use all the time.

No they are definetly plastic. I got them from the Early Learning Centre.

 

[mlg57]

Great, try and take in Newport Pagnell, Willen, Downhead Park, Woolstones, Loughton and Shenley for places to live. Thats roughly North East to South West. Let the Mrs see the shopping centre if you have time and have a look at the Snowdome. If you want to try somewhere out of town for lunch try Olney to the East or Towcester to the North.

 

[portslade seagull]

Someone beat me about the concrete cows ... also didn't they have the worst rate for car break-ins in the town centre because it is a massive car park. Actually stayed at bletchley and went into milton keynes and yes it was a shithole