Good areas in Stafford - Moving to Stafford; where to live?

[staffordwant2b]

Hello!

my sister and I want to move to Stafford in the next few months, as we've only been in the town centre, and you can't tell a lot from just driving around, hoped you might be able to offer some advice on areas that are nice to live, and those to avoid! We've got £130k ish to spend- is there anywhere nice in that budget?! Many Thanks in advance!

 

[Astro Boy]

If you listened to the Stafford Song you'd be forgiven for thinking its all good! No really, congratulations on the best decision you've ever made. Personally, as a teen, I hung about the Walton / Wildwood / Baswich area (?expensive, anyone) and had tremendous fun. In later years, Castletown (affordable and a good community). I dont think there are any de-militarised zones but as with any place, you get rough areas. For a less ambiguous reply, read on...........

 

[tek-monkey]

No idea on house prices TBH, but avoid Highfields and most areas of Rising Brook. Try these sites:

http://www.reedsrains.co.uk
http://www.jayman.co.uk
http://www.nicolsons.co.uk

 

[simon]

I think we will all be biased as to where we live or lived, I personally prefer the southern side of town, if i had £130k to spend I'd probably look at an ex council house on Burton Manor, should get a nice 3 bed terraced, or I'd look on weston downs, where you'd probably be looking at a 2 bed semi! As I say these areas are where I've always lived(until recently) so it's where my friends are and my locals are, they both have excellent bus service to town and like everywhere else in stafford, has easy access to the M6, but I'm sure there will be other opinions!

 

[tek-monkey]

Nicholsons have a 4 bedroom place in Friars Street for £127,950. Otherwise you're only really looking at 2 beds or the bottom end 3 beds for that price.

 

[Sofa]

130k would get a very nice two-bedroomed terrace in Castletown, and there would be a few grand change for improvements or furniture, etc. Castletown is great on several counts: proximity to the railway, town centre and Sainsburys and it is home to two of the best pubs you could ever want to find, the Railway Inn and Castle Tavern. There is also a sense of community here which I have never come across anywhere else.

 

[simon]

Worth checking this website out too http://www.dbroberts.co.uk

and this one too

www.rightmove.co.uk

Happy hunting!

 

[darben]

If you find somewhere you like and go onto sites such as www.checkmyfile.co.uk or www.upmystreet.com where you can do a post code search and it should give you a good idea and break down of the type of area, but its always worth asking on here if you've seen as anywhere there are always some odd places but there is nowhere really bad but some places are better than others.

Leaving near the town centre is a good option, you don't have to fork out for taxis after a night out, you don't need to drive to the supermarket (there are three major supermarkets in the town centre area) and the train station is close too, so you can save a fortune on parking and transport, the only downside being that these areas of habitation were built before cars were a consideration, so parking can sometimes be a bit of a problem.

The North End has plenty of character and some good pubs, Castle Town and Forebridge area (south side) all have good communities are close to the town centre and have 2 bed property in your price range. As stamp duty currently starts on the 125k mark you'll find a lot of properties are selling at £124,995 and you should be able to knock some off the asking price. Like Simon said start look at right moves web site its really good and will save you a lot of time.

Good luck

 

[Mrs M]

I'm selling my three bedroom mid terraced house with large kitchen and utility area (kitchen new last year) also has new central heating system. Good area, close to Town centre. Haven't had it valued yet but should about £175,000.

 

[staffordwant2b]

Hello again,

Thanks everyone for your replies, lots to think about. We've been checking things out on www.rightmove.com, and have decided to do a few drive bys of potential houses. At the moment we're in a little village where a rough area isn't really an area, rather a street! It'll be fantastic to have everything on a doorstep. If we consider putting in an offer on anything, I'll check with you guys again if it's an ok area if that's ok?

Thanks Again,

 

[anomalyaos]

No idea on house prices TBH, but avoid Highfields and most areas of Rising Brook. Try these sites:

http://www.reedsrains.co.uk
http://www.jayman.co.uk
http://www.nicolsons.co.uk

i think thats a little unfair i was brought up on high fields and rising brook they are both nice areas highfields being nicer than the latter the area id say to avoid is doxey

 

[Silverfish]

Another vote for Castletown. The estate isn't as good as it was - it lost the Stafford Arms and its post office several years ago - but it's still a great place to live.

It seems half the forum lives in Castletown. It's weird to think you might be conversing on the forum with a close neighbour without ever realising it!

 

[Scuttlingb]

We used to live in Castletown but the houses are just too small. So, we moved up the Wolverhampton Road. It's not on an estate which is the best bit of all!

 

[Admin]

It seems half the forum lives in Castletown. It's weird to think you might be conversing on the forum with a close neighbour without ever realising it!

Little known fact: before Stafford Forum, there was a much smaller community known as "Castletown Collective". I've just checked the domain, and it appears to be down, so it would seem the owner (who is a Forumite) has let it die a graceful death since the arrival of this place.

 

[Scuttlingb]

It seems half the forum lives in Castletown. It's weird to think you might be conversing on the forum with a close neighbour without ever realising it!

Little known fact: before Stafford Forum, there was a much smaller community known as "Castletown Collective". I've just checked the domain, and it appears to be down, so it would seem the owner (who is a Forumite) has let it die a graceful death since the arrival of this place.

Or he could be on Virgin who had a serious outage this afternoon.

 

[jimbob23]

i think thats a little unfair i was brought up on high fields and rising brook they are both nice areas highfields being nicer than the latter the area id say to avoid is doxey

So you think Doxey's worse than Highfields? Interesting.

 

[FooFighter]

All areas have good and bad attributes and residents.

No area is squeaky clean

Take Baswich for example
Since the recent arrival of a Forum member it's reputation has plummeted

 

[Moley]

No idea on house prices TBH, but avoid Highfields and most areas of Rising Brook. Try these sites:

http://www.reedsrains.co.uk
http://www.jayman.co.uk
http://www.nicolsons.co.uk

i think thats a little unfair i was brought up on high fields and rising brook they are both nice areas highfields being nicer than the latter the area id say to avoid is doxey

Why's that exactly? Doxey has an estate stuck on the back of it where the old post war tin town was apart from that the majority of it is private and full of professionals. The house prices also reflect the popularity of the area. Indeed it is now more expensive to live in Doxey than many areas of Stafford. I've lived all over Stafford - in so called better areas and had nothing but shit and hassel. I am now on my second house in the same street and overall have friendly, respectful neighbours who have lived there years with the exception of one little chav....like there's none of them in Walton, Wildwood, Weeping Cross or Baswich.

 

[Moley]

I've gotta say that there is an element of snobbery when many people are choosing where to live in Stafford. In my experience Stafford is not that bad a place to live overall, there are far worse places to live in the country and indeed in the Staffordshire area. House prices in Stafford tend to be dictated mostly by the schools in the area, and their popularity (the schools) is dependent on the Ofsted report and the Headteacher'sability to manage the school effectively. I know of only one area of Stafford where I wouldn't even consider living and that is mainly down to inside trade knowledge so to speak. I would never mention the area due to being a sensitive sort of person and not wanting to offend.

 

[Mrs M]

No idea on house prices TBH, but avoid Highfields and most areas of Rising Brook. Try these sites:

http://www.reedsrains.co.uk
http://www.jayman.co.uk
http://www.nicolsons.co.uk

i think thats a little unfair i was brought up on high fields and rising brook they are both nice areas highfields being nicer than the latter the area id say to avoid is doxey

Why's that exactly? Doxey has an estate stuck on the back of it where the old post war tin town was apart from that the majority of it is private and full of professionals. The house prices also reflect the popularity of the area. Indeed it is now more expensive to live in Doxey than many areas of Stafford. I've lived all over Stafford - in so called better areas and had nothing but shit and hassel. I am now on my second house in the same street and overall have friendly, respectful neighbours who have lived there years with the exception of one little chav....like there's none of them in Walton, Wildwood, Weeping Cross or Baswich.

Was waiting for this, it could get interesting.