Bedfont Lakes/Feltham - where do people live who work here?

Hello everyone -
Husband is being transferred and the potential UK location is their office in Bedfont Lakes near Feltham. I know that this is where a ton of computer companies are to avoid the high cost of London. But where do their worker's live? Can anyone give me the main spots for housing and an idea of how they line up (ie very expensive or more reasonable)? Having been in San Jose, I know how technology companies can make it an expensive place to live, but just wanted some general ballparks. I have searched the "letting" agents/estate agents web sites, but none of the web sites really give you a clue like --- most middle-of-the-road live mostly in this suburb, upper-income in this neighborhood, etc.) or... is it not done that way like it is here in Michigan?? <g>

Thanks!
Mica

Richmond is only two or three stops from Feltham on Southwest trains and a very nice area to live.  As it is a nice area, it is not cheap, in fact I think it has the highest council rates in all of London. 

Hi again Mica!

Well Feltham & Bedfont lakes is literally on the other side of Heathrow to me here in the Centre of the Universe - SLOUGH!!   

I'll disagree with you slightly in the fact that technology companies 'push up the pricing' - it doesn't work like that here in the UK. Theres too little land for various specific industries to push up the cost of living in such a clear cut way.
Workers commute from allsorts of distances so I wouldn't just 'limit' yourself to say a few miles of Feltham, I'd say you could expand say upto 15 or so miles.
I know a few people who live around Feltham way and I'd say it was a middle of the range kind of area. There's plenty of housing available have no doubt about that. If you look in amongst the 'areas' you'll still find small community villiages nestled in between!  Colnbrook which is the outskirts of Slough and right on Heathrow's doorstep is an example.

The areas around all hold choices for you, and it depends on how far out you want to go with consideration to commuting and travelling times. Richmond (already mentioned), Kingston, Walton on Thames, Ashford, Egham are all I'd say middle to upper 'areas' but of course, it depends on where in those indivdual places you end up finding a place.

I'm surprised slightly by bvamin saying Richmond will have the highest council tax in 'all of London' - I think certainly for 'Greater London' it may be amongst the highest but I don't think you could compare Richmond to Brompton or Kensington etc - I think they'd be much more!

definitley take a look at www.rightmove.co.uk to get an idea of rental amounts for the size of property you'd like. Like anywhere, there are top flight, upper, middle, lower and crap areas of all towns and suburbs, but on the 'whole' I know you'd definitley find a nice place within a few miles radius of Feltham. All you have to work out is the sizes of your moneypot in order to decide where to go for!!

There's nowhere that i know of that will list you where certain types of earners will live etc - but an intro is certainly when you see 2 bed apartments for £1500/month means that mr average joe isn't going to live there!

If you have specifics about the areas, just ask and i'll try to answer as best I know or can find out from my various friends.

Hope this helps a bit!

Cheers! Dennis! West London & Slough UK!!

Don't live in Hounslow!!!


 


Victoria

I work in and around that area and the problem is, like any location I suppose, there are some super nice areas and some super NOT nice areas. It also REALLY depends on what you enjoy about your living environment. Do you want to be somewhere urban or suburban? Do you thrive in multi-cultural areas? What length of commute are you willing to tollerate and do you plan on driving or would you rather be on a rail or tube line?

In general, I'd agree with Victoria that Hounslow isn't so nice. Isleworth is alright. I'm not a big fan of the corridor running between Uxbridge and Ealing. If you want to go a bit further out there are some nice comuter belt towns and villages, but obviously then you'll have to consider how long you're willing to be on the train or in the car.

Thank you all for the suggestions and the cautions. Perhaps if I explain what/where we are in now (and have been in the past relos), it can give you an idea of what kind of neighborhood/area we seek. Currently we live in a small suburb called Birmingham approximately 20 miles from Detroit downtown which takes approximately 45min/1hr to get downtown to where I work during rush hours. My husband is 20 minutes from his work in Dearborn. I am a law librarian for a big firm downtown Detroit, so I need to also be near the legal center and from what I hear from my librarian colleagues, London is the main place w/firms big enough to need someone like me. I don't know if I'll work while we are there, but I've never been very good at the whole suburban wife thing.

Although Birmingham is considered a suburban area to Detroit, we have also lived in big cities. In terms of what neighborhood we are looking for, we probably would want more suburban than urban (we need space for us and our animals), but close enough to the urban areas for entertainment etc. I definitely want some type of yard (called a garden in the UK correct?). I have no tolerance for a grocery to be more than 15 minutes away (let me know now if that is a problem, might nix the deal!). :-)

What do you mean by the "corridor running between Uxbridge and Ealing..."? Do you mean the homes between these two neighborhoods? If we lived in a commuter belt town/village, what are some sample commutes via public transportation? Or do people drive to Feltham? And if we lived out there, would I have a heck of a commute to the legal area?

You all are awsome. Thanks for taking the time to help us out.

Hi Mica!

I think you'd be able to equate this area of Greater London to the same relative distance where you are now in Detroit. Just like others have said, some areas are better than others and almost all areas will have housing that will have a garden. you'll most likely find those in at least 2 bedroom houses, less often in apartments and flats etc. There are a multitude of areas which will have the right balance of being far enough away from the really congested parts of town and near enough to be a quick 15-30 minute drive/train ride away.

I worked for a US company specialising in Legal practice management software in Ealing and many of the staff lived in places at least an hour away. My manageress (the miserable waste of space! - dont even get me started!) lived around the Woking/Chertsey kinda area. Other's over by Borehamwood & north London. The commutes were around an hour for them. The actual centre for the major Legal firms is in the City. 'The City' means the Financial area of Central London which is just east of Holborn and south of Finsbury - or another way, sort of around the St Pauls Cathedral kinda area. So the commute from around Feltham/Egham/Staines/Walton on thames kinda area will take at least an hour. You'll need to get to a British Rail main station, get a train into Central London then jump on the Tube - and we all know how busy the morning rush hour is on public transport!
(dont quote me directly as I never had to do this commute but I'm pretty sure that's what it entails!)

Although we can all give our opinions on certain areas, it's always best you get other views/opinions to get as much info as you possibly can. I'd tend to agree with Victoria S and Anne R - that Hounslow isnt 'such' as nice place to live however it's definitley not a bad area and is certainly middle of the range!

Chiswick is an area that's climbed the desirability ladder over the last few years, Ealing in close proximity has always enjoyed a certain 'status' and I think more people thought to move away as 'everyone' wanted to live in Ealing, hence Chiswick - I remember going there about 7 years ago and along the high road there was a 'few' bars and pubs. recently theres loads! I was like wow! and more and more has appeared in terms of Rentals and housing prices.

This area could be a middle ground for you so that it's equi distant (ish) for feltham for yer hubby and central london for you. To add to the possibilities, take a look around NW and other areas of SW London too.

hope this helps a bit!

Dennis! West London AND Slough UK!!

In terms of groceries - I would suggest delivery services - then it doesn't matter where you are in comparison to a grocery store!  Other than that I can't make a suggestion for towns...but it costs about £5 for delivery & I've found it's worth it!