Good places to look for rentals close to Slough

How can you really get a feel for a community when you have never been there? I've logged so many hours on line looking at the areas around Slough( our family is moving in a month+ and my husband's office will be in Slough) and still can't get a real picture of the best places to zero in on.  We will be looking for a 4 bedroom furnished place in a safe,family oriented community. My husband's company is giving us a decent housing allowance so  monthly rent isn't too much of an issue. Can anyone give me some recommendations?  Thanks in advance! 

I'm sure Dennis will be along later with lots of good info as he is in Slough.  Til then maybe I can be of help as I grew up in Maidenhead, a few miles west of Slough.  If you're getting a good housing allowance, I would look at some of the villages nearby such as Burnham, Taplow, Marlow, Cookham, Cookham, Bourne End, Bray, or slightly further afield Twyford and Henley on Thames.  These are all pretty little riverside villages close to main roads/motorways.  If your husband has a car to get to work any of these would be easy commuter distance but if not, Taplow & Burnham would be easiest train-wise. You might also want also want to look at Maidenhead if you want to be closer to shops etc, but to be honest Maidenhead shops & ameneties aren't that great anyway.  Slough has more amenities and good shopping but it might not be your cup of tea, being fairly industrial and very built up. At all costs avoid the area known as "Britwell." Have you thought about using a relocation agent to help you find a suitable place? We used one when we moved up to Scotland and it was the best £200 we ever spent!

Thanks for the ideas! I think my husband's company is going to put us in contact with a relocation agent, I just haven't heard anything yet. I'm just getting a bit impatient since the home is my "domain" and I don't know where we'll be in a few months. I guess that is one of the draw backs of staying home with the kids, your life can really revolve around the homefront!

Britwife has given some great advise regarding places near Slough.

Since you will have a relocation agent and I am sure they will do their best to find you a good place to live, I would suggest that you mention those areas to them as possible places to take a look. Have a look around as much as you can.

Best wishes on your move.

DH and I live in Gerrards Cross and I commute through Slough every couple of weeks - it takes about 15 minutes. It's quite pricey out here - we pay £900 p/m for a two bedroom terrace. In our area you could also try Beaconsfield, Farnham Common (but not Farnham Royal so much), Denham, Chalfont St. Peter or Chalfont St. Giles. It is lovely out here - very green and nice villages, but you pay the price for the easy commutes....

Hi Jocelyn

Seems that my reputation precedes (sp?) me!

A 4 bedroom furnished place in and around the 'better' areas of Slough I'd say would be in the region of about £1200 - 1500 per month. These would be in Langley which is a 'nice' area. I'd presume your other half's office is in or around the Trading Estate and so the commute wouldn't be much more than about 15-20 mins in rush hour AM traffic.

Moving a litte further afield, as Britwife and AnneR have mentioned, there are plenty of small villages and towns all around this area, which are really nice places indeed. Most of the places mentioned are to the north and north east of Slough, all easily reached of course. I'd just like to add some other areas which I'd think you'd like. Check out Windsor, Old Windsor, Egham, Iver, North Burnham, Ascot, Virginia Water. These places are mainly to the south and south east of Slough (except iver & burnham) but much closer than others mentioned.

Pricing for all of these will vary, from around £1200-1500 right up to around £3000-3500 per month. Have you got any idea of the housing budget you will have? don't forget to add on the expenses of Council Tax, Utilities etc.

If you are around Slough anytime soon, pop into the various estate agent places and pickup a copy of the freeby 'Property News' newspaper. I get this delivered every week and I'm quoting the above prices directly from this weeks issue.

Let me know if there's anything else specific you need to know and I'll do me best to feedback to you what I know.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I would have thought that if they're looking for a 4 bedroom house around a nice area of Slough, ie outside Slough itself, then £2500 on up would be closer to the mark.  A quick look at property finder shows that apart from a listing for a house in Langley for £1500, Stoke Poges has some in the £2100-2200 range and some in Farnham Common for £3250 and then some crazy expensive houses in Stoke Poges for about £5000/month.

I've driven down the road from Amersham/Beaconsfield to Slough and you go through some of the most beautiful countryside and probably some of the most expensive housing in the country.

Does your husband's housing allowance reach into the thousands of pounds per month?  If not and you want a 4 bedroom house it might be worth looking in some of the larger towns like Maidenhead.

hiya matt!

'Nice Area' is very subjective! there are quite a few 4 bedroom rentals in Langley, and langley is regarded as a 'nice area' and they're around the £1500 p/m price range. Depending on how much the original poster has in terms of housing allowance will determine what kind of area and price range they can go for. Saying that, there is a more 'normal' area of Langley which is modest and you can find much better priced proerties there. just a short way from here is a part of Langley I don't even set foot in!

Maidenhead is nice, but also has it's so and so areas and rentals would be quite similar to Slough, most of the areas mentioned would be quite similar too. The UK has a moot point in that you can have one hell of an expensive area and very very close by a much 'lower' area. 'Generally speaking, many towns around here you find that the 'best' areas are on the outskirts of the town itself, with prices to match.

Jocelyn, around Slough, Langley Grammar school, Burnham Grammar, and a few others have been shown to be very well performing schools, so the 'family' aspect would be prevalent in these areas, and allowing you a very easy commute for your husbands job.

Without knowing more of your requirements, this is about as far as we can all suggest!

Cheers! DtM !West London & Slough UK!

Wow, thank you so much for all the suggestions!  Our allowance is 2,000/month( with a little wiggle room).  I am not familiar with the council taxes, so can anyone give me a ballpark figure on how much that might be a month? And, you are right "nice" is such a hard word to define! I'm not looking to live next to celebrities  , just a safe, well kept area, that is good for families.

The council tax really varies between different councils and the type & size of house.  You can check what "band" a property is in here:
http://www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax/cti_home.htm

Then you would have to look on the website of the council concerned to see how much people in that band have to pay.

You will easily find something for £2000 per month.

I think our council tax is around £160 per month. We're in a very high band.

You'll be fine on £2000 a month. If you pm me your address I'm happy to pop a copy of the propery section of the Bucks Advertiser in the post - that will cover some of the area.

Hi Jocelyn,

I'm going to be slightly pre-emptive into what kinda place you'll end up with from what you've said and the housing allowance amount you have, here's what I'd estimate >

Council tax - this is the tax paid for local services and amenities that everyone contributes to throughout the country. Nearest equivalence in the USA would be 'property taxes' - and of course, it's mandatory.

http://www.slough.gov.uk/services/1286.asp

that's the ratings for the current year and pricing levels for the tax.

If you're going to be renting a 4 bed house in a 'nice' area, with considerations of it being safe, secure and family orientated then pretty much all of the houses will be worth quite a bit more than £320,000 and as such would put you in the top bracket for council tax. You'll pay the full amount (no single persons 25% discount) and that comes out to be about £192 per month.
Other posters may know for sure, but I don't know of any releifs or breaks from the council tax for someone in your situation - maybe find out from the council themselves or other's here may know more.

without wanting to pour cold water on your housing plans, please factor in all the associated 'extra' costs of renting a house. The usual utilities - heating and electric costs will be quite substantial for a 4bd house. Water rates will be substantial too.

Then add on the maintenence costs you as a tennant need to fulfill during your time there, it's not as much as if it was your own home of course, but should be factored into your monthly budget nevertheless.

The remaining costs are really up to you and what you'd like for your lifestyle. Sky Telly, telephones, better appliances than given by the landlord, specfic requirements you may have etc will all add into your budget for the house.

All that said, looking at rightmove.co.uk there's not many 'furnished' places listed and of those that are, theres a couple in Langley at £1500pcm and then it rises quickly to £1650 then 1800 then £2000 pcm - and some of those houses I know exactly where they are as I often drive near them! (they're really nice though!)  have a look at rightmove.co.uk, search for 'slough' and '3 miles around this area' and 4bds and furnished and max 2000 per month. Repeat the same for maidenhead, ascot and other places mentioned by other posters too.

I along with AnneR will gladly forward you copies of local papers with property listings no problem at all just in case you can't find 'property news' in any of the local estate agent branches.

Good luck!

DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Dennis and all-
Thank you for the break down as far as the monthly costs of living in the type of house/area we are looking for. And please don't worry about any "cold water" being thrown, it is nice to get a full picture of what to expect. I find it interesting that renters are paying council taxes, where in the US property taxes are always paid by the landlord. It actually makes more sense for the person living in the area to be paying for the local services. As a future landlord ( we will be renting our house out here) I wish our renters would be paying our taxes- no such luck .
I feel like I have a good place to start from- thanks again!