Mention Southampton and most people think of the port - for many, it’s the starting point of a holiday to France or beyond; others may know it as the starting point for the Titanic’s final journey. But Southampton is far more than a port or a piece of maritime history: it’s a great place to live, especially for those with families. In fact, just last year research named it as one of the
top 5 places to raise a family in the UK.
Things to look for when choosing an area to raise your family include how safe the area is (in terms of crime rates), the quality of the local schools and colleges, access to amenities and green space, and the overall affordability of living in that area (including house prices).
Overall, the
quality of life in Southampton is fantastic. So, if you’re thinking of moving to Southampton with your family, here are some of the reasons why that’s a great idea!
1. Southampton is a nice place to live for families
Family-friendly amenities
Southampton is in a lovely part of the country. It has everything you’d want from a city for your family, including high street shopping, restaurants, soft play areas, cinemas and family-friendly museums. You could find those things in any UK city, but what makes Southampton so good for families is its geographical location.
If you live in Southampton, you’ll be near the coast - for picnics on the beach, sailing, walking, pebble-collecting, rock-pooling and playing in the sea. We’d recommend
Weston Shore Promenade and
Hamble Common Beach for nice days out with your children.
You’ll also be within easy reach of a plethora of green spaces. Southampton lies between the New Forest National Park and the South Downs National Park, and within those parks there are lots of places to explore and enjoy on the weekends.
There are even more parks and woodlands to enjoy with your family closer to the city, including the
Itchen Valley, Royal Victoria and River Hamble Country Parks.
For a day out, you can hop on the Red Funnel Ferry to the Isle of Wight, or take the train to London.
Good schools
Many families choose to settle in the towns and villages surrounding Southampton so that they can have the best of both worlds - access to the vibrant city centre, and day-to-day life in smaller communities. There are some excellent schools around Southampton, Areas such as Fareham, Bitterne, Bassett and Thornhill have some Outstanding primary and secondary schools, and the
University of Southampton is a member of the prestigious Russell Group.
Easy transport links
Southampton is a cyclable city, thanks to the
Southampton Cycle Network, and more people are choosing to commute by bike, leaving their cars at home. The city also has plenty of transport options to make the school run a bit easier, with a good bus network and central railway stations.
Southampton is also easily accessible by the M27/M271 so if you need to travel further afield you can do so easily enough.
2.Southampton is a safe place to live for families
It’s a sad fact of life that all cities have areas where crime is more prevalent than in others. Southampton overall has a higher than average crime rate for the region, but there are plenty of areas within Southampton where crime rates are low and people feel safe with their families.
The best areas of Southampton for families lie around the outskirts of the city centre. If you’re looking for a ‘village feel’ for your new home, the best areas to look include Netley and West End.
These areas are great for families because they come with the sense of community common to all English villages, so you and your children will be sure to make friends quickly and have plenty of support from other families when settling into your new home. They’re also close enough to commute into the city centre for work, and out to the coast or any of the nearby country parks and woods.
Closer to the centre, Ocean Village is really popular with families as there is a good variety of housing stock and lots of family-friendly amenities practically on the doorstep. These include a cinema, family-friendly restaurants, the SeaCity and Solent Museums and, for football fans,
Southampton Football Club’s St Mary’s Stadium!
3. Southampton is not expensive to live in
The average house price in Southampton last year was about £260,000, but this average includes flats that probably aren’t what you’re looking for if you’re moving to Southampton with a family. The average semi-detached house cost about £307,000 whilst a detached was £407,000.
Those prices are obviously much lower than you’d find in other areas in the south. In nearby Portsmouth, the average house prices are about an extra £50,000 above those in Southampton, for instance, whilst Bournemouth house prices are up to £100,000 more.
Can we help?
If you’re thinking of moving to Southampton, we have several self-storage facilities in the Southampton area to choose from if you need somewhere to keep your belongings while you settle into your new home. Many of our customers opt to rent a self-storage unit to store excess belongings, as this can be cheaper than buying a larger property to accommodate everything at home. Our self-storage units are indoors, secure, and easily reached by car or public transport.
If you’d like to know more about how self-storage could help with your house move, please get in touch, and one of our friendly team members can give you all the information you need.