Is Maidenhead good place to live?

Where are good, cheap places to live in Maidenhead, UK?

• I have been offered a job in Maidenhead UK. I'm currently in Toronto. I was wondering what the cheap good areas are around Maidenhead. What is a good place to live with good subway connections that wouldn't completely absorb my salary?

• Answer:

  The subway/underground goes nowhere near Maidenhead.   However, the main line from London to Sout Wales and the South Wet of Englnad does go through Maidenhead with a good local as well as long distance service. I lived in Maidenhead until 7 years ago.   I lived there for 28 years.   It's neither the absolute best or most expensive place to live.   It's definitely not the cheapest or the worst place wither. I knew Maidenhead as a child because friends had moved there and I would visit occasionally.   They lived near the River Thames and that area, together with the town centre was my sole experience of the town until we moved there.   By then it had expanded and there is now a mix of housing ranging from late 19th Century mansion converted to apartments to modern houses and apartments. Much of the employment is not in the town centre so if you don't live in Maidenhead and use public transport you'll probably find yourself coming into town by train and then walking (it's not an enormous town) or taking a bus.   Since all the buses radiate from the town centre/railway station you may also find that if you pick somewhere the other side of town from your place of employment you have to come in on one bus and change.   Cycling or a small motorbike might be another option.   A car would probably be expensive. Within Maidenhead there are a number of agencies acting on behalf of Landlords.   One that a couple of people I know have used (both as tenants and landlords) is http://www.kings-lettings.co.uk/ but another place to start would be http://www.rightmove.co.uk/ who hold details from a range of agents (including Kings).   If you want to share a house the local paper is probably the best place to start http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/ and select property. There is a branch line railway from Maidenhead through Cookham and Bourne End to Marlow.   Both Cookham and Marlow are (generally) nicer environments but they are more expensive.   Going into London Slough has a negative image and then the various suburbs tend to get more expensive the further into London you go.   Going out of London you pass through Twyford (quite nice, small, not a lot going on) to Reading which is a large town with a whole range of housing, much better shopping and better (but not fantastic) nightlife.   One the disadvantages of Reading might be that affordable housing could mean you need to take a bus to the station, then the train etc. Although Windsor is part of the same borough as Maidenhead transport links between the two aren't wonderful and Windsor suffers from much more aircraft noise from Heathrow and from tourists coming to see the castle.   On the other hand it does give you very easy access to the park associated with the castle. Bracknell is another place with a bit of an image problem but (as with many such towns) look around and you'll find better bits.   Transport to Maidenhead isn't good. When we moved to Maidenhead I had just got a job there (happened to be in the centre at the time but it moved around over the years and ended up very near Heathrow).   We were newly married and expecting our first child.   We worked out that a mortgage on a house in Maidenhead would be higher than in Reading (for example) but that because I would be able to walk to work that would mean no transport costs and we could live with just one car which my wife would be able to use during the day. I'm not au fait with the rental market but I think you get a chance to renew a lease every so often.   With that in mind I would probably suggest you look at Maidenhead as somewhere to live for the first 6-12 months.   Gives you a chance to settle and explore some of the surrounding towns rather than relying on word of Quora!   There are two places in Maidenhead I would probably avoid.   They were both built as social housing and if you're going to find bad behaviour that's where it's most likely.   One if the Larchfield Estate (which has a road of the same name as its' backbone) and the other is the Bomber Estate where the roads are named after 2nd World War aircraft.   Don't get me wrong they are not "no go" areas or ghettos just the less attractive parts of the town.