Milton Keynes Calling

October 27, 2009 11:24 PM

So, I just got my dream job. It's in Milton Keynes. What now?

I'll be moving to the UK at the end of this year to take up a fixed-term contract. While I'm excited, I'm also a little apprehensive about MK's ... reputation ... for being somewhat boring and car-focussed. I'm also kind of unfamiliar with the UK itself, having never lived there before.

Are there any English Mefites who could give me some good, basic advice about finding decent (but cheapish) long-term accommodation in (or preferably about) Milton Keynes? I'd probably be looking to join an existing flat or perhaps board (at least initially); where are the best places to look for listings? Is accommodation especially hard to line up if you're a non-EU citizen? Is living in London and commuting to Milton Keynes just perverse?

I don't have a car or a license, so I'll be reliant on trains and buses for getting around.

Thanks!

posted by Sonny Jim to travel & transportation (16 comments total)

"The Centre" in Milton Keynes is, very tellingly, a shopping mall in the middle of what is basically a glorified retail park. However, there is a sort of urban renewal thing going on (even though it's only 40 years old) and apparently an actual town centre with a high street has emerged. Were I moving to MK, that is the only place I would live - assuming it exists - as the rest of it is a series of very suburban strip malls situated on a grid of roundabouts.

You can rent a 1 bedroom furnished flat in the "city centre" for around £750 a month, plus or minus £200 - check RightMove and Prime Location. "Walking distance to train station" may be important for you in terms of getting in and out of London to, you know, get out of MK, but a lot of where you end up will depend on where, exactly, you are working in relation to everything else. I'd imagine flat shares in MK are very cheap.

Living in London and commuting to MK is a viable idea. The journey by fast (Virgin) train is about 40 minutes; 60 by slow (Midlands) train. If you want to look into that, your best bet is a flat share with easy access to Euston, where both train lines depart from. The train fare is expensive, and depending on the location of the MK station vis your office, this may not be a go-er.

For accommodation for a flat share you need cash and a job. To let a flat on your own from an estate agent (realtor), you will need a job and a bank account and often a letter from your employer confirming your annual salary. The letter is also what will get you the bank account!
posted by DarlingBri at 11:58 PM on October 27

Newport Pagnell is a possibility if you want somewhere that's geographically part of Milton Keynes but looks more like a 'normal' town. It's a fairly short bus ride from there to the centre of MK (about 20 mins I think).
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 12:32 AM on October 28

For a flatshare, you could try Gumtree (they also have whole flats for rent). That link goes to their MK page, you could obviously change it to London. That's how we found our flat when we moved to London.

DarlingBri is right about what you need for a flat share or flat. Being from outside the EU won't be a problem, not having proof of income probably will be [When we moved here we had landlords looking nervously at our lack of income, we ended up offering an extra month's rent in advance, as we had large savings but didn't have jobs yet]. References from a previous landlord would be helpful, too.
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:01 AM on October 28

Living in London and commuting to MK is a viable idea.

Blechhh. From London, Milton Keynes is much too far to travel to on a daily basis. It's halfway to Birmingham. Even the beaches of Brighton are closer. And, since you're not working in The City I am going to assume you're not an investment banker, so you I doubt you could afford daily train fare AND expensive London rent.
posted by randomstriker at 1:23 AM on October 28

You might want to consider where your workplace is in relation to the railway station before living in London. Public transport is pretty poor in the town*.

MK is built around some older small towns/villages living in one of those will mean a bit more character. Stony Stratford, up in the NW corner of the town, is the nicest of them, but it a bit of a drag to get to with no car. Blethcley (SW) is a bit run down, you might have a look at Fenny Stratford (S) but again a little bit put of town.

Of the MK suburbs, Pear Tree Bridge is pleasantly located on a canal and less than a mile for the town centre. Woughton is nice but may be pricey. (Both SE of town centre)

The biggest problem with MK is that it is fairly soulless, there are however some nice parts, they built in country parks and lakes around the rivers, there are cycle/pedestrian paths everywhere and its generally pretty green. Consider getting a bicycle if you live there, you will be able to get a second hand one for under £100 easily from the local paper.
posted by biffa at 2:42 AM on October 28

If it helps, a guy who works for me does that commute in the opposite direction i.e. lives in MK and commutes into London. The trains come into Euston and we work about 1 stop on the tube north so his whole communte is just over an hour which for London isn't too bad. I think as long as you lived quite near to Euston (say Camden) and were able to get to work easily at the other end then living in London is a definite possibility. The only downside is that if the trains aren't working you are totally stuck!

Living in London will be considerbly more expensive and you'll have the train fares on top (1 month season ticket London to MK is about £370 according to National Rail website), but depending on what you want to get out of your time living in the UK you might think it is worth it.
posted by smudge at 2:48 AM on October 28

I wouldn't write off living in MK. Its a pleasant place, with lots of parks and cycle tracks. The street layout is planned & therefore unusual by English standards - which may explain some of the negative reputation - but it is perfectly sensible and workable. Not the most beautiful of English towns but certainly very livable. There are lots of villages nearby but watch out for the buses, as the coverage and the frequency of service can be patchy, particularly if you work non-standard hours.

London is an easy train journey for a night out or day trips. Unless you plan on going there every night after work I can't see any advantage to living in London and commuting every day.
posted by paulash at 2:57 AM on October 28 [2 favorites]

Seconding biffa's suggestions. I spent some time in MK a few years back, and Stony Stratford and Woughton On The Green certainly seemed to be amongst the nicer places in town. I ended up in Stony Stratford, which was fairly pleasant, although I had a car. There are plenty of buses to town but they tend to go by fairly circuitous routes, making a 10min car journey into a 30min bus ride. London is easily accessible by train on the weekends.
I don't suppose it would be overly onerous to live in London and commute, but it is likely to be considerable more expensive.
posted by Jakey at 3:26 AM on October 28

Although MK itself has a fairly well deserved reputation for being soulless, the surrounding area is attractive and there is plenty to do there (the Xscape snowdome is a favourite).

As others have said, commuting from London is an option but your MK salary is unlikely to match up with the price of renting/buying in London. House prices in MK are significantly cheaper than London. Better to stay closer to work - you will be near enough to London to take advantage of what it has to offer at the weekends.
posted by jonnyploy at 6:19 AM on October 28

London is an easy train journey for a night out or day trips. Unless you plan on going there every night after work I can't see any advantage to living in London and commuting every day.

The advantage as I see it of living in London is that, from London, its a lot easier to explore not just London but the rest of Europe on the time you do have off. Living near Euston means you also live near St. Pancras, the Eurostar terminal (Paris in 2 hrs!) and that bit closer to London airports.

Living in London means being able to just take evening walks to see major attractions when they are not crowded by tourists and out-of-towners from Milton Keynes and other places on daytrips. Going late to museums and galleries. Grabbing a late dinner in Soho. Taking a slow evening stroll on the Southbank, catching a late film at the BFI or at the ICA, having late drinks in Shoreditch - and then walking back to your place and going to bed.

It will be more expensive, certainly. And nobody here knows your budget and whether this is do-able. But you'd have plenty of company. I know at least two people who live in London and commute out to Reading every day. If I were in your shoes, and it was possible, I wouldn't even hesitate to do the commute.
posted by vacapinta at 6:23 AM on October 28

I've had brilliant success using clickflatshare.co.uk, but they might not cover Milton Keynes.

You should seriously consider taking a flatshare for the first 6 months, ideally 2 or 3 flatmates, mixed gender. I'd choose the flatshare based completely upon the flatmates personalities, totally ignoring location, amenities, etc.. See if you can find hippies or students, avoid families and couples.

Why? Because you don't know anyone in Milton Keynes! Who you hang out with almost completely determines your experiences anyplace. Finding good flatmates is by far the easiest way to build a social circle. Also, Real estate and rent are exceedingly overpriced everywhere in England.

If you're into London, you might choose your second Milton Keynes flat based upon proximity to the train station. Or, if you don't make friend in Milton Keynes, then try the same trick in London, but later.

Btw, England has numerous airports from which you can find inexpensive flights to far nicer places than London. :)
posted by jeffburdges at 6:27 AM on October 28

Milton Keynes is much too far to travel to on a daily basis. It's halfway to Birmingham. Even the beaches of Brighton are closer.

It may be geographically further than Brighton, but you can get to MK in 30 minutes from Euston, which isn't an awful commute if you live near the station, I should point out there are lots of bike racks at MK Central station and bike tracks going out from the station.
posted by biffa at 7:38 AM on October 28

I'm also kind of unfamiliar with the UK itself, having never lived there before.
Come to Milton Keynes
posted by Methylviolet at 9:41 AM on October 28

Living in London means being able to just take evening walks to see major attractions when they are not crowded by tourists and out-of-towners from Milton Keynes and other places on daytrips. Going late to museums and galleries. Grabbing a late dinner in Soho. Taking a slow evening stroll on the Southbank, catching a late film at the BFI or at the ICA, having late drinks in Shoreditch - and then walking back to your place and going to bed.

With all due respect, that's not true of the majority of Londoners only the minority lucky enough to live in Central London. Late drinks in Shoreditch meant the best part of an hour on the night bus for me and it's not unusual at all for people in London to travel for that long to socialize etc. For most Londoners living in London means having the same amenity's an
s any other town, close to hand, and cheap public transport access to the rest. Travel times are often comparable with places outside London but frequency of services and prices are not.
posted by tallus at 11:51 AM on October 28

I can give you some perspective on this vacapinta vs. tallus debate.

I have lived in both Lyon and Paris. I paid over twice as much in Paris and shared a room, not a flat, a room. But I had way way more fun in Paris, made real friends, and said friends are still in Paris when I pass through.

England is far far more expensive than France. London is even proportionally far more expensive compared to England than Paris is compared to France. London is also far far less interesting than Paris. But you still might rationally choose to spend 6 months living in a squat in London for three times the price of Milton Keynes.

I suggest however that you spend the first 3-6 months trying to live with reasonable people in Milton Keynes. If you get bored, try London.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:14 AM on October 29

Thanks, everyone! I can't tell you how incredibly helpful all your comments have been. I'm still not entirely sure what I'll do yet, but I've got heaps more information now to help me make a decision. You all rock. Seriously.
posted by Sonny Jim at 1:01 AM on October 31