Living in Southampton

amaferanga

What's it like? How's it for (road) cycling and racing? Been offered a job there and trying to decide if it's worth the trek down south from Sheffield. My job in Sheffield is sh*t, but I love living here so it's a tricky decision.

shouldbeinbed

Downfader is a Southamptonite he's far more Twitter than here, also spotted on Cycle Chat occasionally

team47b

Bit odd getting a reply from Portugal, but I know Southampton very well, used to lecture there, have lived there, commuted in by bike for about 3 years and have cycled the surrounding areas.

One city is much like another to me, the centre has extensive parks/trees so is pleasant, the main roads in are dual carriageways full of traffic. There are some great outlying areas for cycling/recreation. The New Forest is nearby and is truly wonderful, 144 square miles of countryside, flat, no hills! Wiggle is nearby! and hold sportives in the Forest. There are some nice bits to live in and some truly horrible bits, so you would have to be careful which bits you choose.

Where in Southampton is the job? Any specific questions just ask.

downfader

If its local rides you're after there is Sotonia Cycle club for a bit of distance. There's also the Southampton Cycling Campaign rides (iirc around 10 miles or less). We also have the South Hants CTC branch As Team47b we are quite close to the New Forest.

I'm more of a commuter so cant tell you what races there are locally, Sotonia will know.

For local riding off-road routes for the timid and with kids we have the Southampton Common loop (10mph speed limit, shared paths with kids, dog walkers and joggers), and the Riverside Park route. Both are quite short, relatively flat and scenic, though like in some other cities can fill with teens after dark.

Road surfaces: can be iffy in places. Places like Shirley road and lots of the Sholing district have had extensive resurfacing in recent years. If you're heading down hill on the descents I'd advice learning what the rutts are before going at a fair pace or you might come a cropper.

Drivers: mostly all right, though we get the idiots every full moon. Most people drive, only 3% of traffic here is bikes.

Anything specific about any particular area? Hope this helps.

rajMAN

Weather is pretty good, soft winters for us Northerners down here and much warmer all year round generally (never had shoe covers this winter) Would advise living on outskirts of city or out of the city, to get access to country, rather than poncing about in town parks etc. Depends where job location is I suppose. Plenty of good riding to be had to the northeast of Southampton without even touching New Forest.

amaferanga

Roughly how much would I have to pay in rent for a decent 2 bed flat/house in a decent area? I have an idea from some Googling, but it looks to be pretty expensive (especially compared to Sheffield). I'll be working at the Southampton General Hospital, but my girlfriend hasn't found a job yet and I'd be happy cycling up to about 20 miles each way commute anyway.

Dunno why, but I thought the New Forrest would be hilly. Flat isn't really my thing, but the girlfriend would love it. Is there decent bumpy cycling anywhere near?

greg66_tri_v2.0

Sounds ok to me.

"Umm Qasr is a town similar to Southampton", UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons yesterday. "He's either never been to Southampton, or he's never been to Umm Qasr", said one British soldier, informed of this while on patrol in Umm Qasr. Another added: "There's no beer, no prostitutes, and people are shooting at us. It's more like Portsmouth."

downfader

amaferanga wrote:

Roughly how much would I have to pay in rent for a decent 2 bed flat/house in a decent area? I have an idea from some Googling, but it looks to be pretty expensive (especially compared to Sheffield). I'll be working at the Southampton General Hospital, but my girlfriend hasn't found a job yet and I'd be happy cycling up to about 20 miles each way commute anyway.

Dunno why, but I thought the New Forrest would be hilly. Flat isn't really my thing, but the girlfriend would love it. Is there decent bumpy cycling anywhere near?

Everyone moans about the hills here but they're rubbish, lol! I ride up Abbey Hill a few times a week on average, reasonable incline but like most they're short. If you head out Pompey direction then you can go up and down Providence Hill and Oak Hill, but sadly both are usually heavy with traffic. I recorded THIS on both those hills.

Rent is expensive. Thats why so many people in their 30s like myself haven't been able to move out. 2 room flat down the road from me - £1200 a month and its only an ex-council. Council rent can be about £80 for a flat. Neighbours house 2 bedroom 10 feet by 35 feet footprint went for £255,000 so buying may not be an option unless you have the money/really good job.

rajMAN

Have a look on something like Findaproperty.co.uk and do a search for houses/flats in Nursling and Lordswood areas, both are near the General Hospital. Romsey and Chandlers Ford are also options without too far to commute. 1 bed pokey flats seem to be going for around £500 plus bills per month. There are some areas I wouldn't live but my first priority is always access to countryside. I dont do city riding commuting by bike etc.

Some of the New Forest is flat though most of it is gently undulating with some "hills". I cannot imagine you will be troubled by the terrain having lived in Sheffield. I find there is a lack of long climbs and I do most of my riding between Eastleigh and Petersfield area. However I struggle to find a route which is flat for a recovery ride, though I tend to stay off the A roads by choice. Some lovely areas to ride in especially West Sussex, though it can be busy at weekends. Also some nice rural roads heading up towarsd Andover/Salisbury. Hope that helps

Cleat Eastwood

Living in Southampton....isnt that a contradiction in terms.

finchy

If you like live music your social life is sorted out by the Joiners Arms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joiners_Arms

There are very few hills in the area - there are some decent climbs towards Petersfield/Lipcomb, but you have to cycle for about an hour before you get to them.

You can take folding bikes on the fast ferry to the Isle of Wight (22 minutes), don't know about the fast service from Portsmouth.

mr_goo

I would look at Sway (village) or New Milton (town) as an option,. Both in New Forest and commutable by bike (yr 20miler each way) and both on mainline to Southampton central. 2 Bed flat in New Milton about £650-700 pcm. Romsey is a lovely town but exceptionally expensive.
Cycling is great in New Forest for road, mtb or just trail riding. There is also a nice coastal path across tops of cliffs at Barton on Sea down to Key Haven (mtbs only) Not many hills in forest to speak of except Blissford at 25% but then it is quite short. Lots of Sportives in area, Wiggle, Help for Heroes and NF Rattler to name a few, plus a couple of Triathlons.
To get to hills takes only 20 odd miles heading north / north west out of New Milton and then into Dorset/Wiltshire with some great countryside.
I do not know Southampton particularly well but do travel into city for work on occasions, the Shirley area strikes me as one to perhaps avoid.

downfader

Mr Goo wrote:

I would look at Sway (village) or New Milton (town) as an option,. Both in New Forest and commutable by bike (yr 20miler each way) and both on mainline to Southampton central. 2 Bed flat in New Milton about £650-700 pcm. Romsey is a lovely town but exceptionally expensive.
Cycling is great in New Forest for road, mtb or just trail riding. There is also a nice coastal path across tops of cliffs at Barton on Sea down to Key Haven (mtbs only) Not many hills in forest to speak of except Blissford at 25% but then it is quite short. Lots of Sportives in area, Wiggle, Help for Heroes and NF Rattler to name a few, plus a couple of Triathlons.
To get to hills takes only 20 odd miles heading north / north west out of New Milton and then into Dorset/Wiltshire with some great countryside.
I do not know Southampton particularly well but do travel into city for work on occasions, the Shirley area strikes me as one to perhaps avoid.

Yeah the Shirley area is cheap rent for a reason!

WindyRob

Hampshire Hilly 100 has loads of hills in it as the name suggests and starts just to the north of the city. Also if you google map the south downs to the east of Winchester the density of very quiet roads that criss cross them i think is great for options on a ride. You might not get big hills to go up as per the pennines or the peak district but there are plenty around so you can make up for the lack of quality with the quantity (e.g. Butser, Old Winchester Hill, Beacon Hill, South Harting Down could all be hit in one ride should you be so inclined). The surrounding areas have some great riding and better than the New Forest IMHO.

oldhairylegs

As cities go, Southampton isn't bad really.

Like any other city, there are a couple of dodgy areas best avoided, but on the whole it's got a lot going for it. The Lordswood area around the hospital is fine and you don't have too much riding to do before you are out in the country. If you wanted to live further away, then Chandlers Ford would be a good place to look.

You won't have the long hills like around Sheffield, but with the South Downs, New Forest and the Isle of Wight on the doorstep there is a lot of great cycling to be had. Also, plenty of racing going on in the region too.

Oh - and the weather is better down here!

Good luck from an ex-northerner turned into a southern softy!

amaferanga

So Shirely is an area to avoid then? Any others? I'm happy to live just about anywhere that's safe (and suitable for a cat).

gandhi

There are no really horrid areas in Southampton, but Shirely/Freemantle and Millbrook aren't great. The other side of the river in Bittern is nicer and isn't mega expensive.

The riding around here is really good. There's the New Forest, which is very nice but quite flat (never totally though). You can head north up the Test Valley for rolling, and North East to the Meon Valley for hilly. There are no really long climbs.

The racing scene is excellent. There's tonnes of circuit racing, the Surrey League isn't too far away (loads of 2/3 racing), nor are the races in the South West. There are also a good number of races in and around the forest. There are local TTs 2 to 3 evenings a week in the summer. There are also a couple of really good training rides. The local club is Sotonia, and they have fairly good club runs which would be good for learning the area.

There are a couple of quick riders who work at the general too.

Feel free to pm me with questions.

DavidJB

Live in Newbury and commute...