WARWICKSHIRE – A GOOD MOVE TO RELOCATE?

Warwickshire has many benefits for people considering relocating to the midlands. The county offers a balance of beautiful scenery, historic towns, and proximity to Birmingham as well as only being a short distance away from many other big cities.

If you are lucky enough to live here already, you will have noticed the subtle changes over the years to continually improve, invest and develop the area, services and infrastructure.

In 2017, two Warwickshire towns were named in the top 20 places to live in the UK, several factors were used to determine the quality of life around the country. Stratford upon Avon came in at number 10 while Rugby took the 20th spot.

In January 2020, Rugby has managed to move up the ranking to number 15, beating Warwick who came in at the 20th spot.

That’s according to Halifax’s annual Quality of Life survey. The survey considered factors such as residents’ health and life expectancy, wellbeing, earnings, employment, crime rates and weather.

Rugby is perhaps often overlooked against its wealthier fellow Warwickshire towns but has much to offer in terms of quality of living.

Rugby is a market town close to the River Avon, with a population of 100,500 (2011 census) it is the second largest town in the county. It borders Northamptonshire and Leicestershire and is within easy reach of major cities such as London, Birmingham and Coventry. Rugby Train Station has regular services every day, making commuting an easy option. It’s service to London Euston takes less than 50 minutes.

Rugby is most famous for the birthplace of Rugby Football, where it is claimed William Webb Ellis picked up a ball during a game of football whilst attending Rugby School, one of England’s oldest and most prestigious schools. The game is celebrated with a dedicated Rugby Football Museum and Rugby Hall of Fame Exhibition within the impressive Rugby Art Gallery and Museum.

These days it boasts several primary and secondary schools classed outstanding by Ofsted. There are plenty of recreational places and spaces including parks, museums, theatres, retail parks and dining out options. Independent businesses are popping up and being supported by the local community with an urge for more entrepreneurial opportunities being encouraged and explored.

With plenty of employment opportunities Rugby has a long history of engineering and manufacturing industries, as well as distribution. Major employees with big names like Amazon, H&M, Tesco and Britvic have all set up in this thriving town . This is due to the town’s proximity to major motorway networks – M1, M6, M45 motorways and A5, A14 & A45 roads. Tourism is also important to the town’s economy.

On the other side of the county Stratford Upon Avon is a haven for tourists, with its beautiful river location, great shops and restaurants, and, of course, Shakespearean heritage. It is also on the edge of the Cotswolds in one direction, and at the foot of the Malvern hills in another, being on the Gloucestershire and Worcestershire borders.

These successes for the county come on the back of Leamington Spa being named happiest place to live in Britain by Rightmove in October 2017. Which scored highly for friendly neighbours, a strong sense of belonging, a place where locals feel they can be themselves and good access to nature and green spaces.

These are just a few highlights of the places to live in Warwickshire, we haven’t even mentioned other fantastic towns such as Hatton, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwick and Kenilworth – home to not just one but two castles!

With Coventry being named city of culture 2021 and Birmingham hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games there’s plenty of exciting stuff happening in the midlands. In addition, Birmingham will be a major hub for the new HS2 (due for completion 2026), it will allow high speed access to not only London but further north to Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Crewe. It is said to bring upward of 25,000 passengers to the city bringing huge growth and jobs benefits to the surrounding areas. So perhaps not a bad spot to be living near to.

So, if you are looking to relocate, then look no further than Warwickshire in particularly Rugby Town which is on the rise for best places to live in the UK.

New BoBen Developments – Coming Soon!