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Moving out of London

Camomile 14

Hi 

l’m a mum of 13year old autistic girl and looking for recommendations for autism friendly areas outside of London. 
We want to move out and l’m searching for an area where we can find a good school and a friendly community.  Thinking about Oxfordshire,  but I’m open to recommendations from other areas . 

Parents

  • Hmm, good question. My first response would be anywhere but Slough but maybe I'm biased having to spend nearly 30 years in that horrible place as an autistic person. 

    I know Bracknell used to have a fantastic special needs school called Kennel Lane school. I worked there and I can honestly say it was the most caring, supportive school I have ever seen. I have to say this was 7 years ago so I cant vouch for what it is like now

    Oxfordshire is a good idea as it is quite a quiet area and not too overstimulating for an autistic person, I find most of it very peaceful

    I live in a country village in Buckinghamshire and I can honestly say it has helped me feel more peaceful, less busy and overwhelming. Does your daughter like nature or animals at all? If she does I would recommend living in the country but having said that teenagers often want to be around towns. 

    There are lots of nice areas in Bucks and Oxfordshire

    I would avoid Reading if you can, full of gangs. Earley is near there though and that is quite peaceful I think

Reply

  • Hmm, good question. My first response would be anywhere but Slough but maybe I'm biased having to spend nearly 30 years in that horrible place as an autistic person. 

    I know Bracknell used to have a fantastic special needs school called Kennel Lane school. I worked there and I can honestly say it was the most caring, supportive school I have ever seen. I have to say this was 7 years ago so I cant vouch for what it is like now

    Oxfordshire is a good idea as it is quite a quiet area and not too overstimulating for an autistic person, I find most of it very peaceful

    I live in a country village in Buckinghamshire and I can honestly say it has helped me feel more peaceful, less busy and overwhelming. Does your daughter like nature or animals at all? If she does I would recommend living in the country but having said that teenagers often want to be around towns. 

    There are lots of nice areas in Bucks and Oxfordshire

    I would avoid Reading if you can, full of gangs. Earley is near there though and that is quite peaceful I think

Children
  • in reply to Billy87

    Thanks for sharing your experience!

    It’s really useful to hear what other people think  before making decisions. 
    l know Bracknell as my uni friend used to live there and we considered this area to move  before Covid, but later my friend decided to move to Southampton due to good job offers and the fact that she could cycle to work rather than over an hour car journey. Nevertheless, she always thinks of Bracknell as her ideal place to live. 
    You’ve  actually hit the nail on the head , we are tired of busy life style , which became so overwhelming for my daughter , she doesn’t want to go out anymore. The friends that we made over the years moved to different parts of UK or abroad and it’s becoming increasingly isolated for her. She loves nature , we use  our National Trust membership to get away from London at weekends and always feel the pressure on the way back. 
    I used to love London when l came to UK 22 years ago, and it’s still a city of opportunities , but  my priorities have changed now and it’s time to move.