I moved to Milton Keynes three years ago for my job relocation for NatWest bank, I didn't know anything about Milton Keynes and I had never been here before in my life. The company was offering me a good deal to put me up for six months in a flat for me to think about staying so I thought why not. My first impression after leaving the motorway was "my god there are a lot of roundabouts !" I noticed that all the roads are labelled H (horizontal) or V (vertical) with their numbers next to them (e.g V7) I found this totally confusing and luckily I had a map. Milton Keynes is made up of different estates, and when you get used to it the H and V roads do make life easier as they go through Milton Keynes to lead to various estates in the north, east, central, west and south. With these grid roads are a lot of roundabouts, there are about 200ish and not many traffic lights, it makes the traffic more free flowing though.
There are plenty of things to do around Milton Keynes and I shall try to go through a few of them for you…
If you like your shopping there is a huge shopping centre in the city centre with around 240 shops. These are the main high street shops you will normally find such as Boots, Woolworths, HMV, and other that are not in the mainstream line like paperchase, topaz (furniture), Sunglass Hut, and too many more to mention. There is ample parking but quite expensive if you want to park right outside it's about £1 per hour. If you park further away you can get around four hours for that much and just have five minutes walk to the centre.
Just over the road from the centre is the Xscape
building. This consists of pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, bowling, cinema, and a ski slope. You get the main pubs like weatherspoons, but the majority are clubs. The favourite clubs there are Oceanas which has different themed dance floors such as the 70's and 80's, the Japanese bar, and many more. The other clubs are Mood which has a mainly R&B theme most nights, and Revolution which main drinks are the different flavoured vodkas. Most of these are quite expensive after 9pm for drinks and can cost up to £3 per pint, entry is free before 9.
There is also the theatre district in the town centre which has a theatre with productions like Chicago, High Society, Peter Pan, and not too bad a price of around £20 per ticket. There is also pubs like Yates, Hogshead, and places to eat including Pizza Hut, Fatty Arbuckles, Frankie and Bennies, TGI Fridays and many more.
Also there is the national Hockey stadium and of course the MK Dons ! These have gone down very well in Milton Keynes with a huge following.
Moving away from the city centre every estate has it's own pub, little Tesco express with post office, and normally a Chinese take away. All depending on the area and what it's vasinity to the centre it is. All of these local estates are very easy to find, and also I have found when I have been lost and looking for a certain pub or road the people have been friendly and have helped me without question. True you do get crime in Milton Keynes and that generally happens around the city centre estates. The main crime being car theft. If you live out of the city centre districts then the chance of crime goes down a lot.
I am in the South in Walnut Tree which has very nice surroundings of fields and streams and not too overbuilt so you can see wildlife and familys can go onto the playing fields. There is also a hungry horse pub just a short walk away from me, the hungry horse chain offer great value on food and I would highly recommend it. You can get a huge meal for £4.99.
Just down the road is Caldecotte lake which has the only Windmill in Milton Keynes, this has some lovely walks around the lakes and a very nice restaurant inside the refurbished windmill. This is a good location for families to visit. Another is Willen lake, this has another huge lake with rides for the kids, and water sports. There is also a chance to go on a speedboat (I am doing this in September !!) Some places have a lot more walks than others, and there is always a lot of walkways, streams, and fields to walk around.
There are some nice estates and some bad estates, I shall not name them but I guess all places have them. The nearer south you get, the greener the area.
Milton Keynes is generally known for the concrete cows. I have never seen these all the time I have lived here and I have a feeling they have now been knocked down as it gives the city a bad image of a "Concrete City" Very near Milton Keynes is Bletchley which is a lot smaller but directly joined rather than going on a main road or motorway to join it.
Most buisiness people now have relocated here as this is where quite a few jobs have gone to. The companies have found it cheaper here than in London and have a far better chance of getting local people for the work rather than pay out for commuters.
There are plenty of places to stay if you are a visitor with about 30 hotels scattered around Milton Keynes. They are normally around £50 per night, however sometimes they do weekend deals for around £30 a night. If you are thinking of staying try the Travellodge, this is where the main offers are.
The other attractions to look out for are : Bletchley park, this is the home of the enigma and Britains secret wartime code breaking centre. It holds a big collection of Churchill memorabilia, has walks, and lots more
Gullivers land, this is more for the kids with rides and attractions. I have spoke to some friends who have taken their kids here and said they absolutely loved it. This is very popular in Milton Keynes, and often packed at weekends.
Woburn sandssafari park, This is a great day out with over 30 species of animals to look at. It is quite cheap for the kids but could be a little cheaper for adults. I think it's around £4.50 for kids and £7.50 for adults. It's worth it when you see the animals though.
Another attraction that is not on all the time is Collectormania. This is based in the shopping centre and is where the film and TV stars get together and sign autographs for you and have pictures done. I have been to a few and met actors from Star Wars, Blakes's 7, and some of the horror films.
Getting a property here is slightly easier, as I am single there is no way I could afford a huge mortgage so that's where Midsummers housing association steps in. This is a part rent part buy system and you can often buy 35% and rent the rest. It is a lot better in the long run, there is the option to buy more of your property every year if you like.
The train station is quite big and has eight tracks, four to go south and four for north. I have found that the price is quite dearer than what I was used to on Canvey Island but if you do the odd journey it's not that bad.
Travel around Milton Keynes can be very tricky if you haven't got a car, there are bus services but I would not really rely on them and you can get to where you want to with a car very easy. The other option is push bike, there are not that many people generally who I do see out on bikes. The main reason is that the cars are very fast moving and apart from the local estates the rest of the H and V roads speed limit is 60 MPH.
You can visit and get information of Milton Keynes on the internet. Just go to Mkweb.co.uk. This is a good site and can tell you all what you want to know or want to find out about the new city.
Milton Keynes is near to the A5, and two M1 exits which makes it very easy to get around to other places. A short trip to the South of the A5 you will find Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable, if you go north there is Stony Stratford and Towcester to name a few. You also have the 421 that can get you to Bedford very easy.
Since I moved here three years ago I have found a nice estate with good neighbours, and there are plenty of things to do around the area. The only drawback is that I do not have any family here and only a handful of friends outside work. If you are a family wishing to come and live here then do check out some of the areas and it is a great place to settle down, however if you are on your own do think about it as it can be very hard at first if you are on your own.
A few things that I have mentioned in this review like clubs, places to get to, and nearby attractions I shall try and mention at a later date, this just gives you a bit of information on Milton Keynes.
Well, I have mentioned quite a few places, things to do. I hope you have enjoyed reading this...
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I like the wee area in Xscape that looked like it's night time and abroad for a wee drink. Willen Lake was lovely. Unfortunately the Lakes estate where I was visiting was not!
reddragonflame87 28.09.2006 18:55
Wow, you live a stones throw away from where I work, at the Accenture place!
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Advantages: Great shopping centre, big theatre, environmentally-conscious council Disadvantages: No character, hideous architecture, even worse sculptures
DavidBedford 08.08.2001 (09.08.2001)
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