Page 1 of Anyone living in Reading...?

Greetings -

Just a few questions really for any Reading dwellers...
As we are looking to move here (if i get accepted to do PGCE at the Uni)

1) My wife will continue to work in London (Z1) and will commute, whats the journey like, and also price? etc
2) What are best places to look at renting a flat?
3) Is the Pizza Express there any good?

Cheers for now!

G

I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which i`m dying are the best i`ve ever had.

I used to live in Reading and work in London. Now I live in Kent.
I can say that the Pizza Express is good - though personally I don`t use them. Too often my dough balls have arrived after - or during - my pizza... Its a little thing I know, but you`ve got to have principles.
I rented a flat near the Oracle... a one bed with combined kitchen and sitting room. The 2000 cat swinging competition was held elsewhere that year despite the flat having a whopping and crippling £650 a month rent. Still it was a nice area I suppose.
As for the commute.. its very expensive and I spent a lot of time waiting at paddington for trains, and waiting between stations for my train to get to reading..
on the journey in, I worked in tower hill so had to get the circle and the district line.. one morning the journey took so long that i had aged considerably. I went in a young 24 year old and exited with grey hair and a beard. To be honest I did not have a good time while i lived there.
Still, I`m a moaning, miserable cynic who would probably find something to complain about if Hef rented me a room with a glass floor above the bunny changing room in his playboy mansion... "there`s never any hot water" etc etc...

...ain`t no thing.. like a chicken wing...

A work colleague of mine lives in Reading and works in London Z1.

He says:

1) The journey time is approx. 30 minutes. I paid £2,937.40 in October for an Annual Ticket, this was for all zones and included a 5% discount for the previous 12 months poor service. I believe with the Annual Season it automatically includes all zones, so in this particular case would not be cheaper for Zone 1 only.

2) No idea, sorry. Stating the obvious, nearer the station would be easier for commuting, so saving bus fares to get there. In terms of you getting to the University, the minimum bus fare in Reading is now £1 (price rise two weeks ago). Further out may not necessarily mean cheaper accommodation, and there is a lot of rented property in the University area and to the east of the town centre; that area being around what is known as `Cemetery Junction`.

Try this website: http://www.extra.rdg.ac.uk/accommodation/

3) Never been in Pizza Express, but like most of them it looks quite smart. It`s right in the centre of town, St Mary`s Butts.


Hope this helps!!!

I`ve lived in Reading for a while now.

1) Commuting can be a bit of a drag. At least from Reading the trains are regular (`cos it`s on the main line) and it`s a fairly short journey (25-30 mins), but be prepared to stand up because more often than not the trains are full when they get to Reading.

2) University area (Earley) is nice, but good rented accomodation is at a premium. "Cemetary Junction" (AKA Newtown) will be cheaper, but is a bit run down, and has a "reputation". Ditto West Reading (Oxford Road). Sput2001`s friend is right - further out (Caversham, Tilehurst) may not necessarily be cheaper (but might be bigger/more salubrious).

Bus service isn`t bad at peak hours (depending on where you are) and at least you avoid the extortion of town centre parking, especially in the station itself.

3) Why so interested in Pizza Express? I think the Reading example is OK (i.e. better than Pizza Hut). The new(ish) Oracle centre has lots of franchised eateries (Chili`s, Old Orleans, Yellow River, McD`s) if that`s your thing.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input.
I suppose maybe if we live slightly out of Reading then I can drop the wife at the station in the morning before Uni...
As for Pizza Express - i need somewhere in Reading to earn £££ and to work some evenings and weekends - Worked at Pizza Express when i was a student before and had a good time and earnt a nice wedge in tips some nights...
I suppose now its a case of just looking (if i pass the interview of course for the PGCE!!)
fingers crossed eh?

I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which i`m dying are the best i`ve ever had.