# Expats in Winchester, Hampshire UK



## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi

I'm new to this group, but not new to expat life.

We left Sydney Australia 5 years ago with my husbands employer for a 2 year adventure in Ireland which we enjoyed so much we accepted a 3 year contract in Yokohama Japan. 

We arrived in Winchester, UK october 2011 and have slowly but surely settled 'back' into an English speaking environment.

However, I am missing my expat life A LOT! I miss the accents, the colors, the festivals, the new experiences ....... and i'm wondering if there are any other expate wives out there who feel the same.

I am seriously thinking of joining the IWC in London, tho making friends in London and not my local area is an issue that i'm sure i'll overcome, but my preference is to of course make friends and have a social life closer to home.

As an active member of IWC in Dublin, and a foundation member of Global Girls in Yokohama I love the benefits afforded to 'international groups'.

We organised tours, lunches, coffee mornings and interest groups all designed to forge friendships (and fill in long days)
On that note I will wait for hopefully positive responses from like minded ladies.


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## lnxjenn (Feb 8, 2012)

Hello 
I am not there yet, but I will be around Winchester when i come! My Fiance and I aren't getting married until October, but I'd love to meet up with you. I should be visiting in June.  

Might be nice to start meeting new friends! I enjoyed Winchester when I was there at Christmas.  It sounds like you are pretty active, or trying to be. So hopefully soon, I will also be an expat around Winchester  

Jenn


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

lnxjenn said:


> Hello
> I am not there yet, but I will be around Winchester when i come! My Fiance and I aren't getting married until October, but I'd love to meet up with you. I should be visiting in June.
> 
> Might be nice to start meeting new friends! I enjoyed Winchester when I was there at Christmas.  It sounds like you are pretty active, or trying to be. So hopefully soon, I will also be an expat around Winchester
> ...


Hi Jenn,

Thanks for responding to me plea 

We've no idea what we'll be doing over summer, esp with the long school holidays but if we're around be nice to meet.

Let me know closer to the time you're planning on visiting.
Good luck with the wedding plans
x
x


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## adjarrett (Nov 21, 2012)

Hi,

I am new to the expat life and as a result didn't exactly know what to expect. My husband and I moved to Winchester from Canada a few months ago for a 2 year contract with his employer.

I have had similar difficulties finding others in my situation, as all expat groups seem to be focused around London (which doesn't seem reasonable). 

I'd love to meet up to chat and share experiences.


Ashleigh


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi Ashleigh!

Thank you for taking the time to email me 

Where in Winchester are you? We are in Kings Worthy.

Are you working? 
How are you filling your days?
Do you have kids? 

We've an 8 year old daughter  who keeps me busy.

I'm not working tho i have started to look at various volunteer roles to see what inerestes me - maybe 1 day a week.

I've recently agreed with friends to do the London Moonwalk in May 2013, so have started a walking regime LOL. 

Would you like to meet for a quick coffee on Tesuday 27 Nov? We could meet around 1pm at the GOod Life - do you know it?


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

lnxjenn said:


> Hello
> I am not there yet, but I will be around Winchester when i come! My Fiance and I aren't getting married until October, but I'd love to meet up with you. I should be visiting in June.
> 
> Might be nice to start meeting new friends! I enjoyed Winchester when I was there at Christmas.  It sounds like you are pretty active, or trying to be. So hopefully soon, I will also be an expat around Winchester
> ...


Hi Jenn

How are you? Married by now from your last comment 

Have you moved to Winchester?
x


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## adjarrett (Nov 21, 2012)

aussiemama said:


> Hi Ashleigh!
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to email me
> 
> ...




Hi,

We live right by the discovery center, near the high street. We don't have any children yet, and I'm not working. I did some volunteer work with a children's reading program this summer and am currently looking for other volunteering opportunities.

Coffee on Tuesday would be great! We don't have a car yet, so I was wondering if it would be possible to meet somewhere closer to town. If not, I can look into the bus schedule, as the Good Life looks like a cool place.


Ashleigh


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Let's meet at the Discover Centre - the cafe there is pleasant.

My mobile is xxxxx - call me to finalise time

I hope you didn't mind me asking about kids- its one of the 20 questions we'll play when we meet 
x


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## B.Hanson (Jan 16, 2013)

Hello!

I also have moved to Winchester from Canada with my husband. We just got married in July and excited to have a year in a new place with lots of opportunity to travel! He has a job working for the year but I am taking some time off work - which is great but I'm looking forward to meeting some people. Any advise would be great. 

Thanks
Beth


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi Beth!

Thanks for being in touch.

Asheligh and I met up before Xmas and had a lovely chat getting to know one another. 
Do you know how to post a private message to me? Send me your mobile and/or email and we'll organise to meet asap
x


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## kareng (Jan 24, 2013)

Hi,

I'm English but I've been living in Italy for the last 11 years. My husband has just received a job offer near Winchester and we are thinking of moving there. I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about what it's like? If we come we'll be moving over in August, it would be nice to already have a few acquaintances.

Thanks
Karen


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi Karen,

Winchester is lovely, full of history as it was once the capitol of England. The High Street is great, and there are weekly markets which are bursting with local produce at great prices. The Cathedral is magnificent.

it's semi rural, with lovely pockets of suburbia. 

We have the Winchester Theatre Royal for performances, the Discovery Centre is the local library and performing arts space, there is an abundance of great restaurants. 

We are 20 minutes from Southampton so the water is close by as is the ferry port to France and other European ports, Southampton Airport offers a vast network of flights so travel is easy and depending on the deals, can be inexpensive; The Mayflower theatre offers an incredible selection of shows. The New Forest is a bit further on; London is about an hour away by train (Winchester - Waterloo is a direct line). Train travel is expensive, so I'm not in/out of London as much as I thought I would, or like. However, I do go in and can be back in time for school pick up (do you have children?) and fit in an exhibit and quick lunch  Sadly, it's a bit too far, and too expensive to commit to the various International Clubs on offer.

if you have school age children, the schools in and around Winchester are deemed to be some of hte best in the UK. Check out OFSED reports. You probably recall having lived here that you do need to be in catchment for state schools and that's in itself is an issue.

Housing is ridiculously expensive in Winchester (we rent, and that was tough enough to find) as lots of people are relocating from London for lifestyle changes etc.

Will you have relocation assistence? If not, I'd suggest you start hooking into real estate agents NOW.

If you choose to live 'near WInchester' there's lots of delightful villages to choose from. Some are market villages, some are purely residential with a pub. 

Not sure what else you would liek to know .... send me specific questions if you like.

Good luck


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## kareng (Jan 24, 2013)

Hi,

Thank you so much for the quick and detailed reply. We won't have relocation assistance so we've been looking at prices for renting, it does look expensive but is quite comparable to Milan where we are now.

We don't have children at the moment but we are hoping to and that is part of why we are thinking of moving over, a house with a garden is impossible in Milan unless you've got a couple of million to spend.

Thanks again, your reply is very helpful
Karen


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## adjarrett (Nov 21, 2012)

Hi Beth,

It's so nice to hear of more Canadians in Winchester! My husband and I recently relocated here for his work. I'd love to meet up if you have a chance.

Let me know,
Ashleigh


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## spottyperson1 (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi all - I feel like I am cheating, I am not technically an ex pat ( I lived in Spain for a few years) but feel like one now! We have just relocated to Winchester from Manchester area in UK and actually feel like I am in another country! Would love to meet new people - relocated with two teenagers at school in Winchester now, so feel like I would like a social life myself. Would be great to get in touch with others new to the area as well. Thanks!!!


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Can so relate to what you're saying and how you might be feeling - an expat is simply someone who's not from 'here' where ever here might be.

can you message me your email or mobile .... I'll get a few of the girls together and we'll do coffee


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## spottyperson1 (Mar 20, 2013)

Hi there, thanks for getting back to me so quickly, really appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you again - currently in process of moving house, so will give you full address and phone when move. Can I post my email address/mobile to you this way? Not sure exactly how to do a private message!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Please don't post any private information on an open forum. You can't use private messaging until you have posted 5 messages.


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

it's probably best, once you're settled to get back in touch with me via this - we can set a time and date and meet at a local coffee shop (sounds very candlestine, doesn't it LOL) as names, contact details etc shouldn't go on here


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## Mumfromoz (May 15, 2013)

Hi, I'm also an Aussie mum with kids ( 7 and 3) who will soon be living in or near Winchester. My hubby is commuting there from Brisbane regularly (!) and we should be over in july. I'm hoping you might be able to offer advice on what are the nicer areas of Winchester (or which to absolutely avoid) or surrounds since I'm trying to organize, very quickly , a school place for my sons. 

So glad to see there are a few expat mums in the area!

Cheers , Bec


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi Bec,

WELCOME!

mmmmmm, where to begin!?

School - assuming you're looking at independant (aka private or fee paying) school as you can't book kids into the state (aka public) unless you have an address; and there's no point finding a house unless the local school can take your child. It's a hideous situation, hence our daughter is at an independant school (aka fee paying) not our of choice but necessity.

Are you looking at OFSTED reports? They are a good start, but as most things not the complete picture.

Where's your husband working????????? that'll be the million dollar question regarding potential areas to live. Will you have a car or be relying on public transport?

Do you prefer suburbia or open green spaces and 'country living'? Are you a suburban family or prefer a village atmosphere?

We're in Kings Worthy in a fairly large house, on large grounds but no neighbours. Its very lovely but very isolating; other friends live in villages and while it takes time to be 'accepted' by the locals, they are happy in the village community.

The other bad news is that real estate in Winchester is very expensive and there's not a lot of stock. People are moving from London here as it's a direct commute into London (WInchester-Waterloo station), and prices just keep going up.

When we arrived in Oct 2011 there were 3 houses to consider. And we had a large rental allowance.

i'd love to chat with you off here ... but not sure how to share personal email addresses safely.

If you can work out how to please let me know

Meanwhile hope that's a start, and let me know if htere's anything else i can help you with.

Winchester is not full of expats, and it's a very colloquial community. This is our 3rd expat gig, and I've struggled - Yokohama was way easier.

Happy to help you land softly
x


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## Mumfromoz (May 15, 2013)

Thanks so much for your quick response x! You've certainly cleared up some of my confusion around schools 

To answer some of your questions: we are lucky in a way. We will have a car and a generous house allowance. We also have the freedom (somewhat) to choose where exactly to be, within commuting distance of crawley (the one near winchester). My husband gets to choose where to set up an office as long as it is fairly close by to crawley but of course we would like to live fairly close to where that office will be to cut down travel time.

Our preference is for green spaces (this being somewhat a novelty for us currently living in suburbia) but so long as we are close to where there is some vibrancy on the weekends, markets, restaurants, music etc and activities for the kids to be involved regularly like sports and scouts etc. I get what you are saying about village life, and possibly that would make more sense for us than living somewhere rural. 

Do you find that people leave on mass at weekends towards the coast? Does the make the traffic around winchester a frustration?

Thanks again for your help so far. any advice gratefully received!
Bec
Ps I think the rule of the forum is that you can start PM people after 5 posts. Perhaps we can trade emails soon then?


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## aussiemama (Feb 22, 2012)

Great to hear you are moving as expats! Makes SUCH a difference - we've found it expensive here especially having to fork out for school fees.

Be interesting to see what you think about green spaces when you are here - we moved from Sydney - Dublin - Yokohama to here and thought the same about SPACE ... have to tell you tho, it can do your head in! It's wonderful to drive thru fields and narrow country roads to get from A - B, but if you are home for a few days in a row, it's isolating. Just keep that in mind 

Check out my blog - ms-havachat.blogspot.uk. I blog about being an expat and life in general.

I'll leave other comments for when we are chatting via email LOL.
x


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## beehunnee70 (Jan 3, 2014)

Hey there!!

I've just joined this site... I was looking for Aussie's in Hampshire on Google & it came up with your post!! 

Basically, I married an Aussie man in 2012 who's been living in Hampshire for past 8/9 years.. He rarely gets home as money is tight. I am trying to find out if there are any or many other Aussies living nearby to find out what everyone does for Australia Day.. Is is one day he really yearns for home - and looking at our weather here, who can blame him!!

I live in Four Marks, near Alton, down the A31 from Winch. Love to hear from you!!

Best regards
Bee x


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## Smasher1 (Mar 19, 2014)

Hello, this is a very late reply to your original thread so who knows if you're even still in Winchester - but here goes. My husband is from Sydney and we live in Eastleigh, prob about 15 mins drive from Winchester. I'm a Brit but with immigrant parents. We used to have lots of expat friends when we lived in London but here we have pretty much none, they're all locals. And they're lovely but we would love to mix it up a bit. We have young children and we like getting out and about. We both work too. If you're looking for new members of your international crew please let me know! Thanks, Asha


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