Relocation question. A little OT but main query is- music scene in Dorset/Hampshire area?

[chardbass]

Hi all,

A favour to ask from the Basschat community- after 15yrs in Somerset I'm relocating with the family (wife and 2 young children) and am drawn to Dorset (Bournemouth, Poole area) based on a hunch, a vibe, call it what you will.
As a family we want good choice of schools, good amenities for kids and us, a coastal-ish location, countryside not too far away but city/big town life nearby also.

There are no opportunities for me here as a musician and there is so little to do with the kids especially as they grow older.
My question is this- is there a good/decent/vibrant scene in the B'mouth area or am I better off a little further east? I don't mind travelling for gigs/jam nights for networking etc but would hate to settle there and realise we got it wrong.

The area appeals to me and S'hampton, Portsmouth, Chichester, Brighton are all drive-able to the east.

Any musos from the area able to chip in?
Thanks in advance.

[woodster]

I live between Southampton and Portsmouth so I can help.
Bournemouth has a lively music scene, particularly on the jazzy end of the spectrum. Southampton has suffered with a lack of venues in recent years but is definitely on the up now. Portsmouth is overrun with live music and most decent sized pubs have live music, particularly rock and ska!
Brighton also has a great music scene, bohemian and varied!

[alyctes]

I live in northern Poole (Canford Heath) and work in eastern Bournemouth (Boscombe).

I'm not sure it qualifies as big-city; they are separate entities and have never been a single unit (Bournemouth was in Hampshire till the 1974 local govt reorganisation). Each has its own bus company, for instance (Yellow Buses in Bournemouth; Wilts and Dorset in Poole). The place can seem like a bit of a backwater.

Tourist traffic is an issue; Purbeck is overrun with cars from Easter to late September, and Weymouth is probably worse, but I'm sure you're well used to that.

I don't know what the Bournemouth schools are like; Poole is selective (and the two grammar schools are single-sex), and Dorset is a separate LEA again. My son went to local first and middle schools on Canford Heath (Ad Astra and Haymoor) and they were fine, but that's a long time ago (he's 21 now). Be careful about which catchment you move into.

[chardbass]

Thanks for your responses.
The catchment issue is a massive one- my daughters are 2 and 4 so there is plenty at stake.

Anymore advice from Basschatters is welcome.

[Adrenochrome]

I don't have recent experience but I lived in Southampton from mid 84 to mid 89 as a teenager. The number of venues steadily declined and we used to get the coach to London to see name bands play, and very occasionally the train to Portsmouth to see a band at the Guildhall. We lived North West of Southampton so getting to the New Forest and Bournemouth/Poole areas was easy, walking the dog on the beach at Hamble in winter was good, I have some nice memories. I think for Northerners used to the dramatic landscapes of the Pennines/Lakes etc the countryside nearby was interesting enough for us (watermeadows nearby, coast nearby). Schools in Southampton were fairly average.

[TheRev]

My band play a lot in Dorset and Hampshire (even though most of us live in Bristol). My experience is that Poole is a bit quiet music-wise, but there's a bit more going on in Bournemouth (check out Chaplin's Cellar bar in Boscombe) - quite a few of the bands we put events on with are based in Bournemouth. Ringwood has a couple of well-respected pubs putting on regular bands but the most vibrant (IMHO) town in that area is Wimborne - loads of great pubs putting on interesting local bands plus the yearly folk fest with the associated fringe festival and the 'Party in the paddock'

Wimborne is a great little town with lots of nice people, but I imagine it's a pretty expensive place to live.

[Mykesbass]

Just s quick word of warning, Brighton may seem not too far, but as someone who lives close to it but works in Fontwell (v. close to Chichester) it is a bit of a hike - the A27 is not a great road.

[skankdelvar]

FWIW, my parents lived in Ferndown, East Dorset until quite recently. Though the biggest conurbation in East Dorset, conveniently situated and with a useful little town centre it is also to a certain extent God's Waiting Room. There may be towns with an older median age but not many. Beige is the new black in Ferndown.

The houses aren't particularly cheap, the housing stock is mostly cosy little 1950's bungalows and there's no local music scene to speak of apart from Hits From The Blitz acts at the local Barrington theatre. That said, the gentle doziness is quite attractive, the local schools seem to get a good write-up and there's something of a community feeling.

Ferndown is also the home of BC-er Jackie Moon who kindly purchased a 4x10 from me a few months ago, so it's got that going for it as well.

[Bigjas]

I live in Fareham (between Southampton and Portsmouth) and play in two covers bands. One band rarely gets out of Gosport and the other plays the A27 corridor between Chichester and Southampton. There are a lot of pubs that have live music, but there are also a lot of local bands that have been on the circuit for some time. Starting a new band and getting in to the scene is quite hard, it's much easier to join an existing band. I have tried both avenues, the band I joined has 25 gigs booked for next year, the other one has none and is really hard to get gigs.

Jas

[chardbass]

Hmm. Some great advice here- some not shining an overly positive light on the area.
To put things into perspective I have lived in Minehead for 15yrs where there truly is nothing but charity shops, tea rooms/coffee shops and poundshops (or so it feels). No real choice of schools, no gigging opportunities and a 50min drive to the M5 to get anywhere.
It is also an incredibly beautiful part of the country where I have had a great time but at this juncture in life it feels like it is time to move on or I'll/we'll get stuck here once the kids get settled into schools etc.


We can move anywhere- literally anywhere. I'm a muso, my wife is a singer so we have a great opportunity and I'd like to get it as right as possible.

[JackieMoon]

As Skank says, I am indeed based in Ferndown which is just between Wimborne and Ringwood. In all honesty I wouldn't live anywhere else now. Its a bit pricey compared to other parts of the country but hey ho. No disrespect intended but we gig a bit in Portsmouth/Southampton and I wouldn't choose to live there, even though a lot of my family are from around there.

As far as local music scene goes we have a good array of live music pubs/clubs across Bournemouth/Poole/Wimborne, depending on what styles of music you are playing. A few rehearsal studios dotted about, blues jam nights, all the usual fair for networking and meeting people. It is nice to have quite a few options only a stones throw away but at the same time being able to retreat back away from the busy (?) town life.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I have a trend I visit ( now a happy couple with grown up kids ), who live In parkstone
I like it there. There is a pub called mr. Kilpps which has live bands. Haven't been In there yet. In Poole itself , The Lord nelson is always packed when a live band is on.

My friends think I should move down there , as London is sooo expensive, my wages are less than 'average' etc.

[JackieMoon]

Yeah the Nelson is pretty popular as is most of Poole Quay throughout the spring/summer. (We've 6 dates booked there for 2015 atm)

[JamesBass]

I'm based in Portsmouth, well slightly north of Portsmouth in a place called Purbrook and my local has live all the time, in fact most pubs within the PO post code now offer live music. However there is a RIDICULOUS number of bands. Within Portsmouth itself there's a thriving original music scene, it's becoming a bit "Brighton" in terms of the vast number of bands and acts. Covers bands and function band wise there's still scope for it, but you'll have a hard time if you start a new band as there are many long serving bands out there.

Further East towards Worthing, Bognor, Brighton, there's LOTS going on, Chi has a blues scene and a good Jazz scene with the Uni there, Worthing is about as eclectic as you can get and there are some really good venues there! Brighton is the place to aim for if you have serious ambitions as a player or as an original band.

Back West and Southampton is suffering with a lack of good venues. It's also got a very narrow scene. In terms of originals it's either punk or metal derivatives and not much else, function band wise it's pretty good, though you may struggle due to the cruise ships being based there and lots of bands try and get noticed there. Slightly North and Winchester has always seemed quiet music wise, I've never really had many gigs there. Eastleigh which is near enough Southampton, is a pretty ok, more pub covers bands but it's decent enough.

Never had much experience down in the Forrest and Dorset way but from what friends and acquaintances have said, it can be hit and miss. Probably best to not listen to me on that area!

Best of luck though!

[DorsetBlue]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1418342241' post='2629463']
I don't know what the Bournemouth schools are like; Poole is selective (and the two grammar schools are single-sex), and Dorset is a separate LEA again. My son went to local first and middle schools on Canford Heath (Ad Astra and Haymoor) and they were fine, but that's a long time ago (he's 21 now). Be careful about which catchment you move into.
[/quote]

Its seems to be even more complicated than that, as Purbeck has a different educational boundary to us in West Dorset/Weymouth & Portland too e.g. they have scrapped Middle Schools, whilst we still have them in Dorchester (at the moment - thankfully).

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

What's christchurch like to live?

[chardbass]

I worked there in 1994- a pretty little place but I think it has an ageing population. This usually means houses are blooming expensive too!
We're still looking at areas of Bournemouth- I think anything too urbanised would be a massive shock to us coming from rural West Somerset.
We're going to check some areas out in January. All this info has been a great help. Happy to listen to anymore.

[chardbass]

JackieMoon- you have sold the area to me. Enough going on for me but also the option to get away from it all a bit too.
Looking forward to exploring the area soon.

[DorsetBlue]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1418761697' post='2633134']
What's christchurch like to live?
[/quote]

I have worked there a few times. To get to it from West Dorset is an absolute nightmare, especially in the summer (Bournemouth/Poole get in the way). It has good access from the East and North, but again the holiday traffic block up Lyndhurst badly in the summer. There are nice bits around it, with a slightly lower age demographic (Mudeford etc) but not by much.

[JackieMoon]

No worries Chard If you need to know specifics please feel free to sling me a PM and I'd be happy to help.

[chardbass]

Thank you.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='DorsetBlue' timestamp='1418807161' post='2633464']


I have worked there a few times. To get to it from West Dorset is an absolute nightmare, especially in the summer (Bournemouth/Poole get in the way). It has good access from the East and North, but again the holiday traffic block up Lyndhurst badly in the summer. There are nice bits around it, with a slightly lower age demographic (Mudeford etc) but not by much.
[/quote]

Thanks as mentioned earlier , my friend who lives in parkstone recommends it.
I know I bitch about London ( lived there all my life), but one thing about London is the bus service is excellent . Things to remember when bitching about London .
I would assume I. Would have to travel to Bournemouth for employment .
Sorry to op for chipping in

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='chardbass' timestamp='1418769824' post='2633288']
I worked there in 1994- a pretty little place but I think it has an ageing population. This usually means houses are blooming expensive too!
We're still looking at areas of Bournemouth- I think anything too urbanised would be a massive shock to us coming from rural West Somerset.
We're going to check some areas out in January. All this info has been a great help. Happy to listen to anymore.
[/quote]
Iving in twickenham , I understand expensive;) I'm 50+ now, so if there was a way to live calmly in a nice part of the world, I would have to consider it

[DorsetBlue]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1418905926' post='2634659']
I would assume I. Would have to travel to Bournemouth for employment .
[/quote]

Depends on your vocation but yes, most work in Dorset is based in Poole or Bournemouth.