Among the various towns and cities near the capital, Reading can definitely be described as one of the most up-and-coming. The Berkshire town’s public transport connections with London already count heavily in its favour; however, the upcoming high frequency, high capacity railway service Crossrail will even further strengthen these connections. Here is more about what you can expect from living in Reading.

Central London is only half an hour away

Many people would say, without hesitation, that London is one of the most exciting and cosmopolitan cities in the world; therefore, the advantages of living beside it can rarely be overstated. Right now, hop onto a fast train at the main Reading station and you can get to Paddington station in central London in only half an hour.

However, once Crossrail arrives in Reading come December 2019, it will be possible to take speedy train journeys to various other parts of London. Bond Street, for example, will be just 55 minutes away, Liverpool Street and the City 61 minutes away, and Canary Wharf 67 minutes away. Therefore, it can be wise to beat the rush and buy a home in Reading with our help, before property prices in that area rise.

There is a lot of wonderful history in Reading

That existing rail connection between Reading and Paddington station is provided by Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway. However, that revered mechanical and civil engineer of the nineteenth century is only part of Reading’s intriguing history. The town’s most successful businesses since the eighteenth century have included the brewery H & G Simonds, biscuit maker Huntley & Palmers and bulb manufacturer Suttons Seeds.

You can have a little piece of the town’s history for yourself, as there’s a good supply of Victorian and Edwardian properties, ranging from big detached residences to terraces of cottages, in Reading. These homes were very much built as a result of the railway’s arrival – though, if you’d like a slightly more modern residence, suburbs including Woodley, Tilehurst and Earley are populated largely with homes built since the 1950s.

What if you’d prefer to rent in Reading?

If you would love to reside in Reading, but are deterred by the expense of outright buying a property there, we at Redbrick Property Services can also help you with renting in Reading. The area does have an active rental market, not least thanks to demand for cheap accommodation from local IT, telecoms and financial services workers. Some parents who have purchased Reading homes for their children to use during their university years have opted to keep them for rental availability after their offspring have completed their studies.

So, basically, whatever concerns you might still have about renting in Reading, you can put aside any worries that there could be a lack of enticing choice. However, you may still have unaddressed concerns relating to other aspects of renting in the town – in which case, you could read right through our in-depth guide to renting which we have linked to above.