r/miltonkeynes

Milton Keynes high on the list of possible places to relocate to later this year (specific area tbc, possibly Wolverton or Stony Stratford) as a divorced middle-aged bloke.

I'd really appreciate just hints & tips that would help make settling in easier, aspects only locals know about that I should bear in mind, things to avoid etc.

Plan to rent for 12 months before buying. I work from home with occasional trips to London, Cheltenham and Coventry on business.

TIA.

Hi everyone,
We’re looking at moving to Milton Keynes and would love some local recommendations on the best areas to live.
We’re a young family, so we’re looking for somewhere that’s safe, family-friendly, with good nurseries and primary schools, nice parks, and a good community feel. We’d also like to be within a reasonable distance of a train station with services into London, and have easy access to the M1.
We’re not looking for the most expensive or exclusive areas just somewhere that’s a nice place to raise a family.
Which areas would you recommend, and are there any you’d avoid?
Thanks in advance!

I've just been caught speeding 😭

The H9 near Simpson goes from a single lane into a dual carriageway.

I thought it was 70mph and the map on my Tesla (that gets data from Google Maps) showed 70mph. I didn't see a large 40mph sign, but as I approached the van, I saw a small 40 sign...

I was doing about 60 when I saw the van. It was blocked from my view at first, as I was behind cars and overtook them as the road went from single lane to dual carriageway. I wondered why they were driving so slowly!

I'm sure that's going to catch a lot of people out and the police know it 😭

a man came up to my mum asking if she wanted his parking spot saying he was just about to leave and parked for free on the bays that say loading site on it behind popworld on 12th street.

i was wondering if this was true or not?

This might be abit niche but wondering if someone knows a way -

Is there a charity where I can cook at my home in batches and deliver it to people who will hand it out to the homeless in MK? I would portion everything out in foil containers.

Absolutely need an overhaul.

Skylines monoply provides a service with dwindling customer service and the drivers are very inconsiderate to passwmger safety sometimes phone in hand let alone fiddling with it on the dash.

Why would someone do this. It's just not cricket

I only went to the first day at SMK Live for Basement Jaxx. Groove Armada set was great. Wasn't looking forward to Clean Bandit but they really impressed me!

And props to the Stadium team for putting it together! I love seeing MK host more big ticket events. I want to support our city however I can.

But I couldn't help but notice how empty and lack of atmosphere it felt on day 1. I can't speak for day 2 Black Eyed Peas/Jason Derulo. It looks a bit busier in videos.

But on day 1 the pitch was more than half empty. They sold seats around the edge but it felt like random people were just scattered about them.

The food village outside was great! But it ment if you wanted food you had to leave the stadium. So a good chunk of people were always on the outside of the stadium and missing the action.

What did everyone else think?

My family live abroad, and it’s only me and my husband who will be in the delivery room when I have my baby (end of September). Because maternity care is generally not great in the UK, I’m considering hiring a doula. Has anyone done this during their pregnancy or birth, and if so, was it worth it for you? Interested in recommendations of any local to MK.

Morning folks,

I’d like to order some bits for my kids school as a thank you to all the staff. I had thought of Platter Elf in Newton Leys but they don’t seem to be in business any more. Any other recommendations for reasonably priced grazing type bits for a staff room?
Thanks!

I feel like an old man shouting at clouds here, but this has been bothering me for ages, and I want to yell at some clouds for a bit.

Does it not bother anyone else that one of the most prominent and successful 'music venues' in MK uses ai for literally ALL of their promotional material? Every single one of their original instagram posts is ai generated. I mean, really?

They posted a statement yesterday that their kitchen would be closed due to the heat... accompanied by an ai poster of an ai chef with his ai feet up (SORRY! ONE foot. He's only got one foot. Because it's ai. And they don't give a shit enough to check) and an ai sign saying 'we don't want our chef to die in the kitchen'. I guess they don't give a shit about entire communities being utterly devastated by water and air pollution, so long as they can have a shitty poster knocked up in a few seconds (for an announcement that surely didn't need an image accompanying it...)

Basically my concern comes from -everything we know about ai and the harm it does the planet and communities- compounded by the fact that MK11 ARE SUPPOSEDLY AN ARTS ORGANISATION. In recent years they have secured funding as a GRASS ROOTS MUSIC VENUE, for the explicit purpose of supporting GRASS ROOTS TALENT and remaining open during covid - in order to continue supporting grass roots & local talent. Which leads me to my next point...

How exactly are they 'supporting grass roots talent' when approximately 97% of the acts they book are cover / tribute bands? Perhaps they just hate originality. Their 5 most recent instagram gig announcements - TRIPLE ALT TRIBUTE NIGHT - MORDERSTEIN (rammstein tribute) - THE KERRANG BAND (cover band playing all bands that would have been on Kerrang! back in the day) - THE FREDDIE AND QUEEN EXPERIENCE - BRITALLICA (featuring an ai picture of a woman who KIND OF looks like Britney spears in her famous school girl outfit, holding a python - where on EARTH would they have got a photo like that from? - btw, I'm familiar with the idea of copyright and IP infringement. If you're afraid of getting on the wrong side of that (you needn't be, just don't rip off other people's hard work), then don't use a picture of Britney at all? We know who she is. We know what she looks like - she looks KIND OF like the picture you posted! We know that! And we know a snake looks KIND OF like that thing she's holding!)

ps - the fact ai can approximate that famous picture of Britney absolutely shows that it has pirated everything it has ever come into contact with. Everything. The companies claim that 'it doesn't steal anything' or my favourite 'it's impossible to know' what it took and didn't take, obviously doesn't hold any water whatsoever when you can type in a famous person's name, reference an iconic image of said person, and it can basically recreate the exact image you're talking about. Just a side note which I think is important when discussing art, originality, attribution, compensation...

I feel that I should clarify that I'm a musician of 25+ years, I've lived in MK my whole life of 35 years, as a teenager I spent all my free time at The Pitz, Madcap, the commUNITY, etc. I've been in bands - original bands. I CREATED original posters to advertise our gigs. WE COMMISSIONED a local artist to create our EP art. WE WOULD DRAW A POSTER OR MAKE IT ON MSPAINT BEFORE RESORTING TO THE PIRACY MACHINE.

I recognise that it's a lot of effort to be an original band or artist these days. I can't help but feel it's made harder by local venues catering to the lowest common denominator, filling their schedule with cover bands, pushing absolute tripe with zero artistic merit and refusing to even commission a local artist / graphic designer / photographer to knock out a poster every so often.

Thank god the Craufurd Arms still give a shit enough to use real artists and book real bands, playing real original music. And yes, I know they also book tribute bands. I guess my point is in the ratio of tribute to original, ai to human? It certainly seems to me that the Craufurd care more about remaining a real grassroots music venue.

I look forward to hearing the freshly-formed yet no less vehement opinions of those who haven't considered any of this before now, who are willing to defend to the death MK11's right to minimise the value and importance of local and original artists.

pppps - as if I hadn't written enough all ready. I do think cover bands can be cool and 'important' (not really important, but at least not outright evil) - I went to see T-Rextasy a few months back at the Stables. They were quality, and are preserving the legacy and history of T-Rex. Cool. I also saw Livewire (AC/DC tribute) at the Pitz about 20 years ago. Cool. I've had friends in cover bands. Cool. That's not really my main point, just another element that, I think, lends credence to my point that MK11 don't care about art, or supporting local artists.

Hi, i’m on a 2 week solo trip and M&K is my first stop as part of attending an event at Silverstone Circuit. I was wondering if you have any recommendations for a spot where i can eat lunch/breakfast and drink some coffee!

Diner i’ve already locked down for each night but still looking for some chill spots where i can eat lunch.

Thanks in advance!

One of my family friends was telling me recently about how they saw one 100% at Linford wood in 2021

Like Radcliffe mka and Saint Paul’s are all 10 minutes away. Surely the government or whoever. is planning on building a new school in the mk12 mk13 mk14
Like radcliffe is a 💩 hole same as Stantonbury
Like even at west mk there’s Denbigh shenley Hazely Watling 4 schools which are close and they are actually good schools
South mk there’s Leon and Lord grey
Lord grey is a decent school if you live Bletchley it’s likely you don’t even live far from shenley.

I appreciate they will be booked up at present, so this will be in anticipation for next year, but has anybody had home air con installed and can recommend the company they used please?

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to Milton Keynes and also a first-time homeowner, so I'm still figuring out what things should cost.

I've got a 3-bed semi with a decent-sized back and side garden. Nothing too fancy, but it's got a bit out of hand. I need someone to remove a plant/shrub, pull out the weeds along the side, and tidy up the overgrown grass.

I've spoken to a few gardeners and most seem to be quoting around £70-90£ an hour. Maybe that's the normal rate these days, but it felt a bit higher than I was expecting, so I thought I'd ask here before going ahead.

Just curious what everyone else is paying for similar one-off jobs. Do most gardeners charge by the hour or quote for the whole job? And for those who have someone come regularly, what's the going rate for ongoing lawn/garden maintenance in milton keynes?

If anyone has recommendations for reliable gardeners who don't charge a fortune, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!