Can't decide between Leamington Spa and Stratford

Hello All,

I am moving to Warwickshire after accepting a job in Stratford upon avon (on the industrial estate). :) Last weekend we visited Warwick, Stratford upon Avon and Leamington Spa to decide where we want to live. The choice is so hard! Each town is great, clearly each has its advantages over the other.

Leamington Spa at the moment is probably leading because it feels a bit more youthful and lively. However I am interested in what the commute between Leamington and SuA is like in the rush hour. Google maps quotes 25 minutes, is that a reality?
Also, I've read elsewhere that the bottom of the parade can be a bit dodgy at night, how true is this? This road and the roads that lead of it looked particuarly appealing.

Stratford upon Avon itself look very nice, but it feels a bit touristy. It's hard for me to make a distinction between what looks good, and is good; and what looks good, but only serves the purpose of attracting tourists. For SuA I just want assurance that there are a good number of truely decent restaurants and bars.

Warwick is in my opinion, is the most beautfiul, but it was so quiet on Sunday afternoon, we couldn't really see ourselves living there.

Sorry for the essay. Any comments, suggestions, whatever will be helpful.

Regards,
Graham

Thanks for the reply Lex! :)

Not sure how long ago college was for you - I'd read that there was some changes to A46 recently (M40 flyover/underpass possibly?). I wonder how much this affects times.... 40 mnutes is verging on too long but not long enough to discount Leam.

We're coming from Oxford and we are very happy with how much more we seem to be able to get even in the more desirable areas of Warwickshire. We are renting, so I guess if all does not turn out how it is supposed too, we can easily move within 6 months.

In Leam, what is the area just to north of the train station like? We are particularly interested in a flat in Manor court.

Not that it is reliable but I had a look at google maps 'live traffic' today, still suggests it is quite busy on Europa way, but if I take the a46 to kenilworth road nearly the whole journey is 'fast'
The more i look, the more I see more you get for your money in leam. I'm going to give the commute a dry run on Friday.
I had not looked too much at the train, do you know of a bus that runs between the station and the industrial estate in strat?

Thanks for all your replies Lex. We ended up taking a place in Stratford-upon-Avon. In the end we decided the commute from Leam was further than it needed to be, there are plenty of decent houses in Stratford.