Where is Reading? Perhaps other than Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, you may not be familiar with this city and must be wondering about its whereabouts.
Well, Reading is a large town in Berkshire, England. It is sitting at the heart of the M4 Corridor, 37 miles (60 km) away from west of London, which is about an hour drive to London. It is a major commercial centre with the highest density of tech businesses in the UK. In fact, it is voted as one of the UK’s top places to live and work!
Let me share with you some of the reasons...
Its closeness to London makes Reading a great place to commute to and fro. With great transportation links, you will arrive in London's Paddington in less than 30 minutes by train! The extension of the Crossrail line also allows direct access to London business centres such as West End and Canary Wharf within an hour ride as well.
Besides, Reading is a major transport hub and has direct trains to major destinations north, south-east and west, including Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle to the north, Bristol and Wales to the west and Bournemouth and Southampton to the south.
The exterior of the rebuilt Reading station in Berkshire.
GWR, South West Trains and Cross Country Trains - all operate through Reading. Heathrow, the UK's largest and busiest international airport is local, only 27 miles east of Reading with direct access via rail or road!
Apart from being close to London, Reading is also considered a home for major corporations. It ranked the UK’s top area for economic success and wellbeing.
Large companies such as KPMG, Ericson, Bayer, Prudential, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Huawei and Virgin Media have their UK bases here. Hence, it creates lots of job opportunities in this city.
Reading is also home to exceptional education such as the University of Reading, which has a history of academic excellence dating back to 1892, with a world-class reputation for teaching, research and enterprise.
The Henley Business School is also in Reading, a globally-renowned and one of the oldest business schools in the UK. Others like Shiplake College - just over 5 miles from central Reading, is one of the UK’s leading independent boarding and day schools for boys and girls as well as Wellington College.
The Graduate School at the University of Reading called the Old Whiteknights House.
Every year the city hosts the Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music extravaganza. Among its sports teams are Reading Football Club and Reading Hockey Club, and over 15,000 runners annually participate in the Reading Half Marathon Event.
Besides, Wellington Riding Stables is one of the UK’s biggest and best-known equestrian centres, only 20 minutes away from Reading.
The UK’s largest vineyard is in Reading too - the Stanlake Park Wine Estate. This stunning 25-acre country estate produces award-winning wines - and is just a 20-minute drive from the town centre.
When coming to shopping, The Oracle - Reading’s prime shopping centre houses leading retailers such as Hugo Boss, Reiss, Superdry, Disney Store, House of Fraser and Debenhams. It also has a multi-screen cinema and numerous eateries overlooking the River Kennet.
An array of shops can also be found on the High Street, including John Lewis.
The Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading, UK.
The fact that Reading is accessible within a commutable distance to London, makes the city more appealing not just to locals, but to both investors and migrants.
Moreover, the entry price of the property is more affordable as compared to London.
According to Zoopla.co.uk, in terms of property types, flats in Reading sold for an average of £243,387 and terraced houses for £311,389.
Reading had been consistently proven a track record of price increases and good rental yield as compared to London. Thanks to its potential growth as a business hub as well as multiple regeneration development plans in place, i.e. £900 million investment in the station, Crossrail and buoyant economy, making Reading is increasingly attractive as a place to live and work. Most importantly, it drives the property market as well.
Beautiful homes in front of the lovely view of the River Thames coastline in Reading, England.
So what are you waiting for? Should you need further information or if you are convinced by the above reasons and looking for some investment opportunity - please do not hesitate to contact us!
We have 2 beautiful projects such as Huntley Wharf and Green Park Village you can consider!
This article is written by Mandy Chen. Click on her profile to get professional real estate advice!
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