Transport links are good and the roads aren't as hectic as other areas in London. I work at Heathrow and it only takes me 15/20 minutes to get to work by car. There are some fantastic parks in the neighbour county of Bucks; Black Park country park is a magical place with enchanting trees and a serene lake.

Uxbridge has two shopping malls which offer a reasonable amount and standard of shops. If you live close to the tube station it's only 40 mins to Baker Street in the daytime.

Prices for two bed flats cost anything from £850 if you want to be in walking distance to tube (Uxbridge) or rail in West Drayton (10 min drive from Uxbridge).

It's certainly one of the nicer towns in the south of Hillingdon Borough, although the northern part of the town is considered to be better than the south.

This isn't just snobbishness: south of Uxbridge there's more light industry mixed in with the housing, and my early morning jogs round that part of town involve contending with the smell of the Trimark paint factory and general pollution...

On the plus side, the shops are now really good with the Chimes opening a couple of years back. All the high street chains are there, although there are fewer smaller shops if that's your thing.

Transport links are excellent, although being at the end of the Tube line means allowing over an hour to get into the centre of London. You've got Denham coutry park and Langley and Black parks both nearby, plus can get out into the "country" within half and hour.

If you like nightlife, then Uxbridge has more than it's fair share of pubs and bars although only one (pretty dreadful) club. However, all the local chavs turn up for Friday and Saturday nights out, so if you prefer a quieter drink or want to avoid groups of Burberry-capped lads or miniskirted teenage girls, don't head into the centre of town but opt for one of the pubs on the outskirts.

Best primary school: Hertmitage in North Uxbridge is second in the borough league table, and does have an excellent reputation. Bishopshalt in Hillingdon and Bishop Ramsey are always highly praised.

There's been rumours of a large leisure complex in N Uxbridge too, which will bring much-needed facilities to the town, along with a fair share of nimbyism from locals.

Uxbridge is growing in industry and many companies are moving their offices here, hence plently of employment opportunities. Ux offers many many attractions to both the young and seniors - the Chimes Shopping Centre attracts many visitors. Ux buzzes with life, lively pubs, clubs and places to eat. Commuting from Ux to London is very easy as the underground is in the centre of Uxbridge and bus station outside the station makes commuting easy. I LOVE LIVING IN UXBRIDGE.

Residentially, the North Uxbridge area is well worth considering, if you have the cash (it's one of the more expensive parts of the town), Hillingdon Hill (Vine Lane) is very sought after and the Victorian and Georgian conservation area properties around "the Greenway" are excellent and are proving to be good investments if you can get them. Look to pay around £175,000 for a good condition mid-terrace Victorian 3 bed place (as at July 2001).

General road connections to the A40, M4 and M25 are excellent but expect to sit in traffic in all of the above, pretty much all of the time. Stockley Park adds a huge amount of traffic around the rush hour times, so avoid that area if you can.

Surrounding areas such as Denham and Iver provide great places to cycle at the weekends if you fancy sitting somewhere quiet with a paper and a pint.

A couple of words of caution about the town, however...
(1) Aircraft noise can be an issue. Although the town in NOT on the main Heathrow flight paths, smaller planes going into the smaller RAF bases seem to fly right over your head. You'll see a lot of double glazing in Uxbridge - now you know why.
(2) The tube into/from London is notoriously unreliable. Expect an hour+ journey to, say, Baker Street on average. Trains out of London to Uxbridge - make sure you get the Met line, if you get the Piccadilly you'll almost certainly have to wait ages for a change at Rayners Lane.
(3) It's a dirty town. They try and keep the town centre clean but the Uxbridge youth don't appear to be known for their intellect or ability to use bins so expect to see rubbish on the streets.
(4) Friday/Saturday nights - Uxbridge has a LOT of pubs and clubs and they attract a huge amount of people from all around the area who are looking for a good night out. Expect to see a lot of very loud and drunk people, and if you're a single woman expect to be hassled by one of the many groups of blokes who seem to hunt in packs. I always feel an underlying sense of tension in the pubs and I've seen more than an average amount of trouble for an area. The recent opening of a strip club right in the centre of town is representative of the type of people who drink there.
(5) Youth - like a lot of greater London suburbs, Uxbridge is prone to the "young men with flash cars" syndrome. Expect to get cut-up if you're driving around outside of the rush hour and you'll have to learn to control your road rage!

Bearing all the above in mind, overall I'd still say it's a nice area (particularly the roads listed above) and is heading in the right direction.

It has several excellent communication links to Central London but is also within touching distance of open countryside. The new Chimes centre has added a much needed shopping mall to the area and several new restaurants and cafes.

Some people are put off Uxbridge by its proximity to Hayes and Hillingdon and its image of a 'squaddy' town. I can assure you that Uxbridge itself, especially North Uxbridge, has far more in common with Ickenham and the South Bucks villages than with its other West London neighbours. Buy now as property prices are flying up: the flat I bought just over a year ago has increased in price by £20,000!

It has a lot of history connected to it; it was where the peace treaty was signed for the English Civil War. It was the main stopping point for those travelling between Oxford and London centuries ago.

It's now home to many students due to the Uxbridge campus of Brunel university.

It's on the rural/urban fringe of London and is surrounded be greenbelt land which offers many walking opportunities, such as the Grand Union Canal and the whole of the Colne valley.

It's only 5 miles from Heathrow airport and about 3 miles to Stockley business park. It has easy access to the M4, M25, A40.

Hope this info is of use to you. By the way, I really like your website.