Moving to Dorset: Questions People Ask Before They Relocate

If you are thinking about relocating to Dorset, you probably have the same handful of questions we hear from almost every family and couple we move into the county: how the commute works, which towns will suit you, what the schools and broadband are really like, and how hard the move itself will be. We move people into Dorset regularly, from the coast to the villages of the Blackmore Vale, so here are honest answers to the questions that come up most, drawn from what we actually see on the ground.

How far is Dorset from London, and can I commute?

Closer than most people expect, at least from the north of the county. Gillingham and Sherborne both sit on South Western Railway's West of England line, with direct trains to London Waterloo in around two hours and services running roughly every hour, so a two or three day office week is realistic for a lot of people. By car it is usually a couple of hours to the M3, and longer on a Friday afternoon. Check the current timetables for your nearest station, because journey times and frequencies do change.

Is Gillingham a good place to live?

For a lot of the people we move there, yes. Gillingham is a working north Dorset market town rather than a chocolate-box village, which means it has the practical things daily life needs: a supermarket, a railway station, schools and a doctor's surgery, usually at gentler prices than Sherborne or the coast. It sits in the Blackmore Vale with open countryside on its doorstep. Whether it suits you comes down to what you want from a move, but as a base that balances price, amenities and the London line, it earns its place on most shortlists.

Should I look at the market towns or the coast?

It comes down to whether you want the sea or the space. The Dorset coast around Weymouth, Poole and the Purbecks gives you beaches, sailing and a busier, more visited feel, usually at a higher price. Inland, the market towns and villages of north Dorset, places like Shaftesbury, Sherborne and the Blackmore Vale, trade the sea view for quieter lanes, bigger gardens and more house for your money. Plenty of people we move start out set on the coast and end up inland once they have seen both. Our piece on moving to Dorset's villages and rural-lane life covers the inland side in more depth.

What are the schools like in Dorset?

Mixed, and worth checking street by street rather than taking a county-wide view. Dorset has a spread of state primaries and secondaries plus some well-known independent schools, with Sherborne in particular known for its independents. Catchment areas and Ofsted ratings change from year to year, so look up the current position for the specific town or village you are considering before you fix on an address. If a school place is driving the move, sort the catchment first and the house second.

What is the broadband and mobile signal like in rural Dorset?

It varies a lot from village to village, so never assume. Some north Dorset villages have full-fibre broadband now, while others a mile down the road are still on slower connections, and mobile signal can drop away in the deeper valleys. If you work from home, run your prospective postcode through a broadband availability checker and test the mobile coverage on your own network before you commit, rather than trusting a general impression of the area. It is the single thing remote workers most often wish they had checked earlier.

What do people most often get wrong when moving to Dorset?

They underestimate the access. A lot of Dorset homes sit down single-track lanes, behind narrow cottage doorways, or on village streets with nowhere to park a large removal lorry, and that shapes how a move has to be run. We often use a smaller shuttle van to ferry belongings from a big vehicle parked on the nearest firm ground, and we check access at both ends before the day so there are no surprises. If you are buying somewhere rural, measure the doorways and think about where a lorry can actually stop. It is the detail that turns a smooth move into a long one.

When is the best time to move to Dorset?

Any time of year works, but the calendar affects how easy it is to book. Summer is the busiest season for moves, so popular Fridays and month-end dates in July and August go first and are worth booking well ahead. Autumn and winter tend to be quieter and more flexible, and a midweek move is almost always calmer than a Friday. If your dates are fixed by a completion, the earlier you talk to us the better the chance of getting the slot you want.

How do you handle a long-distance move from London to Dorset?

With one crew, start to finish, and a plan for both ends. A move from London into Dorset is as much about the London end as the Dorset one: parking suspensions, permits, flats without lifts and tight city streets all need sorting before the day, and then the same crew that loads you in the city unloads you at the other end, so nothing is handed to a stranger. We plan the route, the access and the timing around your completion date. Tell us where you are moving from and to and we will give you a fixed written quote within the hour. You can see how our long-distance removals work, or get your fixed quote.