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Boston lincs....really that bad?

174 replies

mklanch · 14/07/2020 13:16

hi all, i have been on my house search for over a year now!
we have a budget of £325k (possibly 350k for perfect property)
we want a house/bungalow with around 1 acre of land to continue my small holding.(more that 1 acre would be a dream) we don't have an area preference and are willing to relocate as my husband works from home.
we have 2 children (11 and 8) so schools must be good.
we cant find anything! every time we see something we like it sells or they are not willing to accept offers.
so i have seen a few houses in boston, lincolnshire that seem perfect but having had a look through a few previous forums on here i get the impression its not a great area, nothing to do and smells of cabbage!
can anyone give me either advice on boston or advice on other areas that are nice where we can get what we want on our budget.
(husband has said no to rural wales, scotland and yorkshire)
thank you :)

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 13:17

i should add we want min 3 bedrooms (as we dont want to have to move again if we decide to add more children)

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NotMeNoNo · 14/07/2020 15:04

I'd look in Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire. Parts of those areas are cheap but much less remote. Have you looked at auction properties?

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Snailsetssail · 14/07/2020 15:09

Yes Boston is pretty bad. Lincolnshire is such a huge county and actually quite deprived. Hospitals are poor because they can’t get good consultants to locate there. Job opportunities aren’t good, access to further education not great.

I would look more Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border.

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clary · 14/07/2020 15:13

I'm from a village near Boston and I would say no. There is no way on God's earth I will ever move back to S lincs. Being a, teen there was grim.

There is a good reason houses are cheap - it is isolated, under resourced, there's nothing to do and it's not even pretty.

In addition Boston itself is notorious for being right wing and narrow minded (apols to anyone living there who isn't) massive vote in favour of Brexit, huge vote for any Tory that stands.

Sorry op. Agree that parts of East Mids may be affordable and certainly nicer. Or south yorks? Or does that count as Yorkshire?

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Frazzled2207 · 14/07/2020 15:16

All I know about Boston is that it’s very right wing/ pro-Brexit and that would put me right off even if it was nice.

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:09

oh lol it is as bad as I've heard then.
there is a house ive seen in marshchapel that we liked, is that area bad to?

i like norfolk/cambridge/suffolk/nottinghamshire areas.

but cant seem to find much for my budget.

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lakesidesummer · 14/07/2020 16:14

I did some child protection stuff in the area, it did seem a little strange.
I liked the slightly desolate emptiness but I wouldn't bring dc up there.

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atotalshambles · 14/07/2020 16:16

I grew up in Lincolnshire. My parents still live there and parts of it are really lovely. It has great schools and you can buy a large detached house for a studio flat in London. Boston used to be lovely ( but a bit isolated) but I hear is not as nice as it was. I would look at towns like Stamford or Louth which are quite big and have more going on. I hated it growing up as it was so isolated but it has changed quite a lot and I actually quite like it now ( less insular). So maybe Lincolnshire ( but not Boston atm)

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:17

is spalding just as bad as boston?

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:18

there was a house in utterby i really liked but it was next to a busy main road and they removed it from the market after it not selling for over a year.

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Catty15 · 14/07/2020 16:38

I live in Boston, moved here from the South East many years ago for the cheap housing.
I would not recommend anyone moving here for many reasons.
It is a very deprived town , there are very few decent shops, mainly charity shops or easten European food shops.
The town has a depressed air about it I think, there are lots of problems with the huge influx of Eastern europeans over the last 15 years. There is not much integration and lots of resentment from the locals.
Very insular population, not much aspiration to improve things.
I don't think spalding is much better than.
I like Lincoln though, main line to London is open now, plenty of restaurants etc, not sure about schools there though.
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have Smile

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Soubriquet · 14/07/2020 16:41

Yes...

It’s a shithole

The hospital isn’t brilliant either.

I actually get referrals to Peterborough instead of Boston for any hospital appointments

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TheMandalorian · 14/07/2020 16:47

Um no. I would not recommend east anglia as a place to live. There is a reason the houses are cheap. What are you going to do to earn a living?

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:47

im currently in bedfordshire so it would be a big move...i dont want to mess ours and our kids future up by moving somewhere rubbish.
i plan to start my business from my smallholding so definitely need some land .
we really likes a house in tydd st mary but missed out!
my husband prefers the cambridge/norfolk area but i cant see us getting what we need in our budget.

what do you think of this house?
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63700350.html

its been on for over a year and they dont seem to be too keen to budge on price but in my opinion the house is nothing special. the land however is perfect. the estate agent its on with are rubbish. they dont reply to any of my enquires

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:48

currently i breed fancy breed chickens and will continue this on a larger scale. also market garden etc.
we will also supply our own family with food from our land .

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Soubriquet · 14/07/2020 16:49

Beautiful house

But Tydd Gote is quite a dead place. Very quiet and not much there

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:51

i dont mind being a short drive away from things. i just want to make sure the people are nice and the area is nice(ish)

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:52

i do like the house i think its pretty but needs some updates

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:54

this house came on today

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71850213.html

however i have no idea about the area as ive never heard of it

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Soubriquet · 14/07/2020 16:54

I used to know someone in Tydd Gote and she was keen to get out of there because it was isolated

But if you’re happy for that, then perhaps it’s a gold placed for you

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mklanch · 14/07/2020 16:58

most of out time would be spent at home as my husband works from home and i would be plodding about on my land doing something...(at least thats the dream)
the village we live in now it a bit out of the way. hardly any food places deliver to our village, but i dont mind that to much

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LordOftheRingz · 14/07/2020 16:59

Wisbech is your local town and it is grim, and the schools are grim. Secondary is a huge problem in the area, Wisbech has a grammar, but I think it is very competitive to get into.

Also property on the fens all suffer with subsidence to some degree or other. The A47 the main road to that area is a very dangerous and slow road most of the time.

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LordOftheRingz · 14/07/2020 17:01

I think you are getting overexcited by property prices, there are very good reasons for that. You should visit the areas on a wet cold day.

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lakesidesummer · 14/07/2020 17:03

Your dc are going to need run everywhere if you aren't careful.
As they get older the runs get later.
From memory I think that part of the world has a high instance of teenage car accidents due to location issues.
I would also consider current substance misuse levels, I don't know what they are now but were high in the past. I think due to boredom.

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Sarahlou63 · 14/07/2020 17:09

Grew up between Spalding and Boston. Both are shitholes. Don't do it. Grantham is OK, Stamford is lovely but much more expensive.

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