? where to move from birmingham

I can comment well having lived all over London and Brighton too. Can confirm Worthing is a great place if you want:
-A lovely quiet beach-
Beautiful countryside and walking nearby-
Friendly community, quite diverse and queer friendly
-Very good cafes restaurants pubs and bars (both traditional and also natural wines bars and small plates etc, craft breweries for a bit of pizazz)
-Two great cinemas and theatres
-Good schools
-Leafy parks
-Decent town centre with walkable shops
-Three train stations(!) and an easy enough commute straight to Victoria/East Croydon/Clapham
-Decent parking (especially compared to Brighton)
-And affordable homes! I bought my three bedroom house in a good area for only 30k more than my one bedroom flat in Brighton-For us it's been a no brainer and we love it, we're in our 30s and lots of our friends are following suit.
-Best areas: Check it out in person. Personally we're near the station on a leafy nice street, Tarring (West) is also desirable. But the best way to ascertain is to go and walk around

@boredofbirmigham

This would be in your price range in Shrewsbury:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152721878#/?channel=RES_BUY

Yes, best to start a new thread with Liverpool in the title.

Life long Brummie here who moved to Shrewsbury 4 years ago. Hands down best move I ever made. Pinch myself everyday that I live somewhere so lovely.

You don’t want a shared ownership in Stratford. None of them are anywhere near town: and everyone just gets stuck there. But it also seems a bizarre place to consider if you want a city feeling. I convinced DH to move here for four years ago because I loved it in my 20s, but it’s a little tourist town now. Nothing happens after 6pm, the traffic is horrific and only getting worse; and the shops are all closing down. Next is closing soon and I’m not sure it’ll have any clothes shops other than the White Company and TK Maxx once that has gone. Your children will also be pretty stuck.

Liverpool is one of our options, we’re quite bored here; much as it’s a gorgeous town and I love it. We spent two months there in the summer; and while people also told us to look out for the rough bits; we didn’t come across any. The shopping centres are great; there’s always things on and the people were lovely. It feels like it’s got a lot of potential for a family.

I do think you need narrow down what you want and then go and visit the places; though. Stratford is lovely to visit but doesn’t meet any of your other requirements. Liverpool probably does but isn’t at all like Stratford. Birmingham seems to meet your requirements but you don’t like it despite renting in a nicer area - Edgbaston way? I’d be looking at around there/Harbourne etc if I was looking in Brum, but I’m not sure what your budget would stretch too.

Take a look at Wirral towns, very easy to get to Liverpool or Chester and Manchester isn't far, but near countryside and of course the sea.

Example
3 bedroom terraced house for sale in Gilroy Road, West Kirby, Wirral, CH48

Do you not need to consider the your daughters college course or will she have finished when you move?

Same with your sons school.

It's going to be a big upheaval for them.

I live in the east midlands and you can easily get a 3 bed for less than that where I am, albeit not one of the desirable areas.

I'd look at Liverpool OP, it's my favourite city in the UK.

I lived near Exeter for a time and didn't like it personally, a lot of backwards attitudes in that part of the country. This was in 2006 though so it may have changed.

Yeah don’t go to Kidderminster!

Try some searches on rightmove and see where you might get a decent house for your budget, then visit those cities and see if you like them?

Cardiff is great but expensive. Have you looked at cities further north? Newcastle maybe, Leeds?

You would struggle to get a bed sit for that in Bristol, but could probably buy a whole house in Plymouth.

This is a great idea. Unfortunately that budget doesn't really get you a house in the nicer bits of Birmingham, so I can see why you would not like it, but Worcester could be a good shout, or somewhere like Kidderminster?

Kidderminster is a shithole. I'm assuming the OP wants a big city since she loves London, and there's bugger all in Kidderminster. I do like Worcester but still might be a bit small compared to what OP is used to.

Your budget isn’t going to get you what you want. I live in the midlands (not a city) in an ok town and that budget would get you a 3 bed terrace/semi in one of the nicer bits of town at a push. You aren’t going to get much in Ely/Bristol/Cambridge

What's a dim area?

How old are your kids?

Where in Birmingham did you live? How important is a city centre, given you've wrote off Birmingham because of its centre?

A lot of seaside towns are run down and are completely different in winter compared to summer. Again, seaside town budgets for a decent centre would probably need to be more than you've got

We’ve got a two bed in Stratford upon Avon and it cost us a good £100k over your budget three years ago. You’d be looking at a one bed flat or a house that needs some decent work for £275k, and it’d probably be quite far from town. It also doesn’t meet your want for a town feel at all… especially at the moment. We’ve lost three restaurants this week, and rumours are that the two remaining clothes shops are closing down.

I’d go north with that budget. Liverpool is lovely. Could you visit again for longer if you’re unsure?

Norwich...loads of culture, half an hour ish from the beach and Norfolk broads

£270 000 will get you somewhere nice in a Derby suburb. Mickleover has been voted one of the most pleasant and places to live in the UK (house prices vs average wages) Near a decent city but a real community feel. Example house for budget

The issue, as many have said is with that budget, and with presumably needing a 3 bed house, you will be restricted to some areas and not able to afford the 'best' areas, and that will be the same wherever you go.

That said, there are plenty of 'nice enough' areas of Birmingham you could get a 3 bad for less than that.

Chester? Though you won't get a Palace on that budget. Depends what you want for your money. Lancaster maybe? Not far from the coast.

Shrewsbury?

If you work in Birmingham try Lichfield? Though you'd be looking at quite a modest house for that budget. But probably more realistic than Stratford.

This is a great idea. Unfortunately that budget doesn't really get you a house in the nicer bits of Birmingham, so I can see why you would not like it, but Worcester could be a good shout, or somewhere like Kidderminster?

Norwich?

Worcester? Small cathedral city with a river. It's not far from Birmingham so you could easily suss out if it has your ' vibe' before making a commitment.