Market town vs village

[IggityZiggityZoom]

We are moving out of London and debating whether to live in a village or a market town. DH more inclined to live more rurally. I'm wondering if it will be too big of a jump and we'd be better off with a town. I've only ever lived in cities and am not a Brit. Any opinions?

Oooh I’d love to live in a market town! Unhelpful

A lot depends on where you go, many 'villages' around London are, to me, actually towns. It might help to make a list of things you need (e.g. doctors, chemists, schools, pubs, shops) nearby, versus things you don't mind travelling to (e.g. train station, supermarket, bank, restaurants), and use that to as your criteria.

We went from a city to a village, hated it but lasted six years before I said we're moving didn't actually give my husband a choice
We nowlive in a market town and we are all much happier.

We move from London to a village. I wish we had chosen a market town instead.

Not all market towns are the same.
We live semi rurally on the outskirt of a very small market town ( it would be a big village if it hadn't been given a market charter 100s of years ago).
We love it here.
Previously lived in a bigger market town and it was awful: none of the advantages of town or county living and very insular without a community focus.

As PPs have said, a lot depends on size. My village is tiny, no shop, no pub, no community hub and no public transport.You could live in a village where you have all those things, however. Some villages have all these things, but you cannot park next to your own house!

You need to think about things like do you need to be able to walk to the shop, school etc. Nearest doctors surgery, nearest big town, nearest railway station. Decide what are your must have features and take it from there.

I'd say a small market town. The shock of village life could be a bit too much leaving London.

Consider what you need. Would you like schools, restaurants, cafes, pubs, church, dentist, post office, etc, close by, or are you happy travelling to them? If you do find a village you like, spend some time there, during the day when there's nothing on. Villages can be very, very quiet.

I come from a village, but live on the outskirts of a small town now and definitely prefer the town.

How old are your children? (If you have any). Villages can be lovely for small children but lack much appeal for teenagers. A market town may have more going on.

Somewhere where you are not reliant on a car.Transport is vital.If you have kept ds is school walkable,is there a school bus?How much of a commute is it to jobs?
Having said that this is the ideal time to look around because if you love a rural place in winter you will be ok.

Forgot to say if you are a SAH mum then you get the final say,small places can be very isolating.

I am very happy in my East Midlands Market town. There is good public Transport (though not cheap) and most things can be accessed by bike/bus but also not too difficult by car.
There are enough groups (guides/scouts/sports/dance/music and all that) for my DC to have a choice, and also for adults to have hobbies. The selection for shopping, banks etc is fine and the nearest cities are about 30 mins away if needed.

I know the surrounding villages have fewer amenities (esp banks & post offices) and bus services are good to only a few. Property is also more expensive in the villages.

I live in an 8000-population market town, having previously lived in bigger towns and cities (including London when I was younger). I find it a little small for my liking, but it's a lot better than being in a village. DH used to live in a village before we met, and finds our current town to be a good compromise (he prefers rural living over being in a city).

Our supermarkets are a bit too small for my needs, and we don't have a great range of clothes shops, but we're only 20-30 minutes from bigger towns and cities, so I can do my proper shopping there. We shop within the town most weeks and go somewhere bigger once or twice a month.

Love living in a market town. We can walk to all the facilities we need and bigger towns are only 30-45 minutes away. I couldn't cope with having to get in the car everytime I needed to shop/visit school/ swim/see a film/go to the GP. It's wonderful.

We have two small children both under 6. One is likely to go private all the way through and the other we will give the option of private at secondary.

DH thinks the market towns aren't that naice and a bit rough round the edges. He also thinks we won't get s big enough garden to justify having left the city. We have two big dogs and like to do a lot walking. Being able to walk a shop to get bits and pieces would be good. I tend to do the weekly shop online anyway. I feel like I'm poorly positioned to judge the feel of these places.

Market town without a doubt

Depends how you feel about leaving London. I was born and went to school in London, when it was a lot less diverse than it is now. Over the years I have lived in town and country in various areas, and have spent the last few decades in a Midland city. I now find that when I visit relatives in a small town the overwhelming 'whiteness' of it feels wrong.

We moved to a village. Don't do it. Counting down the 2.5 years we have left before we can move back to the city.

Market town.
Look at

• Petersfield
• Alton
• Shaftesbury
• Marlborough
• Haywards Heath

I grew up in a village, I currently live on the edge of a city. I love all the convenience of where I now live. We have a choice of doctors, a good hospital, a good choice of supermarkets and other shops. DH loves his DIY and his favourite shop is B & Q. He'd be bereft if he had to drive miles to get to one.

A village sounds idyllic but the reality is different. Teenagers in particular have nothing to do in a village.

My choice would be a market town.

I was born and brought up in a village then we moved to a market town when I was teenager.

I loved it and I love visiting my family who are living back near the village I grew up in. However I couldn't live there. I need to be near stuff. Plus villages can be very insular. It's fun hearing all the gossip and fallings out from my parents but I'm not sure I'd like it if I were living there.

Like people have said do you want to be able to walk to places and amenities or be prepared to drive if you run out of milk?

Market town for me but tbh though I was born a countrysider I'd choose city living any day and wish we'd never left London (now in a boring non-market, commuter town)

It depends on the towns and the villages tbh - I live in a very small town (2km edge to edge) but it has shops, gym, community theatre/cinema, takeaways etc and love it. You can walk everywhere, its very friendly, but without being claustrophobic
I wouldn't want to live in a village where I had to drive to get to everything, and the kids can't just take themselves to the swimming pool or shops

Perhaps you should consider renting for a while, before committing yourselves to buying a place. It's not until you've experienced rural living that you can really get a feel for the ups and downs.

Seems opinion comes down firmly on the side of town. No one willing to convince of why a village is best? We got DS's class list and they all live in villages....

They may all live in villages but do they like it?