Help me find a place to live

[BBBear]

I thought I'd use the collective wisdom of Mumsnet to find my ideal place to live....

My criteria:

lots of outdoorsy things to do (walks, cycling, etc.)

lots of city things to do (galleries, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.)

and if I live in the city I want to be able to bike to the country, and vice versa, which leads to...

I would like to be able to use a bike as my main form of transport

Somewhere quite creative - I write and feel like I'm out of creative things living in the suburbs

4 bed house for £600k

OR 2 bed flat for £400k (this would be the retirement option)

Kids will be flying the nest sometime in the next 10 years so we could wait until then to go for the retirement option.

DH works in London (I can work anywhere) so if we can keep it commutable, that would be great, if not we'll look at the retirement option or he could stay in London a couple of nights a week.

I'm also willing to look at moving abroad!

We currently live in the South East. Easy commute to London, but that's the only thing it's got going for it!

Oh I was going to say bearsden (a naice suburb of Glasgow) would be perfect but then saw you have to be near London.

East Midlands is significantly cheaper than London for houses but you need to factor in commuting costs of £10K a year to London (one hour on fast train from ours). I'm 15 mins on my bike from city centre and a similar time to countryside, lots of independent cafes, restaurants etc in walking distance and city centre has all the normal amenities.

It's such personal choice, but £600 would get a 4 bed detached in the nicest neighbourhood here in the city, the nicer villages may be out of budget.

kent or sussex ?

What dont you like about South East? I would assume Kent would be perfect for you, with both London and countryside on your doorstep.
Canterbury?

@kaytee87 we lived in Glasgow years ago for work and loved it. DH loves the highlands and we still go every couple of years. It's definitely on my list (DH can commute!)

@OnlyFoolsnMothers I like the South East, it's just knowing where to go - where I live now doesn't really fit the criteria, it's just somewhere we ended up for easy commuting, but is a very expensive place to live.

@stucknoue can you give me the name of any towns or villages you'd recommend? Totally understand if you don't want to tell everyone where you live though!

Edinburgh. Particularly the east side, Portobello is full of creative types. And it's no distance to east Lothian and all the beautiful countryside

Tring in Hertfordshire

I'm planning a trip to Edinburgh this summer so will take a look - despite living in Glasgow I've only been to Edinburgh once!

Cambridge would tick all the boxes except perhaps the budget, which is rather important!

Bristol or York?

Retirement option - South Wales, Gower. Ticks all your boxes.

It's such personal choice, but £600 would get a 4 bed detached in the nicest neighbourhood here in the city

Ok, I'm moving! That's a months rent here

I liked York, but it seemed a bit touristy (I was there as a tourist though, so might have only seen it through those eyes).

I haven't been to Bristol, but have heard a lot of good things about it.

Bournemouth poole Christchurch Dorset

West Sussex.

Chichester has galleries etc and there are plenty of museums in the area. The coast and sailing are nearby, South Downs easily accessible. Loads and loads of cycle tracks and footpaths.

Coffee shops galore, gyms, exercise classes, Brighton bear enough for the creative stuff, Gunwharf Quays and Southampton for shopping, as well as other smaller shopping centres.

You’d certainly get a four bed detached house for £600K in the area. Frequent trains to London.

Sheffield is great for outdoors things, can just nip into the peaks on the bike etc - not sure it's commutable though

If it's got to be commutable to London. I'd look at Walton on Thames in Surrey or Sevenoaks in Kent.
Otherwise - Newcastle on Tyne - really arty, great theatre and literary scene, gorgeous beaches and countryside nearby. Jesmond Dene for weekend strolls ( city centre park with waterfalls, ruins, river), lots of back lanes to safely cycle in.

Come to Milton Keynes. Literally everything you want on your doorstep. Big arts scene. 30-50 minutes into London. Cycle paths all over the city. Lots of countryside to cycle in at weekends. 4 or 5 bed house in nice area easy for £600k.

Outskirts of Brighton springs to mind - Rottingdean is a pretty village by sea, 10 minutes drive to centre of city, near south downs, commute from london. What's not to like? 😎

Sevenoaks Canterbury Brighton

Sheffield- the city extends into the Peak District. Loads of outdoory people so well geared up for cycle as main form of transport. Big enough city to have a good cultural scene.

@Myyearmytime I love Bournemouth and Poole but I don't know if they've got the city vibe I'm after - I haven't been for a few years though. I think they were doing some development down by Bournemouth pier a while back - has much changed?

Norwich and/or its surrounding villages. Train from Norwich to Liverpool Street Station.

Bournemouth denfinly has that city vibe
There massive cinema in town with all the chain places to eat .
All sorts of bands play here And shows
And Mayflower in Southampton get the shows bigger ones .
Shops well they are going down everywhere.
Pubs everwhere . In town for young and charmister for a bit older
Westbourne for trendy.
Southbourne is getting trendy
Abd Christchurch for rich and trendy .
Then futher out new forest.
Lots of coffees shops everywhere
Loads of gyms
And the beach and boating stuff.
Everything really.
Not sure what kind if city vibe you want .
But i think Bournemouth has it.

Another suggestion for Milton Keynes