Where would you buy a house if this was your criteria?

[location2021]

I need a real life Kirstie & Phil style intervention...

This time next year I should be in a position to leave London and could pretty much move anywhere in the UK (no significant family ties, no kids, self employed with work that isn't tied to a location). Currently live on the outskirts of London near a hugely polluted high street and high crime rates but overpriced housing... Main motivation for moving is to buy mortgage free somewhere quieter/cleaner/safer. I'm in my 40s so this is potentially a "forever home" at least for the next 20 years or so (I've moved a lot in the past 20 years and just want to settle down).

Especially interested in hearing about smaller places I may not have thought about?

Criteria:

• definitely a freehold house
• budget in the region of £200k-260k (have budgeted extra for moving costs, stamp duty etc. already so this is the price tag on the house itself)
• 3 bedrooms or 2 beds/2 receptions (to have workspace/office at home); ideally a semi or detached (although currently live in a terraced house and it's fine)
• not rural/isolated but not right in the centre either - an ordinary nice neighbourhood with basic amenities within walking distance would suit me perfectly
• open to considering different styles of houses from period property to new build

Other things I'd love to have:

• culturally diverse/open minded area (I'm not British although have lived here for nearly 20 years)
• no more than 3-4 hours on the train to London for the occasional (but rare) trip here for work or to see friends
• close to green space/nature or potentially a seaside location
• would love to be in an area with a creative/arts community or somewhere with thriving small businesses but this is not essential

Currently Nottingham is very high up on my list but have also considered the areas around Southport, Ormskirk and Preston. Yorkshire is also a possibility although I'm concerned about the flood risk areas of course. In the other direction, somewhere on the Kent coast? Not sure it's worth me paying the premium house prices to be in the commuter belt though as I'm definitely not going to be commuting...

Leeds is fab. Just over 2 hours on the train to London. Awesome shopping, plenty of foodie treats, great bars and the beautiful Yorkshire Dales on your doorstep. 250k in the right area will get you a 3 bed freehold house but a nice area with amenities - shops, bars etc.

Bristol fits your criteria

200k-250k isn't a lot for a nice suburb of Leeds. It's a one bedroom flat in Chapel Allerton.

There are cheaper areas of Yorkshire and of course flooding is not widespread.

I live in South Manchester, which people have been recommending. It does tick some of your boxes but it is quite a polluted area on the whole. We live here because we commute into Manchester, but if that wasn't the case, I've always fancied living in Llandudno. Nice little town with arty stuff going on. You would get a nice house there for your money.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86028803.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-77585275.html
240k 3 bed in chapel allerton.
Needs a bit of vision but not a wreck by any means.

The difference in house prices is crazy! You could get a 4 bedroom detached new build house for just under 260k here.

Cardiff or Sheffield.

Leeds, York, Durham, Newcastle

Coast outside of Newcastle. O.d fishing village, Cullercoats. It's pretty but a proper place, great walks, own station with metro every 10 mins to Newcastle. Between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay- both very nice. Has beautiful bay and beach.
Here is an example.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-68493753.html

Or this in Whitley Bay
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-75258655.html

Or this - about 100m from the seafront in Whitley Bay in really a nice area.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-84311534.html

I just tried LS6 and LS16 (good Leeds postcodes) in Rightmove for that budget, and there's very little for sale. Of those that are for sale, there's nothing you'd want to move cities for...

I don't have any suggestions but what a lovely position to be in! I'm tied to my area because of schools and ageing parents but would love to be able to find somewhere beautiful to live anywhere in the country that took my fancy. Lots of luck!

I love Hebden Bridge.

But ds has been visiting friends around the U.K. and he is telling me to move to Bristol. 🤷‍♀️

Apparently, it's just liveable, vibrant, and a concentrated dose of everything you might want in order to pour colour and joy into your life.

It's amusing because I don't want to move anywhere!

Anyway, I just thought I'd pass it on.

And, yes, Rockbied is right: what a great position to be in. 🙂

South East for that sort of money you’re looking at the sort of house you want, but absolutely likely to be terraced or v v v small BUT in a shitty area
Lovely town, the rental area or more densely populated area
Somewhere way more North would get you the same sort of house but in a much much nicer area of the town or village. And I’d go that way and aim on semi or detached. Terraced might be fine now but you get a shit neighbour and you’ve had it

I live in Leeds but never go to the Yorkshire Dales as you have to drive through ilkley to get there which takes about 400 years. If I want countryside I go to the peaks which are an hour or so down the M1 or the north York moors which are an hour up the A1.

Bristol is over your budget unfortunately.

West Yorkshire!

I came on to say Waterloo/Crosby in Liverpool but someone beat me to it. You've got a community cinema, The Plaza, which just won a Bafta. Heaps of independent shops and restaurants and bakers and butchers and chandlers and greengrocers. And cobblers. And these micro pubs and micro breweries, much to my surprise. Beer festivals, dog shows, philosophy and walking societies. The beach with the Iron Men. Decent houses and architecture (georgian/victorian Marine Gardens are lovely). A library! Sailing, choirs, arts, sewing, music, bands, all the decent stuff. Not too dear and an hour from (serious) countryside/Wales all round (1 hour to Lancaster/Manchester if you fancy it!). National Trust forest and red squirrels at Formby. You're 20 mins on a bike to normal countryside and the Lancashire plain (Cheshire Lines anyone?). Trains to Liverpool/Southport. Loads of galleries/museums in Liverpool. 2.5 hours to London. It's great. We have Park Run on the beach too!

@LoonyLunaLoo yes I do. I think you're being a bit dramatic about the train. OP wants to go to London a few times a year, a taxi to Lancaster station is around £10 or a 15 minute drive. It's 5 minutes to the park and ride.

OP rated nature highly and being next to the sea trumps being next to Lancaster station for me! There's also a good creative community in Heysham and Morecambe and OP could get an amazing house in an improving area. Eden North will be a huge boost on top of all the other improvements.

I don't know where OP is originally from but you are wrong to say there is "zero" cultural diversity here. Many families here are originally from other countries, my kids class has children from Poland, India and France. Not to mention the large population of travellers here (looking at you Tyson)!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I'm going to be looking them all up on Zoopla/Righmove.

And yes, totally agree that this is a nice problem to have for the most part. I made a big move in my 20s (when I moved to the UK) but it feels a lot harder now - so much choice is not making it easy! It does mean starting over to a great extent and I'd love to be somewhere with a reasonably welcoming community... I almost wish I had someone like the TV property show people find me somewhere and I wouldn't have to do all the hard work and research. Just trying to keep in mind nowhere is perfect as well - even in my current home, I don't like the area but neighbours each side are the quietest neighbours I've ever had, couldn't ask for better in that respect.

Let us know how it goes!

With your budget & criteria, I'd say south of Manchester and north of Chester!

Cardiff