Best UK city/large town by the sea?

[pepperontoast]

Looking for recommendations please as to the best affordable area in uk, near the sea with lots to do, plenty of shops, good schools, transport links and not too far to spend time in lovely countryside? Bonus if it's warmer....

@cheeseismydownfall I guess it’s horses for courses, we lived there for 3 years and loved it. Although, we lived outside the “town centre” which I agree is not the best for shopping/atmosphere and spent most of our time in Southbourne, Westbourne or the beach

I live in Liverpool, apart from warm it meets all of those criteria in my opinion !

Newcastle, of course! Not right by the sea but as good as.

@cheeseismydownfall I agree with what you say about Poole. I dont agree about Bournemouth however. We also visit fairly reguarly and always find loads of places to eat out and stuff to do.

Bournemouth used to be lovely. I don’t know what’s happened to it but it is really scruffy now.

Plymouth? Surrounded by Dartmoor and Cornwall.

I love Brighton but it's very expensive.

I used to live in Swansea. It's a great place to live and has plenty of affordable spots. It's small for a city (which I liked) but loads to do and the beautiful Gower coast is just on the doorstep.

@tigerbear Those houses are all gorgeous and less than I could sell my pokey one bedroom flat for

Wonder how DP would feel about a move up there from down here as far south as we can possibly be?

@HowFastIsTooFast I know, they’re lovely aren’t they! So sad that I can’t move back there for at least 9 years, due to having shared custody of DD with my ex in London.
It makes me weep that I’d need to spend more than a million to get a similar calibre of house in the area I live now :-(

It's not warmer, but a huge advocate for Newcastle here. 20 mins from city centre to beautiful beaches, 20 minutes the other way to gorgeous countryside, affordable and friendly.

tigerbear they are gorgeous and I am so jealous as to what you can get for your money compared to London. Every time I visit I wonder about moving back......

I’d go for Mumbles or Brighton but the “affordability” thing might be a deal-breaker.

Newcastle. For 300k you could get a beautiful house at the coast. Great places to eat in Tynemouth and loads of nice new cafes whitley bay. Beautiful yoga studios. Great schools. Very nice people! And the beach is so clean

Liverpool?

Hull, you could buy a huge 5 bed for that budget up here! You have the lovely coast line with Withernsea, Hornsea, Scarborough etc within an hour, direct train to London in 2 1/2 hours, the rest of Yorkshire on your door step and a ferry to Amsterdam

Brighton :)

Good schools (at primary level, more mixed secondarys), lots of parks as well as the beach, can commute to London.

Houses are expensive though.

Near Bristol you can buy reasonably near the coast (technically North Somerset) £300k buys you a 3 bed semi

I would happily live in Southsea (Portsmouth). Lovely long stretch of (pebbly) beach, easy to get to the IoW and South downs, and plenty of history and good restaurants and arts stuff.

I loved growing up on the Gower so the Mumbles for me - you'd get a 2 bed fisherman's cottage or possibly a three bed modern house on the edge for your budget.

Portsmouth is pricier and you really want to be in Old Portsmouth or Southsea if you want to be in the thick of it so you might struggle. If you don't mind being a couple of miles from the action then Milton - still by the sea front but the east end - would be affordable.

Both areas can be quite studenty though.

I love the Northumberland coast but it is colder and Berwick might not be big enough for you.