2 bed house for up to £220k?

[bigfatcreamcake]

Where in England can I buy a two bed house in a good location, nice schools, good shops, amenities, facilities, travel links, friendly people, low crime etc? We're downsizing to go mortgage free for a while...

Maybe narrow it down a bit so you don’t waste people time looking for you?

Just about anywhere except in London or SE.

You'd get somewhere like that if you head down to the South West-especially North Dorset around Gillingham or Shaftesbury or over into Somerset
Beautiful areas, good schools, 2hours from Gillingham in to London Waterloo, very low crime

Would you consider an apartment if a couple of mins walk to parks and outdoor space

Location isn't a factor, thanks

We have dog and cats so may be difficult without small outside space.

Our 5 bed cost less than that in the north east ( doer upper tho)

A 2 bed in the County Durham area would be easily achievable for under 100k if you where happy with a fairly standard terraced house.

What are you classing as good travel links? Train station nearby? or close access to motorways?

Thanks all. Re travel links I mean access to motorways. This would be a bonus.

Try the East Midlands. Loughborough, bits of Leicester or Nottingham. There's also village type places on the M6 like Shepshed and Markfield.

Walton on the naze, would be within walking distance of the beach and pier, shops, pubs, and train station

Not near a motorway though

North East coast/ Newcastle.
This is 3 bed and gorgeous:
Princes Gardens, Monkseaton
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-100918013.html

Northumberland, Newcastle or County Durham.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/66367902#/

We don't live all that far from the houses I'm linking. We travel ( pre covid) down south/London regularly and up into Scotland so we have no issue with transport links, schools arnt perfect but then I think that's getting harder to find most places as great schools seem to be so oversubscribed - I know this isn't everywhere but the places north and south we've lived have formed my opinion of this.

Rowley Bank, Castleside, Consett, DH8
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85064116.html

Front Street, Shotley Bridge, Consett
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-83352997.html

Dene Avenue, Rowlands Gill, NE39
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85855486.html

The first three on the list that I'd happily move into if we needed to downsize.

The search had over 1000 houses - some needed work doing some where houses I personally don't like - new builds or 70s estates so I didn't even click those ones

If you arnt fussy you could have a pick of literally thousands of houses in the northeast for under 220k if your fussy you still will have the pick of hundereds for that budget.

80% of the country surely...... “Nice” and “Good” are incredibly vague.

chepstow/magor -
good access to M4,
couple of hours by car or train to London, less than an hour to Bristol and Cardiff
good access to wye valley/forest of dean/Brecon beacons
good Beaches less than 2 hours away ok beaches less than 1 hour away

There's one up for £180k round the corner from me. We're just off junction 3 of the M5. Brilliant local primaries and in catchment for several good secondary schools.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/96640280#/

West Oxfordshire... (my DD2 is currently buying a 2 bed for that price here). Nice market towns, easy distance to London.. loads of rural space for dog walking!

Thanet

Have a look at Knighton and Enderby in Leicester.

Liverpool you almost certainly could, in some very nice areas too.

Prestwich, Urmston, even Chorlton and Didsbury (all in Greater Manchester)will have a few in that price bracket.

More rural - Ramsbottom, the nicer parts of Huddersfield.

Basically most places outside of the South East

I live in a horrible dump (shit hole from hell) close to the M1 Junction 25. I hate the town I live in, its awful. But I need to stay in this area until my DS is older. I have lived here since I was a child and back then it was a nice, friendly, small market town. Now it's full of crime. We had a stabbing a few weeks ago involving 14 year old children.

But there are some lovely villages in the surrounding areas (Leicestershire/Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire), which are very well served by motorways and good train links, and also some nice countryside on the doorstep. Houses are relatively cheap too.

Obviously all counties have towns that are not as nice or have less good schools and higher crime figures so it is hard to find somewhere to live when you have no idea of what the area is like