If you could live anywhere in the UK, would you stay where you are?

[IHateThinkingUpANewUsername]

Essentially just that. But if you are interested, some background below:

My husband has a new job which is wfh (not just covid) with odd travel into the office. ‘The office’ can be any of the company offices in the country though, as in, he can pick, not that they could call him into Newcastle if we lived in Brighton. There are offices relatively all over the UK. I’m currently a SAHM with no career ties to our current area.
We met at uni, got married and settled in an area that was relatively close to both of our parents. Well, they’ve all fucked off in different directions with retirement.
We think we are happy where we are and don’t have a massive budget as we’d be borrowing on one salary, so maybe £300k?
We could get a nice semi or a bit of a shit detached where we are now.

Why don't you go onto rightmove and see what you can get elsewhere?

Think about schools for DC and quality of life etc. Or look at the areas around where the offices are, within say a 50 mile radius. Use that as a starting point and go from there.

Make a list of what is important, ie. bus route, garage, detached, walking distance to shops etc.

Good luck.

FWIW I live DL11 postcode, but DL10, DL12, DL2 postcodes are all areas I would live. Have a look, you can get a decent house in a lovely area for under £300k!

I would stay where I am simply because I have family close by and the kids are settled in school. In your situation I think it depends on the ties you do have to the area like close friendships etc plus how nice the area is to raise kids in.

I’d be off somewhere near the beach if I could

I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you saying you want to move because you feel you should, or are you looking for suggestions about where to move to make the most of your budget?

I like where we are (outskirts of Leeds) and I'm not sure what I'd gain from moving. We have good access to nearly everything from big cities to real upland wilderness within well under an hour, affordable house prices, green belt and decent walks from the doorstep, lots of culture, city and country parks, good food options, decent range of shops, fast train to London that makes it an easy day trip should I really want to.

I love where we are in Merseyside and you could get a nice house for your budget here. We're near beaches and countryside walks, convenient for weekends away in the lake District and can go into Liverpool for museums, theatre and shopping.

We have tried searching on rightmove but we don’t really know where to look and it’s difficult to know if an area is cheap because it’s a cheaper part of the country or because that local area is known to be dodgy. I could look at some houses round here and think they are an absolute steal but I know they aren’t because despite being 5 miles from our house it isn’t a nice area.
I think we like it here but it’s difficult to say because most of our local friends are people we’ve met through having children which feels a bit transient (will we still see them in 10 years once the kids are more independent?). Uni and school friends are dotted around the country.
It feels like there’s nothing making us stay and nothing pulling us away.
Kids haven’t started school yet (baby and 2.5) but it’s obviously about to become important! School across the road isn’t great, but there’s another excellent primary locally which we shouldn’t have any trouble getting them into. From seeing threads on here I wouldn’t want to move to a grammar area - these seem quite London-centric anyway which we’d avoid due to house prices.

I don’t really know what I’m asking, or if I am! This is chat to be fair

Maybe seeing if other people have a strong connection to where they live or not? If you didn’t have to, would you stay in your area? Do you LOVE where you live and can’t understand why everyone doesn’t live there?

What an exciting opportunity! I think a lot of people would love to relocate but can’t because of family ties etc. I guess it depends on what kind of family you are - outdoorsy, city people etc?

If I could I would relocate to the Peak District - I just love it and feel a connection with it (cheesy I know). But I’m in the process of moving at the moment and very happy with our new choice of location, which has a good balance of family/friends and what we want from life.

The pull of family and friends is high for me. I do love where I live but there are lots of places I would love to live and could be quite happy in. For example I love parts of Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria and I reckon the Peak District and Wales would do it too. Anywhere with good access to wilder land.

I loathe cities but it’s horses for courses

OP what do you like about where you live?

I’d bugger off to the countryside! So long as the WiFi is good. Cumbria, Yorkshire, Wales etc.

Just need to consider if you think you’ll want to go back to work in the next decade or so and how close to any career opportunities you want to be for yourself. Especially if DC need to travel to get to school.

I live in Brighton and love it, I grew up here and my parents and brother live here.

It is expensive though and our budget (similar to yours) only stretches to a 2 bed flat or maybe a terrace that needs a lot of work on it.

If I didn't rely on DM so much for childcare I also like Shoreham and Burgess Hill...I'm not that adventurous, I think I'd always stick with Sussex in the UK.

For the most part I wouldn’t move, no - I really do love where I live and we have close family ties. We also haven’t been here long, and as circumstances change over the next few years we may choose to move less rurally. Our issue however is that where we live is much cheaper than other comparatively ‘naice’ areas and any move would mean compromises - we couldn’t have as nice a property in other areas we’d like to live.

Can you imagine staying where you are for the next 20 odd years? Once DC are in school things do get far more complex when it comes to moving. Do you see yourself going back to work in the (nearish) futures - would you need to consider job markets for you then?

I don't live in the UK any more, but I miss the sea, so in an ideal world I'd like to live within walking distance of the sea, ideally not a popular dog walking beach as millions of barking off lead dogs everywhere spoil the coast for me (needn't be a beach at all) - perhaps somewhere with wild terrain less attractive to dog walkers and large numbers of daytrippers - but on a hill away from eroding cliffs and flood plains!

I'd like to be able to walk to a few shops and cafes and a train station of the type unlikely to be closed down!

Our kids are teens so independence fpr them would be top priority if moving now - walkable to school and public transport to places with universities and a healthy job market in case they wanted / needed to stay at home for a few years after school (but not so attractive they'll still be living at home past 25 - so no ensuite rooms/ teen studio flatlet set ups for the kids or anything ).

Write a list of your unrealistic ideal location's key features and share it - maybe someone knows where that place really is!

I like living where we are now (we moved here from abroad over a decade ago and it's the only place we've ever lived in the U.K.) but I cannot shake the feeling that I'd be missing out on so much more if we didn't try living somewhere else at some point. Haven't a clue where though. The only other part of the U.K. I'm really familiar with is London and we'd never afford it. The problem is, I really like cities, so I'd never want to live anywhere rural or inaccessible.

No!

I would move to a lovely cottage in the Cotswolds in a sleepy hamlet with a long drive and big gate!

I live in North Essex I would happily stay here. You can get a nice 3 bed semi for your budget.
Suffolk and Norfolk are beautiful and you can get much more house for your money.

No, I would stay exactly where I am. I love the house , early Victorian Villa with original servants bells and stained glass conservatory. The location is perfect , 30 mins from central London and close to Richmond Park. We have no mortgage ( property was a lot cheaper 20 years ago ). Schools and Universities are good. Close to where I work. On all major transport links. Cab ride to Heathrow. Couldn’t possibly afford to buy this house today.

Would you want to live in either of the areas that your parents now live in?

I wouldn’t leave where I am as we’re near a small city that has everything we need. I definitely wouldn’t go rural as I hated every second of it growing up and couldn’t wait to leave.

I want to live in York but we can't afford it. We live on the border of Leeds and Bradfordin greater Leeds. Would secretly love a little place in the countryside.

I'd stay where I am on the Sussex coast. I'd maybe move to be within walking distance of a beach but not out of the county.

That said you wouldn't get much for £300k where I am.

*strikethrough fail

In theory I could live anywhere I wanted, because we are old (so retired) and bought a house in London ages ago (so almost nowhere is unaffordable). However, having friends, great neighbours and some family close by, as well as excellent healthcare, would make it hard to leave.
Like @MrsMariaReynolds I do have a feeling of missing out, because I've been in London all my life!

Would I stay where I am?

No. It's a shithole, but I can't afford to move where the jobs are.

I'll never move from city (Edinburgh). I was born and raised here, love it and all of my family are here. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else.