Entertain me with ideas of where to move please

[TheViewFromTheCheapSeats]

We’ve been inLondon since the kids were small, and (like many!) I dream of moving to a more affordable way of life. Doesn’t have to be rural, in fact they I’m not sure either of us want to go back to village life (well maybe a larger one with some high street, but we both grew up in areas with no infrastructure at all and it was hard work).

Budget is about the same as the house here, so 450-500k. Bonus: reasonably easy to get teaching jobs. Ideally something for 3 children who are outdoorsy. For me I’d live near the sea if possible, but not a seasonal touristy area too much and less seagulls than when we lived in Hastings ideally 😏. Recognise that’s hard!

North East. Either Yorkshire coast or further up in Northumberland.

Lancaster, Kendal.

Another one for north east!
Whitley bay, tynemouth, cullercoast

I need to look more at the North, I’ve only lived in the SE/SW and briefly in the Midlands.

I did look at at Lincoln, it seems to have a fair few plus points.

One thing I do like about the North if for as the children grow is some of the University options.

I’m looking at Whitley Bay a lot here!

Ooh I had a BF who worked in Northumberland and it was beautiful! I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could. The only pain was travel to London. The train was a good £90 return but driving wasn't too bad. We did day trips to Newcastle and Edinburgh when I visited him and it was easy to get to both.

Our families are still abroad so of we left London there’s no real need to be worried about travel back.

Leicestershire - some lovely villages and market towns, but easy reach of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Northampton, beautiful countryside and parks and only an hour-ish to London on the train. Very underrated part of the country.

No coast in Leicestershire though. Whitely Bay was in the Times last week as a place on the up, house prices have soared in the last couple of years but you'd still get a hell of a lot for your London price.

Bristol. A buzzing city and yet easy access to coast and country.

Formby is a gorgeous seaside village. About 25 minutes from Liverpool and 50 from Manchester..it has an amazing coastline with pinewoods and Crosby is not far away which has the Iron Men. Youd get a very good size house for that money there too!

You could get a beautiful home for that bear Crosby. Close to Liverpool for two great unis (and cities for anything) and not far from Manchester. Great transport links.

No idea about teaching jobs though.

Hah I didn’t even read @CharlieBrown65 post above mine!

Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion are lovely areas where you'd get a lot for your money.

I’ve always liked Pembrokeshire I must say…

Thanks, I’m happily right moving…

Ipswich or Norwich?
The weather always puts me off moving too far up north (N.Yorks, Northumbria).
For such a small island the weather seems to vary a lot from North to South.

Your money won’t stretch quite as far, but Hampshire has coast, a range of cities/towns/villages/rural and considerably better weather than some other places.*

Disclaimer: I’ve lived in north west and north east, and know of what I talk.

After all the mythical talk of ‘London Money’ it’s a bit disappointing that I’d pretty much swap like for like in a lot of places I look at. By 3 bed semi here (though to be fair zone 5) is quite spacious, big garden front/ back and round the side. 10min from a station/ near the shops etc

If you are looking in the North West then Formby north of Liverpool has 4-5 bedroom properties in your price range. It's a smallish town and there's a beach, shops, restaurants, good schools etc but you're also quick train ride to Liverpool or Southport. And it's only just over 2 hrs from Liverpool to Euston station if you did want to get back into London.

We are near Lincoln having previously lived in Stoke Newington. It is an absolute world away from London in feel and amenities.
It’s not our forever city but the schools are good and we like the countryside. I also like being able to visit London for a day trip as it’s 75m from Newark to LKX. We are an hour from the coast and it’s a trade off between things to do and being near the coast here.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/103005047#/ this is a 5 bed detached in Formby with a huge garden. It's about a 10 monute walk from the beach and the train station! Would definitely have a look there 🙂