Newly single and priced out of the south help me find a new home town

[Shitonthebloodything]

My absolute peach of a husband is buggering off leaving me with 3 kids and no hope of securing a mortgage anywhere close to my home county of Essex. I can’t rent forever and I don’t qualify for any single parent help from UC so it’s time to put down roots somewhere new.

Budget £150-170 (yeah, I know!)
I need at least 3 bedrooms, close to a town that’s good for shopping and teenage socialising.
A college where ds16 can finish his plumbing training or equivalent opportunities
A decent secondary to start ds10 in yr 7
A decent primary for ds3 to start reception
Plenty of things to do
Somewhere reasonably safe
Somewhere friendly that will welcome us
Somewhere with nice outdoor places to visit seeing as I’ll be bloody skint forever.
Poss near a motorway to allow for regular travelling back to see family etc.

And the moon on a stick.

Any ideas would be very much appreciated, at this point I’m basically just sticking pins in the map and searching on Rightmove.

It’s just a much better run North-South down the M1/A1 than further west on the M6 OP.

I’d consider parts of Northamptonshire (some hidden gems of villages/towns that are very appealing) and Yorkshire.

I regularly drive Northumberland (to the west of Newcastle) to the South East and it’s a long journey (if we set off after work on a Friday we won’t arrive until 11pm which means visiting for a weekend is pretty pointless).

So I'd try not to go further North than Yorkshire and I'd aim to be within 20 minutes of the motorway.

You've asked about Durham. I wouldn't move to the villages/towns in the hills, especially with teenagers. There's just no provision for them.

I hear good things about Chester-le-street.

I'd be surprised if your budget would find anything decent in Bedfordshire/Herts/Bucks/Hampshire (a few of the counties mentioned up-thread). My budget is a little more than yours (other side of £200k) and although there are 3 bed properties available they're at the lowest end of the market and there's always an explanation for that. Your approach of moving further North makes sense to me as there will be ok properties in ok areas for your budget rather than a dodgy house or area you won't be happy in.

Also just to say I'm with you 100% re avoiding shared-ownership. Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole when your budget is sufficient to buy something decent in a different location.

The things you are looking for are pretty much what house hunting locals want too but they have the advantage of local knowledge and the ability to view decent properties at the drop of a hat. Maybe rent first and then start searching seriously in the area you want ?

Just to add you mention town centres that aren't rundown and a decent transport system. That rules out a lot of places in the north west that tend to have a good selection of affordable properties. I live in a town north of Manchester, lovely residential area, excellent secondary school, great surrounding countryside but grim grim town centre, youth services cut to the bone, deprivation, atrocious transport system. And my town isn't unusual for the NW but there are quite a few properties easily in your price of range. You just need to be realistic that the north isn't necessarily that cheap.

What about Leeds? Great city for opportunities and a direct train to London, several specialist colleges your DS could do plumbing like Leeds College of building or the British Gas specialist training centre.

This is an ex council house by the looks but is in a decent area, a suburb with good schools and transport links but close to a lovely huge park and not far from the canal and river

Ashlea Green, Leeds
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116450465

@BarbaraofSeville

This looks like an interesting option that might be worth exploring further.

New build in a village in countryside a few miles outside Leeds, good access to A1, railway station also not far from Garforth, which a nice enough small town that I think has quite a bit of life these days.

It says it's a 'discount sale' which means you get it at what they say is 80% of full market price, don't have to pay if/when you sell , you also have to offer the same percentage discount to the new buyer. Slightly above your stated budget, but as I say, the discount scheme might be something to investigate wider.

I'm also only just coming back to this thread but this is a really good shout from Barbara. It's minutes from the A1 and is 5 minutes from Garforth which has become a lot nicer over the last 3 years with lots of new bars and shops opening. I know Garforth is 10 minutes on the train into Leeds so Micklefield will be less than 15, which means your eldest is close to everything a big city offers. I think some of the schools in Garforth are also outstanding.

Also worth a look in this area would be Rothwell and Oulton, or a little bit further south but still easy access to Leeds, Pontefract (but I would avoid castleford). I've got a friend who lives in this area of Pontefract and the area seems ok

Hardistry Drive, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF8
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114838700

Voting again for Shrewsbury :) this one has just gone on the market and is in a nice location backing onto the cricket ground

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116704664#/?channel=RES_BUY

Hope no one minds me bumping this back up, I’ve been referring back to it constantly over the past few weeks so it’s helpful to keep all my thoughts together and any input is appreciated so much.

I’ve taken advice on board and have refined my search a bit, sticking to the east side of the country and making Leeds the furthest north. I really will need to drive back or at least halfway every other weekend and further would be too hard on the kids.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the following areas

Leeds (I know it’s a big area so any areas to avoid would be good to know)
Sheffield
Lincoln
Rotherham - is it really as bad as it’s reputation?
Barnsley

These are the areas that seem to have the most in budget that would make for easy journeys back to Essex.
I would love to be closer to the coast ideally but the towns in budget don’t sound great. Can always save for a caravan one day

Hello. I'm sorry you're in this situation. Similarly I didn't qualify for UC when I separated. I bought a 2 bed maisonette near Colchester for £165k. I've also built a partition to make a 3rd bedroom
I know it's not a house but would you consider that?

It's nice to hear from you and see how your search is progressing. Do you work? Will you in the new place? In my industry Leeds and Sheffield would be good. Perhaps have a look at job posts in some of the areas you are deciding between.

slightly over budget, lovely area.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115322909#/?channel=RES_BUY

i didn't see the short lease, sorry

I do work but I’ve been self employed for 10 years part time so finding secure employment is proving a bit of a challenge. I do house cleaning at the moment, I’m in demand here but not sure if I would be in another area. Once I’ve decided on the area I could poss start to apply on the basis that work from home might buy me some time.
What’s your industry @mangowithasqueezeoflime ?

@motheroreily that sounds like exactly what I did with my flat. It worked really well with two dc but I have 3 and they are 16, 10 and 3 so not easy sharing ages.

@Partyforone what a view that would be to wake up to!

Of your shortlist I would go for Lincoln, or Sheffield

I am in public sector and prior to that worked in consultancies that worked for public sector. Leeds has quite a few offices for gov depts up there.

@Shitonthebloodything its beautiful view, lovely town too.

I live in Sheffield, hence the username.

Lots of areas you could afford a decent house within budget. Not the fancy areas and not the perfect house but def a livable house with some work to be done over a few years.

Have family in London and trains are easy and cheap if booked in advance.

Easy access to Manchester for a bigger city and minutes away from countryside.

@Hendersonsisnotrelish is there a trick to getting cheaper train tickets?

Not sure on the areas but as long as the neighbours aren’t horrendous I don’t really mind too much. There have been some great places coming up in my price range. Are there any I really should avoid?

We find just booking in advance. Ideally around 12 weeks but that's not always convenient obviously. And if you're travelling outside of peak times that helps massively.

Most places are totally fine and a mix. I wouldn't want to comment personally but areas with a bad rep include parsons cross, lowedges, page hall and shire green. I'm not from here so don't have a particular opinion.

The expensive areas are very expensive but most secondary schools have a mixed and comprehensive intake and I would be happy to send my children to them.

Nottingham- near to good schools and colleges.
Carlton Hill, Carlton, Nottinghamshire, NG4 1HW
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115728284

Forgot Doncaster. Tonnes in my range, some of them are huge with big gardens etc but doesn’t seem to have a great reputation, anyone from there that could confirm what it’s like?

OP have you considered not England? Because Swansea is awesome and would hit your criteria....

@Curioushorse I have looked, it sounds fantastic but I don’t think it would be realistic for us with the e.o.w. Travel back to Essex for contact visits.

@StolenAwayOn55thand3rd

I went to uni in Durham. Beautiful town but as a student I felt it had a very weird vibe, the students can behave appallingly and there was quite a lot of animosity between students and locals. One of my friends got punched in the face at a F&C shop completely randomly (as in just standing in line). He had an Essex accent. I went back recently and even the kids were commenting on how much litter there was everywhere and how grim the river path was; I don’t remember it being like that.

But others living there now seem to think it fits your bill? Certainly the train link to Newcastle would be brilliant for your teens.

This was my experience too. I lived in Durham for a while and found it incredibly hostile to southerners at times, very insular, very racist. The city is a beautiful but there's a real town/gown divide, with posh students behaving terribly and adding to the tensions. So much deprivation in the surrounding villages. I personally didn't like being in Newcastle either - huge crowds of men/women on Saturday nights. I got a lot of catcalling and abuse from men if I headed back from Newcastle to Durham at 5pm on a Saturday.

It is lovely being near Northumberland and the riverside is beautiful, but I found the culture there very challenging.

I still visit and 5 years ago the town centre was looking more run down than ever - not sure if that's improved.

I live in london now, and the only time I've felt unsafe was in Durham.

My dad works in a job which involves a lot of local travel around Yorkshire and he is always always saying the he thinks housing around Barnsley is such a bargain - there are lots of nice rural areas surrounding it where you get a lot for your money. I think the centre of the town is surprisingly nice too, and the people up there are so friendly.