Where to move to in the UK

[hangsangwitch]

I have a friend who is a single mum with 3 kids who wants to move away from where she is now (west London suburbs) for various reasons. Mainly that the property she lives in now was the scene of pretty bad DV. Thats all over now, but as you can imagine, the property holds bad memories and she wants a totally fresh start, where the ex will never find her. She is from another EU country and wants to move to a cheaper area in order to afford a better property to rent and a better, quieter quality of life for her (traumatised) children. As she isn't from the UK, she is not sure where to think of going, South Coast?, Manchester?, Norfolk?

I've never lived anywhere except the SE, so cant really advise her, so I said I would ask the mumsnet massive for suggestions as to where to start looking!

her criteria -
a place where her HB of £1200 would get her a nice little place with at least 2 bedrooms
good schools for her child with SEN
good transport links as she doesn't drive
possible job opportunities in the near future
a nice place to raise children alone

Does not seem like too tall an order but she does not know where to start. Any ideas? thanks so much

Her Hb will likely be based on local rental prices (if private sector) so she might not get the same amount if living somewhere cheaper.

But yes a fresh start sounds lovely. What sort of things does she enjoy? (city, country, coast etc)

Would she like to be near others from her home country?

Can't be rural if she doesn't drive

Her housing benefit will be based on the local area, and she will be put on Universal Credit as it will be a change of circumstance. She needs to check the Local Housing Allowance for the area she is looking at to find out if her rent will be covered, it is likely it will not. She may also end up being subject to the benefit cap if she moves to an expensive area so she should look into that too.

Her housing benefit will be based on the local area, and she will be put on Universal Credit as it will be a change of circumstance. She needs to check the Local Housing Allowance for the area she is looking at to find out if her rent will be covered, it is likely it will not. She may also end up being subject to the benefit cap if she moves to an expensive area so she should look into that too.

I thought that would be the case, but she is looking for somewhere cheaper to live. She is on UC and gets DLA for her child with disabilities. Once the kids are resettled in school she would look for a school hours job. Why would her rent not be covered if its less than what she pays now?

She says she doesn't really care about being around others of the same nationality. I think she has been so isolated and used to coping alone that she just gets on with it, but somewhere with a real community would do her good I think.

I'd have a look at Birmingham. There will be expensive parts but it's a good city and good public transport and amazing secondary grammars. Or Leeds, but not as well connected. If she wants to stay closer to London, Milton Keynes is well connected and big enough to meet new people, but it is kind of a car town and I think has become quite expensive. Other nice but expensive places: harpenden, St Alban's, Tring.
Don't go to Northampton, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Peterborough. They are not very nice.
I'd like to move to Manchester but not sure I can afford anywhere nice!

Devon? Look at Exeter ( used to have lots of specialist special needs schools if that makes sense, don’t know why) or coastal area such as Torbay, which is quite cheap housing wise.
Bristol?
Wales has some lovely countryside, but possibly too rural for transport.
Dorset south coast like Weymouth, Swanage. Lovely for children but not sure it’s great long term for adults.

Perhaps she'd like to come to Stevenston in North Ayrshire, we have the sea and beaches nearby, we have a brand new ASN school, Glasgow is a 40-minute commute and we have great bus services to everywhere, we're on the up, but property/rent is still really cheap. Also it's Scotland, so free prescriptions and lovely friendly people, come and join us!