Hi,
I hope Mumsnet's fountain of knowledge can help us!! We are looking to move to a new area with good secondary schools, nice countryside and good amenities to raise our children. After a lot of researching and visiting places, we finally found a place that felt right and seemed to tick a lot of our boxes, which was the Christchurch/Mudeford/Highcliffe area. We absolutely love the area and it seems to have good schools, countryside and lots of activities, plus being near the beach. However, I'm not sure we could afford the house we need around there. Our budget is absolute max £450k and need 4 beds or 3 bed/office and a quiet garden is very important to us. So, considering this we have also looked at Sherborne and Shaftesbury, which both seem lovely towns but I'm not sure if they have as much going on (i.e. would the kids get bored) and are further away from the coast, but I think the houses are better value for money. And lastly, we are considering Trowbridge for what you can get for your money, so also wondering if anybody has any insight into what it's like living there, such as if it's safe, good secondary school, things to do, countryside and a nice place to bring up kids? We are quite flexible where we move to and not tied to job locations; we love the countryside but don't want to be too remote so the kids have good transport links to get around.
Ideally, we really liked how close Christchurch was near to nice beaches, so we are open to suggestions for other similar towns near nice beaches that might be more affordable? E.g. what is New Milton like and is it more affordable?
Apologies, I've realised I've written an essay, but, we would really appreciate any advice as we are visiting again in a couple of days for a week and need to make a decision then - eek.
Many many thanks in advance xx