Where in the UK should we move to??

[ifihavetomove]

Do you live somewhere affordable and nice? Where do you recommend?

NCed as I know some people on here and not up to discussing this in person yet. My DH and I both born and raised in Sussex but with our incomes and the housing market we will need to move if we want to buy a home - we rent at the moment and have a 1 year old DC.

We can move anywhere, I'm a primary teacher and he's a dog trainer. We both work part time on different days in order to do childcare ourselves, we earn around 30k between us. (Total not each). We've known this was coming so we've been saving well, had a cheap registry wedding, no holidays etc and with good savings accounts and some help from family over the years we'll have about a 70k deposit.

We both have Help to Buy ISAs which means we'll get given 25% of what we've saved - if the property is maximum 250k, so this is our budget. We're not picky about where we live, we'd love to get as much garden as possible as we love to grow our own food. We don't mind where as long as decent schools nearby and ok size house with a garden. Happy to do work on a place.

I'm looking and looking and just don't know where to narrow my search. Honestly I'm sad we have to move at all as our whole lives are in Sussex, our family, friends, memories, favourite places...but with our jobs, wanting more kids in future, and the housing costs in Sussex, we just can't stay. So - recommend me places! Where is nice?

Moffat is nice but not sure on the work required here www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124653032#/?channel=RES_BUY

Lockerbie has good train connections- an hour to Edinburgh and a much shorter trip to Carlisle and down the west coast rail lines www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125698772#/?channel=RES_BUY

This row of houses is super cute near Castle Douglas www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120970760#/?channel=RES_BUY

Im in north wales which is nice but you’d need some welsh to be able to teach. Just outside north wales- Chester and surrounding areas are nice although can be a bit pricy in parts.

Wales? If you look round swansea there's quite a choice...am sure Cardiff too...but dont know it....

I'm not sure where in Scotland you are but for £250k you will get a nice house in Aberdeenshire. Decent garden, garage 150sqm+ within a short drive of a town like Turriff, Keith , Huntly , Inverurie area.

OP check out

www.ASPC.co.Uk

Have you thought of Lancing, Littlehampton or Rustington OP? All in West Sussex and many in your price range on Rightmove.

I agree with the Scotland and Wales suggestions. I used to live in North Berwick on the coast and miss it.

I also think the Tyne valley in Northumberland is one of the most beautiful and underrated places in England. Specifically the Hexham / Corbridge area. Good schools, very arty, great pubs, community vibes, incredible countryside, loads of live music. It's like the cheap version of Frome or Stroud. What's not to like!

Agree re checking out situation re teacher jobs. Some areas you’ll be waiting for years for an opportunity 😬.

@PicketRingFenced going to struggle at£250k for anything of decent size that isn't very crap- you could look at part buys though OP and use your deposit to buy 25% outright with a very small mortgage- even in good areas or even 50% with your deposit plus small mortgage in slightly better areas. Personally I would rather go this route than buy somewhere you don't want to really live.

Also plenty of primary teaching job in

Aberdeenshire

www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/search?org=2602&parent_org=2603&cat=2528&sort=pd&page=2

Here's a few examples

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124287257

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120352301#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126128657#/?channel=RES_NEW

Near Dumfries espc.com/property/keepers-cottage-caerlaverock-dumfries-dg1-4rs/36115216?sid=259131

Needs work but very cool village espc.com/property/burnbank-ayr-street-moniaive-dg3-4hp/36105188?sid=259131 info on area en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moniaive

Here's a gem with loads of potential in Hexham: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124465787

Check out where teachers are needed first, and also where is economically vibrant enough for people to afford dog trainers. But generally -

Anywhere is going to be cheaper than the south east -

Go a bit north of London (Northamptonshire etc), Shropshire, Midlands.

South Wales nearish Cardiff, Northumberland / Newcastle for great beaches, South Yorkshire.

Around Glasgow / Scottish central belt.

Northern Ireland is still excellent value (Obviously it’s part of the UK, so you don’t need Irish as a teacher that’s only down south). It also has the highest dog ownership in the Uk.

I wouldn’t go West, lovely though it is - the near West Country is nearly as bad as the SE for cost, and the far West is just v remote and not v rich.

Another one for the North East, suburbs of Newcastle, Whickham, Low Fell, Great Park, Gosforth (some of the poshest bits would probably be out of budget) but you could get a decent 3 bed in a reasonable area pretty easily. Transport links are good too, train to London less than 3 hours. Only issue I would say is that I was a teacher and one of the reasons I left was that the jobs market was rubbish for part time or anything other than recently qualified teachers or heads. However this may have improved!

We're in a similar situation, also Sussex and we're considering Shropshire or Scotland. Enjoying reading the suggestions on this thread. One of my key requirements after all this hot weather (I'm not keen) is moving somewhere that won't get as hot (possibly ruling Shropshire out).

Dover/Folkestone?

I love Derbyshire Dale's, Lancashire Moors, South Cumbria, Warwickshire and Solihull. If none of these areas appeal, take a look at these climate maps so you can avoid areas where properties will be blighted in years to come coastal.climatecentral.org/

@RagzRebooted Youd love our weather in Aberdeenshire 🙂

Bath or Bristol??? two of the most expensive cities outside of London definitely not places to move to. Some of the border areas of Scotland might be an option?

Surely not Scotland if you want to grow food? It requires actual sunshine and a growing season measured in months not minutes!!! I love my garden and would only consider south of the midlands for that reason (when I move in 5ish years)

Another one for Northern Ireland. Great for family life, more affordable housing than elsewhere in the UK, great education system. Though worth considering previous posters comment on permanent positions being harder to come by. That being said, all of my friends who are primary teachers gained permanent posts within 3-5 years of their contracted posts. Also lots of room for tutoring.

I know its not the same as dog training, but as a previous poster mentioned the dog industry is huge here with boutique dog shops popping up everywhere and dog walkers too being so hard get a space in the good ones. I have a friend who setup a dog walking company a couple years ago and business is thriving. They cannot keep up with the demand and has had to hire extra staff to help! So definitely a captive audience of dog lovers here.

Ive noticed a lot of more people relocating here from England in the last few years with absolutely no connection prior.

Here’s an example of a nice 3 bed semi in a popular location near good schools, with decent front and back gardens and a garage that just came on the market for £190k. So extra left over if you wanted to decorate or for bidding a little more. Properties like this popping up all the time! propertypal.com/774186

Ps. If that garden isn’t big enough, there’s plenty of allotments around with lots of food growers!

How about Norwich? I've just done a Rightmove search within 5 miles of postcode NR2, 200- 250k, and it came up with more than 100 houses, including two Grade II listed ones.