the best place to live if only can afford £300K for buying a house?

[happyfishcoco]

hello everyone.
recently My DH found a full 5-day WFH job. And as I quit my job for my DC, now just have some freelance job. So we don't have to stay in London anymore.

we both don't like crowded places, living in London is just for work.
We never live in other cities before, not sure if we can fit in.

Now I live in London in a 2-bedroom flat.

And I really want to move into a house with a decent garden, at least 3 bedrooms, as the second baby is coming and My DH need a room for his home office.

And I need a good school catchment!!
good primary school (maybe move again for a good secondary school 5 years later?)
or give up primary school, only target good secondary school.

I have a look many many places, £300K is really not enough.

1. three bedroom house
2. garden (I am happy maybe just 300 ft )
3. in good school Catchment
4. good area, less crime and less racism

Any recommend? thanks a lot

What is the nature of his job? I'd stay in commuting distance of cities he could find an alternative if the wfh doesn't work out, you don't want to be stuck and bound to one role. Maybe close to Lancaster/Preston/Manchester which then is close to the M6 and the main trainline so plenty of options.

yeah, cause I would like to see more ideas.

I only know some limited places,
i.e the big cities Manchester, York... and places nearby London.

For sure, I do have some preferences.
nice weather. blah blah blah, and then it will be a long list lol

Yeah, you are right. we also are a bit concerned about jobs.
Now his job seems very good. but you never know!
And I also may wish to find a job when my baby is 2 or 3.

My DH and I also work in the design industry.
Tbh, London seems to be the best place to find jobs.
but the house price around London is not something I can afford.

I think you need something within easy travelling distance for London. The northern venues are all lovely but perhaps not ideal for you long term. How about Rugby? It is 45 minutes by train from Euston and an attractive, friendly town with reasonable house prices. It is also very close to the M1 and M6.

Kettering is 45 minutes from St Pancras. Also close to Birmingham for jobs.

Could get all of that for £300k on North Yorkshire coast. This one

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123393521?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

is in catchment of a good primary and secondary school although if you want easy travel to London you'd need to be nearer York.

I know I'm biased as a Yorkie, but I can see why you like York 🙂

The problem is that everyone else on the planet likes York, so the houses are very expensive. A three-bed 1930s semi near me sold for over £900k recently. It had a garden and parking (both of which are very difficult to find in central-ish York), but is in a relatively poor secondary catchment area (the proportion of children at independent schools is around 21% - the national average is 7%). So these are people who can afford massively expensive but quite modest houses, and pay school fees too...

The villages outside York are generally cheaper, but then you potentially have a school problem (plus a horrible commute into town/the station).

Lots of parts of Lancashire would fit the bill.

West Lancashire in particular is good for links to other parts of the NW. Liverpool is easily accessible but so are lots of other places like Greater Manchester and Warrington etc too.

I don’t know anything about schools but I liked Oswestry and lots of places over the border in Shropshire.
Look at Wales, some areas a lot more expensive than others, as everywhere, but good value property.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/62434073/?search_identifier=27df8f9c3193be3f5ac6b80085883791

In Barry , easy access to Cardiff

"only"

This ☹️

Oswestry is in Shropshire not Wales.

Surely it would be a lot easier just to search nationally on rightmove for houses in that budge with garden?!

Don’t be too quick to disregard weather if this is important to you! Sticking with South or East might be a good call if so. Can you do a few day trips/weekends - drive or walk by a few places within your price range in each place to get a feel for different areas?

Ne will get you a lovely property but if you fancy sw try inland Somerset (excluding frome or bruton) you'll get a semi for that eg Shepton

how about the Fylde Coast in Lancashire? This is a 4 bed detached house in Poulton Le Fylde, a market town. There's a train station in the town with good links to Preston, York, Manchester. They have a Booths too 🤣 (posher than Waitrose!)
Lovely beaches and countryside nearby too

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127135403#/?channel=RES_BUY

Near us?
Where is it you are suggesting? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Cumbria