Where should I move to? Come and be my Kirstie Allsopp

[ladycroom]

Hoping for some help from the hive mind! DH and I have been living in Bristol for 10 years and are ready to move. We don't love it and never have, we came here for a job and expected to move on quickly but life happens and we're still here! We want to move and have a lot of flexibility with location but we have NO IDEA where we want to live. If I give you my criteria can anyone help?

• budget around £500,000
• 3 or 4 beds, preferably a detached house (we've been in a terrace for the last 5 years and ready to spread out!)
• Husband's work is completely remote so no worries there, I will have to travel into Bristol probably about once a month, happy for that to be a long commute. Also must be an older house, I don't want a new build or a 1930's house (sorry - I just hate them!)
• We have a hobby that means we drive to London about once a month so would ideally be no more than a 2.5 hour drive from Ealing area.
• We want a small town or village, with countryside around us that we can easily get out into. A town with a couple of nice village pubs, a shop or two etc. Somewhere with a nice community vibe. I'm a big fan of The Archers and have images of joining local am dram societies etc.!
• Due to family, I don't want to be within a 30-minute radius of Warwick, but also don't want to be more than 2ish hours drive away.
• We're very into the idea of Oxfordshire but obviously the budget doesn't stretch much there.

We're basically just shooting in the dark on rightmove right now and spend a lot of time going "oh there would be nice, there might be okay" but lack of focus is a real problem, and we're really keen to get searching seriously as we'd love to be out of the city by this time next year. Does anyone have any towns or villages they'd suggest we look at please?

(Also don't suggest I go on Location Location Location - I would love to but my husband refuses to apply because he's camera shy! Spoilsport!)

Stroud?

Stroud has come up in our search a couple of times @PinkRoses1245 - funny that it’s the first suggestion! Do you live there or have experience of it? Is it nice?

Monmouth
Ross on Wye
Chepstow
Cheltenham outskirts/villages
If you're looking more rurally, the Forest of Dean is beautiful and house prices are cheap but facilities are limited

Love Monmouth, Chepstow and Ross on Wye - great suggestions actually!

My husband has a real bee in his bonnet about not liking Cheltenham for some reason.

How about areas around Didcot, Oxfordshire? Didcot is an OK town with plenty of amenities and is on the direct train line to Bristol and London. Abingdon and Wallingford are both towns nearby and are prettier than Didcot but your budget may be tight. You could look at Cholsey (near to Wallingford, has a pub and shop and a train station) or some of the smaller villages that are still easy reach of Didcot train station. East Hagbourne, Blewbury, Sutton Courtenay etc.

Buckinghamshire/ oxon border, Thame area and villages

many areas of wiltshire not too far from bristol sort of around chippenham

Abergavenny? Or Crickhowell, but that might be a bit far from London.

I've visited friends there quite often. Nice size, got a station.

Frome?

Very lovely town with a village feel, gorgeous high street. Artsy vibe, lots going on. Beautiful countryside around it and easy access to Bristol and London.

Stroud
Villages surrounding Cheltenham/Gloucester
Stow on the wold

£500,000 probably wouldn’t get you much in Stroud that’s the problem. Agree with villages in Gloucestershire.

Chipping Sodbury

Was coming to suggest Stroud. Unfortunately prices have really gone up over the last 3 years. You could look at Nailsworth. Dursley would be cheaper and easier for Bristol. Or checkout Malvern or Ledbury. Cirencester but you'd struggle to find something detached. Monmouth is lovely.

Nailsworth is a lovely little town. Has a thriving community and great local shops. So much beautiful countryside. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139096472?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

South Wales? Seaside town, sea views. Couple of minutes drive to town but in a village type location, quiet and peaceful location. Great schools, 15 minutes to Gower Peninsula. M4 motorway a minutes drive away so you can get places quickly.

4 bed detached house, large garden. Does need modernisation but would make an amazing family home. You could buy the house, modernise it and still have >£150k change 😂