Advise on Lincolnshire as a possible relocation for a family of 4.

[dasza79]

Hello all.
We are a family of 4 with a 14yo and a 7yo.
I'm a non-English citizen, the rest of the family are an English/Scottish mix. In the past we have lived in Scottish Highlands, in Edinburgh and it's outskirts.
The last 3 years and a bit we have spent living in rural Portugal, on a project farm (or a constant building site to put it simply), with some livestock, pets, in a small village where kids go to local school.
Living in Portugal has proven to be more challenging than we have expected. It is not dreadful and we don't hate it, just as we never hated our life in the UK. However, we have been humming and harring about possible move back to the UK... Mostly for the sake of the kids - Portuguese youth do not have good prospects in their country and many leave to work abroad. Job market here is truly not great, taxes crippling for an average worker, work ethics are very different from what the UK has to offer. Both kids are relatively happy here but still prefer their homecountry, communication being one of the reasons, grandparents the other...
DH works remotely for a British company, he has a decent salary, nothing flashy, just comfortable enough not to worry about the bills.
I used to work in the UK, my career has always been patchy with many jobs in hospitality and the last few years in pharmaceutical research (closer to my degree). I'm not career oriented at all - I like working for the sense of achievement and to add to domestic budget, but I am also perfectly happy now, just looking after the farm, animals, and general domestic admin.
If we were to move back to the UK it would have to be in a rural/outskirts setting. A house with a garden big enough for our 2 dogs, maybe even some chickens. Clearly in most of the UK such requirement would mean one needs to be on at least 6 figures salary, but Lincolnshire popped up as a relatively affordable place.
My question is: do any of you live in Lincolnshire and could comment on the quality of life there, recommend more specific locations? If we were to move it'd have to be to a place that offers decent choice of activities for kids. They currently do swimming, music lessons and jiujitsu, all of those either in our village or within half an hour drive.
I know that Lincolnshire is known to be more on the conservative side, that suits us fine. What I do want to avoid at all cost is really run down places - visible drug addiction issues, homelesness, petty crime.
I would really greatly appreciate first hand experiences :-)
I'm happy to offer advice on Portuguese living in exchange!

There's a lot of "Little Britain" mentality in some parts of Lincolnshire unfortunately. Lots of hatred for foreigners. Lots of Tory/Brexit supporters. However it's cheaper than a lot of other areas and nice if you find a more cosmopolitan area. I'm not sure where fits the bill along with being rural as I live in town in a fairly scuzzy area.

I’d only consider living right on the outskirts of Lincoln, maybe near Nettleham if you need rural. Lincoln is a great city. Make sure you check topography and river locations as a lot of villages have flooded this month.

It’s truly shit to be a teenager living in rural Lincolnshire.

We live in south Lincolnshire. Public’s transport is rubbish so I am kids taxi. Not a huge amount for them to do locally so always driving them to bigger towns. They bus to school so school friends aren’t on the same street so they don’t just hang out of an evening. Not sure I would make the same choice again

I live in one if the villages around the Vale if Belvoir. I actually live on the Nottinghamshire side, but there are lots of villages on the Licolnshire side near me that are lovely.

Have a look at Bottesford, or the villages in the 3 ish miles surrounding in. Really great place to live.

As is the case with rural living, you have to drive to get to most things. My village doesn't even have a shop or pub. But I love that. The upside is a very supportive community around me.

You can get to most things (swimming, supermarket, children's clubs) with a 15 minute drive. Worth bearing in mind that no schools are walkable from my village - both primary and secondary children have had school buses from thr village. Public transport is sporadic, especially if you are used to urban public transport.

What sort of house budget do you have and for how big a house?

I was born there (north part) and will never return. It's full of ignorant racists and a weird low-level pervasive negativity, which is very noticeable upon returning to visit friends and family, and it truly damaged me growing up amongst that! A lot of people don't seem to like others doing what they may perceive as better than them... You could live one village over from where you originate and you'd still be like an alien to a lot of folk. Lincoln is nice but small. But generally, nothing to do, nowhere to go, some beautiful villages but it wouldn't be my first (or second, third, etc) choice to live anywhere there. Lots of flat farmland. It's a punishment for a teenager to have to grow up there. Everyone needs their own car to be able to do anything as it's quite spread out. I just honestly wouldn't! Other than friends and family, the only things I miss after previously spending thirty years there are one gallery, a cafe, an antiques shop. Nothing of substance to call me back "home" though! And I've explored a fair bit of it in bored desperation 😂

My friend lives there and it is really remote with a 20 min drive to a supermarket. It is cheap for a reason! I would never move anywhere with kids that didn’t have a good transport system and things to do locally

I’d look at the villages within a 5-10 mile radius of Lincoln. You should then be able to benefit from regular(ish) public transport and access into the city itself. These villages don’t tend to be as insular and “Little Britain” as those further out, and there are usually houses available which would give you the land you want.

What's your budget?

Your kids will hate you if you choose to make them live in rural Lincolnshire. I was a teen there and it was horrific.

What’s your budget? Parts of Derbyshire and Shropshire can be reasonably affordable and would definitely be my preference over Lincolnshire.

Come up to North Lincolnshire. Lots of nice rural villages on the Wolds, lots of coastline. Avoid Scunthorpe/Grimsby.

Lincolnshire is one of the cheapest areas in England. As others suggested, somewhere near Lincoln might be best for the kids. If you want a proper farm house probably look around market Rasen and surrounding area as well. Lincolnshire has a grammar school system if that makes a difference to you?

for what it’s worth, we are a mixed race couple with young kids. We’ve had subtly racist comments but nothing too bad. It was initially hard getting to know people because everyone seems to have been here for generations. But once you find your people, it offers a slow pace of life and good value for money for houses.

You'd need to be around some of the bigger towns for any public transport or kids activities.

South Lincolnshire you'd be around bourne, deeping etc... where Peterborough is you main hub.

North Lincolnshire you'd want to be around Lincoln, although probably on the Newark side for easier access to Nottingham.

For the love of all that is holy do not go full rural lincolnshire. Unless your grandparents were born there you would never fully integrate.

I'm lincolnshire born and (mostly) bred, we moved away due to dad being in the forces. But my parents dragged us back to the village they (and my grandparents) grew up in when dad left and it was hell for me and my sister because we didn't grow up there. I still live in Lincolnshire, but not rurally.

What about Brigg and surrounding villages .? Lincolnshire is a very big county . Boston is very different to Brigg

I live in South Lincolnshire, right on the border with Cambridgeshire. Moved a few years ago from London for family reasons. We love it. Fantastic house that we couldn't afford elsewhere, quick train into London from Peterborough, regular bus service, grammar schools if you're that way inclined, easy access to A1, lots of local clubs for kids, no obvious drug issues or homelessness.

There's rural, and then there's rural. I'm a short walk from fields but also a short walk from tesco, schools, etc. Not all of Lincolnshire is in the middle of nowhere!! We have the best of both worlds.

Where in Lincolnshire? It is a very large place and what rings true to North Lincolnshire does not ring true for south lincolnshire. A lot of the large towns in Lincolnshire have the drug/ homelessness and petty crime issues. They are also very deprived and run down. The coastal areas are the same once you get off the sea front. The smaller towns are very small and services are stretched as they are now also serving the villages surrounding them as well as the town.

Lincoln city centre has a huge visible homeless problem in the city centre with many of them on spice or other substances. I used to work in Lincoln and there were times that it felt unsafe for a single woman to be walking around and I have lived in the east end of London. Boston has many issues.

Rural Lincolnshire comes with it's own challenges, public transport is non existent so you will need to drive and be a taxi for the children until they pass their tests. Everything is spread out and you may struggle to find some of the activities within a 1/2 hour drive depending on where you settle. Agree with PP who says it is a horrid experience for a teenager as there is nothing to do. A lot of the rural roads will not be gritted in winter and in autumn will be full of tractors and farm machinery. South Lincolnshire in particular has a lot of farm machinery on the roads. Hospitals, dentists and GPs may be a long drive away.

I’m Lincolnshire…it isn’t easy. We currently live in a small village with two shops in walking distance and actual ok transport, but I’ve also lived in places where I am literally in the middle of nowhere and there is no way of getting anywhere without a car.

I'm Lincolnshire born and bred and love the peaceful living - but agree with others that it is cheap precisely because there are no jobs, no industry (bar farming and tourism) and no motorway infrastructure. I live on the coast, which is lovely. But it is classed as an area of social deprivation, and that is why houses are cheap. There's not much crime - just nothing much to do and no work beyond zero hours contracts at minimum wage. There are, on the other hand, lots of summer jobs for teenagers which is what they mostly do with their free time. All four of my adult children went off to uni and didn't return as there was nothing for them to do as graduates.

You'd need to be near Lincoln or another city for activities for kids. You'd need to be prepared to do a lot of driving. I didn't mind it as a teenager in the 1970s, but had no expectations of doing anything other than hanging out with friends. If I'd actually wanted to take part in activities like swimming and music lessons I'd have been screwed. Mine enjoyed living by the coast as children, happily worked and hung out with mates as teenagers and then moved away at 18.

As another person who grew up there - I couldn't wait to get out. Not to stereotype but very few good schools in the area I grew up and most of my school mates made very little effort in terms of employment and education...

Most towns are quite ran down and yes being foreign wasn't fun. Lincoln is pretty but then again, it's not well connected with the rest of the country.

@Caramelandsalt I'm from Brigg originally and moved (couldn't get away fast enough). It's very local place for local people. There is absolutely nothing much on for teens or children and the bus service is non existent. The youth centre is shut, there are no kids groups or even baby groups.

Social wise there is plenty on for anyone retired as it's almost entirely made up of retired people bar 2 housing estates. Both known locally to be full of drugs and anti social issues.

Both schools are a bit of a dive (good oftseds but lots of issues re bullying and behavior that the schools are good at sweeping under the carpet).

As for shopping, best place to shop for clothes etc is meadowhall at Sheffield. Scunthorpe is awful so is Grimsby. Doncaster is run down.

I live in Lincolnshire and much of it is lovely.
I would avoid the poorer parts in the North and East coast. Also the far south is quite deprived.

In between though some lovely market towns.
If we were to move back to the UK it would have to be in a rural/outskirts setting. A house with a garden big enough for our 2 dogs, maybe even some chickens.

Look at Louth, Caistor, Brigg. You could easily get a 4 bed detached for around £400k, often with land. Good schools, leisure centres with pools, shops. Also surrounded by smaller villages within easy reach. My neice (23) has just bought a house in Louth where she can walk to work and keeps a horse nearby.

I think Lincolnshire is a real hidden gem - we don’t live there, but go there very frequently for my DH’s sport, and it would have definitely been our second choice to live if we weren’t so set on the specific place we’ve moved to.

Lincolnshire has so many beautiful villages, Lincoln itself is a great, vibrant city - and the people seem to be very friendly. It has a reputation on here for being very Brexity and old fashioned, but we’ve never seen any evidence of that - it seems quite diverse. There’s a fairly high Eastern European population thanks to all the agricultural work, and I believe a fairly high Romany traveller population. A lot of the villages look like they could be in the Cotswolds, and many of the towns have lots of boutiquey shops and cafes if you like that kind of thing. Grantham has a fast train to London.
Of course all towns have run down areas, but you will find that anywhere in the U.K. I would definitely recommend exploring the south of the county as it seems a beautiful place to live.

How about Stamford or the surrounding villages. Not Lincolnshire but Rutland next door is a wonderful county for families. Market towns of Oakham and Uppingham are great places to live.