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!

We lived in Lincs for 6yrs, left in 2010. We were on the Notts border, nearest town was Newark. I loved it and regret moving away. It was convenient for everywhere, pretty but cheap villages. The Notts border is the only place I would recommend or maybe Lincoln outskirts.
I would not recommend Boston, Stamford or Brigg (or Gainsborough for that matter, although no one has mentioned it!), I've worked in all of them, Boston is particularly bad. The more rural parts of Lincolnshire have terrible public transport and can be very little Britain, I spent way to much time dealing with racist incidents when working in Boston.
And for the person who mentioned it, Lincolnshire is definitely not all flat!

Live on the outskirts of Lincoln now and love it but previously south Lincolnshire and so have to agree with you!! I made a few friends in the end but they were all from outside the area. Anyone who was not born and bred there for 100 generations was treated with civility but viewed with deep suspicion, added to the fact that people in general didn’t seem to have any acceptance of diversity whether than was race, religion, income, lifestyle etc. I remember going to baby groups etc (not that there was much of anything like that around and no one would talk to you) Funnily enough spent some time living in the more deprived areas following separation and they were much friendlier!

Anywhere on the outskirts of Lincoln is fine, the suburbs/villages on south and west of the city better diversity and transport links

Ha, I’ve lived in London but find it so strange and overwhelming when I go back there now, it shouldn’t of surprised me when I tried to ask 3 different people for directions when last there and every single one ignored me but I was so taken aback! We took the kids to London recently and they just couldn’t believe how dirty it was and they’ve never said that about anywhere before. There are things I love about London and only 90 mins on the train from nearby Newark but does feel like a completely different planet

I grew up in Grantham but only go back to visit family now. I would say it’s fine if you are into hobbies like riding / shooting / gardening…. I hesitate to say walking because it’s so flat. For teenagers you would find a cinema, leisure centre and a trampoline place but I’m not sure that there’s much else. There are 2 grammar schools but the other schools in town seem to have an ok reputation ( my sister is a teacher there). I have no plans to move back even though we would be mortgage free because it’s a bit of a cultural desert and I suppose I’ve spent too long in the South east. Train links to London are fast but not cheap. Access to Nottingham is similarly not bad. If I had to move it would be to the Notts borders so I could gain access to Nottingham. Southwell is always cited as a nice village but is in Notts.
I do know some people who live in Louth and absolutely love it and have a great community spirit. Louth appeared in one of the “Best places to live guide” which may have been in The Times but I don’t know it personally. I also have a friend in Uppingham in Rutland who also loves it and that looks very quaint with a sheep market and lots of independent shops and cafes.

I’m going to go against the grain here.
I moved to the wolds a year ago, from the south east, and I love it.
I'm part of a triathlon club, I use my local gym regularly and I work part time in a bar, as well as having horses, so I’ve made friends this way. I’ve not yet come across anyone who’s been funny with me because I’m not local.
I will say, I love where I live, until I have to go somewhere. The north east of the wolds is a long way from anywhere! No trains near me and limited buses, the roads in the fens are horrendous lumpy bump things.
All the A roads taking you towards the south have heavy traffic in the way of farm machinery and lorries so it’s slow, all the roads taking you west or north are windy and hilly. But if I don’t want to go anywhere it’s great 😂
I’ve no idea about schools or things to do for the kids as I don’t have them but we have a cinema, supermarket and a decent high street as well as the leisure centre. Your budget would easily buy a nice house with a garden/small plot of land too.

William Farr School at Welton is highly sought after, if you end up north of Lincoln. I remember they have a video tour online.

Flatness isn't a bad thing, although I can see how it could become too monotonous... Where we live now there are barely any flat streets, everything is either uphill or downhill. Very pretty to look at, less so when one wants to cycle a lot without breathing through holes not designed for that purpose after 10 minutes 😄
I come from probably the flattest part of Poland, Mazovia, and, as my friend put it, we have the need for horizon in our blood. It's nice to go hiking when on holidays, but living in Highlands have always resulted for me in longing for more stable landscape.
Do you think it'd be challenging to find a pet friendly rental?

I grew up in Lincoln (one of those with generations going back living there!) and had to leave in my 20s to find work - there are only limited opportunities for graduates. There are seasonal jobs for teenagers. It's ok if you're in a medical-related profession, teacher or a handful of other occupations but otherwise v limited options. I lived in Newark for a bit which has better transport options than Lincoln but still not much else going for it. Growing up there were people around who had literally never left the county and couldn't see any need to! Everybody knew your business which could get really annoying.

Parts of Lincolnshire are beautiful - Lincoln itself, the wolds, some beautiful villages. There was a certain amount of small mindedness, casual racism which I probably didn't notice growing up but it very obvious now I've lived elsewhere. There was definitely a lack of aspiration in some areas.

Schools are good but varied, some parts of the county have grammar schools, other parts, including Lincoln are comprehensive.

Public transport is terrible so I was very reliant on parents for lifts as a teenager. That did limit my activities and friendships. The bigger towns will have stuff to do like swimming, cinema, bowling. I imagine county lines might be a problem in the towns now? We used to go to Sheffield (Meadowhall) or Nottingham for shopping for anything major.

Friends who still live there do seem to enjoy it but they tend to have quite outdoorsy lifestyles with dogs, walking, horses. Many of them live close to extended family so spend a lot of time doing family stuff.

We've made peace with the fact that the kids will have to look for good jobs not very close to home. As long as it's the same country I'm fine with it (not that I'd stop them from moving abroad; just would like to know they can stay if they chose to). If we stayed in Portugal it's 99% that they'd both go back to the UK for job. Portuguese youth doesn't stay in Portugal either.
For us, my partner is a remote worker in software engineering and as such can work everywhere, I'll be happy with any part time job I can find when it comes to that. I actually like working with the public, always have, and if I don't have to rely heavily on my income I think it'd add to the enjoyment 🙂

Putting the location question to one side, what are you planning with regards to schooling? When does your 14 year old turn 15? Unless they've only just turned 14 (since 1st Sept this year), then it sounds like they would currently be in Y10, which is the first year of GCSEs and really not a ideal time to move.

If they are currently Y9 age then you really need to get your skates on so that they are settled in a school before September.

I moved from Berkshire to Newark (I know that's Notts not Lincs) 6 months ago and I love it. Having lived in a town that literally only had chain shops and restaurants in the centre, and a really unpleasant roughness / homelessness problem (anyone who knows Berkshire will probably instantly know where I mean!) I really like living in a smaller town, with independent shops, nice pubs etc. There is a gorgeous and really friendly yoga studio opposite my house, and a lovely reformer Pilates studio as well (always a sign of money as it's so blimmin expensive). The town centre is struggling a bit in places sure but show me somewhere in England that isn't. The high street as a concept is in a time of huge change everywhere. And there are new places opening up all the time here.

The villages in the surrounding area seem very pretty. I can't comment as to what they are like to live in; I'm very much someone who needs to be able to walk to a coffee shop and a pub to be happy!

I don't have children and this isn't the rural idyll you're looking for OP so my observations aren't that helpful, but I just wanted to reassure you that the East Midlands isn't some sort of forsaken place!

When looking for a property, look also at flood maps. Somewhere like Horncastle is always flooded. Can limit options for house insurance.

Also, find out about grammar schools and if you want to be close to them for your children.

That's a good point, my next question in fact.
She's turning 14 in December.
Here she'd be starting secondary school next school year - if we were to move it's have to be before September or in 4 years (when she's done with school here).
I'm not sure how does the English system work? She started in Scotland, at 5, and finished year 6 there. Here there are 9 years of primary followed by 4 of secondary. She's in general really adaptable in regards to education - it helps that she is academically skilled.

I'm sorry if it sounded personal, it was meant to be a generalisation using London as the most extreme example.
I think my daughter will be keen on living in a city when independent from us.

Do you think it'd be challenging to find a pet friendly rental

Louth. Grammer school, market town, not far from Lincoln or coast.
Rentals with potential for pets
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141589658#/?channel=RES_LET
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86545011#/?channel=RES_LET

If she’s turning 14 in December then think you should be ok as would be going into year 10 next September. Jobs wise, lots of jobs at hospital etc, actually found to easier to get jobs up here than London! Would second what people say about Lincolnshire villages near the Notts border/Newark being a good choice. You should be able to get a nice rental property or buy within your budget, particularly on the newer areas like Hykeham or Witham st Hugh’s. Bassingham nice but a bit more pricey. All those areas have great primary schools, Witham st Hugh’s is ofsted outstanding.
Really like Louth when have visited but and people seem friendly enough (can be quite different when live in those areas though) however is absolutely miles from anywhere. 2 of our adult DC have stayed in Lincoln and quite happy

@dasza79 if she’s 14 in December she would be yr 10 next Sept which is when students usually start work in earnest on their GCSEs - exams sat at 16. These are vital for future progress. So if you were here for sept 2024 that would be ok - sometime before that would be better so she could have some choice of options.

I thought of you OP when I was perusing possibles for a relative.

This is in Holmfirth (West Yorkshire). It's very beautiful small market town with gorgeous proper countryside on doorstep and tons of facilities (it's where they filmed last of the summer wine) handy for Leeds, Huddersfield and lovely Saddleworth and Moors for great walks .

If you like rural (ish) but with good facilities , good space and quirky (rather than modern and box like) I think this may be right up your street - you do get some really nice rentals come up both there and in surrounding areas too. Personally I think it's much nicer area than where you are looking- and yet still well in budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139088528#/?channel=RES_BUY

This house is amazing! Also so sweet of you to keep me in mind.
It really helps to expand the ideas, looking at different set ups helps become more open minded.

Do remember that a chunk of Lincs is apparently underwater by 2050.

@dasza79 I wanted to show it because it's easy to get into a mindset that very few areas are in budget- there are and I think you can do better than Lincs and I know that area quite well as I am originally a Nottinghamshire girl. If I was you and I can tell what you are looking for , for your budget I would be looking west and north yorks, north east, peak country (Buxton, Derbyshire) south wales and Monmouth/Herefordshire.

I agree that while Lincoln is a very nice city, and William Farr I agree is the best secondary to be aiming for, I also think you can do better for your budget.

Lincoln is quite isolated and because of that. limited in its cultural offering. Might it not be better to live in a rural-ish setting near a bigger better city - Sheffield for example, or yy Manchester (so one or the other end of the Peak District - yes I know it's pricy but some bits are cheaper); or yes near-ish to York, or Leeds; or even somewhere like Staffordshire - plenty of rural life to be had there, but you are within striking distance of Birmingham with all it has to offer, which your teen may come to apprecite.

I think you'd need to be within striking distance of either Lincoln or Peterborough for the benefit of the kids, to be honest. The cliff villages and those further along the road between Lincoln and Grantham seem nice enough but I think these would be at the top end of Lincolnshire prices. Sleaford area possibly worth a look as well.