Hi,
my partner and I are trying to figure out where to move to and we are so confused! We just keep going in circles and then feeling really defeated. So I was wondering if MNetters of the uk could recommend your area or an area you know that might work for us…
I hope we don’t come off too badly here… I get really nervous posting questions like this!
I’ll try to keep it brief, but this is our situation:
we’re late 30s, have two under 5s, we’re academic, work in education/ arts and I think we’re in that “middle earners” bracket, we’re first time buyers and our budget is about 700,000. Both dp and I are neurodivergent, we currently live in a nice part of north London and have found the city more accessible than the countryside, where we both grew up. We love the culture in London: galleries, independent cinemas, etc and the huge choice of ways to spend time. We like the idea of raising our children here.
that said, we love the countryside and go there a lot at weekends and for holidays. I grew up on a farm and loved that aspect of childhood. I always thought I’d move back when I had children. Part of me would like my children to grow up there. Our budget also goes further and the places we can afford often seem a lot nicer.
we can’t stay living where we are for much longer as our rental is tiny and once we go we are totally priced out of our current area.
Our criteria is typically impossible to fulfill: we want to be walkable to wild feeling green space, have good state schools nearby, have an interesting high street or town centre within 15 minutes drive or walk (bookshops, cinemas, cosy pubs, swimming pool). We would like to be able to commute into central London once a week for work and at weekends a couple of times a month as a family (although this isn’t essential). We’d like to be within a three hour drive of Bristol for family. We’d like to live somewhere fairly pretty. Good transport links for the children as they get older.. we’re after a 3 bed with a garden. A drive way would be a huge pro. And we’d like to fit in. Where we live at the moment is very pretty, but we’re surrounded by the mega wealthy and have found it hard to make friends.
I fully realise we’re asking for a lot and we will have to compromise.
Id just love to hear some positive stories of people like us who have managed to find “home”
we’re open to all parts of London and the surrounding countryside. We’ve also looked further afield including Cornwall and Cumbria.
thanks in advance 🙂