Would we fit in near you?

[Firecrest19]

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 🙂

I agree, Belper is beautiful and the high street is lovely especially the Xmas market.

Caterham/Warlingham/Kenley

You really think these areas fit the OPs wish list?

From personal experience - not in the slightest.

Corsham or Bradford on Avon would be perfect for you!

Malvern in Worcestershire may suit you. Good transport links, (we live in Worcs and my husband commute easily to London) good schools the hills on your doorstep and within 3 hours of Bristol. Haven’t read any other replies so apologies if someone has already said this

I was going to recommend the Northern Highlands, near Inverness, til I saw you really want to be nearer London and Bristol. There are some great suggestions here - how exciting to be at the beginning of your family life and about to make a big move to somewhere your kids will thrive. Good luck in your search 😊

@Eightfour absolutely nothing wrong with those areas but why you would read the brief & suggest them is perplexing! Do people just suggest where they live?

Have you thought of South Warwickshire? It's about 70 minutes from Leamington Spa to London Marylebone by train; theAA.com route planner claims 2 hrs 7 min by road to London (The Mall) and I hr 50 min to Bristol.

There are nice towns to live in as well as my beloved Leamington Spa (Warwick, Kenilworth, Stratford-upon-Avon) and several biggish villages that friends have moved to (Wellesbourne, Kineton, etc.) over the last few years. I haven't had to deal with schools for some time now, but they were good and I haven't heard of them changing. Decent state schools and several well-regarded private schools too.

Leamington is pretty - it came into being (early 1800s) as a place for the upper and middle classes to party and shop for spouses, so plenty of town-centre parks to promenade oneselves! The Parade ('High Street' in any other town) has taken a hit recently (what town hasn't?) but your list - "bookshops, cinemas, cosy pubs, swimming pool" are all there. Plus more cafes and restaurants than you can shake a stick at. Obviously it doesn't have the cultural range of London, but it's a twenty minute drive to Stratford-upon-Avon where the Royal Shakespeare Company run a very full programme, Birmingham is about 30 minutes away by train for their galleries and theatres. Coventry is not too shabby in that line either.

With Coventry Uni and Warwick Uni on the doorstep, many academics (as well as students) live in the town.

Have a look on Rightmove, £700k can buy a 3-bed / garden / drive here comfortably. There's been a lot of building in the last few years (both towns and village locations), plus there's a lot of good older properties - Georgian, Victorian, 1930s. (If your taste is Tudor, Warwick is your town).

I know this area of SW London
1930,s housing stock. Grammar schools. Outstanding primary schools. Short drive to Richmond Park. 10 mins drive to Oxshott and Esher Commons. 25 mins train into Waterloo. Easy access to A3. 2 1/2 hrs ish to Bristol

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130858295

Would need modernisation but sounds like you have the budget

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138837908

Cambridge? Or its surrounding towns/villages. Meets your criteria. Plenty to do. Plenty of green. 3 hours drive to bristol.

@TooTiredToType77 I really like NM but no cinema & the best secondaries are Catholic.

Relying on some of the most competitive grammars is risky.

Wendover, Bucks

Lewes already mentioned and it's lovely

I was going to say St Albans but that's probably not a huge budget for there . Or like another PP, south Manchester, it's at the top end of the 3 hours to Brizzle but I think you'd get what you want. Plus easy to get to London.

I agree. That's vile

Several people have suggested Winchester - it really doesn't fit with your asked for - in my opinion.
High Street is dreadful, certainly nothing much in the way of independant and interesting shops.
It has nice countryside but that's about it. Friendly enough if you fit into a certain type though!

@sorestupid - I mean I did but I am a similar age to OP with a young child, have a ND husband and like the arts/cinema and like where I live because of those things, so it made sense to suggest it. I unfortunately do not have the OPs budget! Otherwise yes I think people do. There is a reason I don’t live in those other areas I said no to anymore though. I got out as soon as I could…

Oxford/kingston/bristol/brighton

Haha I’m glad I’m not the only one who was thinking this!

Caversham would definitely fit the bill eg https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142796894 Reading has a lot going for it, great size of place for a teenager too.

How about Berkhamsted in Herts? Maybe worth a look. Seems to tick most of your boxes and lots of young families, good schools too and lovely countryside like Ashridge estate nearby. 38 mins by train to Euston. Something like this...3 Bed Period Property

Cambridge!

@Firecrest19 Id just love to hear some positive stories of people like us who have managed to find “home”

I suggested Oxford because I moved here five years ago after living in London my whole life. In Oxford I could/can afford a house and garden in a central location near the rail station. In London impossible. I live in a house equivalent to charming Chelsea cottage, cost less than I got for my 2-bed flat in Battersea.

Oxford also seems to fully fit your brief.

I've found home. I couldn't be happier with the decision to move here. Importantly, it doesn't feel provincial, because of the university.

Maybe good to know, there's a new centre for Humanities (Stephen A Schwarzman Cfh) under construction in Jericho, which will have a 'world class' concert hall and theatre, adding to the cultural life here.

And there's the Ashmolean, the Sheldonian, the Holywell Music room, various cultural festivals throughout the year, and over a hundred libraries.

Green spaces are everywhere, even within the ring road. And outside the ring road there's the countryside of Oxfordshire.

Downsides: car traffic is awful - though I don't drive, and Oxford is fairly small so walking or cycling is easy.

I'm another who reads your list and thinks, yes Oxford would tick those boxes. Your budget would give you a range of choices. We cycle to the city centre in 10 minutes max unless the meadows are flooded or the cattle in the summer are blocking the way (actually the latter isn't really a thing, though occasionally you have to wait for them to move).

Good luck exploring your options!