Where to move with my daughter - single mum.

[VirgoMum9]

Hi all, I'm divorced with one 8 year old daughter. I'm moving to the UK for work. I work from home and can basically live anywhere, but my budget is limited at the moment. 1250/month for 2+ bedrooms is my absolute limit.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed because I don't know very many areas, and online forums are riddled with people just venting negativity, it's hard to know what information to trust.

I would like to live outside a city so that we can have a garden. I have to rent for now but might be able to buy after a year or two. I'd like to have some wide open spaces but be able to access a city for social life, activities, shopping,and dining.

And one of the most important things is that I'm looking for a welcoming community that is open to people moving from other countries. We've been living in a place that is very insular and closed off (my ex husband's home) and the past few years have been very lonely indeed. We want to be able to make friends and join the community.

Am open to England and Scotland. Specific town names would be great if at all possible (for example someone on reddit said "The Borders" but that's a huge area), as I'm going to visit soon and would like to have a list of places to go.

Sorry if I sound a bit frantic. It's been very hard work to get my ex to agree to leave his homeland, but now I'm trying to find a place to go that will be nice for my daughter and I'm overwhelmed. Thank you in advance. 💜

It depends what kind of lifestyle you want. Personally if I had the choice of where to live in the UK I'd move to Cornwall, beautiful beaches and coastline. Love the Lizard Peninsula- though I'm not sure how easy it would be to live there full time! Possibly somewhere near Penzance so you have amenities.

If beach life is not your thing I would suggest up north! Yorkshire is beautiful! As a single mother I lived in Skipton for a while and loved it! Very friendly town, safe and close access to the Dales. You also get a lot more for your money. If you like the country I'd recommend the Yorkshire dales- anywhere! It's Beautiful and a little cheaper than the Lake District.

If countryside is not your thing maybe close to York again lots of lovely villages around.

Lancashire too has a lot of gems- Lancaster is a lovely small city (more like a town) and great access to the Lake District. The Ribble Valley is again lovely- Clitheroe is a very cute town full of amenities and pretty and excellent schools (some of the best in the north). The villages around Clitheroe are lovely but expensive. The queen once said if she could live anywhere it would be the Ribble Valley!

Bristol!

Thank you so much, this gives me a good start!

From what I understand, Bristol is too far above my budget, but I hear it's very nice.

Lord no, the rental and house buying prices in Penzance area are extortionate.

I'd go more north. Liverpool for example - plenty going on, lots of lovely suburban areas, welcoming people, houses much less insane in price.

Plenty of homes in cities will find you a garden though, even for £1200/month. I've just checked Portsmouth (so south east, tends to be pricier) and there are several fitting your needs in your budget.

@VirgoMum9 look on Rightmove at rentals and narrow it by number of bedrooms, requirement for a garden and turn off house share or student houses.

Easiest way to get a picture of costs, however if you're not aware of the current rental market in the UK, it's absolutely insane. People are taking months to secure a home because they are rented out so quickly and with many many applicants for the same properties.

A neighbour has been evicted due to the landlord selling up and they've still not found a home since they started hunting in October 2023. They are going to be homeless in a few weeks.

Make yourself the best candidate you can - avoid bringing any pets with you if possible, have 6 months to a year of rent available for up front payment if you can, references for employers etc will be asked for, not sure how they'll feel about no reference for a previous landlord....

Email a few letting agents in different places is my advice and ask them what you need to do to be able to rent through them.

Another vote for Bristol, especially South Gloucestershire, it's lovely, easy access to countryside, city centre and beaches, culturally diverse. I feel very safe as a lone parent

Another vote for Liverpool, south Liverpool specifically!

I’d say the Wirral. Beaches. Countryside. Easy access to north wales for hills and Liverpool for city. Also close to Chester which is very pretty. Not too far from Manchester either.

Some lovely places. Heswall, Neston, Upton, hoylake, Bebington. Not too expensive. Good schools. It’s a really nice place to live

I vote for Newcastle or Lincoln.

Newcastle is a big and reasonably diverse city, one of the cheaper of the big cities for rent, and amazing location as you are in reach of the sea and not that far from stunning Northumberland. Loads to do.

Lincoln is a lovely little city and rents are very reasonable, you’d get a good house and garden for that rent. The city is in the Middle of the countryside (downside is it’s quite far from everywhere else), and as a result it doesn’t have the typical “city challenges” or not as many of them anyway. It’s not very diverse but if you’re in the centre or on the outskirts of the city there is more diversity there than in the surrounding villages which are very White British.

Both very affordable! You may however want to choose somewhere closer to an airport if you’re from overseas?

Op in the strongest terms I would suggest cheater for you.It's up north but has an incredibly international population and is extremely friendly. I don't live there but a friend of mine does and I've visited many times over 20 years.
I've made more friends there and had a more fun times than where I currently live.It's small but definitely not too small and has beautiful countryside around it. You will definitely find somewhere to rent with a garden and still cycle into town or walk.

It's also extremely beautiful and is close to Liverpool for the big city vibe and north Wales for extreme natural beauty.

Hexham in Northumberland is lovely. Great community, excellent schools, close to bigger towns like Newcastle. Good facilities for the size of the town (cinema, swimming pool, theatre, library, the best baker in the NE). The countryside around it is amazing.

Bristol!

This flat is pretty small and doesn't have much outdoor space but it's close to loads of open space and is in a nice part of Bristol. An easy drive or bus into the centre.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145958159

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144990662?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=lettings&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_LET

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145294163?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=lettings&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_LET

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145493624?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=lettings&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_LET

How about Wakefield? It's a city in it's own right but close enough to Leeds which is a much bigger city with a wide variety of things to do. There are lots of green spaces on your doorstep. Some good schools.

I've added some links to a few different sorts of properties to give some ideas (I kind of want to go live in the cottage!)

I will say that the population of Wakefield is very white British for the most part but with some pockets of more diversity! That doesn't mean it's unwelcoming and actually I've generally found it quite a friendly place. There are lots of community groups, activities, clubs etc. Leeds is much more diverse in terms of communities.

Another vote for Liverpool - really friendly city, good schools, affordable to rent and buy property, lots going on culturally and near the beach.

towns and villages around Leeds or north Leeds suburbs. Your budget could get a lovely place

Can’t go wrong with Liverpool

Another vote for Liverpool! We have an airport, beaches, amazing shops and museums, so much stuff to do culturally and socially and the amount of tourists who are constantly here is a testament to how fantastic the city is. You will be pushed to find a friendlier welcome than in Liverpool, people talk to everyone and it’s really diverse.

I wouldn’t live anywhere else and your budget would get you a great house with a garden in a nice area, money goes much further here than in many places in the uk. Good luck op!

I live the other side of the Forth from Edinburgh. There's a row of towns and villages along the coast - with a train line direct to Edinburgh. Worth a look.

I live near Bristol, on the coast. You can rent a two bed house for your budget, all the advantages of a smaller town but 9 miles into Bristol. There's a few options towns wise in n Somerset and they have different characters, I'm biased as I like being by the marina but cheaper is Weston Super Mare which has lots of people moving there at the moment meaning they are more open to new people.

Thank you everyone for the wealth of information!

Another vote for Liverpool. Very diverse and friendly with loads going on. You're also wiyhin easy reach of the Lake District and North Wales for holidays.

If you want a bit more space and a garden I'd look at Crosby. It's on a lovely bit of coastline and a short hop on the train into the city centre.

@mitogoshi yes and it's actually quicker to get into Bristol on the train from weston than it is for me to get into the centre on the bus, and I only live two miles out of the centre!

Hi, I am lady, I have a 3 years old daughter and I work in the night. Can find co- house mate in Weston Super Mare area.