to ask where in the uk you live, just the town or region and why you like living there?

[flirtygirl]

Hi im looking for info on where is nice to live in the uk where you can buy a house for under 200k.
So good transport links, shopping, parks, leisure activities, schools, public transport and jobs.

Or does your area not have that much going for it but a real community feel and whats more important.

Just your thoughts please. Thanks

Thoughts welcome even if you cant buy a house for under 200k, where you live but you rent and are happy renting, thanks

[JBJ]

And I'm now off to name change as will have outed myself to anyone that knows me!

[JBJ]

PolarBearGoingSomewhere I'm in one of those villages :) State Secondary schools are pretty good; there's a choice of 4 around here that we can apply for, and, having looked around them all recently as got a ds going up in September, there's a good choice. I have a friend whose kids went through Trent College and it seems like a fab school. Love living in Derbyshire and you couldn't pay me to move from this village!

[Usernamegone]

Another vote for Devon here. Some villages/towns are pricey but others are much more reasonable. My two bed house in Exeter would sell for well under 200k and you get a 3 bed for under 200k. 2.5 hours on the train to London (or 1 hour if you fly) yet 20 minutes from beaches and Dartmoor.

[GimmeeMoore]

When you say uk,are you including Scotland,Wales or is it primarily england

[CMOTDibbler]

South Worcestershire - somewhere between LtEve and Wolfiefan . Love it in our very small town - proper shops plus an indoor market, pool, leisure centre, community cinema/theatre, restaurants, but safe enough that my 10 year old can cycle to his friends and the kids take themselves swimming. Fab access to amazing countryside, and close enough to Worcester/Cheltenham to not miss out. Direct train to London
Theres a good number of 3 bed houses under 200k

[PolarBearGoingSomewhere]

JBJ has nailed what I was going to say I personally live in a city in the East Midlands but there are lots of lovely villages between Derby and Nottigham which are handy for the M1 and A52. In particular Draycott and Ockbrook are two of my favourites. There is Trent College private secondary school nearby ando overall pretty good primary schools. Not certain on state secondaries although in our city we bought our 4 bed house in an Oupstanding catchment area for less than £200k.

Employment opportunities are pretty good with Boots, Rolls Royce, Toyota and Capital One all being based in the region.

The Peak District is nearby and beautiful and Birmingham in particular out of the Big Cities is very easily accessible by train.

[realwoodlogs]

Carlilse.

Love it here. Some bars/pubs, nice restaurants, lots of activities, lakes on your doorstep, awesome scenery, fab walks, small but lots going on, nice city centre, lovely people.

Can get good size house (4 bed) for £200k or less.

Been here 3 years and love it.

[Twinchaos1]

York,
I moved here and love it. Lovely small city, villages all around.
Good schools.
No hassle with GP's etc.
2 hours by train to central London.
It is bit flat though!

[SallyGinnamon]

Altrincham area South Manchester. Tram to city centre in 25 mins. Countryside and National Trust properties in the opposite direction. Excellent schools and an increasingly vibrant market area with lovely restaurants and bars.

Cheaper than London but more expensive than most of Manchester. A terraced in Hale village would be about £350k but that would also buy a semi in Timperley 10 mins away.

[SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed]

Sheffield, I really like it! Not sure about jobs, it would depend what you were looking for, but plenty of housing under £200,000, good transport within the city and to other places, and masses of parks! They claim to have more parks than any other city, not sure about that but they do have a lot. Seriously, there seems to be one on every street corner. Lots of lovely woodland too. Oh and the Peak District is actually part of the city.

[babybythesea]

Cornwall. Got a 4 bed house for 220,00, so I would imagine a 3 bed would come in under 200,000.
We live in a chocolate box village with stunning views.
The downside is that there are no facilities in our village - no post office, no village pub, no local shop. There is no bus running through either - you either walk over 2 miles to the nearest bus stop or drive.
The nearest school is the next village - it's a fantastic little school. The best thing about life in general here is reflected in the school - it's the community. There's a huge sense of community - it's a bit like living in The Archers (we even have a village panto).
I live near the beach, I can see for miles across fields and woods from my living room (I think I counted over 100 fields visible, and only 6 houses), I have to be organised about making sure I have milk in etc but I don't mind that - don't even think about it to be honest.
Jobs wise, bit thin on the ground. And all my favourite spaces fill up with tourists in the summer (I spend all winter walking the dog on a windy beach and fantasizing about being able to enjoy a bit of sun on the beach, and then the sun comes out and there's no room to move and I'm not allowed the dog anyway!)
We have no ties here - DH got a job in the area knowing nothing about it.
Now, we have no plans to move.

[mnaddict1]

Another vote for Worcestershire here. Am from a small town 15 miles from Worcester. Now live in Worcester. My husband is not local and would g live anywhere else now- considers it home. Good amenities in Worcester, Malvern hills on the doorstep and plenty to do. 3 hours on slow train to London but a new faster rail link with u set two hours is on the cards. If you drive to Birmingham (40 mins) you can be in London in 90 mins. Great access to m5/m6 and m42. Can be in Devon within 2.5 hours and at the beach (Weston in 1.15 hours). I love it

[flirtygirl]

Thank you

[Nospringflower]

In Edinburgh. Love it - great city and beautiful but expensive.

[Autumnchill]

Cleethorpes. Live 2 minutes from the beach, great restaurants and small shops cropping up all within walking distance. Wolds 10 minutes drive, Peak and Yorkshire within an hour. Cheap living, low crime, I just love it 😊

[weebarra]

Small town just outside Edinburgh (where DH and I both work). Town has good schools and ok shops as well as a community. Bigger shopping centres nearby. Near to beaches and lovely countryside. Our house is a smallish new build which cost £250,00 6 years ago.

[Acornantics]

Lancashire. 30mins drive to Manchester and Liverpool and near the Lakes, 2hrs on train to London. Decent schools if you choose the right area, friendly people, cute market towns, great sense of community, countryside and cosmopolitan cities all around.

[PickAChew]

Co Durham.

Beautiful, if rugged countryside, lots of towns and cities in easy reach, half decent public transport, fantastic coastline and in many places a modern 4 bed detached will be under 200K (we know, we've been looking for one!)

[Peanutandphoenix]

I live right in Southport and we have the basic stuff like a fair and swimming pool and arcades am not far from Blackpool or preston and really close to the train station so getting to Liverpool is only a 45 minute ride on a train and there is plenty for kids and adults to do in Liverpool also very close to bus stops where I live so very handy for getting a bus in to Liverpool or to see my family. Loads of different shops in Southport as well and plenty of jobs if your a care assistant or you work in the restaurant industry. I don't particularly like where I live but I wouldn't live anywhere else because I want to stay close to all my family.

[BeastofCraggyIsland]

We moved to Devon last year and absolutely adore it. We previously lived in Herts/Bucks (DP is from there but I'm Irish). Although I loved my job there I hated the area; we were near some very 'naice' places and pretty countryside and it's easy to get into London etc. but we like open spaces, wild landscapes, climbing, hiking, sea kayaking, surfing etc. so just found it dull and too full of people. We had to drive hours to get to anywhere interesting and the traffic is utterly ridiculous. If I never have to waste precious hours of my life sitting on the M25/M1/M40 again it will be too soon. It is also crazily overpriced, £200k wouldn't get you much, if anything.

So yeah, I didn't like it

Devon though, is amazing for us. Beautiful countryside, far fewer people (although obviously busy in the summer holidays), easy reach of Dartmoor, Exmoor and incredible beaches in both Devon and Cornwall. Reasonable property prices - we sold DP's inherited house when we moved down here and were initially renting but we have just bought a bigger property with some land outright - easy to get around, great amenities in Exeter and more in easy reach in Plymouth or Bristol. I feel a million times happier and more settled and at home here than I ever did in the HCs, our quality of life is immeasurably better.

[RayofFuckingSunshine]

Northumberland coast. We moved here a few years ago and don't regret it for a moment.

I can get to a beautiful city in half an hour, public transport links are good, people are wonderfully friendly. Cost of living is cheap, as is housing, quality of life is wonderful and it really is the most beautiful place, so much to see and do.

[isseywithcats]

Halifax west yorkshire, i live here because its a small town so friendly vibe, within 1-2 hours from here there is Leeds, manchester, liverpool, the fabulous yorkshire dales, haworth bronte country, seaside can get to whitby and the area around there, 2 hrs to peak district and lake district, good transport links m62 15 minutes from my house, just feels so central without being a big city and £250000 would buy almost a mansion round here average price of a three bed semi detached with front and back garden and garage in the nice part of halifax Norton tower area would be around £150000

[Wolfiefan]

I'm not far from atheistmantis. South Glos. rural feel but close to Bristol and Cheltenham. M4/5 means good transport links. Quiet but decent sports centre, schools, library and some lovely places to walk (and eat!)

[atheistmantis]

Bristol, great, cosmopolitan city with a social conscience.

[whippetwoman]

Warwickshire near Leamington Spa/Warwick. 20 mins to Birmingham, 1.5 hours to London. Really good schools and really great countryside! I genuinely love living here but it is expensive round and I'm not sure what you'd get for 200k house-wise.
I am from North Essex/Suffolk borders and am very fond of Suffolk indeed but find Colchester, where my parents are from, is too crowded and built up compared to here. Also close to Worcestershire and as a previous poster mentioned, it's lovely there too.