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

[exLtEveDallas]

Worcestershire. In a village 3 miles from a small town, 4 miles from a large town and 9 miles from the city.

I bloody love it. Close to the M5 for travelling, just over an hour from the sea, in fact just about an hour from pretty much everything I want!

It's leafy and green, loads of countryside for dogs, good schools, no waiting lists, no issue with medical, no issue with dental. OK for employment, ok for pubs/clubs/cafes/restaurants, stuff for DD, stuff for us.

Moved here not knowing anyone, no family here. Have now got a great life and plenty of friends and things to do. We bought for just over 200, but there are loads above and below in the same area - it's pretty eclectic.

[Zoflorabore]

Right on the edge of Liverpool, close to motorways, tons of parks, nice places to visit, great shops and plenty of schools.
Tons of different restaurants and bars and great social life if that's your thing.
I would never move

[Allthebestnamesareused]

Cambridge

Lovely cosmopolitan diverse city
50 mins into Kings Cross
Nice countryside
Theatres, cinemas, restaurants etc

But sorry £200k might not even get a 1 bed flat

[fourcorneredcircle]

Morecambe/Lancaster

Right on the coast, 40 mins to the lakes or Dales and a little over an hour to Manchester/Liverpool by car. Slightly longer by train.

Two and a bit hours to central London (rare treat as expensive, but day tripable with prior planning for cheap tickets!). Also direct train line to Leeds (takes longer than London... but still Day tripable!)

5/6 highschools are good or outstanding (and it's a grammar area too if that floats your boat). Primary schools are similarly good or better in general.

Employment wise, two universities, large regional hospital and two power stations offer a range of professional and mid level careers. Largest conurbation for the south Lakes/north Lancashire means lots of work in retail and services too.

Average salary is lower than national average but cost of living etc. Lower too.

And here are the 3+ bed homes listed in the last 14 days for up to £200,000

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E769&insId=3&maxPrice=200000&maxDaysSinceAdded=14&minBedrooms=3&radius=3.0&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

I accept the rainfall is higher than average BUT much warmer than the east coast in winter.

[FarAwayHills]

South coast, good transport links, just over an hour to London, beautiful beaches and countryside close by. But it's outrageously expensive and you probably just about get a one bed flat for £200k.

[Carrotgirl999]

I'm in North Yorkshire, a town called Knaresborough near Harrogate and it's just beautiful. The people are friendly, there's everything here you could need and it's a stones throw from the A1 for work purposes.

Plus near lots of great days out for days off like Bolton abbey, brimham rocks and all the north yorks moors. Can't recommend enough x

[mrssmith79]

North East - it's cheap and friendly (but to be honest I know no different as I've always lived here).

[SympathyPotato]

Cumbria here. Nice area with good primary and secondary schools. Employment is mostly in services, engineering and the nuclear industry - plenty of work for the right qualified people but not so flexible in other areas such as design/marketing.

3 bed houses go for anywhere between £140-200,000 depending on where you live. The lakes are on our doorstep and we're less than 2 hours to Manchester; Glasgow is an hour by train from Carlisle.

I love it here and although we have lived elsewhere we feel we have a really nice quality of life.

[IAmAPaleontologist]

County Durham, around 5/6 miles from the city. Wonderful, friendly, lots to do, cheap housing, safe, good transport links with Durham being on the east coast mainline.

[ThePinkOcelot]

I live in County Durham. It's a lovely place to live and Durham city is a lovely city. We are close to A1 north for Newcastle and the Metrocentre. Good schools and some lovely houses for around £200k.

[JBJ]

Derbyshire. I live in a village in between Derby and Nottingham and I love it. It has a proper village feel, loads of events going on, good selection of local shops and on a bus route into both cities, plus a smaller town 10 minutes drive away and easy to access the Peak District etc. M1 is literally 5 minutes drive away. £200k round here would get a 3/4 bedroom house with good garden and off road parking.

[AngelicCurls]

Near huddersfield here too. Love it, great countryside with fabulous walking/riding if that floats your boat. Easy access to leeds/Manchester )45mins, sheffield/Wakefield 30 mins. Huddersfield itself is ok, bit run down, wouldn't gp so far as to say cosmopolitan like a pp tho, but its ok. Nice restaurants in nearby Holmfirth ans the primary schools here are all good/outstanding and mostly small village schools. Secondary's are all ok as well. Lots to do with small babies and people are friendly. I wouldn't want to move

[BaggypantsCrimplesnitch]

Suffolk.

200k got us a 2 bedroom detached bungalow with a huge garden, with lots of lovely countryside and nature reserves within easy reach.

[BobbinThreadbare123]

I live in the same neck of the woods as fourcorneredcircle. I love it here and it is very affordable. Lakes and Forest of Bowland on the doorstep, M6 and West Coast main line right there. Super. Friendly.

[CatThiefKeith]

North Kent - a little Peninsula with half a dozen villages, lots of pubs and surrounded by water.

Historic Rochester is a 10 minute drive, and can be on the M25 in under 20 minutes.

£200,000 would get a 2 bedroom flat or a bloody awesome houseboat down on the marina.

[BestIsWest]

Emerald near Swansea here too. I can see mountains from my house as well and this is just 20 minutes away.

[Mileymoocow]

About 10 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne. We live in a 4 bed detached that we bought for £210k - you can't really get that in many places! Close to some amazing countryside, about 2 miles from the beach and brilliant transport links. I love Newcastle, I think it's a beautiful place and of course I have a 20 minute drive to the metro centre.

[baxterstockman]

Whitley Bay, on the coast just outside Newcastle. Moved here as DH is from North East and always wanted to come back.
We bought good sized 3 bed terrace with garden for 155k five years ago. Probably only worth 30k more now.
Quality of life is FANTASTIC! Beautiful beaches, vibrant city on doorstep, lots of culture and heritage and Northumberland is truly spectacular. The people are also really friendly and schools where we live are excellent.
Downsides? It is fucking freezing for 11 months of the year and miles from my family and friends. But in the main I love it here and would find it very hard to be persuaded to move.

[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.

[atheistmantis]

Bristol, great, cosmopolitan city with a social conscience.

[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!)

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.