AIBU to ask you for help in where to live in the lakes?!

[Potofcocks]

We’ve just found out we are going to be moving next year due to DH getting a big promotion at work. Hugely grateful that he has a job for one and now this step up, but feel slightly overwhelmed at the prospect because the area that most makes sense to move to is the Lake District.
We’ve only ever been to Windermere, Ambleside, Keswick, Grasmere.
Our budget is 450k max ideally and looking for a four bedroom.
Without going into too much detail as I think it would be outing as I know a few people on here, we can be quite flexible and head just outside the lakes to get better value for money, but would ideally be looking for:

A good school
4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms or 1 bathroom and downstairs toilet
Local shops and pub and a town with more shops etc that isn’t too far away drive wise (not a huge town but just somewhere with more choice)

I don’t think windermere, bowness or Ambleside are an option with our budget or requirements and seeing as I don’t know the rest of the lakes that well and can’t go and do a bit of research as we’ve just gone to tier three, feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure how to go about choosing somewhere

Can anyone help or recommend places where they live that might fit the Bill?

Thank you!

Penrith? Kendal? Might still be too expensive not sure but would at least be less tourist overrun than Ambleside

Thank you! I’ll take a look. Yes I’m not keen on too touristy especially considering how people behaved this year to some of the locals. It’s not somewhere we have ever considered before and I’m feeling a bit nervous as a friend of mine used to live in the lakes said it’s very insular and not very friendly to outsiders moving in.
I’ve never found it to be unfriendly when we’ve stayed there tbh and can’t imagine the whole of the Lake District is like this but we are currently in a very friendly community so it doesn’t make me a bit worried about fitting it as it’s a different way of life!

Also places like Lancaster

I'm guess you don't need to be in the lakes itself from your phrasing? Just that sort of north/west/close m6

Kendal is a good choice, because it keeps you on the West Coast Mainline and close to the M6. It's not so touristy that you feel overrun. Primary schools are good and the two secondaries are OK/v good respectively. However, there is also Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedbergh and Milnthorpe nearby with v decent educational opportunities. If you want to go into Lancs instead then the villages around Lancaster are very nice, and there are some superb schools there.
Your budget would get you something rather nice in Kendal, genuinely. I am a Lakes incomer (I am a scouser!) - they take a bit to warm up to you, but once you get to know Cumbrians they're awesome.

Thank you this is so helpful I really feel out of my depth!

No we don’t need to be in the lakes itself but thought it would be a good opportunity to bring DS up somewhere more picturesque and outdoorsy (will probably be very unimpressed by this by the time he’s a teenager!) so that’s why we thought it would be the best fit

Are you able to say roughly where the job is? West Cumbria, towards the East or more the Lancashire end?

@bobbinthreadbare123 thank you that’s good to know, I’m happy to make the effort and am generally a friendly person but I do feel a bit daunted by such a change

@redspook it’s more towards the Lancaster side

Avoid the national park boundary if you can. Prices will be lower.
Personally, I quite like the south Lakes area. Arnside/Silverdale but no idea about schools. South Lakes is quite well connected transport wise. It's a lovely part of the world.

Hello! Penrith is a good bet. It's 20mins to Ullswater by car, 30ish to Keswick and 30ish to Carlisle. It's just off the m6 and not touristy - it's perhaps not as well presented as other towns like Keswick, but is peaceful in the summer months when the national park is overrun.

It's on the West Coast main line between London and Glasgow. I find this really handy. In other parts of the lakes, say Cockermouth, you're really out of the way. I like being able to get to Manchester or Glasgow by train in 1.5hrs or so.

I think you could find a lovely house for £450k with change to spare www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/76215258#/ (Wordsworth St is very pretty and 5mins from the woods for family walks)

I can't comment much on schools as I'm currently pregnant with my 1st. But know that the Grammar School is very good - it's called Queen Elizabeth (QEGS).

Cumbrian communities can be insular. I'm not local but joining some local groups and volunteering has helped make me feel more a part of the community. I think if you have school age kids it probably makes it easier to meet people too.

Although just seen your South lakes update so you might be best off around Kendal or coast as PP suggested 🙂

I agree with bobbin's suggestions. The lakes towns are very touristy and you'd be unlikely to get a 4 bed for your budget. It's also a long way from anywhere else. Kendal is great, your money will go further on a house and you can be in Manchester in an hour.

Here's a house: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/87453205#/
Look at the view

Thank you! I’m feeling a bit excited now instead of just feeling like I want to bury my head in the sand about it!

Kendal and south lakes look like good options - showed DH Penrith and he doesn’t think it’s too far out so that could also be an option (he won’t be office bound every day so that gives us a bit of flexibility as well)

@Potofcocks Definitely feel excited. We lived in Kendal for years and would move back in a heartbeat if we got the chance. Just doing a very wet school run, but in short we found these advantages:

Easy access to the M6 and conveniently placed (especially for South Lakes)
Less touristy
On the edge of the Lakes, still scenic and beautiful, but considerably cheaper
Big supermarkets, little hospital, good GP surgery, lovely walks on the doorstep, lovely schools (although we only used junior school)

Moves are often stressful, but I hope this one goes really well for you!

Thank you @TonberryDreams that’s exactly what I needed to hear! Hope you don’t get too soggy!

In regards to Penrith and Kendal are there any areas to avoid?

@Potofcocks

In regards to Penrith and Kendal are there any areas to avoid?

Yes. I've PMd you.

Take a look at Kirkby Lonsdale, excellent school and is a really nice market town. Boutique style shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels.

@lancashirelady thank you, I had a look but no four beds came up within our budget there so looks like we are priced out

Kirkby Lonsdale looks amazing and the area ticks all our boxes, but all the houses that fit our criteria (4 bedroom) are 700k+ ...is there anywhere similar to it that's not as expensive? Just looking at the map...

Penrith and Kendal are definite contenders

Kirkby Stephen? - Eden valley, in the gap between the Lakes and Dales NPs, so not quite in demand, though that may change as they're extending the NP to include the Eden Valley.

Another similar place to Kirkby Lonsdale is Sedbergh, again a lovely market town. Keep looking at Kirkby as not all 4 bedrooms are that expensive. Grange over Sands is another overlooked area, on the outskirts of the national park on the coast, has a station, and an easy commute to Kendal and the M6. Ulverston is further out but a lovely place. It all depends what area you are thinking of and what distance you are prepared to travel.

My 82 year old granpa calls Grange over Sands 'God's waiting room'!
Just bear in mind that a lot of places are actually very small - Ulverston is nice but it is basically one street as a town centre!

hahah we call Grange God's waiting room too!

Kendal if you want a town, some areas naicer than others like any town.

Kirkby Lonsdale is lovely, take a look at the villages in and around the Lune Valley too (Sedbergh to Lancaster), great motorway and rail links, handy for the towns and an easy commute to the lakes, great village communities, more bang for your buck between the 2 national parks.

I'd avoid Milnthorpe and Carnforth, but that's just me. Everywhere else you could pretty much stick a pin in the map and be happy.