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!

Halton, Hest Bank or Bolton-Le-Sands.

Penrith is a good call. I used to have some friends who lived a few streets away from the one linked to on page 1. Perfectly nice area, some lovely solid stone houses, easy walk to town and shops and not far either for pleasant walks. Their kids went to the local schools.

Fabulous Chinese restaurant in Bolton le Sands too - near the coast.
I have a soft spot for Morecambe but not sure I could live there. Excellent for a day trip to browse bookshops and eat cake.

You'd get a lot for that in Lancaster, plus two excellent grammars, both of which regularly top national league tables (although both schools competitive and tough to get into and stay in).

@Beamur

Fabulous Chinese restaurant in Bolton le Sands too - near the coast. I have a soft spot for Morecambe but not sure I could live there. Excellent for a day trip to browse bookshops and eat cake.

Trung's! Delicious. Blue Moon in Lancaster is good Thai.

Man, I haven’t been to Trungs in years! Must go if it survives Covid 🙁.

I don’t agree that the Grammar schools are hard to stay in once you’re in though, there been no movement in DS’s class!

We went camping last year at Bolton le Sands (excellent cafe at the campsite too!) and Trungs was our final night treat and was absolutely delicious.
I don't live in the area but we like visiting.

Thank you, lots to think about. It’s made me really fancy a Chinese takeaway all evening

I’ll keep an eye on properties in Kirkby Lonsdale and have a browse of some of the other places suggested

I think the key for us will be getting the balance right between too big and too small.

I’m from Ulverston originally which is a nice little town, usually q a lot going on with various festivals etc. Houses very cheap as it’s a 30 min drive into the Lakes proper, same to J36 of M6

Eden Valley is just outside the Lakes and much cheaper.

Google "location flood" for every single house you like. Check local newspapers and anything you can find. We relocated last year and this was one of the main drivers in our decision. In the end we gained 90m above sea level on our last house. We did like another that had had landslides close by a year before, ruled it out on this basis.

Great advice thank you!

Funnily enough DH has found a new build he loves the look of in Ulverston. Not sure I want to move from a big town to live in a housing estate though I think it must be quite a big development www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/75032052#/

I lived in a little hamlet called Staveley-in-Cartmel and it was lovely. Easy access to the lakes and Lancaster, very few tourists and a few minutes walk to Lake Windermere. Highly recommend around this area, it is a little remote though!

Kendal or surrounding villages fit your bill.

Genuine choice of lots of good schools at primary. Two excellent secondaries (don’t trust the ofsteds; hugely out of date and the real picture is much more positive). Good rail/road links to the rest of the country.

You’ll easily find a four bed within your price range.

Ulverston is lovely! Not a great choice of shops but lovely little community with its own festivals etc.

We now have a shortlist which is a lot more than I started with so I cannot thank you enough!

Really good to know about schools.

Is there anything else to bear in mind about the area aside from the usual stuff and flooding? It doesn’t seem a particularly high crime area (the lakes in general) compared to where I am now

I think that crime rates are quite localised.

For example, there are some issues in some areas of Morecambe (nice to visit, I'd never want to live there), but not others. In Lancaster in some areas north of the Lune which are 'known' crime areas, but it's often on Nuisance Night more than anything else (notorious on the Ryelands estate). The central & city centre area of Lancaster - south of the Lune - is pretty safe - I walk around at any time of the day or night & feel relatively safe, as long as I don't take stupid risks eg by the canal at 2am.

But there's petty crime everywhere. I've had a break in at my house (in one of the 'naice' areas of Lancaster, all expensive big houses) because - well, it just happens everywhere.

RE new builds in this area ... why oh why? They are usually not built to withstand the weather. I'd go for a solid stone house, and then undertake refurbishment of putting in conservation double-glazed windows, plus loads & loads of insulation in the roof and under the floor boards between floors.

But then I've seen how shonky & thinly built these houses are. Give me 19th century double faced stone eery time, against the north & westerly winds and rains and gales.

Another thing to think about it travel time. You haven't said exactly where you will be, but travel time can vary significantly depending on time of day and season. The roads are generally smaller so prone to backing up in busy times.

I'd make sure to do a practice run for your husband's commute if possible

Good point @Alethiometrical I was hoping for somewhere we wouldn’t have to do work to as we had to do a complete rewire, replaster, replace all windows and conservatory, redo kitchen and all flooring in this place and the idea of moving somewhere where it’s all done was very appealing but I hadn’t considered that!

Seconded re commute - Ulverston to M6 can easily be close to an hour when the traffic is crap. The A590 can back up a lot because much of it is single carriageway and it goes through several villages.

PMd you OP.

anyone else noseying at houses on Rightmove? there are some lovely ones.