To want to live in Hampshire

[Garbanzo]

Dream is to live in Hampshire i a detached forever house, lovely garden, balmy evenings, bbqs and outdoor dining.... probably around a £500k - £600k house.

We currently live in Scotland, work for NHS, DH works for local authority. Age 48 / 51 £100k joint income, no kids. £250k net worth.

AIBU to plan to move to Hampshire and find a lovely house and work ?

OP happy for you to PM me. I work in the NHS in that region and can give you information on what the job situation is like.

100% achievable. I live in Hampshire - the bit near Surrey/Sussex and for £500,000 you could get a nice four bed detached or semi detached. It’s similar prices in Fareham.

I would work out what you want from somewhere? For example there’s some fantastic countryside but then you are further from the sea (still only half an hour away). Do you want to be in a town?

What about Emsworth, right by the sea and has some lovely (expensive) houses?

Have you considered South Wiltshire as an affordable option? We're only just over an hour's drive from Southampton but with property prices that aren't too high. Still have excellent transport links via A303 and trains. Beautiful countryside for walks, and easy journey south to the Dorset coast too.

The areas you mention are getting seriously overdeveloped.

How about an odd 'compromise' and move from Scotland to West Yorkshire. Then you could fly from
Leeds-Bradford airport to Eastleigh (just on the edge of Southampton.

The area of West Yorkshire near the airport is breathtaking.

The Petersfield area is nice - I lived around these parts 25 ish years ago - I was far more rural, but it was nice. Chichester also is nice

With £250k in the bank snd joint £100k income you could easily move to Hampshire, no?

Just do it

How about Hythe and Waterside if you want to be near the sea. There are some nice beaches around there like Lepe or Calshot. Very close to the new forest and easy travel into Southampton. Not the most picturesque place in the world but there are nice areas and drivel but horses in the region of 500k. It's pretty cheap because it's not an easy commute route but I believe they're putting in a railway line at some point in the future. If you work in the NHS there is a hospital in Southampton and also smaller sites like Hythe hospital and Tatchbury, obviously depending on your specialism.

I really would avoid Southampton City, Portsmouth/ Gosport or Fareham. They aren't "dream home" territory.

@Twatterati

The areas you mention are getting seriously overdeveloped.

How about an odd 'compromise' and move from Scotland to West Yorkshire. Then you could fly from
Leeds-Bradford airport to Eastleigh (just on the edge of Southampton.

The area of West Yorkshire near the airport is breathtaking.

You can also fly from Scotland (Edinburgh) to Southampton Airport

Nothing wrong with Hampshire, I have lived in a few different parts of it after moving over from West Sussex (which I miss so much IT HURTS) due to family circumstances.

As others say there is an absolutely huge variation in the quality of areas and you'd probably get better value for money staying in Scotland than living in one of the less-nice parts...... the New Forest side is very pretty and slightly less built up but it's all still very expensive relative to the rest of the country. I would love to have a £5-600k budget to get a detached house but we currently live in a VERY bog-standard 3 bedroom semi with no driveway, that still cost near to the national average house price.

As an aside I believe Southampton is perfectly fine as a big city, don'tunderstand all the hate! Got everything you need and no more dirty or dangerous than any other city in this country. City living def not for me though.

If you really want to do it I'm sure you can make it happen, you're in a much more fortunate financial situation than most.

We lived in South Hampshire for many years. What you like is so individual to you as I wouldn't choose the areas you're looking at, but that doesn't mean much if you know you'd like it there. Sounds like you know the area already. Everyone puts down Portsmouth but I personally love Southsea, but the traffic is enough to put me off though. My dream places in Hampshire would either be Petersfield, villages north of chichester, Emsworth, Bosham area, villages around Winchester. They're dream places though because I will never be able to avoid anything in any of those 😂

Also I think South Hampshire offers it all - gorgeous countryside, lovely coastline and great cities for shopping in!

Hi OP, I live in Waterlooville which is just over the hill from Portsmouth, I love that in one direction we have the countryside and the other the seaside.
I have lived here my whole life and often think of moving to Wales or Scotland but I think I would miss the summers.

If you are going to do it then now would be a good time or you risk leaving it too late.

Cost of living higher in SE, obviously, so would only move if at least one of you could get a job paying more, and the other one something OK, and if decent housing in an area close enough to work and family would be doable without a big mortgage increase.

I don’t understand the ‘forever’ home idea. What if you or DH didn’t like it? your family decided to move, or for whatever reason you didn’t spend much time with them?

Regular visits to see your relatives, even by flying, would be a LOT cheaper!

@waltzingparrot I grew up in Fareham in the 70s/80s, and dh is from Titchfield. Db had an MQ where Daedalus used to be. Not much seems to have changed!!

I went to sixth form in Winchester, as did ds, both boarded. Hampshire's too built up now. When I was a kid you could drive from Fareham to Southampton through the little villages, with space in between them. Now it's just urban sprawl.

If I were forced to move that way, I'd be looking at Wiltshire. Some pretty villages there, like Hindon. However, I'm staying in Cornwall.

Do it!! I live in Hampshire and it is lovely… we are close to the sea, the new forest and there are lots of great cities close by like Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester each with huge hospitals. I always feel lucky to live where I do. Make that dream a reality

Fancy a 1 bed apartment in historic Haslar - sea view?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85167736#/?channel=RES_BUY

This is our dream too OP. We have a caravan and always end up in either Dorset or Hampshire, absolutely love it. Unfortunately we don’t have such a high joint income as you have so we will have to settle with having a caravan on a seasonal pitch so we can visit every weekend. I say go for it, it’s such a lovely area and so much to do although locals do tell us it’s a nightmare in the summer due to the huge influx of holidaymakers.

I just love it down there

Someone’s got to I suppose Give me Scotland over Hampshire any time!

Ringwood is lovely, near the New Forest, good bus links, inbetween Bournemouth and Southampton so plenty of hospitals to choose from.

@FinallyFluid 😂

I love Hampshire, especially at this time of year when the leaves begin to turn. The best thing about it is that you rarely hear anyone say 'I want to live in Hampshire', generally people yearn for Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Wales etc. So Hampshire's charms tend to go unmentioned and we remain relatively undisturbed

I live in Fareham, I am 15 mins walk from town and the creek is about 2 mins walk from my house. I like it here, there are nice beaches about 15-20 mins away at Stokes Bay, Lee on Solent is very nice and very popular with a high street that has some really nice shops. Hill Head just a bit further along has some really nice properties but pretty expensive.

I would hate to move further afield, being close to the sea is perfect for me.

I agree about much of it being over developed. Ringwood and the NF in general are lovely but pretty much inaccessible in the summer because all the roads are blocked by holiday makers. It's pricey as well, you would need a lot more than £500k in southern Hampshire to get a decent sized garden. As some people have said the more rural bits possibly, but with non existent bus services you are then going to be driving everywhere.

Go the other way into West Sussex. Close enough to Portsmouth and Southampton, but less expensive than Hampshire- well, some of it is.