Moving to Lincolnshire

[colderandeatsmincepiesalot]

Apologies for AIBU thread, but thought it might attract more traffic. Live in Devon, work from home, DH retired and we would like to move. We want to clear the last of the mortgage and want a larger plot/outside space. Devon has gone mad with prices (yes I know ours has increased too) but everything is being snapped up before even going on the market or buyers are offering waaaay over asking/guide price. So I though well what about Lincolnshire? Is it a nice place to live?? We like walks, outdoors, sailing etc. I have heard so many conflicting opinions, that would thought I would try MN!! I am keen, DH not so much... Help!

@TheHoptimist

Weather is rubbish as well What about rural Kent? Rural Cambridgeshire?

Prices have rocketed in Cambs, especially those places with good access to London.

This doesn’t entirely relate to what the OP has asked for but I think this time capsule with sea view in Pembrokeshire could be great for the right person to do up.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117602453

Stamford and surrounding area is lovely. Easy reach of A1. As is area around Rutland Water.

Avoid the Fens and anything east of Peterborough going along to Boston like the plague. Once you’re off the Peterborough bypass and stuck behind a tractor or agricultural lorry for sodding ages with no way of taking over, it’s a nightmare. Plus that area is Brexit central; they voted to kick the Polish etc crop pickers out of the area and are now complaining like buggery about the price of crops.

@Floundery

God’s waiting room.

Also, the Pilgrim hospital is dreadful.

it does have an air of that about it doesn’t it

I grew up on the Somerset/Devon border, and DH is from Lincolnshire so we've visited often. I'm afraid the flatness and uninspiring coastline just don't do it for me at all - the south-west coastal path it 'aint. I predict you'll really miss Devon a great deal. DH wouldn't move back either.

'There's very little community spirit though because of the amount of immigration here'
What does immigration have to do with very little community spirit?

Lincoln’s a great city, uphill is charming (castle and wonderful cathedral. Shoppings good and you can walk easily from the city centre for lunch at the marina! Very pleasant. The Lincolnshire wolds are , certainly not flat and there are some extremely pretty villages between Louth and Horncastle. For motor sports fans there’s Caldwell Park circuit and Kenwick just outside of Louth is great for a hotel spa day! Ím from North London originally, but spent 10 years in the Lincs Wolds and loved it. Worth exploring I’d say.

Cadwell

The further inland you go, the better!

I'd stay in Devon!

I live in the LIncolnshire Wolds and love it. You can get a v. nice property for £475K. Louth is a lovely market town. Avoid fens/Skeggie/Boston way. Lincoln itself is lovely too, and in N. Lincs there is Stamford (which is v. pricey but lovely.)

As others have said Stamford, Lincoln (uphill), Louth are villages in the Wolds are nice.

There's also Woodhall Spa. It's a lovely large village with cute cinema (the Kinema in the Woods), an lovely outdoor swimming pool and a world famous golf course (with walks).

What others haven't yet mentioned is that Lincolnshire is very off the beaten track, and public transport is not so good. So it makes visits to and from your children more problematic. Stamford is the best of the nicer areas for transport links as it's close to the A1.

@1967buglet

I live in the LIncolnshire Wolds and love it. You can get a v. nice property for £475K. Louth is a lovely market town. Avoid fens/Skeggie/Boston way. Lincoln itself is lovely too, and in N. Lincs there is Stamford (which is v. pricey but lovely.)

Sorry Stamford in South Kesteven…writing too fast. Horncastle also nice. There are also some OK beaches..Anderby Creek, Huttoft. It actually is fairly sunny and dry come the summer here too.

And I’ll maintain Lincoln Cathedral is the most beautiful in England (Ruskin would agree with me).

My husband is from Boston, I am from Gloucestershire, we live in Gloucestershire. After living in Devon, moving to somewhere like Boston or Skegness you will 100% hate it.
I saw someone else saying to try Gloucestershire buy prices will be similar to Devon if not pricier. I would head for Worcestershire/Herefordshire/Malvern/Shropshire if you are wanting countryside/larger plot of land and lower prices.

Shropshire is very expensive

I wouldn't bother. I live in Lincs and it's shite

I live in one of the rural villages very close to Stamford and for your budget you'd get something fantastic. We have a three bed cottage-style semi with field views and it's just been valued at £240k. You get quite a lot for your money around here - it's one of the reasons my parents moved here originally. Agree with avoiding Boston (and Spalding) like the plague though.

I would go for somewhere on the Notts/Lincs border eg Epworth, Misterton, Leverton, Haxey.

Some places to sail inland.

Close to Lincoln, Retford, Doncaster so A1 close by and train to London/Leeds/Newcastle. Lovely countryside.

But why leave beautiful south Devon!
You can be in London in under 3 hours even from the little coastal stations.
I go to Lincolnshire for work and I can't wait to get back to Devon! Although we have only been here 3 years so im still loving it!

I live in South Lincs and it has some positives but definitely some down sides
If you go Stamford area you have Rutland water which is nice.
South Lincs has little access to the coast unless you go to some of the small Ports which have marina’s (Sutton Bridge, Fosdyke, Boston, Surfleet Seas End). However they involve a sail to get to the Wash.

The area has some big issues, it voted very much in favour of Brexit ( for many different reasons). The Health service is dire here, underfunded and a high population of older generations all affecting it.

Not a huge amount to do. Takes a while to get to places. Public transport is worsening due to funds, staff etc. it is not quaint, industrial agriculture is here, big pack houses, HGV’s and not the quaint idyll people think. Brassica fields are becoming wheat fields again this year though due to lack of Eastern European labour. Mud from November to April and it is mostly grey and dank at this time of year which can be depressing. It’s not the friendliest of places I have lived either.
However summers are mostly glorious, sunshine, bright and the endless sky’s are amazing (sunny winter days are lovely too). The quiet anonymity here can be lovely. Some housing is good value if like anywhere you can afford it. Spalding has many issues which are worsening, as does Boston like many market towns across the U.K. so probably worth bearing that in mind.

I used to live in Exeter and am very familiar with lincs and I’d stay in Devon.
Re outdoors/walks etc a lot of the land in lincs is agricultural so you can’t go walking on it.
However To throw a curveball. Barton? Quite nice victorian market town, pretty cheap, easy to get to hull+leeds. Has a Tesco and a few bakers/butchers etc.
Think the secondary is a bit naff but the one in brigg is ok

I would stay in Devon.

thank you so much for all of this....some great advice. We did actually go to Pembrokeshire for a week early Jan to see if we could envisage ourselves living there, but it was still Devon for us. We have a lot of thinking to do....

Gosh Devon to Lincolnshire would be a shock to the system. I wouldn’t ever move back after moving away in my 20s, the nice areas are few and the general tone is very old fashioned. I remember great excitement when Greggs came to my home town, the highlight of the decade. Stamford as mentioned is nice, Lincoln is okay… depends on your perspective and the area.

We moved to North Lincs from the North East for job reasons. It was a shock to the system as initially I found it to be quite parochial and the people not as warm and welcoming as Geordies. However they are certainly better for knowing and after 14 years we feel more settled.
The Wolds are beautiful and for my city fix I can get to Hull (slowly on the up) and Lincoln. Leeds, Manchester and London are easily accessible by train.