Tell me where to live (please)

[crackersforcrackers]

To cut a long story short, I have been gifted £20k that is to be explicitly used for a house deposit, so max house price must be £200k.

I'm currently in the South West and have always been bored living here so would like to move eastwards. I've always dreamed of living in London but I worry this would be a shock after living my whole life in the countryside. Reading is also an option as I've visited there and I liked it, plus there's a benefit of easily getting in to London.

Any ideas of where to live would be gratefully received, ideally no more West than Basingstoke and no more North than Oxford.

And just to throw in a cheeky poll
YABU= Don't live in London
YANBU= Live in London yolo!

What size house to you need? To be ho eat you will struggle to get something for £200k in those areas. If you are ok with a one or two bed flat you might be ok.

I’m not sure you’ll have the option to live in London with that budget, will you? What sort of house are you looking for?
We sold DH’s flat when we moved in together a few years ago, one bedroom in central Reading and that was listed at £200k - we accepted a bit lower I think.

Thank you @Overthebow and @SickAndTiredAgain for your replies.

I only need a one bed flat, but I understand by picking London/surrounding areas I'm going to get something on the small side.

When one is tired of London one is tired of life honestly don’t see any downsides if you’re young and responsibility enough free to be living in a one bedroom flat you should be out there enjoying yourself it’s a bit London all day long for me, Reading is a bit shit

Central London, absolutely no chance on your budget. Greater London, yes you will get a one bedroom flat if you go for a Greater London bordering on Home Counties flat.

I guess it depends on a number of factors.

What about work?
What do you want your lifestyle to be like?
Friends/family proximity?

All that kind of thing.

London an amazing city. But there are other just as great cities or areas, it just depends on your own needs.

Yes the cost of living will be slightly higher, depending on how you live, as opposed to somewhere further afield. There are trade offs in everything.

Get on Right Move, look on maps, get on Time Out. Plenty of research and a big pros v cons list.

Where do you work? If I had a budget of 200k I don’t think I’d go for London unless I genuinely felt that I couldn’t be happy anywhere else ITSWIM. I would recommend doing some weekend visits and get the feel of places. What sort of vibe are you after- more rural/ youthful/ traditional/ rural? Also have a look and see what your money will get in the various areas. I think that bits of reading are worth a look, also what about areas around Windsor? Or a bit more north into areas of Buckinghamshire like Chesham?

Move to Wales! In many areas that will but you a 3/4 bed house 🤣

*buy

The problem with you plan is that in the south east your budget will only allow you to live in a dodgy street in a very dull part of suburbia. You would be better off living in a cheaper town / city on another part of the country where you can live centrally and get some of the buzz you seem to be after.

You need £40k min for London. Sorry

@obstacalling

You need £40k min for London. Sorry

That’s not true at all. It very much spends on where in London.

You could find somewhere on the outskirts of London for £200k but would be small and probably not very exciting. I think you'd be better off looking in a large market town on the commuter belt. Like Guildford or Tunbridge Wells that have good restaurants and quite buzzy centres and not far to London.

Oxford is also a lot of fun!

Or somewhere like Amersham that is at the end of the tube line.

Thank you all for the advice, I was looking at Greater London but there are some great ideas here for further afield. I'll definitely spend some weekends looking around towns to get a feel. And interesting points re being in the suburbs as opposed to a town/city further out.

@Grilledaubergines I can WFH so don't need to worry about jobs, likewise I don't mind being a trek from friends and family.

@Heronwatcher, and @SprigofSage thank you for the town suggestions- I'll get googling!

@Question887 After looking on Rightmove its very tempting

I bought a flat in south london for £200k with a £20k deposit. I’m in South Norwood which isn’t the most exciting area but it’s got a nice community feel, good parks in walking distance, Crystal Palace also walkable or a short bus for nice pubs and places to eat. The train to London Bridge takes 12 minutes. I’m in a small one bed flat but it isn’t grotty, mouldy or falling into disrepair! I also have a huge communal garden which no one else uses which is lovely in summer. It’s doable - I love london and can’t imagine living anywhere else but all my friends are here as well which makes a difference

@TedMullins thank you for your reply! When I was searching I saw a few properties around the £200k mark near Norwood/Catford area and was wondering what it was like. Everything you've said has made me feel a lot better

How much do you earn?
You can still get some 5% deposits.
You will get extra deposit if you get some quickly into an isa that has a housebuying bonus.

If you earn less than £60k you would be eligible for shared ownership- could get a nice flat in central London

What is it that draws you to London in particular? You could consider other citys Brighton for example?

Just a tip, Catford is about to go through a huge regeneration (they have been saying this for years) however at the moment there's a lot of empty shops and roadworks and it's just a bit grim. You could buy somewhere there and play the long game in the hope that ONE DAY the regeneration will be completed and you'll have made some cash or you can avoid it completely because it won't be very much fun to live there for a fair few years.

I'm sure someone will be along to correct me soon!

@TheHoptimist Ooh thank you I'll have a look at 5% deposits. I'm on £25k but I'm hoping to change jobs after I've moved to something with a better salary. A fair few of my friends have done Shared Ownership and run into loads of problems so I'm keen not to go down that route, but thank you for the ideas!

no more North than Oxford
Why?

You can't borrow £180k on a £25k salary though. Max 5 times income.

@DDivaStar I like doing a lot of things on the weekend and found that places like Bath and Bristol after a few months I ran out of things to do. I've stayed with friends and a cousin in London and I loved that there were always food markets, new art exhibitions/plays/theatre etc. I never felt bored and I loved the feeling of history in every street. I do like Brighton, but I after a couple of weekend staycations there I already feel I've done the top 20 things to do if that makes sense? But I am interested to see if the mumsnet hivemind had any alternative cities I hadn't thought of, or ways to be in London on the cheap

Ah thank you @SprigofSage, if I look at flats near Catford I will definitely keep your advice in mind re the regeneration process and if its a bit grim now