Leaving London for Lincolnshire

[savykeane]

HI. I would love some advice on moving to Lincolnshire also. I have just sold my property in London and looking to move to a nice area with good schools. I have 3 girls, my eldest has quadriplegic cerebral palsy so will require a special school. We have visited Nettleham and I have seen the property (which must be a bungalow) in Welton with good schools. We are both self-employed so can be flexible but I have to consider transport for my eldest daughter and the catchment area. Being a city girl I'd love to be close to some amenities such as coffee shops and a gym, don't mind driving about 30 mins. My younger children(6 months and 2 yrs) swim 3 times a week and id like this to continue also like them to start ballet and tennis lessons as soon as they are old enough Any advice on other locations you can recommend would be greatly appreciated. My budget is £550 -£600,000. Must be in a safe area with a low crime rate and good schools. Someone has mentioned Bourne as there' a special which we will look into. Thanks

Have you considered Bristol?

I was brought up in London and have been out for 30 years. Parents still live there and we are now 2 hours away for the West End Theatre etc.

I would be really careful here. London is vibrant, with lots of independent shops, things on your doorstep, hospitals around the corner etc You end up taking it for granted and then you move somewhere else. I dont know much about Lincoln but I was insistent on not moving more than 2 hours away. We are 23 miles from Oxford which is a very nice city but nowhere beats London.

We are in a beautiful area of the country and honestly couldnt afford London now compared to what we have here but I do sometimes dream of going back

Lived in Lincolnshire for a bit and couldn’t get out quickly enough tbh. It’s great if you like rural, but I found it oppressively insular with poor access to the rest of the UK. There’s a reason it’s cheap.

Have you considered coming a bit further up to Yorkshire/the north east OP?

Hi @Helbelle75 i hope you don’t mind me jumping on this message thread - was just reading and wondered what kind of areas you’d recommend for a family relocating to Lincoln. Ideally south rather than north due to being the right side to go back and visit family. I saw you mentioned a village area and was interested in your recommendations. Thanks 😊

I left London for Lincoln in 2000 and brought my children up here. I would go back to London in the morning if I could. Consider your need for access to healthcare. Lincoln is limited in terms of the service from the hospital. I miss the ease of travelling around London and London life in general. We are in the centre and uphill Lincoln is lovely it’s just not London

Welton is lovely we lived there for seven years and only moved due to DH job. It’s a short bus ride or drive into Lincoln from there. Not sure about the schools as DD was only a baby when we left. Nettleham is lovely too. We moved back to Lincolnshire and are happily settled here now, friendly area.

Hi, I grew up near Lincoln and found it soul-destroying. Nothing there. It's got better, certainly but not a place to live if you like cities.

I'm moving to Lincoln from the South and have to say I disagree with pp, I think it's a great city. The uphill area is beautiful with cobbled streets and ancient buildings and then downhill you've got all the city amenities, bars and restaurants etc. Granted it's not as big and diverse as a lot of cities but I like it for that reason, granted I don't have kids and wfh so can be pretty flexible. Don't know much about any places outside the city though!

It depends how far or close you want to be to the city.

Bassingham, Collingham are nice.
Witham St Hughes has a good school however the area has become very overcrowded with new housing
South Hykeham is good too.
Skellingthorpe is okay however there is an abattoir and it can smell in the summer.
Saxilby is also a lovely village.

Lincoln is a city that feels like a town. Fresh air, beautiful countryside, rich history and super villages. I'm in the south east of Lincoln and it's a very popular place to live.

I was brought up in north east Lincolnshire and that feels very different. You don't get people passing through so it feels insular. However the coast is gorgeous.

If I didn't want access to the city I'd probably move more towards wood hall spa.

If you are looking for special schools you might want to call liase for some guidance. I know they are all full. My son travels an hour to Grantham even though St Christopher's is a short drive away and perfectly suitable. (His school is incredible and he loves the travel strangely)

I've lived rurally and have to say... Do you really want to drive 30 mins for a coffee shop or gym? That's an hour of driving before you've even done anything. Rural living can get very tiring and isolating.

I regularly visit family near Brigg and friends in Grantham, and they are two of the most oppressively dull, soul-destroying places I’ve been. Worse than east Leics by far, and that was my previous idea of godawful.

I'm from Lincs and its very pleasant to visit but I'd never move back there!

It is dull and provincial and feels very cut off from, well, everywhere really!!

Thank you all for your replying to my post. I am still in London and proberly will stay at this stage, though I do still look every day at property in lincolnshire compared to London. I'm just know that I'd miss London if I leave. Just wish the property prices weren't so crazy here

Hospitals in Lincolnshire are dire and dangerous, ULHT is not a good trust. Across the border however into Nottinghamshire, it is much better. Southwell is a beautiful village and Sherwood Forest trust is very good.

To be honest it's what you like. There's no right or wrong, just opinions. Loads of people I went to school with are still there and love it - and it has improved with the uni coming. Personally, I found it oppressive, hate how isolated it is, think it is boring and hugely prefer London. They might find London overwhelming, too crowded etc. I just think you need to consider your needs and desires. Lincolnshire is of course cheaper!

We are lincolnshire I have a child at a special school my advice, research the sen schools and go from there pretty much all of lincolnshire is the same were all country bumpkins 🤣, there is not alot of sen provisions to choose from so really do your research some are horrific. Join the parents groups for each school on Facebook and you will get a true insight of them and hopefully can find one that you like. My daughter travels 40 mins in a shared taxi with an escort but absolutely loves her school there is zero wraparound care around here for them tho

I have lived in Lincoln all my life and love it. I love visiting London and it is very different but a great place to bring up children and house prices are not too high. The city has everything you need and the bailgate is lovely for lots of nice places to eat out. We live in North Hykeham which has lots of good primaries and secondaries and is not far from St Christophers. Welton and Nettleham are lovely but you might find you get a bigger house for your money in the North Hykeham area. Also 5 mins from the A46. We travel to London a lot. We go from Newark which is a 15 min drive from North Hykeham.

I moved from London to Lincoln in my early 30s for my husband who lives up here, I was so bored out of my brains the first few years. Now that we have a young family I’m appreciating the cheap housing and countryside a lot more. Schools are meant to be good here (one of the few places with a grammar school system) but hospital is dire. Career opportunities is non existent in my field. Don’t do it…