To ask where in the Midlands or North would you would live if…

[movvrjm]

You have a toddler and can move anywhere? Budget around 550k. I am very remote at the moment and don’t like it but also don’t like being very central to a city. I’d like to be close ish to one though.

I’d be avoiding anywhere with one of those Redwall Tory MPs. Too much victim mentality and low aspiration. It would eventually grind you and your kids down like crabs in a barrel.

Pray tell. What is your vast knowledge of the Midlands, that makes you want to avoid it all? Ignoramus.

North
Hexham or Harrogate

Midlands
Bromsgrove

Absolutely. I'd love to live there 😍

Another one bigging up Cheshire. Lots of lovely countryside. I live in Macclesfield so the Peak District is all accessible to us. But also Manchester is only a few minutes by train.

Your budget should get a pretty decent 4 bed detached round here I would think. Also the local schools are quite good.

Wirral. Smack bang between Liverpool and Chester and not that far from Manchester. Also has the benefit of countrywide, beaches, lots to do for families and children.

The triangle between Leamington Spa, Warwick and Stratford upon Avon.
Good schools, great restaurants, culture. Edge of the Cotswolds. Easy travel to London/Birmingham/the North.

Yes nice choice 👍

Yarm

That explains a lot...

PMSL at some of the suggestions... Think Wild NW!

Avoid Lancaster.

Do you have any other requirements?

Not Wilmslow.

It's fucking awful and full of twats who can't drive but think they should be entitled to own the road.

Malvern or Shrewsbury.

But it depends on whether you have relatives you want to visit in the south east, they're both a bit out of the way.

Without being mean it’s always the same old places and they’re invariably highly desirable expensive places where locals are already being priced out. Waiting for Hebden bridge next.

£550k is an excellent budget in the Midlands & North, and it should get you a 4 bed detached in most places, so you have plenty of options.
A couple of suggestions in the East Midlands, which I know well.

Firstly, West Bridgford which is a popular middle class Nottingham suburb. It is very suburban, but the town centre is great, it has excellent transport links, good schools, and it’s close to everything Nottingham has to offer.

Secondly, a nice market town in Derbyshire, eg Matlock, Ashbourne, or Bakewell. All are lovely, set in beautiful countryside accessible to the Peak District and have good schools. Market Harborough in south Leicestershire is also recommended, but it’s much further south and house prices are higher because it’s less than an hour’s commute from St Pancras on the Midland Main Line.

Sheffield, which is where I am. 20 min one way city centre, 15 the other middle of the Peak District. For those who want both. And 500k would go a long way for housing.

Essex, several towns and near the picturesque rivers. High Sunshine levels. Many places easy train to London.
4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Rectory Road, Stanford-Le-Hope, SS17 (rightmove.co.uk)

If determined to go to Midlands then as@Peakypolly says but I would add Coventry

Lancaster is great. Small human-scale city with lots going on (university brings lively cosmopolitan feel). Good schools. 1h direct train to Manchester. Easy links by train or road to Lake District. Nice coastal and country areas nearby.

Liverpool

Northumberland every time

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@username268 Have you ever been to Lancaster?