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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to hope for a fresh start by the sea on £250k

377 replies

RussetDreams · 11/07/2026 21:09

I am mid fifties and want a new start. No family support. AIBU to think I can find a house by the sea or in a low-crime market town with a maximum budget of £250k? Any ideas?
YABU - budget is too low
YANBU - these places exist

OP posts:
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46
Cheesegal · 11/07/2026 23:44

Westgate on Sea.

Lovely little town. Close to Margate and Canterbury. Nice high street also.

WanderingWellies · 11/07/2026 23:50

BobbyGentry · 11/07/2026 21:24

… recently was on a train which went through Alnmouth which looked pretty xXx

It’s stunning. One of my favourite places.

WanderingWellies · 11/07/2026 23:55

clareykb · 11/07/2026 21:45

Another one for North East Coast Tynemouth and Whitely Bay have some nice shops, lovely Sandy beaches and are a metro ride in to Newcastle they are more expensive than other places nearby like Newbiggen by the sea but have a less industrial vibe and you would absolutely get something in budget. I'm north east born and bred and a super proud northern lass but I would avoid the Durham coast od you are not familiar with the area as although some bits are lovely others are very deprived and housing stock is poor.. have come across a few people where they brought a house for 50k without visiting,over up and were not happy when the rest of the street was derelict/owned by dodgy landlords etc etc

You can still buy something for 250k in Tynemouth? Maybe I’ll be able to retire there after all!

clareykb · 11/07/2026 23:57

WanderingWellies · 11/07/2026 23:55

You can still buy something for 250k in Tynemouth? Maybe I’ll be able to retire there after all!

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I mean it's still much more expensive than surrounding areas but you can get like a masionette or a small terrace..But not one of the huge Victorian ones on the front that I lust after 😂 😂

Bananas85 · 11/07/2026 23:58

There are so many lovely seaside towns which you'd be able to move with that budget. I think you'd be best doing research into parts of the country and decide on where abouts in the UK you'd like to be and then can narrow it down to particular towns or villages.
From a quick rightmove search you could get a 2/3 bed in these nice places I'd recommend - Bude and Falmouth in Cornwall, Saundersfoot, Tenby and the Gower in South Wales, Amble (nice harbour although some parts are bit more run down), Seahouses and Berwick Upon Tweed in Northumberland.
I'd stay away from Plymouth (went this year - very rough), Bridlington, and the North Wales coast between Talacre and Colwyn Bay (some nice areas west of here though). Good luck with your search :)

MMUmum · 12/07/2026 00:11

RussetDreams · 11/07/2026 21:20

I will check it out. Thank you.

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Second this, I have friends who live there, it's lovely

atiaofthejulii · 12/07/2026 00:13

RoxytheRexy · 11/07/2026 23:41

Penarth just outside of Cardiff. Pier and lovely little town. Train station for local lines and quick connections into Cardiff

Not much in the budget you're looking at in Penarth, but there are a few. I'd look from Cardiff along to Porthcawl, lovely coast, I could easily live along there.

WanderingWellies · 12/07/2026 00:15

clareykb · 11/07/2026 23:57

I mean it's still much more expensive than surrounding areas but you can get like a masionette or a small terrace..But not one of the huge Victorian ones on the front that I lust after 😂 😂

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I mean that’s the dream, obviously 😅

Mumof2wifeof1crazytimes · 12/07/2026 00:17

BobbyGentry · 11/07/2026 21:24

… recently was on a train which went through Alnmouth which looked pretty xXx

Alnmouth is beautiful but very expensive. Amble just 10 miles south is nice, a lot of investment in the town at the moment so good time to buy.

Mumsgirls · 12/07/2026 00:23

Filey in west yorks is lovely, fantastic beach not too big. Old fashioned sea side town. Visit a lot

TheFormerMrsTruelove · 12/07/2026 00:29

RussetDreams · 11/07/2026 21:39

I think I’ve been to Chatham, not sure what places are OK in Kent. I’m not big on shopping but need good WiFi and somewhere Amazon will deliver. It’s worth a trip 🧳

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That looks lovely. Is Margate an OK area? Margate is really mixed. Some of it is rough. Really, really rough. But then Madonna was there a couple of weeks ago visiting Tracey Emin. Bits of it have been really gentrified but that has obviously pushed the prices right up. It’s not somewhere I’d want to live. Still better than Chatham though! I’d also avoid Dover (also lots better than it used to be but not much there other than the Castle) and Dymchurch (which is ok but gets packed in the summer).

Folkestone has greatly improved in the last 15 or so years. It’s unrecognisable from what it was when I was a kid and the DeHaan family (used to own Saga, not sure if they still do) have invested huge amounts into more regeneration. They have a sandy and a pebble beach, a creative quarter, the Harbour Arm (live music, free screenings and more food places than there are days of the week), a reasonable town centre and a theatre. Sandgate and Hythe are also very nice places to live, much, much smaller than Folkestone but not so quiet that anyone would notice a stranger wandering around and they don’t attract the same crowds from London when it’s hot. Five minutes from Folkestone. No train station but a regular bus service taking you between Folkestone and Ashford, (you can get the high speed to St Pancras from Ashford in 40 minutes and from Folkestone in an hour). All nice places in their own right, but central enough so that you’re not trapped there.

Deal is lovely. Bits of New Romney are lovely. St Mary’s Bay, Lydd and Greatstone are nice but a bit out of the way. Avoid Camber like the plague. It’s beautiful but in the summer, you’re trapped because of the traffic. Rye is beautiful but not sure your budget would go far.

TheFormerMrsTruelove · 12/07/2026 00:36

atiaofthejulii · 12/07/2026 00:13

Not much in the budget you're looking at in Penarth, but there are a few. I'd look from Cardiff along to Porthcawl, lovely coast, I could easily live along there.

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Porthcawl is ok but they’ve just published their plans for the seafront now the fair has gone and I’m not convinced they’re not going to have some serious problems there in a couple of years. Also, the town centre gets worse every time I’ve been there recently and anti social behaviour is on the increase.

Nottage, Rest Bay and Ogmore are all lovely though.

Happyjoe · 12/07/2026 01:04

One thing to take into account is access to things. My parents moved to Cornwall and not long after mum got cancer and it was an hours drive each way to hospital for radiotherapy then chemo each day. So as lovely as it is living in some of the cheaper, more remote areas, have to plan to be able to get to everything you need with relative ease imo.

Billybingbong · 12/07/2026 01:04

Mumsgirls · 12/07/2026 00:23

Filey in west yorks is lovely, fantastic beach not too big. Old fashioned sea side town. Visit a lot

That would be Filey in NORTH Yorkshire

Whenthepartiesover · 12/07/2026 01:29

You could easily find somewhere in East/North Yorkshire for that budget.

Contraryjane · 12/07/2026 02:28

BobbyGentry · 11/07/2026 21:24

… recently was on a train which went through Alnmouth which looked pretty xXx

Alnmouth has been “discovered”. Now it’s all air bnbs.

Momtotwokids · 12/07/2026 02:30

R00tat00tt00t · 11/07/2026 21:58

Another near Kircudbright in case the purple one was too quirky.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90214704

I want this house.

vintedandminted · 12/07/2026 02:33

Inland Pickering quaint market town. 30 minutes to York, Whitby and Scarborough. Best of all worlds.

caringcarer · 12/07/2026 02:35

OP last year I bid on a little seaside house on the promenade at Withernsea. I had to bid to buy it from council. It has 2 bedrooms. I only paid £127.19 for it. Apparently I was the only person to get a bid in correctly. The bids had to be hand delivered to a council building by noon. It will need work, a new kitchen and redecorating throughout. Still a huge bargain.