Do "nice" reasonably priced areas still exist in the UK?

[BusyGreySnail]

AIBU to wonder if there is anywhere in the UK where you can live in a nice area (greenry, little crime, decent social facilities like sports clubs, a few things to do (so not super rural) etc), with good schools (decent attainment scores, no violence/ antisocial behaviour), which doesn't require a huge income or two incomes?

The context: DH is unhappy in his job and wants to quit, my DD is at an awful school with no other good alternatives around, and we live in an expensive area which we couldn't manage on one wage. I want to move to somewhere with good schools and where we can live on one (decent - think 100k+ net) wage and have a decent quality of life. But does this even exist anymore? If you live in one of these areas, do share!

What deposit/equity do you have for a house? How much is your current home worth? What size do you need? What is your budget? The price of your house and size of mortgage are probably the main things to be looking at changing.

I'd like a house for less than 700k (ideally less than 650k) 4-5 bedrooms (I wfh so need home office space), detached. That we could make work. But in "nice" areas these seem to come in at 800+ most places I've looked. I know I can get much more somewhere really remote, and/or not very nice. But that's the key - the combination. I'm just wondering if it exists.

Where are you now?

I have friends and family in Manchester and Leeds living in or near areas that you describe, however, you're still looking at £500+ for a decent house in a desirable area. I also think it's hard to uproot your life and move somewhere random without any links, you've got to be really brave.

I live in a bit of a shithole in South London, and while I don't love the house or area, it has brilliant links and amenities and lots of green space/parks/national trusts nearby. So it's hard to give all that up for a random place up north where apparently it rains all the time

£700k is an insane budget. It is insulting to say anything less is a terrible, crime ridden area. I bought a lovely 4 bed Victorian house in a nice part of Westcliff, Essex last year for £340k. So yes, cheaper houses in non crime ridden areas do exist.

I live in West Yorkshire in a town sort of what you describe, lovely park, great walking, shops, lots of community stuff, great prkmaries, The issue probably would be the local secondary, it’s not awful (ie not unsafe) but it’s not great in terms of results and there are some minor behaviour issues

You’d get a lovely house for your budget where I live too.

I live in Derbyshire in a large 4 bed on a housing estate and my house is valued at £450k. With a bit more modernisation (bathroom, kitchen, flooring) maybe £500k. You would pay more for a non estate property with a bigger garden but well within your budget. My town is considered a nice area but there are still nicer ones all reflected in the house prices. We are on the edge of the Peak District and I love living here.

There will be estates everywhere that have affordable places for people to live that are also low crime.

Friend of mine raves about Whitley Bay near Newcastle. They might meet your requirements?

You need to come North
Look at Harrogate, York and North Leeds for a start

Scotland.

well, these are the places I want to know about.

As @FatMrsHoot says, it's not easy to pick somewhere out of nowhere with no links and uproot and go.

I am in Kent. On paper it's lovely here, but becuase its commutable from London it's quite expensive to live (certainly would be tricky to live comfortably on one wage, even if doable on paper) and the comprehensive schools are absolutely shocking due to grammar skimming off all the more academic kids, leaving the comprehensives to deal with everyone else. We picked the best of the bunch based on DD but she's been attacked at school, and bullied and she's gone from above average in her SATS so scraping 3s in key subjects. When I talk to other parents in the area, most comprehensives are the same. We can't afford private school at 12k a term without some pretty serious sacrifices and certainly not on one wage, so just wondering if there's an alternative. Because right now if feels like we a paying an awful lot of live somewhere that although lovely doesn't really suit us in many way.

The North East is full of affordable places to live. My detached and extended 3 bed is £220k (maybe a touch more) and in a nice area, no crime, good schools, problem is the lack of job opportunities compared to a city

I've thought about scotland, but it's very cold!

Are you in London now? Do you need to stay near there?

There are definitely nice areas in your budget. Even in the Home Counties. Twyford, Wokingham, Hurst etc. Loads of Hampshire. Wokingham has good schools but less space I think.

Or how about Shropshire? It is so beautiful there and some really lovely towns and cities. Hereford, Worcester, round Ludlow maybe.

I live in the South East in a quintessential Surrey market town that meets your “nice” brief including very good secondary schools and reasonable commute into London. You won’t get 5 bedroom for your budget but could def get very nice 3 bed detached and probably even a semi- detached 4 bedroom.

Based on your budget, if you can live in a nice part of the SE then the world is your oyster re: nice parts of the rest of the UK!

Move to the north east, cheap AF and nice, friendly people, it’ll be great

I suppose that it depends what you mean by 'nice', we moved from a 'nice' suburb to a very modest semi-rural area which we love and which is an amazing place to live, but is cheap as it isn't considered one of the 'nice' areas.

Surely you can achieve this is in most of the UK?

£700k is surely a good budget for a 4/5 bed unless in London / the very commuter-centric ‘stockbroker belt’.

We are in Kent, so not far. We would move just on my wage in this dream of mine, so Surrey is likely out of budget to find what we want.

Maybe I need to move North! I need to be able to access London for work events (once a month, once every 2 months), but don't commute regularly at all.

Ah yeah, I went to university in Kent and we were thinking of moving to Canterbury when starting a family but the schooling system was one thing that put me off.

If you don't want to move too far, Amersham/Chesham is quite naice and probably on the cusp of what you want to pay, although you might need to make some sacrifices. Good links into London. My friend moved out there 3 years ago and loves it, although I can't say anything about schools as she doesn't have children.

I've just had a look and there is a gorgeous 4 bed cottage on Latimer Road for £650! 👀

@BusyGreySnail

This is where the rich (adjacent) live near me…it’s far under your budget too.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/93877986?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

By nice I mean no crime, green areas, but also stuff to do - I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere, we are already semi rural with access to some bigger towns, but it would be nice to be somewhere you can walk to soem shops/ coffee places etc, have a bit of a social scene, etc.

Some places in Teesside/North Yorkshire area

stokesley, Yarm, eaglescliffe, great broughton, great ayton areas

👀 - I am off to research schools in Wynyard