Hello everyone! I was hoping if anyone can help/has information. It would be greatly appreciated.
Our family is looking to move out of London. We love the greenery in Canada Water and the parks, but it's time for more space, peace and something less expensive. Our 7 year old daughter LOVES ice skating and so does my husband and so living close to an ice rink is a must. We are not super keen on getting a car straight after we move out (that's why we have been avoiding considering Milton Keynes for example) but maybe in the future we will get one. We love newer and more modern interiors/buildings (we have had some nightmares with old buildings in the past). Also I need to commute to Euston/KingsX but not very often as we have not been going to the office much but might change as well.
To summarise what we want: Nature (for daily walks or hikes), Ice rink, walkable/cyclable city or town, modern builds to rent available, commute to Euston/KingsX no more than 1h30.
After some intense research here are some of my top candidates:
Basingstoke (Some nature, good ice arena, new builds, not fan of waterloo connection but it's the best we've visited so far)
Leighton Buzzard (Slim property choice, MK Ice arena is close-ish, seems peaceful, nice commute into city)
Gillingham area (Fear it might be quite busy, nice ice rink, fear a car might be needed to get around, not sure about being able to go on walks, nice commute)
Guildford (Lots of complaints about the ice arena, slim flat choice, not too happy about commute)
We've been to Bracknell and did not like it because of how car-centric it was. Chelmsford seems ok if a little expensive. I don't like the idea of commuting through Stratford.
THANK YOU to anyone who helps. Lots of love!