Relocating up north - looking for recommendations!

[Relocationlady]

This is my first time using mumsnet so hope I’m posting this in the right way but I’m after some advice please!

My husband and I think we’d like to relocate up North (currently in Sussex) for better quality of life, house prices etc but all our family and friends are local to us now so we really don’t know where to start!

We have a 1 year old and would like to continue growing our family so somewhere suburban, family friendly with good schools, parks, nearby towns as well as green space would be ideal, bonus points if it’s within a reasonable driving distance from the beach.

Has anyone got any recommendations of nice areas we could research? Or has anyone ever done a move like this with new prior connections and might be able to share their experience/some tips etc?

thank you in advance!

Oh for goodness sake.

UP NORTH????

Would you class yourself as a lover of whippets or seaside attractions? Enjoy a Lowry?

if you’re going to leave the safety of the south east you’re going to know which stereotype fits you best.

honestly. Which bit of “up north” is like asking “which bit of Australia?”.

I adore Leeds. Its got everything you might want from a big city but is actually very compact. Easy access to lovely countryside, great suburbs with options for good schools. You can get a decent 4 to 5 bedroom house for £280-300. We relocated from Somerset as we wanted more for our money and we have found it easy to build a life here. Easy trains to London, decent airport.

However, the nearest beach is about 1.5 hours.

Tynemouth ticks all your boxes, bonus that it’s actually on the beach! Lovely parks, and drive up the coast half an hour to 45 min gets you to the most beautiful countryside.
What’s your budget for house/flat?

Do you fancy a city or something more rural?

Aberdeen and Perth can be just as expensive as down south. Inverness is a bit more affordable. Loads of really beautiful small towns and villages though with good pricing.

@MajorCarolDanvers 😀

Tynemouth/Whitley Bay if your budget will stretch to it.

What kind of house are you looking for and what's your budget?

Work?

I’m really not sure I follow. But yes that is literally what I’m asking, I have no idea where to start, I’m just looking for some recommendations from people who live in the north of the country and are better able to advise on the nicer parts that might match what I’ve described. If I were looking to move to Australia (which I’m not) then I would probably do the same🤷🏻‍♀️ Can Google all I like but I’m after the human touch!

Sorry I should’ve specified that! Around £400K and ideally after a 4 bed detached😄

It depends how far north you are thinking. We reloacated from Kent to Shropshire. Shrewsbury is lovely, but Shropshire is a landlocked county so not so easy to get to the beach, although the Welsh beaches are amazing! Great parks, gorgeous area, train and bus links and good schools.

Cool your jets 🤣

some people are professionally offended.

Anyway, back to the op. Are you crazy? Sussex to up north? Don’t do it.

well from Sussex everything is up North!

I think you really need to narrow this down a bit, are you considering Wales and Scotland in your search, how far is too far from the beach?
You haven't mentioned work so assume there are no requirements/restrictions on that front?

Wirral is good. Beaches, parks, schools generally good. Liverpool and Chester close, as is countryside/North Wales

The Wirral - West Kirby/Hoylake area?

@Tidbinbilla I honestly didn’t think what I wrote was offensive! Certainly wasn’t the intention 😅

Get used to people with chips on their shoulders.

You mean the north of England.

Lytham st annes is lovely. Good schools, on the coast, good parks and green spaces, lots of independent shops on the High streets of both towns, good bars and restaurants.

@Ilikewinter sorry yes you’re right but we are open to anywhere in England, wouldn’t want to go as far up as Scotland, Welsh/English border fine!
nothing is too far from the beach per se, it’s not a dealbreaker but just a desirable.
thankfully our current work is flexible!

You may not have been intended to be offensive, I think ludicrous is more apt.

can you not see how absurd it would be if someone said “I live in Wick, does anyone know anywhere south which might be nice?”.

Lol - as someone who's lived all round England over the years, I too didn't really understand the differences until I'd lived there. I thought, for instance, the entire south was paved with gold after growing up in a Tyneside flat and it came as a real shock to me to discover there are council estates in Kent...

it really does depend what you're after. Looking for good public transport, decent choice of schools, good shopping, and easy-to-get-to countryside? Then either Greater Manchester OR NewcastleGateshead might suit you. Beaches required? Okay, I'm biased, but I'd say the north east over the north west there. There are lovely beaches in the north west of England, but they're going to take a bit of getting to, unless you're happy living somewhere a bit more, um, edgy like Blackpool.

You do need to bear in mind that once you move "oop north", you are very unlikely to ever be able to afford to move back to the south, given current house prices. And there are cultural things that might come as a shock - I might have grown up "oop north" but I was astonished at how many people in the north west still smoke, for instance, and how salty the food is, generally - and I say that as someone who loves salt...good luck with the move, but you're probably going to need to be a bit more specific to get the advice you need.

(Though I'd also add a vote for Tynemouth in here ;)

400k will get you a 3 bed semi in most of greater Manchester.
Tynemouth is expensive too.

@BuenoSucia Sorry but no I don’t really see what’s absurd about it, I’m just looking for some starting points for research, I’ve outlined the key things we’re after but we’re open minded on location, if someone was asking for advice on the South then I’d be happy to share what I know about the area I’m in, jeez!