Relocating Outside London

[AWordWithTheWise]

Hi All,

Hope everyone is keeping well.

Hoping you can help me with my query:

My partner (White, Italian) and me (Black, Caribbean) along with our 1 year old daughter are looking to relocate outside London for the usual reasons (space, raising a family etc.) but are really struggling to find locations that will fit our budget of £300 - £350k.

In terms of key things to note is primarily the fact that i will still need to commute into London for work at least once a week and ideally we would like some form of garden (so a house or ground floor maisonette) but this is not a deal breaker, especially if the location is on the outskirts of London. We would also like to live in somewhat of a multicultural area but are very aware that wherever we move will be nothing like London on that front.

From the research we have done, Hertfordshire generally is too expensive, so is anything south of London (totally open to being wrong on these points btw). Only places we have seen that could work is Milton Keynes/Bedford and i'm really struggling to accept that those can be the only 2 areas available to us.

So if anyone has any ideas in terms of locations based on the above criteria it would be more than appreciated.

Thank you all for your time and consideration.

[Dacadactyl]

What about Maidstone in Kent?

[AWordWithTheWise]

@Dacadactyl Thank you for your reply. Never thought about the Kent area as i heard that it can be very pricey? But will definitely have a look. Is Maidstone somewhat of a multicultural area?

[Dacadactyl]

Sorry I've just seen you posted this in Multicultural Families.

I have relatives in Maidstone but haven't been there for ages. I've just googled and it says the population is vast majority white (they give a figure of 93%!!) However, its not far from London so you could travel down and have a look to see what you think about it, diversity wise.

[Dacadactyl]

Your budget won't stretch as far, but Bromley in Kent would suit all your criteria IMO.

[AWordWithTheWise]

@Dacadactyl Thanks again for your comments. i haven't thought about bromley and the croydon area. I think you'll be right about it being out of my budget but will take a look to see how far out it is. Thanks again

[Dacadactyl]

Yeah good shout on Croydon. Also South Norwood too....both very diverse populations. Hopefully someone else will be along with some ideas of other locations.

[Dacadactyl]

Also Crawley and Reading might be worth a look.

[Thatgirl1981]

Bedford

has the largest Italian community in the uk lots of black people here as well

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Bristol. Fast trains to London, multi cultural and a lively, lively, interesting place.

[ThePastKnocks]

How about Suffolk? Where I am houses are between 300-350k for a 3/4 bed. I bought mine a few years ago for the lower end of that.

Takes me an hour and a half by train to get into London or I can drive it in 2.

I don't want to say where I am on the thread but if you're still looking you can PM me. We've been happy here so far.