we are thinking of leaving london

[hoxtonchick]

where do you reckon would be a good place to live?

not in the middle of nowhere, but fairly rural. or maybe a small town. oh i don't know! so far we're considering norfolk (possibly not enough hills), devon, errr, that's it.

my family are in yorkshire so i'm trying to persuade dp that north is a good idea. ds is almost 4, dd 4 months, so need decent schools. help!

Whitstables nice. They call it Islington on Sea (so I'm told) so very near home from home for you!

i am in the east end too..., everybody with kids seems to be planning to move to the countryside...we will be going away as well, but will keep our flat in case we want to come back...have you considered Cornwall, there was an article in the standard the other day, cheapish (compared to London anyway), good schools, lots of people from London. My bil has just moved there though, and complains that it rains the whole time...and cannot walk by the sea with the kids.

What type of work will your dp be doing will that impact where you can look?

HC! Go to the Peak District (north Derbyshire). It's beautiful but handy for Sheffield or Manchester when you need a city ... and I could come and see you whenever I'm up at my mothers, most importantly.

And you would be able to go back to London without sitting in traffic for six hours.

Mind you, mortgage-free living probably not an option in the Peak District. Depends how much equity you have, obviously, but property is not cheap.

But my medium-term plan is to persuade dh up there...

Lincolnshire
Loads of gorgeous villages, great schools, easy to get to Yorkshire too, thats why we moved here to be closer to the olds

All these places are so expensive though. Derbyshire is really pricey IMO. I think if you are moving from Notting Hill for example, the country is your oyster, or if you are moving to the Scottish Borders, but otherwise I think property prices in Cornwall, Peak District and Hampshire are similar to London - and sometimes higher.

I live in Norwich (having moved workwise from Scotland) and as someone else said it is pretty dull here. There really is not that much to do and it takes ages to get anywhere due to the pretty crap road network. As someone else once said to me, Norwich is at the end of the road to nowhere.

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i always say Swanage. My dreamm destination in England.

Guess where I am going on my hols again, Cod

piffle - you are the only person besides dh that I've ever noticed calling parents "the olds"

Lincolnshire or East Riding places like Beverley are dead nice.

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we call ours the olds!

Hox wow very brave of you! Can't recommend anywhere much as I only really know Winchester area which is as spenny as London

How about Brighton?

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All right now go! Walk out the door!

Personally, I'd say Norwich (so I can come and see you as well as/instead of my parents - and Fimbo if you think it's boring now you should have seen it back in the Jurassic Age when I was a non-slip (a petticoat?) of a gal) or Edinburgh so I can see you and Tamum together.

Lyme always makes me think of Jane Austen, which probably says more about me than anything else [grin[

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i'm here! we've been driving round norfolk all day....came to the conclusion that kings lynn isn't very nice (apologies to anyone who lives there!)but there are some gorgeous villages on the north coast.

i think we'd probably have about £350k to spend, so not loads & loads, but it should be enough for something somewhere. probably 4 bedrooms, & dp wants land.... we're thinking more rural at the moment, as if we're moving out of an urban environment we might as well do it properly.

i am having slight wobbles about leaving our really very nice life here. ds goes to a great nursery (& dd will go too), good local friends, loads of practically free surestart activities, all the central london stuff. but we do think the children will have a better quality of life elsewhere. and better schools. and a less stressed daddy.

so lots of things to think about. i know what you mean, cod, about being near parents. we live 200 miles away atm, but probably see them once a month if not more. i would like to be nearer them though.

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but it's full of old women! except for mumsnetters of course.

if you need to be near london I'd say somewhere round brighton. but if you can go anywhere I'd personally opt for cornwall/devon. such a beautiful part of the country to to live in. I'm North West and made the move 18 months ago to be nearer family. Having family nearby really changes your life. so much support.

what about Hawarth or somewhere round there? Very pretty.