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Original poster

Can't really stay here - WHERE TO LIVE???

58 replies

2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 12:54

I am American living in St Albans. It is a lovely place to live for parents with small children but I am becoming increasingly concerned about the move to 2ndary school. A girlfriend mentioned to me that her son was mugged at his school on a non-uniform day (his attacker was wearing a hoodie so he couldn't identify him). WTF? I realise that this isn't terribly surprising in this day and age (how sad is that?) so I am thinking of moving out to somewhere a bit more, well....detached.

Friends have said that you can't get away from the problems in society as they exist to a greater or lesser extent everywhere, but I'd like to at least find a place to settle down where things are simpler.

We have looked at moving to Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, etc...

Can anyone point me in another direction or give me any advice at all?

If we move it will have to be soon, it will become increasingly difficult to wrench DS and DD away from their little friends. :(

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 15:18

There is currently a foot of snow on the ground in Aberdeenshire.

If you are a 'sun' person or suffer from SAD, Lincolnshire or Warwickshire might be a better option.

nailpolish · 01/03/2006 15:19

\link{http://www.tspc.co.uk/showschedule.asp?propid=78046&type=pdf\another!}

nailpolish · 01/03/2006 15:21

\link{http://www.tspc.co.uk/details.asp?id=77705\ill stop now}

we have beautiful blue sky here at the moment Grin

and lots of fresh air

expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 15:23

'I'd like to at least find a place to settle down where things are simpler.'

Sounds like Shangri-la. Honestly, as interstella pointed out, these kinds of things happen everywhere.

I'm American myself, and I think the whole 'simpler way of life' is a silly construct - fantasy at best, insulting at worst.

MissChief · 01/03/2006 15:23

derbyshire's lovely - great for walks, some areas have v.good schools and relatively affordable after the SE - could fit the bill for you??

expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 15:23

Spain . . . I'm still working on DH . . .

MissChief · 01/03/2006 15:24

..and you get unspeakably fresh air up in the dales!

queenrollo · 01/03/2006 15:29

i might suggest Horncastle in Lincolnshire.......has a grammar school and secondary modern (or whatever they're called). just thinking from an isolation point of view with teenagers, as it's on a main bus route to Lincoln (with buses every hour). it's got its problems like most towns but to my mind is just the right size, has all the shops etc you could need and is a stonesthrow from the rural countryside. its one of the 'nicer' towns in Lincolnshire......

Original poster
2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 15:51

Expat - I can't say I agree. Friends of ours downsized with their children about 5 years ago and managed to achieve a lifestyle which was "simpler" and far more satisfying than they had in Sevenoaks. People do it all the time - in Spain, France or elsewhere in the UK.

Personally, I am not keen on a move to France (DH's first choice) or Spain. Spent too much time abroad not being understood to have to go thru it all again. Great place for a 2nd home tho!

Nailpolish - Great stuff! TA!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 15:55

I just find it so cliched - a 'simpler' life. But then again I never got into all those business-y terms like 'downsize' 'actioning' something, etc.

To me, life is as complicated as you make it, no wonder what you're setting. I've seen people turn pretty basic living - tent and rucksack - into something approaching a multinational treaty negotiations.

Hope you find peace wherever you wind up.

Original poster
2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 15:55

Queenrollo - Checked it out on Upmystreet and it seems to have excellent an excellent educational system! Checking vebra now for homes...

OP posts:
Original poster
2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 16:06

Expat - I hope I find something - TA! :o

Where in the States are you from, BTW? I'm a Northeaster - Connecticut.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 16:08

Houston, TX, myself.

bran · 01/03/2006 16:10

What about southern Ireland? Property prices in Dublin are impossible, but in the south and west they're not too bad so you could live near Cork or Galway. And I think the Irish education system is much better with a wider range of subjects for longer, and private schools are more affordable. [Ducks before there is an angry backlash about British education being better]

SenoraPostrophe · 01/03/2006 16:26

expat - lol at the "simpler" life stuff! it always strikes me as patronising too. just how complicated is a 9-5 job in an office?

Original poster
2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 16:34

People don't just do the 9 - 5 anymore, do they?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 16:37

I hear it a lot. And I never really thought about it until a pal who lives in rural Lancastershire brought it up, and was like, 'Ooo, life in the country, surrounded by us simple folk. Yep.'

expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 16:37

Sure! 9-5 on mumsnet :o.

Original poster
2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 16:50

Strange. I always thought of it more along the lines of "lifestyle" versus the "people".

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/03/2006 16:58

it's just one of those things. like i said, tho, i've always beeb the sort who believes quite strongly that life is as simple or complicated as you make it. some people, for example, seem to take some things i find pretty major in stride, for example.

sounds zen, but i've lived all over the world and come to the conclusion that it's all what's inside - everything else around you is just surroundings.

Original poster
2ManyPimms · 01/03/2006 17:34

I like that!!!!! :o

OP posts:
FeelingOld · 01/03/2006 18:36

I live in south Lincs and have done all of my life, dh moved here from leicestershire and loves it here. I like it here, the schools are good, the house prices are quite cheap compared to a lot of places and there's lots on offer for the kids and it's safe to be out after dark!

Piffle · 01/03/2006 21:17

A note re Horncastle Grammar Grin
My ds's grammar school quiz team kicked their arses today Grin
I was aghast that their yr 7 and 8 kids did not know what a palindrome was!!!!

Original poster
2ManyPimms · 02/03/2006 09:26

Piffle - Well done DS!!!! :o Are you that far from Louth?

FeelingOld - I am sure both DH and I would love it! The only fly in the ointment is taking DS and DD away from all the little friends they have made. :(

OP posts:
Piffle · 02/03/2006 10:14

I think I got Louth mixed up with Bourne before about the building on everything comment
Sorry - my geography is bit rubbish :)

Louth yes I think there is s taetly home with good facilities for kids that we visit a lot
It's name?
Ummmmm