Hello,
DH and I have I think decided to leave London after 8 years and lots of ummmming and ahhhhhring. We have no real attraction to anywhere specific yet. We are both originally from the North (Yorkshire) however I'm not sure we want to 'go home' so to speak. We have narrowed it down to two areas:
Around Manchester (because of work)
or
Commutable to London but closer to our families in the North. Due to where we live in London this will save us at least 2.5hrs on the drive home so it's worth it. Also means we can have a bigger place.
So I am looking for recommendations of either small towns or villages near to towns that are pretty, have good (non private) schools and where there's some life. We both enjoy theatre, cinema, pubs etc so not ready to live in a hamlet however would happily live on the 'edge' of this and not in the thick of it. Countryside is important as is commute time into either of the above cities. No more than 40 min train into London I'd say. Probably less of a consideration in Manchester as lots of nice places closer by so I here.
Any ideas of places to check out? So far I only have St Albans on the list but know it's pricey...budget is approx 350k for 3-4 bed house (proving difficult in London).