Searching for the perfect village- can you help? Long, sorry

[caramelgirl]

Right, so we ha( d )ve our hearts set on a fab village in Sussex. It seemed perfect but... prices have gone up four fold in the last 15 years. So, for our v v stretch budget of up to £800k we can get a manky chalet- 2 double beds, 3 dormer singles, can't stand straight in. Repossession offered at 550k went at 570k with a baby boomer bidding war.

Problem is it is full of old people who have tons of equity and no need to move. So prob no chance of a collapse in price, sob. We have posted leaflets and put up ad in local shop but nothing useful yet.

We know that we are unusually lucky in having this as a dilemma, but would be v grateful for advice.

We are thinking of giving up on the dream and trying to find another village. Our criteria are that the village has:

1. primary school (nurturing, not keen on hothousing one). Bus to decent senior school or private school with generous scholarships!
2. local shop- so no need to drive to get milk
3. sense of community- dream village has several pubs, good WI, active local committee organising summer festival and Christmas fair
4. near decent size town and with eg supermarket deliveries and train to London- tho' prefer not a commuter dormitory place
5. pref near natural beauty- original village is on the Downs
6. a fairly relaxed vibe, our home villages are a bit posey and very status and wealth conscious.

We are pretty easy re location, both parents are in Warwickshire, husband will retrain in engineering is the plan.

We are looking to move in next year or so. Can spend our weekends looking at ALL your suggestions!
Thank You!

Ramsbury in Wilts ticks all if your boxes. Half way between Hungerford and Swindon, so worth looking at if you visit Goring.

Stunning scenery (downs country)
Good school
Close to Marlborough
Several pubs (The Bell us fabulous)
2 shops IIRC
Close to M4 and rail links to Padds
Active village community

800k would definitely get you a good family home.

Great, west of Oxfordshire and Ramsbury on list too. Thanks peggyb, lotkins and irregularr -again.
vimonoff I think my DH will find dienscaling harder- international type job atm and lots of pressure which he enjoys. So being able to go yo Oxford or poss even commute for a year would be v good I am now realising. I am a small town girl I think, friends recently downsized to Winchester and that felt a bit too big- and pricy- for me. Tbh my whole life is pretty much spent on the Isle so I'm not v big city type any more anyway- SAHM who likes walking round docks and visiting city farm etc.
We shall see.
Yes, good point irregularr re house availabity. I guess if we get in touch with local agents and explain we are chain free etc then might get some calls when stuff goes on market maybe.
DD down for nap so am happily cruising property sites.
Thanks!

Look no further: Tackley Oxfordshire

One of the friendliest places I have ever lived and I grew up in the north. Only left for DH's work :(

primary school
community run very well stocked village shop
village hall with lots going on
beautiful countryside
very close to Oxford (drive/train)
train links to London
pub
great community while we were there they had Village Olympics, Singa long cinema, ceilidh, panto, quiz nights, Green campain to name a few

you'll love it, I did

How about Cranbrook in Kent. Nice shops, great state school and lovely countryside.

Fab, Tackley and Cranbrook too. You lot are super helpful. Thank you. Also really useful for crystallising our ideas about what we actually want. Rather than our distant dream which has maybe not kept up with who we are now.
Thank you! Now can someone recommend a failsafe way to get pregnant- without buying a wreck and living in a caravan Grand Designs way!

One of my best mates grew up in Tackley - lovely place. They do a brilliant fun run on boxing day if you are at all running inclined :-).

Ooh we do like running (or sadly more like jogging). We are getting genuinely excited about all of it now. And several locations look better than we'd hoped in terms of connections, facilities, community etc..
Tho' also have already done the whole well-a-commute-wouldn't-be-impossible-fir-DH-from-there-so-let's-majorly-up-budget-oooh,pretty thought process. Back away from the million pound mega mansion. tho' you can get a seriously nice house in Broadclyst for that

How about Clare in Suffolk?

Clare looks good. Slightly sparklier website then the other villages. Was married in Suffolk so have a soft spot for the place- and in fact was pondering a revisit this summer. So a bit of house nosing viewing would prob slot in nicely.
Parents jumped up and down in excitement when mentioned that might move nearer them. Hadn't realised how much of an issue the distance was for them. Might nudge us further along the Oxfordshire/Berkshire(?) route. Shame to still be so far from the sea. But will make hols exciting I suppose!

I'd highly recommend where I live.

Technically, it is a small market town - but it is smaller than the last village I lived in. Population about 3,000 - so size of an average large village. Apart from that, it answers all your points.

1. Local primary school is very much into values and community. That is one of its great strengths. Local secondary is outstanding. Or if you don't like that one, there are another 3 local schools to choose from and two of them are OFSTED outstanding too.

1. Yes, have local shop plus local butchers, post office, newsagent etc..

1. Yes - lots going on in the village. Twinnning, WI, exercise class, pilates... etc etc.

1. Yes. food delievered from Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsburys. Local towns / cities include both Oxford and Cheltenham. Some dads commute to London, but it is a bit too far - so not many do.

1. Yes. On edge of the Cotswolds. Its not within the AONB - but you can be within the boundaries in 5 minutes. Or within the village itself, there are pretty walks along the Thames etc...

1. Yes, really relaxed and not at all snobby. There are all walks of life here and everyone seems to rub along nicely.

Of all the places I have lived - (villages and small towns around Oxfordshire and Berkshire) this is the nicest by far.

Forgot to say where it is - Lechlade. (Gloucestershire), just over the border from Oxfordshire.

If you look at Lechlade take a look at Fairford too. It adjoins Lechlade and would also tick all if your boxes. I heart Fairford :).

Oooh, thanks for that westey - and even addressing each point in turn! We are a bit torn in commute/ no commute now. So will be ideal to compare and contrast Goring and Lechlade/Fairfield. And hunt down some West Oxfordshire villages. DH less keen on Evesham way because of London distance.
Spoke to the friend from home who has now settled in Winchester and she backed most of your suggestions. But said Goring felt a little too commutery for her. She suggested Haddenham to investigate too. So we shall see. Off on hols tomorrow- snd yet to pack/ tidy ,sigh, but have emailed to arrange some viewings upon our return and will google some more.
Think I'll like viewing nice houses. Rather than smiling through teeth and ignoring nicotine stains/ dormer windows/ tiny tiny rooms etc.
And DH is hinting that because the area isn't such a backwater job opps wise for him, that we can think about upping budget. Rah!

My favourite village

We have friends who live here and it is really lovely, good schools, nice pub, very friendly community.

Ten minutes from Long Buckby station which is on the mainline between London and Birmingham.

Also Worcestershire. Love it. this?

[http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34409447.html this?]]

There are so many, and so many beautiful villages!

Hereford/Colwall/Malvern/Worcester on main line to London (and Brum)
M5 by Worcester or Upton.
M50 near Ledbury or Upton.

Love love love it here. Fairly alternative, very lovely. :)

Check out Mentmore/ Crafton. It is within a mile of Cheddington station, on the main trainline into London half way between Leighton Buzzard and Tring. It is a really lovely village built by the Goldsmith family and has lots of period and character property with a lovely pub and has lots of incomers so would not be a problem integrating and it has a great community feel. It is in Bucks so you would feed into the Aylesbury grammar schools which are amongst the best in the country. Check out this property as an example: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27386050.html?premiumA=true

Balcome/Haywards Heath/Ditching. All nice areas and not as expensive as some of the other villages in Sussex

Thanks ever so for these too. On hols so little internet access but will check all out upon return. So kind of you all.

And am amazed at what 800k gets you in the Malverns loopy!

You could have a look at the Stroud (Glos) area too

Barcombe, e Sussex? Lovely, friendly, good smattering of slightly hippy sympathisers, WI, pretty, near to lewes and Brighton?

Ringmer, Plumpton Green? (def not posey) or Ditchling? Hassocks? Or how about Glynde (school in Firle nearby)? (all in Sussex) Henfield?

Right, so first weekend back from hols and we went to Goring. Was v nice, if immensely cold. Viewed two houses and identified a few other good roads (noisy train line through the village so need to be quite picky).
The house we liked had underfloor heating, big incentive in this weather!! And lots of dogs/cats to entertain DD.
Just psyching myself up to call our Alfriston friend who has been helping us with house hunting to tell her we are giving up on the village.
Not 100% committed to Goring, lots more of your recommendations to look into, but we are definitely able to envisage somewhere better for us than there now. Goring does seem to tick all our boxes pretty much tho'.
Great hit rate, 1/1, so far. Will let you know re others. Thanks v much all

Don't know if you'll see this now, but I just noticed that you did actually visit Goring. How exciting - someone actually took notice of a recommendation of mine! Have you made any progress since? Let me know if there is anything you'd like to know...

Love the way I'm joining this too so late but longing to know what OP settled on. Especially as her post outlined everything we want to look for too &trying to work out a move from central London.