Lincolnshire/moving with 4-5 year old

[restassured]

We live in the South East in a v. small 2 bed terrace with parking for only one car and no room to swing the proverbial cat, let alone have friends round for Sunday lunch etc.

So, we've been thinking about moving house. Having done our homework, we realise that we haven't a hope in hell of affording anything much bigger down here because I no longer earn what I did pre-child and we barely qualify for our current mortgage any more.

We've started to look at other areas, where the housing is cheaper, and the schools are good, and come up with Lincolnshire. Does anyone have any advice re areas with good primary and secondary schools (I can't imagine we'll ever be able to afford to move again so we'd need good schools to take her all the way through) - we'd prefer a village to a town, but the kind of village that has a train station within easy reach, and maybe a shop or post office and some nice places to walk nearby...

DD is nearly 5 and is due to start at the local infant school down here in the South East. Again, if anyone has any experience, could you tell me what your advice would be in terms of timing moves? Should we try to move as soon as possible, or wait the three years until infant school ends and she'd naturally be moving to another school anyway?

Also - sorry - this is turning into a long post - how do we time the selling of the South Eastern house/moving into bought or rented up there, with school terms/years, or do you just give up trying to time it and have DD start at the new school possibly mid-term/mid-year??

Everything's going round and round in my mind, and just need a bit of sensible advice really.

Thank you.

Lincolnshire is quite big; do you have any preference for Lyndsey, Kesteven or Holland? For example, any family you want an easy journey to? Ability to commute to London? Ability to reach other nearby cities for work?

It would be nice to be able to visit one of my dearest friends in Tuxford, Nottinghamshire. And a relatively easy commute to London would be good - maybe no longer than 1.5 hours on the train, with no train changes??!

Don't have any preference for any of the areas you've mentioned because I don't know any of them. I've literally picked Lincolnshire because I think it's possible we might be able to afford a house there where DD could bring friends back, and where, if we ever had grandchildren, there might actually be room for them to stay/eat lunch...!

Thanks in advance for any help. Am really grateful.

We did exactly the same thing. Left the South East at the end of last year and moved to Lincolnshire.

We were originally buying up here to coincide with us selling. That purchase fell through so we ended up rentlng initially which in hindsight we are really glad we did.

We had to be within shortish drive of a major train station as I commute to London, so we based ourselves round Grantham. If you don't need that then you can look further afield.

We moved DD just after the October halfterm of year 5 (we had originally hoped to be up here for the start of the school year). After a couple of weeks she felt totally at home in her new school and loves the fact it is a small village school.

I would work on the area you want to be in and then rent intially whilst you look to buy. The local school board are really good at trying to get you into schools and some of the smaller schools will go over their numbers more easily than the larger infant/primary schools. They are used to children moving during the school year so unless you are trying to get her into a larger popular school in one of the towns you shouldn't have too many problems. If you want to aim for 11+ then work on being with the areas for that as well ie no Grammar School in Lincoln itself but there are in the other towns.

We have now bought in one of the villages (has a very nice expensive pub, a school, village hall but not much else). There is a bus service and the nearest town is only 4 miles away and there are lovely walks on our doorstep. DD does have a 10 min drive to school but that is because we choose not to move her again to the village school.

Am very glad we made the move.

I was wondering about the Grantham area too, as that is where the routes to and from London (A1 and east coast main line) cross the cross country routes to Nottingham (another railway and the A52), or just to the south of that at Stamford (not on easy coast main line, but one stop of another cross country rail line from Peterborough, and on the A47).

Grantham itself is not the greatest town, but it's OK and is ringed by nice villages. Here's a link to the Grantham Journal which will give you a flavour of the town, and the local property market.

We left London over 12 years ago for all the same reasons as you. We are in central Lincoln which has an abundance of primary schools. We travel to Newark about 20 mins away for a train to London which is one hour and twenty minutes. We made our move early August and the kids went straight into school in the September. We never looked back. Lincoln has been good to us with cheaper house prices and a higher disposable income. There is loads to do and my kids love it. My eldest is 21 now and I always thought he would go back to London to live but he wants to stay in Lincoln. He frequently pops down to London just for a days shopping. Some of the villages are lovely, some quite small others slight bigger. Nettleham is very popular also Reepham and Ingham.

I have lived in south Lincs. loved it. schools great. still have grammar schools if thats what you like. whats your budget

Should also say have a look at Saxilby a slightly larger village which is very well serviced. Lincolnshire still operates the grammar school system so this might be something to bear in mind. Popular secondary schools are William Farr which is a comprehensive and you would need to live in the Welton/Dunholme area. LSST is in Lincoln on Cross O"Cliff Hill so houses in that area would be a good idea. Again primary schools available in these areas so plenty of choice.

Thank you all so much. I'll work on what you've said. I don't know about grammar schools because who knows whether DD will be bright enough to get into one, so I guess I need to base myself around somewhere where there's a good non-selective senior school.

So do you all think it doesn't really matter if we can't time the move to exactly co-incide with the end/start of a new school term or a new school year?

Priory Lsst admissions are done on an allocation basis to primary schools, at least 2 spaces to each school and the remainder on a pro rata basis depending on the size of the primary so you are better off not living near the school if you want your child to attend.

Will Farr does admit on the basis of distance so you need to be thinking about that if you decide to move to this area.

I grew up in Lincolnshire, I went to William Farr school actually, never thought to see it discussed on MN. If you are looking at a London commute more than 1 or 2 times a week, you really need to be near Grantham or Newark. Any villages with a station, it will be the slow train. Look at the train timetable, and bear in mind Lincolnshire is thick with tractors on its narrow lanes at some times of the year. Any chance of finding locally based work? It's much easier to settle into a place that way IME.

Having said that, Lincolnshire is a lovely place, (if quiet!), you would get a lot more for your money than in London.

land of the big sky

great pic fossil97

Thanks, wish I'd taken it.
This is the classic kind of Lincolnshire view, almost wherever you are the Cathedral will be on the horizon.

Great pics of Lincoln. Not sure if I am of a certain age but I love the fact that in Lincolnshire I am so much more aware of the changing of the seasons.