Please can you suggest locations in the UK where I could buy a 3 bed house for £250k?

[CobOnTheCorn]

We're looking to relocate after a change of lifestyle. We've always lived in or near London and commuted and paid a premium for property at the same time. I've now decided not to work for the next few years while the children are young so I fancy living somewhere different.

I'd love to buy an affordable house with a garden and idealy walking distance to schools, shops and a park would be fantastic.

East Scotland, where i live £250k will get you a beautiful 3 bed in a top area (average price for them is about £150kish i think) and certainly in my town all schools are within 20 min walk. Of course not much practicability for your dp though.

DP works in Uxbridge about 3 days a week- he says that the motorway is generally fine until you 'hit' the m25.

cob our nearest big train station is about 20 miles away ( but the journey is all motorway so very quick to get to) then 2 hours on direct train to London. Not close but I have known people do the commute.

You can buy a lot on Peterborough for £250k and lots of people commute.

Sanity it's a good point you raise and one that I have given some thought to.

Of course the only honest and accurate answer is I don't know, but my guesstimates are:

I think it's unlikely that I will go back to work in the next five years (based on the ages of the children). Perhaps 3.5 years but more likely longer.

I won't work in London again so I don't want to base our new home on something that is extremely unlikely to happen.

I don't particularly want to live in a rural setting, for a variety of reasons but work in the future is one of them.

When I am in a position to return to work I anticipate looking at the nearest large town/city and seeing what transferable skills I have.

I am a natural born worrier but I think this is something that I have to park for the future and see where my new like takes me.

Come live in Leeds! only 2 hour commute to London by train (friends of ours do this to visit us) and you can buy a 4 bed detached for £250k within catchment of outstanding primaries.

We relocated 9 years ago and to be honest I would rent first, that way you get to know the area without committing yourself to buying a property. Local knowledge of an area is very important.

Previously we lived in a teeny town and as much as I loved it I also hated having to travel a great distance to get to certain shops.

To be honest though, as a SAHM myself, you will have to build a new network of friends which is harder when you can't do it through a job. I was incredibly lonely when we first relocated as every mother & baby group already had established friendships. I only started to get to know people when DS1 started preschool.

In terms of visitation I would stay south ish, to make it easier all round.

South Wales? Have a look at Penarth, Barry and Dinas Powys. Some gorgeous places here, right on coast and within a stones throw of Cardiff.

In the midlands, on the Birmingham to London train line...you could then pop into London/commute if you wanted to.

For example;www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-36281587.html?premiumA=true

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30359332.html

Both houses are in areas very popular with those who commute to London by train.

Wiltshire - doesn't have to be Swindon. We moved Warminster way about 18 months ago. Has a lovely park, good walking territory, Warminster Independent school (don't know anything about schools sorry) and a Waitrose Close to Bath & Salisbury but cheaper than both.

About 40 3/4 bed houses within your budget on Rightmove. How about something like this?
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39898883.html
or this
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34654397.html

As a previous poster mentioned the reality is that you will need to define your search area based on where your soon to be XP is located. Travelling vast distances every weekend to pick up / drop off kids ends up being draining plus it means they spend vast amounts of time travelling rather than spending proper time with the parent they are visiting. Realistically 90 mins is the longest you will want to spend travelling.

Have you considered Chelmsford? Trains to London are typically every 10 minutes and take 35-40 minutes. There is lots of green space, excellent schools, a reasonable city centre and plenty of houses ranging from period properties through to new builds.

If you would like some more info on specific areas within Chelmsford just let me know.

Milton Keynes? You mentioned you liked suburbia - MK is kinda like one big suburb! A really 'young' town, lots to do for kids, range of schools, some fantastic.. Lots of access to greenery, sporty things. Fairly buoyant economy for when you do want to work.

About an hour into London, so near to make access do-able, but certainly would not feel like you were on the doorstep of ILs.

Yes, it appears that I need to be close to London if that is where STBXP will be living. Though of course I don't actually know where he will be living. And the frustrating thing about London is if he lives South, for example, and I live in Herts, for example, it will possibly take longer than a 90 minute round trip even if there aren't many miles being covered. The same would apply if he lives in West London or the Western suburbs and I move to Essex.

My priority is finding somewhere for the children and I to live so STBXP can then fit in with us a little bit. So if we settle on MK for example he will have to live in North London or Herts, Bucks etc to make the access practicalities easier.

NW London
3 bed semi
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25115433.html

Pick where you can best find work.

West sussex. Good schools, good local communities, the coast on one side and the Downs on the other, plenty going on for children, near enough to london for visiting old friends or days out. £250k would buy a nice 3 bed with a decent garden.

ttp://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchType=SALE&locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E223&insId=1&radius=5.0&displayPropertyType=&minBedrooms=3&maxBedrooms=&minPrice=&maxPrice=270000&retirement=&partBuyPartRent=&maxDaysSinceAdded=&_includeSSTC=on&sortByPriceDescending=&primaryDisplayPropertyType=&secondaryDisplayPropertyType=&oldDisplayPropertyType=&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=&newHome=&auction=false

i live in West Sussex and wouldn't advise the coastal areas if you will go to London a lot.

my Dad commuted from the coast for 15 years and it was really draining.

i live near akissisnotacontract and our local secondary is dire too.

Reading is 20 mins by train -

half a mile from the station

you can get nicer than that if you look hard in Reading, obviously this isn't a great time of year for finding a good house. though its a great time for finding a cheaper one...

Banbury, North Oxfordshire 3 beds with HUAGE gardens start at around £160,000

Also only 1hr to Birmingham or London so good commute.

Devon and cornwall are super cheap as long as you go about 10 miles inland, look at St Austell, or Truro particularly.

Reading also has that buzz and community life you'd expect of a city.

correction, 30 mins to Paddington.

Reading, 40 miles from London, we live on the outskirts, loads of green space good schools but still have restuarants and bars 15 minutes away in town centre.

Tyne and Wear - specifically Low Fell, Jesmond, Gosforth and Whickham - all exceptional locations, great for amenities and schools, and us Northerners are ever so nice.

The problem is that pay is that much lower where you find more affordable housing. You have to make sure all the numbers sync. And jobs are harder to find out here (I am in Norfolk & having a devil of a time job hunting).

Rural = more spent on travel, adds up fast.

You could buy two brand new 3-4 bedroom houses in North Down for 250 K which is a really nice upmarket area where properties tend to hold their value, a really nice place to live.

How about Bristol? 1-1 1/2 hour by train to London. Good motorway access to the West Country and Birmingham plus its cool! We even have our own currency

Yay Edgar great minds and all that.

yep, well moving further awy may seem like a good idea but i think regularly doing long travel is fatiguing and unless the OP and the STBXH are really dedicated to it, a distance could make for less contact.

depending on which bit of London he'll be based, Reading could be a really good choice. my sister really liked it - great big park, lots going on, etc etc

Bristol is great in many ways, Uni town, lots of amenities but realistically it's not 1-1.5 hrs to london! It's 1.45 to Temple Meads but no one lives near the station, so realistically 2h20min PLUS whatever time he needs to get to Paddinton from where he lives, and it's 1.5hrs to Parkway but still minimum 20min to anywhere nice (Bishopston the nearest, but if OP lives in Southmead, say, it's miles away) - and DH is not going to drive while public transport is bad there. Driving though to Bristol is about 1h30min if it's not around the rush hour. If the ex DP will live near Reading on the other hand, then it's really a good option (Bristol)!