SE London or country/coast for kids and teenagers?

[philbee]

We live in SE London and until recently I really liked it. Am now a bit fed up with the spitting, dog shit etc. and thinking about whether it's also a bit stabby and dodgy for the DDs once they're older (and possibly now too, tbh).

We went on a holiday to lovely Suffolk coast this summer and it seemed so nice to be outside, at the beach etc., and that that's what childhood should be about, and I enjoyed it a lot too. But are teenagers better off not in a rural place? I don't know and don't know about jobs out of London, we are both website / information people so possibly not much around for us outside London. What do others think about the best place for children to grow up?

DH has something against Exeter for some reason. I think we'd have to stick near to London for jobs, actually. Have done a quick search and it would just be much easier so we either stay here or we try to find somewhere that doesn't have a monster commute and that we could also afford. Prob have about £400,000 max I think. And good schools. And... and... and... Ugh.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37531966.html

What about this one!

Starfish I am desperate to know where you are! Can you PM me?

Russians, I don't agree that Bristol aspires to be Exeter or anything else provincial . The bettee areas aer either like West London, or like edgy North London, and as for deprivation - you can find it anywhere but Bristol's nice aeras are MUCH more varied and bogger than in other cities (I'm not comparing with London where there is a huge contrast btw deprivation and wealth). It's very easy to avoid bad areas if you want to (if you live in the centre, Clifton, Redland, Westbury park etc.) there, whereas in a small place it's not so easy.

The thing, I was recently actually defending Exeter to someone who said it wasn't worth stopping there on my way to Devon coasts - I do think it's worth visiting, and as I said before, it looks nice. But it just seems boring to live there full time, and no, it's unreasonable to say Bristol is boring 0 to compared to London only, maybe, but far less boring than many other big or small cities. There is a big art scene, festivals, lots of science'based museums and LOTS of good restaurants by the way. I nebver said it was great for the seaside. There aer some breathtaking views around Clifton and the harbour. If you read some threads on Briostol on MN, you'll see how ex-londoners rave about it (see LittleMilla especially!).

sorry, I didn't mean to be drawn into a big argument, so will stop now, OP. But see, your H has the same 'feeling' about Exeter as I do.

Ooh, looks good, mymate. Just the jobs that might be problematic.

beagles no worries about the Bristol v Exeter debate - it's all quite exciting! My brain is causing me problems with the choices so have decided to bury my head in the sand and think about it again in a while. Sleep deprivation and Big Decisions don't go that well together, do they?

philbee we were also in Suffolk over the summer and have spent every moment since on Rightmove.
I've got two small DCs and love everything we can do and see in London but I also know I am happier in the countryside too. Plus I am freelance so I can live anywhere pretty much although I would have to come into London occasionally.

I also spent the first 20 years of my life in Suffolk so I think I have a fairly balanced view on it. You should look at Woodbridge - I went to school there and there's tons to do although there probably was a fair bit of underage drinking in the local pubs - as I am sure there is anywhere.
I know people that commute to London from there and it's so easy (although I wouldn't want to do that every day either - I would rather stay in London if that was the case). Once I was around 14/15 I would often just hop on the train to London with friends to go shopping/go to museums etc. It felt really accessible.

And you have all the amazing Suffolk coast on your doorstep. I love all the coastal towns but realistically I think I would look at all the villages around Woodbridge like Grundisburgh, Ufford, Bealings etc. £400k goes quite a long way in Suffolk.
I wouldn't want to live in Ipswich although if you go to the outskirts to Rushmere direction I think there are some lovely villages. The other side of Ipswich around Manningtree is also lovely and shorter distance to Liverpool Street.

Starfish your answer is quite cryptic!