Where in England/Wales would meet our criteria?

[YoHoHoandabottleofWine]

• Cheaper than the south east (nice not boxy 4 bedroom house under 250k)
• There is work/ work opportunities
• Good schools
• nice surroundings

Not Scotland I'm afraid, that's just too far away.

Thanks.

The SW? Parts of Devon and Dorset are lovely and more affordable.
Town, village or rural?
Access to city? Public transport?

I do love Devon, that would be my ideal. Not too rural, but not city.

You want Worcestershire.

Close to brum for work, shopping, culture...

Interesting towns, reasonable property prices, beautiful scenery on the doorstep.

Bridport is great for schools, countryside & atmosphere.
Not so good for transport out though.

Agree that parts of Dorset fit the bill. You could go rural or seaside depending on what you are looking for. Trains are normally good for getting to London, etc.

Thanks, Wembury looks on the expensive side (or maybe not much on the market). Worcestershire an interesting one I hadn't thought of.

I didn't know Plymouth had grammar schools, I don't like the grammar system much so that puts me off.

Dream is to move in a few year's time while DCs are still at primary school, and be mortgage-free, and therefore have less stressful jobs, and live somewhere that makes us feel happy. However I do love our current house very much which is why it needs to be somewhere much cheaper!

(I'm sure there isn't any magic answer but I do like having a dream and maybe a longer term plan!)

Norfolk is cheap!

Norfolk is cheap, but tough for jobs.

It also depends on the kind of work that you do. Most of the south West's economy depends on service industries - hospitality jobs (which tend to be seasonal), retail, office jobs, lots of care work, but very few jobs in IT. manufacturing etc.

I'd stay well clear of Plymouth - parts of it (including some of the surrounding villages) are not the kind of place that I'd like to bring up children.

You also do need to be able to drive if you live in the SW, public transport can be very expensive, unreliable (buses get stuck behind herds of cows & tractors same as cars) & services to towns & villages tend to stop at about 9.00pm.

Wiltshire - close to M4 - can work in Bristol/Bath/Swindon or beyond.

The work will be the problem. Do you have portable jobs that you can do anywhere?. Decent jobs in Devon are like hen's teeth and are overwhelmed with applications from starry eyed downsizers who don't release that jobs are stressful in Devon too

Manchester area?

Second Wiltshire, close to Bath, Swindon etc via M4. Good schools around Bradford on Avon, Corsham, Trowbridge.

Sheffield/Nottingham/Leeds. A lot depends on what work you do. Newcastle is brilliant but jobs are hard to come by.

Jobs will be an issue most places other than the south east.

Milton Keynes

Lancaster? South Lakes? (Around Milnthorpe/Sedbergh)

If you're looking Devonwards, I would always choose Exeter, good schools, fabulous villages and great links everywhere. House prices are very reasonable too.

Access to what sort of jobs?
There are loads of science and engineering ones in Teesside atm. You can live in some really nice areas, and commute in less than 30 mins.
Don't know about other types of jobs.

But yes, look at coming up to Durham / Newcastle area.