Lincolnshire - is it really that awful?

[GreatJoanUmber]

DH and I were just fantasising talking this weekend about how nice it would be to move to a bigger house; and how depressingly high the house prices around here (naice semi-rural Buckinghamshire) are. So he suggested we could move a little further up north to get more house for our money. I did a quick rightmove search and couldn't believe my eyes! Huge spacious 5/6 bed period properties for well under 300K!
So then I did a quick google, and my jaw dropped again, for all the wrong reasons. Amongst others, I found a MN thread of someone thinking of relocating to Lincolnshire and the replies were very disheartening - basically it's so cheap because it's bleak and depressing and socially deprived...
While I'm aware that when something is cheap, there must be a catch somewhere, I still can't believe it can really be all that bad? Surely there must be some families living there and not hate it? Same goes for neighbouring Leicestershire.
So I'd love to hear from MNers who live in this region...if it really is dreadful, please don't hold back; but if not, tell me!
FWIW, I pretty much love everything about where we live now, apart from the fact we could probably never afford a house as big as we need it.

Depends which bit of Lincolnsire. Out to the east it can be a bit flat and bleak, but Stamford in Linconshire is absolutely gorgeous as are many areas of neighbouring Leicestershire, around Melton Mowbray and Oakham. It's real stately home territory and a bit like the Cotswolds without the tourists! There are good train services from Leicester and Grantham and the A1/M1. Peterbrough (technically Cambridgshire I think) and Boston are not so great.

Thank you all again, this thread has been really helpful!

I suppose some transport links would be helpful, although not necessarily the railway as we do most things by car. As long as decent shops/towns are in a 10-20min drive radius, I'd probably prefer village over town.

Shame we are going away over the Easter holidays - I'm itching to drive up and have a look around!

Oh, and thanks for the tip of Derby. Will have a look!

Very very unfriendly. To outsiders. 20 + years experience, but if you keep yourself to yourself it's great...the nice bits.

Ahhh, Reekypear, I know what you mean, but it's not ALL like that. Lincolnshire has just - historically - been rather isolated and it's them a while to get used to outsiders.

sorry - it's taken them a while ...

I am in North East Lincolnshire, so would be happy to answer any questions you have (if any) about that area.

I'll give a cheer for N.Lincs. Lovely villages and friendly folks, great access to motorway network A1, M62 etc. Doncaster train station not too far away and same for airport, four cities within an hours drive, and less than an hour to the coast.

We have a great rural location but 10-15 mins drive to large supermarket and a good selection of shops. Takeaways that deliver, well stocked and varied local shops and a doctors surgery where you can be seen the same day.

Moved here 15 years ago and never once regretted it.

Grew up in SW Lincs, in a town called Bourne, went to the local grammar and my parents, brother and grandparents still live there (although none of us were originally from there). There are advantages to the area, eg houses reasonable, schools good, buses to Peterborough, people in the town are all fairy similar in economic terms (or appear to be), low crime rates and people do commute to London. However, although I visit regularly, nothing could convince me to live there, it's just a bit...bland I think. And everyone knows your business, not in an unfriendly way, just in a way that drives me mad. But I've chosen to live in London so it's horses for courses. Bourne is a nice town, as is Stamford and the villages west towards Rutland are very pretty, but I always feel a bit isolated when I'm up there, but some people like that. Good luck with your search.

Leicestershire has some lovely parts but not 5/6 beds for £300k even in a cheap village you'd be lucky to get 3bed pretty cottage for that!!

Oh I don't know chchch - got to love this fabulous 7-bed wreck for 295000 - admittedly you'd need a fair whack to do it up. yes please

5/6 beds typically £700k plus in nice Leics villages

I love it here, just over an hour on train to London, grammar schools, low crime, 25 minutes to Nottingham and we will have our 4 bed big garden detached home paid off before we are 50.

I am in Leicestershire in one of the pretty villages near some of the places mentioned on here. My local towns are full of shops selling pretty shit. Stuff thats great to look at when away on holiday but of no use or practicality for everyday living. I am sick of driving miles for basics and with teen DC they see stuff in magazines etc and decide they want it and it means an epic whole day trip out to Leicester or Peterborough - both OK for shopping but crap compared to several other cities we have lived near.

I am probably biased because I am so bloody homesick for where we spent the previous few years I am on a right downer at the moment. I can honestly say though having had 12 moves in the past 20 years - this is the most unhappy I have been for this long! I am hoping its teething issues and as the weather improves I may appreciate my pretty surroundings more!

check this one out

(You just have to check street view to see why it's that price!)

Have a look round here, a market town with great transport links, to the west of Lincoln.

The thing about Lincolnshire is that it is a really big county, so you really can't generalise. I live on the Notts/Lincs border and from here we can be in London in an hour and 15 mins on the train (expensive though), in Nottingham in around 30 minutes by car for evenings out, on the A1 in 5 minutes - plus have the advantages of quieter roads, market towns and cheap property. It's also not that parochial (relatively speaking) - I know a lot of recent arrivals to the area, as well as people whose families have been here since the year dot. But I imagine other bits of it feel very different. And you could drive for more than an hour and a half from here and still be in Lincolnshire!

Upsides:
Cheap property, space, kindness of locals, clean air, the coast (lovely bleak walks, and nice in summer), SPACE! The Wolds are lovely, the views are great, and the food is good and fresh and local.
It is old-fashioned, which is mostly a good thing, but that can be a downside too.

Downsides:
The lack of glamour - if you want a good restaurant, nice gastropub, glamorous wine bar, you'll be pretty hard pushed.
In the same vein, it can therefore be a bit boring. Especially if you don't like farming chit chat in the pub.
The weather - it is BLOODY cold.
Nosy neighbours - because people in Lincs have often lived there for ever, and don't like to leave the county if they can help it, they are (IME) the WORST gossips!
Distance from anywhere else.

Grantham isn't that bad - good transport links, good schools

This Georgian beauty is on a busy road but look at it - beautiful!

This is round the corner but also pretty lush.

This [[http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44155744.html?premiumA=true doesn't have a garden but is close to the park and very close to the girls grammar

I too live in Lincolnshire, we have great transport links where I am, just over an hour to London on the train and it's not expensive if you plan ahead; I'm going at the weekend for £12 return.
The A1 is a 10 minute drive from us.
The cities of Lincoln and Nottingham are both under an hours drive away and both have loads of stuff to for ages and a great choice of shops.
The grammar schools here are great, as is the academy for those not wanting grammar.
I can walk to shops, pubs, cinema and restaurants and am only a 10 minute drive to countryside.
I think I'm a friendly person and meet lots of similar people, however there are some very rude people around but I think you get that everywhere!
We bought our house 4 years ago it was a fairly run down old house but it has 5 bedrooms, a large kitchen diner, utility, office and 4 further reception rooms plus a large garden, double garage and big drive! It cost us £220!! Bargain
I don't think we could afford to move anywhere else now until we're ready to downsize.

I too live in Lincolnshire, we have great transport links where I am, just over an hour to London on the train and it's not expensive if you plan ahead; I'm going at the weekend for £12 return.
The A1 is a 10 minute drive from us.
The cities of Lincoln and Nottingham are both under an hours drive away and both have loads of stuff to for ages and a great choice of shops.
The grammar schools here are great, as is the academy for those not wanting grammar.
I can walk to shops, pubs, cinema and restaurants and am only a 10 minute drive to countryside.
I think I'm a friendly person and meet lots of similar people, however there are some very rude people around but I think you get that everywhere!
We bought our house 4 years ago it was a fairly run down old house but it has 5 bedrooms, a large kitchen diner, utility, office and 4 further reception rooms plus a large garden, double garage and big drive! It cost us £220!! Bargain
I don't think we could afford to move anywhere else now until we're ready to downsize.

Oops sorry for the double post!

I grew up in Lincolnshire and live in Leicestershire now. They are very different! Leicestershire has a few remote areas but is mainly quite well connected, accessible and has good facilities as well as countryside. Lincolnshire is 3 times the size but only has a few areas that are NOT remote and rural. I love it, but would struggle living in the sticks.

Of course if you have the right combination of job, family, friends, home, anywhere can be a great place to live. But the reason Lincs is cheaper is that on average it has a lot less on offer than the home counties. No motorways and hardly any dual carriageways. Few sports facilities. Dread to imagine the broadband speeds. One single solitary Waitrose. Only a small corner in the Newark-Grantham-Stamford corridor has anything like decent rail and road connections, or Lincoln itself.

You can always embrace country life and not need to go mountain biking or ice skating or need a specialist hospital or city shops or cappuccinos or to get to London inside 4 hours. But if your lifestyle needs more than local facilities, you are going to be doing a lot of driving, mostly stuck behind a tractor.

Swazza where are you? On the Melton Mowbray side?

There are many great areas in Lincolnshire (and of course not so great areas) as with everywhere. Maybe get down there and view the area for yourself?