help me choose where to live - does this magical mythical place exist?

[addstudentdinners2]

Our budget is 350k, we have 50k deposit. That is our absolute max, and with DH commuting to London and what we'd spend on travel we'd prefer to be spending more around the 330-340 mark.

Min 2 bedrooms, prefer 3 but 2 is fine. Prefer garden but not 100 per cent essential. Prefer house but perfectly open to a nice flat/maisonette.

We want:

1. Less than an hours' train journey to London (I desperately wanted to stay in London itself as I am born and bred but I think it's impossible on our budget for what we want - please say if you know somewhere in London I might be overlooking)

2. Area not too dull. I would die of boredom living somewhere there was a big Tesco, a school, some houses and not much else. No offence meant to those who currently live in such places, but it's just not for me. Would love to live somewhere there was a nice high street with a different mix of shops/cafes etc.

3. Good community of families with kids. Ideally fairly diverse mix of people (ie, from different social backgrounds and ethnic groups)

4. Ideally near nice countryside/park/large area of green for dog walking etc.

5. Area relatively safe to walk around late etc.

6. not massively bothered re: schools as long as there are some there.

I had considered Cambridge as that provides all of the above but it seems to be too expensive for us :( Ditto St Alban's (please feel free to contradict me).

Am I being completely unrealistic, and if so can anyone recommend some places to buy where I could achieve at least some of the above?

Thanks very much!

You can still afford Catford, just. Yes, there are some really scrotty areas but they won't stay scrotty long, and there are quite a lot of really lovely houses. Direct trains to St Pancras and London Bridge/ charing x

You could get a house in Plumstead for that budget - just. The area isn't naice now and might not be for some time, but once Crossrail works its magic it looks likely to improve.

Colchester? You can get pretty much everything on your list there.

Reading is OK, and there is plenty going on. There are plenty of nice things there, but they aren't really apparent until you get to know the place.

If you looked at a place like Caversham, you can be out in rural Oxfordshire within five minutes drive, or you can walk into Reading town centre in about 15-20.

And of course you can walk along the Thames.

Can I mention Plumstead again?

South of the common is a bit gross, or the parts I saw were. There was an awesome proper gangsters house though - mural on the wall, fake blue plaque, compound atmosphere, the business. I digress... Shooter's hill - Genesta Rd and the streets parallel, is un-bloody-believable. Was down there the other day and did a Serious Think about moving, based on how lovely the houses are and the price alone.

My Great London Theory is that people move where it's a) cheap and b) there is nice housing stock. If I'm right, with crossrail coming, it's got to go nuts down there. You might have to wait a bit for the cute high street I think, or at least I didn't see it, but everything else is bang on.

No wait! North of the common is the dingy bit. I've got my north of the river head on!

I lived there in the early nineties. It was really grim there. Lots of proper old school skinheads still. Nasty, violent men.

I'm sure it is much nicer now.

Yes, agree with Catford, suggested by a PP. We live in Lee, between Hither Green and Catford in a gorgeous, big two bed flat with a beautiful garden. It is a fabulous area (I grew up in a poshish bit of N. London, so I speak as one with high expectations ) for young families. Lovely, lovely people, excellent nurseries primary schools and great housing stock. Search SE12/SE13/SE6 on Rightmove. Loads of great community stuff going on round there and lots of nice new restaurants, cafes, refurbished pubs, etc.

We have two children so they share a (small) room which we have recently spent some money on to make the most of the space. We've also just had a studio built in the back garden (am outing myself totally with this post!) to make some extra work/breakout space. I say all this because with all the work we've done we could probably get £400K, but you could easily find something similar for around £350 and then make some extra adaptations/space as and when. It's brilliant for commuting into the City/Waterloo/Charing Cross/London Bridge

I know we could get a detached 4-bed house in Kent for that, but I'm a London girl too, and every time I ever thought of moving out my soul died a little!

A quick google reveals this in Tring. Nice area, nice high st. with some lovely shops. Great countryside very nearby. Sorry, though, there is a giant Tesco just round the corner!

You can get 3 bed houses in leytonstone for approx 300-350k. It's not an amazing area, but really good links, v close to Stratford. And the area is on the up.

OP, what about somewhere on the proposed CrossRail link? Like Slough or Maidenhead - they're already pretty well connected and come 2018 will be even more so. Parts of Maidenhead and its environs - like Iver, for example - are pretty and the connectivity will be amazing in just a few years.

Colchester is an hour's commute from London although not to Kings Cross - Liverpool Street. It is not too dull - there's lots going on in terms of theatre, arts, events - two arts centres, three theatres, the university, the castle, lots of things happening in the park. There are a lot of families with kids. It isn't the most diverse place in the world (having moved here from Hackney) but is reasonably so. Lots of parks and green spaces. Schools are good, generally. The town centre has a good mix of chain shops and independent boutiques IMHO (and many many cafes).

I walk around late at night and feel fine, although sadly there were two murders last year, saying that makes it sound really violent but (again coming from Hackney) it doesn't seem so to me.

Basically our list was very similar to yours and I have found Colchester to tick all those boxes, we don't commute to London every day though so it might be a bit far for you.

books yes catford and hither green are on our shortlist of places we could possibly afford in London so I'm glad to hear you say they are nice areas. I'm an East London girl so don't know much about South.

I had a wander round Brockley/Honour Oak/Forest Hill the other day which I have heard good things about but didn't think they were that exciting tbh. Any contradictions?

Hitchin looks promising, will definitely check that out.

Definitely couldn't do plumstead I'm afraid, ex boyf used to live there and I thought it was a horrible place. I'm from a pretty rough part of EL and it was too much even for me.

ducky yes also considered leytonstone as it's very near where I grew up and know it quite well, but don't like the area.

colchester

Try these in Dorking

Ticks all the boxes re character and access to countryside. And it has a vineyard!

here

or here

Try these in Dorking

Ticks all the boxes re character and access to countryside. And it has a vineyard!

here

or here

Another vote for St Neots here. Fast train to Kings X is 39 min and there are good schools, and it is big enough that it isn't too twee. Has an annual regatta and dragon boat festival and generally living by the river is lovely. Some bits are better than others but you can get a good house for your money. Easy access to Cambridge by bus or car so you can get your city fix.

YY to Catford / Hither Green. Also, have you considered Addiscombe, South Norwood, Woodside and all around that area? Excellent transport (Addiscombe, S Norwood and Woodside have the tram network which is brilliant. There's also several huge parks in the near vicinity (Lloyd Park, S Norwood Country Park, S Norwood Lake, Crystal Palace Park). Addiscombe has a great shopping street with independebt green grocers etc. Portland Rd in S Norwood is a bit more gritty urban but has the best Ghanaian restaurant (Gold Coast) and a great gift shop (Treasures). It's an up and coming area with a lot of Victorian and Edwardian terraces. I'd really recommend it. Good luck!

Yep, I was going to recommend out in this direction, and take it one step further to say (gasp!) Croydon. The transport links are amazing (and it's zone 5/6), it's ethnically diverse, there is a lot going on both for shopping and 'culturally' (look at the Fairfield halls, Matthews Yard, Town Hall, etc), you can still get a night bus back from the West End, it seems to be moving in the way of gentrification with more 'artisan' type shops and restaurants, there's a good fruit and veg market, and with Westfield coming in the next 18 months a lot of the property rags are suggesting it as the next boom area. You can get a 3 bed terrace for £300k near us, and South Croydon is particularly nice with a lot of character properties and coversions.

Just avoid West Croydon; it's cheaper than the other parts for a reason

I know Croydon quite well and not keen. Ditto South Norwood but will definitely have another look as may not know the right places.

Billericay in Essex is a lovely small town - still some independents shops on the high street. Great community, especially for young families.
35 mins to Liverpool Street.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33968229.html?premiumA=true

Rayleigh on the same train line is also a nice high street but houses are a bit cheaper.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34324242.html

thanks pers but can't live in Billericay as too close to a certain family member I don't want to be near to...

TBH not keen on Essex in general, know it fairly well. But will revisit.

Boxmoor part of Hemel Hempstead, or Apsley / Kings Langley / Abbots Langley?

St Neots is nice, as is Godmanchester. To be honest a lot of these places are absolutely fine as long as you live in the right bit of them

Can you do a search by train stations/train timetables and find out all the general areas that might work. Then you can whittle it down from there based on house prices/amenities.