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!

I'll second St Neots and throw Bedford into the mix
Bedford

StNeots

I was coming on here to suggest Colchester and other posters agree. Nice mix - proper town, not a London dormitory and lively town centre. Easy commute to London, but into Liverpool Street station

There are nice bits of Huntingdon but I was thinking particularly of Godmamchester and surrounding villages.

We are buying a house in St Neots. We considered St Ives, Baldock and other places but decided St Neots is up and coming. Hope so because it will be a wrench leaving London.

Just a word of warning, many of the schools in St Neots at primary are not brilliant and those that are were full in the year we wanted. Secondary is different but Ernulf which has a very poor reputation covers vast swathes of St Neots because it's sister academy Longsands covers more of the villages to the North. If you want good schools (and don't want to pay) then St Ives and Baldock are much better options imo. At Neots is also one of the least diverse towns I've been to which is a shame but Bedford is the opposite.

Bedford gives you loads of house for your money and the schools are ok. Lots of great independents that take students from all over N Beds and S Cambs.

not fussed on schools - my standards aren't high given that I went to a shitty EL comp with a 35% GCSE pass rate :)

iK8 what was it in particular that made you choose St Neots?

Student dinners - I grew up in Bedford and haven't lived there for over 20 years but so many of my friends have moved back after they outgrew flats in London. I prefer Bedford to the villages as long as you are near
Castle Road/embankment (though that is a mile from the station) or near Bedford Park. It definitely has its edgy bits and some very dull housing estates without much character, maybe that would be a reason to prefer the villages.

Castle road (I think they call it Castle Quarter now) has some really good pubs, Italian influences etc. Bedford is very diverse so great for Asian grocers, Caribbean food etc.

We live in a village near East Grinstead now, it's also probably just doable on your budget but despite being closer to London the trains are much worse. Doesn't meet your criteria on diverse IMO either ;) (we're moving)

Hayward's heath could work if you prefer to go south? Good trains and handy for Brighton

Also Hitchin and Harpenden are worth a look.

Some parts of Surrey are still affordable and I beloebe quite 'up and coming' but still close to London.

Try looking in Woking, Walton-On-Thames, Staines-On-Thames (formerly just Staines)...they're all just fine. Nothing fancy, but fine. And certainly improving!

Try Horsham- fantastic park and leisure centre, Michelin starred restaurants, theatre, etc. 1 hour and 5 minutes to London which keeps the price down.

think anything over an hours' commute will be no good for DH, he was adamant he was only willing to commute up to an hour

for it to be over an hour on train I think we would need to live very close to the station

St Albans and Harpenden are prob out of budget - I think 450 min for what op is asking. But if you like these areas Hertford is lovely and half an hour train? Hatfield has v quick train 20 min from kx - old Hatfield is nice as is Hatfield house. Some housing areas not great but you would have a good choice of house and be near St Albans etc for nights out

Would you consider south? Tonbridge might work for you - this is on for £335k as is this (although second is less desireable area) - it's about 45mins to Cannon Street (bit less to London bridge), would that work for commute?

It's a largish town, has it's own castle and a decent high street. Some rough bits, but then most larger towns do.

We're a bit closer to London, but your budget wouldn't get you much the closer into London you go.

Welwyn might be good too - good trains and property - no bad areas. Has cinema, skating, ski slope, sailing and good shops. Schools are good.

I like Banbury. It is rough round the edges, and industrial smells in some places (definitely a go and look round and see if you like it place, most of it's great but there are ddodgy bits in any town!)

But, it's got a really diverse feel lots of different things going on. 350k would get you a good sized 4 bed house, schools aren't particularly great but plenty of green space.

It's about an hour on the train from Marylebone.

oh just looked, you could get this in Sevenoaks (very nice town) - very close to very good schools and walkable to the station (which is more like 25 minutes to London Bridge), quite small house though, not much outdoor space - you get more for your money in Tonbridge.

Dorking is an archetypal bland, boring Surrey town, just my view. And expensive. Windsor great but expensive and can you really tolerate the plane noise? Am mazed to hear good things about Lee/CatFord area but am way out of date and the only way was up! And yes there's tons of great housing stock in the area but GOD was it awful a couple of decades ago, and i speak from experience! in your shoes and with your budget, i'd be trmpred to go further out to a Kent town on the up with new fast lones

I think you could find something in Cambridge on your budget. Dsis' s 3 bed house is on the market for 400k and I doubt it us the cheapest property in town. The pretty Victorian terraces by the station are pricey but if you're prepared to be a bit more flexible there are some affordable things. There is a new station proposed near the science park.

Why St Neots? It's only 45 mins to London, it's on the river which felt right having always lived on the Thames, you can cycle everywhere, decent town centre with some independent shops, a small Beales department store and a genuinely independent department store, there is quite a lot of industry there (which could be good for me work-wise), some less affluent areas which means some good municipal spending (leisure centre, children's centres etc), proper market in the market square, varied housing stock (quite a few new build estates which seems to drive down price of period properties), lots of parks and open spaces, near a nature reserve (Paxton Pits).

It's also close enough to some areas dh and I work in: Milton Keynes and Cambridge. It makes travel for work easier for me: Birmingham and Leeds are all commutable via Peterborough or Stevenage and I can get trains from Peterborough for Bradford, Edinburgh or Manchester. Or I could drive to MK or Bedford to pick up the train.

It's 12 miles to Cambrige for good shopping (John Lewis!) or two stops to Peterborough on the train.

Being able to get to London quite quickly is important to us.

Bizarrely St. N has lots of

...places to eat out.

But mainly because we get a house twice the size of our current one for half the money

If you want to stay in London then se25 and penge are still reasonable. They are gritty and edgy still but I doubt for long.

Just seen you not keen on South norwood and croydon. Sorry.

Tunbridge Wells? That money would get you a nice apartment by Dunorlan Park and walking distance of the town centre and railway station.

You could get somewhere in lewes for that It has a lovely high st and 1hr 8 mins to London

Marlow?
I don't live in England, but have family living here and it is gorgeous!