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!

Belle that is really, really encouraging thank you.

We won't move til this time next year so let's hope house prices don't go up too much in the meantime!

To whoever mentioned Milton Keynes, it's an area I know a little and is on our shortlist :)

Agree Hertford, Ware or Hitchin. Excellent/outstanding schools in Hertford and Ware and both have high streets with lots of independent shops.

Hertford is the county town and has a lovely old castle and a long history. There is a weekly market and a monthly farmers' market and a theatre/cinema. There are lots of places to eat and drink, both chains and independents. Very friendly and surrounded by green spaces, but 2 separate train stations/lines into London (Liverpool Street/Moorgate/King's X), both about 40 minutes.

We moved out with DC and honestly think it's the best of both worlds, plenty to do here and semi-rural in some respects, but plenty to do, and close to London and Cambridge for a bigger city experience. I love going into London for theatre and meeting friends and top restaurants, but I wouldn't do that all the time if I still lived in London anyway (too expensive for one thing!). And it's so lovely to have the buzz of London when I go in to work a couple of days a week but equally lovely to get back home and smell the fresh air and see the pheasants and squirrels etc. My DC have been able to have horses and dogs and pets in a way that they just wouldn't in London.

Also, Hertford is absolutely brilliant for airports if you like/need to travel. Stansted and Luton are about 30 mins away, Heathrow, City and Southend about 45 mins away, and Gatwick a bit further if necessary.

If I could move it a bit closer to the coast and a couple of race courses, Hertford would be my perfect place to live!

I just moved from South Norwood to Shirley, Croydon (nice but a bit too dull for my liking). If schools did not matter I would choose to live in Addiscombe/Woodside.

If you want to stay in London you could definitely get a 2 bed garden flat in Leytonstone for that money, for example

www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/49564282

(there are plenty more if you search on Rightmove)

It's a really nice area, close to epping forest, on the central line, and the high street is great.

This is also nice

www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/33202257

It's a very diverse area (which was important to me, too), and there are some great primary schools.

Following on from the Lee/Hither Green suggestions, plenty of nice pockets round the Blackheath fringes (Shootes Hill, Lee, Kidbrooke...).

£350k could buy you this 3 bed house with garden, walking distance of cafes, pubs, loads of green space nearby, in catchment for a Good primary school... 10min walk to the station...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34337952.html

NotKay did consider Leytonstone but I grew up v nearby and I don't like it much, I know it's on the up now but I've had a couple of quite nasty experiences around the station.

Rugby ... 55 mins to Euston. For £350k you could have a fabulous 4 or 5 bed either here or in the villages around. Some nice independent shops, lovely countryside and fab Mum and Baby groups / classes so you can build a network.

We moved to Plumstead a few years ago to take advantage of coming crossrail and because we could buy a house here rather than a flat. I have to say we love it here, really friendly, great schools, woolwich has a few decent pubs and restaurants plus easy connections to Stratford, cannon st and LB, Waterloo and Charing Cross. Close to Blackheath and Greenwich for nights out. Loads of green space we have two dogs and forever finding new places to walk around including Oxleas Woods.

I know you've rejected Croydon, but what about Sutton? My Nan lived there, have to say I don't know it well in the last 5 yrs since she died, but unless it's changed massively it always seemed like a very friendly nice place to live, and a quick search shows lots of houses for your budget.

OP, I hear you about not caring about being near good schools as you (and I and many more) went to a big standard comp, but then I read that you haven't had DC yet and think it's worth saying, I felt the same as you pre-DC but a certain madness does come over most folk post-dc and schools really do start to matter. Pre-dc as long as there was a school somewhere in the vicinity I thought that'd suffice, but post-dc it all becomes about catchment areas and ofsted reports and 'black holes' etc. Not saying that's how it should be but it often is and is so hard to imagine before ttc. So err on the side of caution and favour these places where people flag up good schools. We didn't and we ended up having to move again before primary school. Good luck!

Pinkdelight, I do wonder if we overthink schools, it matters of course but is it that much? I feel compromised on where to live for schools and really not sure if it is worth it.

pink thanks, will bear that in mind! meadow, I do agree with you, it matters but I don't think it's massively important....only because both mysel and DH went to a truly awful (on paper, anyway) school and did really well. My sisters have both gone to 'outstanding' schools and had really bad experiences there (so much so that one of them transferred to a school in special measures and was happier there). So I just think it comes down to individual experience really.

No doubt we do overthink them, but just flagging it up because while it's good to be chilled about these things, pre-DC people tend to have a completely different perspective and it's just worth factoring in. I wish someone had told me that one of the best things about a house is being close enough to walk the kids to school. I had no idea, but boy it makes a difference. So does a school's feel/ethos, much more than results/Ofsted stuff. Course, as you say, it's all individual experience, but there's also stuff to be aware of to avoid becoming one of the 'schools nightmare' education threads in years to come.

like this

close to station so he could be in london in 44 minutes!

like this

close to station so he could be in london in 44 minutes!

Horsham? 3 bed house for 350k
4 bed £335!! near station!!

You'd need to cycle to the station probably but I was taken by the photos and the price.

Southborough, Kent although the garage seems only to be for storage, unless it has rear access? still useful space though.

This one's right in the centre of town Here walk to station and lots of beautiful parks. Diversity is evolving slowly and there's more of a cafe culture than there used to be.

Oh, come to Reading! I'm sure it's far more diverse than most places mentioned here! Plenty to do with small children, the Thames, loads of parks, a weird and wonderful arts scene, and all the mainstream amenities you could ask for.

withtheir I'd have to persuade my DH as he grew up near Reading and doesn't like it...hard to overcome a long held bias!!

Hitchin. I live here (moved from London) and totally love it. Been here 8 years now. You can get your house with a short walk to great local schools, the station and the town centre. The town is buzzing and lots of places to drink/eat out. Some fab pubs with lots of music and comedy nights or just chilling with a nice drink (The Vic, The Bricklayers, The Coopers are my faves) The schools are really a good: numerous great primaries and 3 secondary schools to pick from and all lovely, although the boys and girls schools are ex grammar and get better results (thus harder to get into). We've got an open air pool, our very own music festival in the summer which is just fabulous -Rhythms of the World- and the market is good for food and Bric a Brack on different days.
There's a real community feel living here. The commute can be a bit shit (busy trains) but it's half an hour into London Kings Cross and there are direct trains with no stops which take even less time.
Plus if you like the countryside there are great walks on your doorstep. I have a dog so take full advantage! It's very friendly here too - I moved from Kew to Hitchin and it's like a different world in terms of community and neighborliness. It is a very laid back little town and exactly the type of place I wanted for my kids to grow up in. Rural and pretty but fun and busy at the same time. I love it and I thought you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming out of my beloved London. I wouldn't go back now if you paid me. I actually had a dream last night that we lived in a big London townhouse and I was very confused and trying to get back to hitchin! Never thought I'd say that in a million years.

I know Reading has been mentioned already, but I wanted to fight it's corner, central Reading isn't great, but I live in Caversham Park, which is lovely, it's a 20 minute bus/bike ride to the station and the trains are 25/30 minutes into Paddington. I commute daily into Camden, and it's a very easy commute.

We got a 4 bed detached with garage and garden in the catchment to 2 outstanding schools, for your budget.

Central Reading is fine, if you don't want to pay extortionate Caversham prices... we paid £100k less than you did for the same amount of house! ;)