Thinking of leaving London, but don't know where to....please help.

[where2next]

First world problem.
DH and I are currently deciding whether to up sticks and move from London before DD starts school.
DH is happy with our current living situation (3 bed victorian terrace, zone 4), but I'm not such a fan. I feel like although we technically live in London we might as well live outside of London as I'm unable to access the amenities of central London that easily (we do not live near a tube) and I really miss that. Most of our close friends now have children and are spread across London. Trying to see them is equally hard. Also, I've been told by mums in our area that our house is 2 streets out of the catchment of the good school.....which got me thinking, should we up sticks and move???
To give you a bit of background about myself, I grew up in Edinburgh and really miss the lifestyle I had there. I came to London in my twenties and loved living in here as a single person, but now married with a family I am less keen. I cannot help but compare the life I had and my friends with families up north have to my life down hear. I miss the North, although perhaps not the weather! In an ideal world I'd move Edinburgh to an hours commute of London and move there, but I can't move mountains let alone cities! DH on the other hand would be happy living anywhere (wish I was like this), but because of his job (media) we have to remain near London for the time being.

The nuts and bolts of our search:
House, budget ??700K (preferably period)
Good primary
Approx 1-1.5hr commute to Oxford Circus for DH
Access to Norfolk and Scotland preferred, but not essential
Nice independent shops, cafes, restaurants etc.

Not a tall order by any means! Thanks for reading.

Your reasons for not liking where you live are exactly why we've decided to 'move out' of London, rather than move to e.g. zone 4. We currently live in the centre and felt that by moving to the suburban areas we'd lose a lot but not gain enough (if that makes sense). So instead we're doing the big move out to the sticks (although we don't have the commuting constraints your DH does).

How about somewhere on the metropolitan line? Amersham, from brief visits there, seems nice... Not sure if that works for your DH's commute. I think there's a website that brings up areas based on commuting distance. You can also do searches on Zoopla for property within a certain commuting time or distance,

How about St Albans?

Colchester? 1 hour by train

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53225921.html?premiumA=true

Come to Yorkshire!!!
Gods own country tha knows

Bit far to Oxford Circus though

Hitchin or similar like berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. St. Albans is super expensive. South Cambridgeshire is nice to and reasonable commute as well.

Bishops Stortford under an hour. Handy for cheap flights from Stansted
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36215343.html

Guildford? Winchester? Oxford?

I was going to say Hitchin too biased. Very nice, very easy commute to Kings Cross too, which is handy for Oxford Circus.

Hitchin

Welwyn

Knebworth

Cambridge. For £700k you could get a house near the train station which would reduce the commute to London. It's a beautiful city with theatres, good restaurants, independent shops and caf??s, and good schools. Only downside is house prices and cost of commuting to London on the train - but you'll be used to high living costs in London.

Disclosure: I live in Cambridge and love it. I recently visited Edinburgh and would love to live there if it wasn't so far away! So I think if you like Edinburgh you'd like Cambridge. You also mentioned Norfolk - Norwich is a 1h15 train or car journey away. And day trips to Norfolk beaches are doable too.

PS Another advantage of Cambridge is that there's a direct train to Stansted Airport which takes about 35mins. Great for flights to Scotland, Europe etc.

What do you like about Edinburgh? If its hills then don't go for Cambridge.

Another one for Hitchin. I grew up there. It's gone a bit mental commuter-y, but loads of independent shops, restaurants etc. and nice schools.

OP do you know whether you'd prefer to live in a smaller city, a town or a village? That would probably help people to make recommendations.

I think it's be difficult to go from London to a village but maybe people who make that move want a complete change. I think London to small town would probably be the most difficult. I like small cities best as I live in one!

For £700k you could get something great in Twickenham/Richmond or Surrey. The schools here are great and it's easy to get into town. Richmond and TwicIenham are very green and family orientated but there is a lot of money here. I'd love to buy here..but alas! Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your replies and for the suggestions.

Oxford - is the commute quite doable or horribly cramped and busy? I hadn't considered Guildford or Wincester - will take a look. I didn't realise Cambridge had a direct link to Stansted....that's very handy!

Love Yorkshire, shame it's too far.

Would be interested in hearing from people who have made the move. Any regrets? AnotherEmma - did you move to Cambridge from London?

There are many things I love about Edinburgh, but what I miss the most are the green spaces, good restaurants (I don't drink, good food is my vice), array of independent shops, galleries and having everything within walking distance. Plus I think it looks pretty, but I am biased!

This is a good site

www.commutefrom.com

Wow St Albans is expensive!

Brighton or hove? Great shops, town centre walkable. Fast trains to London. South Downs nearby plus the sea?

This is nice

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36148413.html

I actually went to uni in Cambridge and ended up staying. I've been here 10 years now. During that time I had a 9 month stint in London but didn't enjoy it. But I do have family and friends who live in London so I go there often. Although Cambridge obviously doesn't have as much as London, I much prefer the lifestyle, and it has most of the things you like about Edinburgh. Not as many galleries but it does have the Fitzwilliam and Kettle's Yard which are interesting. And with your budget you can be within walking or cycling distance of good restaurants and shops.

Maybe you could shortlist two or three places and spend a weekend in each one? You could do Air BnB and ask your hosts what they like and dislike about where they live.

I wouldn't move to somewhere like Bekhamstead - DP is from there and it's too close to London to have a really strong identity of its own.

I'm from Edinburgh, spent my twenties in London and now am settled with two kids in Bristol. Bit further out for your partner but lots of people commute to London - I think it's an hour and forty mins from paddington (and will get quicker when they finish doing up the train line). i like it here because it reminds me of Edinburgh a bit (way of life not necessarily look of the city)

I'd go for Brighton or Oxford - both have strong independent identities.