Love where you live? Please recommend me somewhere in England!

[shouldHAVE]

We're a forces family who've been on the move for 20 years. We're not planning to settle anywhere for a while yet, but would quite like to buy somewhere that we could move into if we decided to. The trouble is, we have absolutely no idea where to settle! We're both from completely different places and have no ties to either.

Our perfect place would be Bath, but we just can't afford it. We want somewhere with a country feel, but not far from facilities like decent shops/restaurants/cinema etc. We've lived in: Wiltshire, Dorset. Bedfordshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, NI, Yorkshire and Germany. We also like York/Harrogate, but ideally I'd rather be south.

Our budget is up to £350k, but having looked all over, we're lucky to get a small 3 bed for that, which is devastating.

If you think you live somewhere or know somewhere that may fit the bill please help.

Worcester.

Isle of Wight.. you'd get something nice here (4 bed detatched easily) for £350k and it has stunning countryside and is 30 mins from Portsmouth / Southampton/ New Forest and a couple of hours by train to London.. ( its just that there's a little bit of water in between..) .. I moved here from Brighton and love it..

I've sent you a private message :) loads of beautiful Oxfordshire locations in budget for sure.

Southampton? Housing is relatively cheap considering its in the south.

Are you thinking large town. smaller town, village? Obv theres Worcester, then next large towns are Droitwich, Kidderminster, Redditch, Evesham, Malvern, then some small towns (I live in a small one) and then oodles of villages. Its a tiny county really, but its easy reach to lots of places.

I like the small town I'm in as children get a lot of freedom as its very safe, but there's plenty going on for all ages .

Do you have school aged children? If you do then you can't go wrong with your suggestion of Altrincham / Hale. It was voted as the best place in the country to live for Education by The Times a couple of years ago and one of the state grammars was voted in the last couple of weeks as the best state school in the country. It has great access to the countryside, great transport links for Manchester City Centre and the airport, very family oriented (has every activity for children you can think of on offer) but with village-y feel, great community feel, with tons of good restaurants / bars / café culture.

Your £350,000 won't go far, but its definitely worth considering.

MrsLady Cheltenham is one place I have never been, but I'm sure I'd like it. DH went a couple of times with his job and he seems to think it's rough though .
Laska Absolutely love the IOW recommendation! Never been, always wanted to go. Which areas should I look? Found a lovely house in Newport...!
CMOT I'd prefer small town or village with easy access to bigger places.
namechanged yes, school age children... I noticed that pretty much every primary and senior school had outstanding ofsted's. Thanks for the info.

Buscake can't say I've ever been keen on Southampton. I do love the New Forest though.

Have a look at this area then

Devizes? It's my home town and I bloody love it. Although, actually, don't as if I can't move there no one else is allowed to!

I think cheltenham is very much a town of two halves-the very rich and everyone else!

I dont expect you will be able to afford the New Forest , sadly.. ( id love to live in Lymington if I wasnt here ) I'm in West Wight.(Totland/Freshwater/ Yarmouth area).. its more rural - there is a ferry to New Forest - but I dont have school age kids.. I work in Newport and its no bother to get to , )

If you have children of school age probably start with of Cowes / Ryde/ Newport areas.. (Cowes or Ryde have good ferry links to Southampton and Portsmouth ..)

the Car ferries can be expensive, but if you live here you can get residents tickets which are cheaper.. I use mine in the summer when the ferries can be really silly prices ..

Thanks CMOT.
EssexCat Devizes is on my list. The prices have gone up so much though :-( I remember always thinking if I couldn't afford Corsham I could get something decent in Devizes, not so much now!

I'd say it's an eclectic mix! It's a big town so has areas which are rougher but doesn't everywhere? Even bath!

South Gloucestershire? There are some lovely villages so you have a rural feel but easy access to Bristol and motorway links. House prices are much more reasonable compared to cities like Bristol, Cheltenham and Bath!

Very good schools too - both primary and secondary.

Berkhamsted?

York! I'm a Fulford fan too, but South Bank is also great. Just check the flood maps before you buy...

Lancashire has some beautiful areas (Ribble Valley, Forest of Bowland), some fantastic schools, lovely villages and depending where you are in the county, you can be in Manchester, Liverpool and the Lakes in 30 mins, and London or Edinburgh/Glasgow in two hours on the train. Your budget is healthy for this area.. and we have Booths !

this one? its on the outskirts of Newport , not a bad area at all but not near the sea.. ..

this one however is on one of the most sort after roads in Cowes .. it needs updating , true , but you could extend .. (and rent it out for ££££ during Cowes week.. (and go live in the Premier Inn for the week...)

I'm adding my voice for York too. We've lived all over and came back her because nowhere else matched up. Great schools, great transport links (I work in Manchester) & a lovely centre. Quite small, and very cycle friendly. Bishopthorpe road/ south bank has been described as the 'Notting hill of the north'. We lived there for a while and I loved being close to fancy cafes, but found it a bit tedious too. Further out you get more for your money. If you like Fulford (where you pay a premium for family houses because of then great secondary school - but also means rentals go quickly) try bishopthorpe village or haxby. Dringhouses is another popular area. I love York!

How about Taunton? Here's a sample of what £350k will get you.

www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/55063588

Stamford? You'd get a house 10mins walk from town centre for that. Direct train to Bham, Leicester and Cambridge. Easy access to London via a1 / train from p'boro. 2 hours drive to York.

Bennjerrys I used to live on Bishopthorpe Road, its nothing like Notting Hill!! Wish it had have been!! York is lovely, gets very busy all summer though!

Warwickshire? We bought in Coventry last year - detached house, for half of your budget. With your prices, you could easily look at Solihull, Kenilworth, Leamington Spa or Stratford upon Avon. Gorgeous countryside, great motorway links, good choice of schools and only an hour from London on the train.