Where can we live - moving out of London

[StillTryingHard]

Wasn't sure whether to post here or on AIBU. it does seem IABU to find somewhere matching my criteria. Basically due to being rubbish at life choices, finances, being a proper grown up etc I find myself with DH & DS9 renting in london & never have got on property ladder. Now have reasonably good job and deposit saved and can afford up to £250,000 house. Enough to buy a driveway in london. But right move is unfathomable. So where can I move that has good free secondary schools & is near-ish to an overground so I can still get into london for meetings (expecting to WFH as much as possible). And I would like to live in an okay area. Would consider jacking it all in and living/commuting from abroad. What would you do? Where would you go? I believe in MNetters to shed light where right move cannot!

It takes between 1 hour 30 and 1 hour 50 with LM from Coventry to Euston. So while there may well be some places they are workable from (Northampton maybe..?) many of the journey times quoted here would be massively impacted by taking that route.

Euston to Birmingham is 1 hour 20 with virgin. Of course you probably won't be living on top of new street station.

Hs2 is a decade away, will cost a fortune and won't make much differrence to travel times.

So delighted with all these suggestions! mnetters are truly amazing. Will reply to everyone properly soon but just a quick dive in to say cheers and - gives me hope this is achievable now x

PS - here are the answers to questions above. V good questions! Need to get to Westminster, looking for 3 bed at least (rent 2 bed but want to feel we are swapping london for more space), 1-2 meetings in london a week.

Bournemouth? Something like this

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61507552.html

Beach, New Forest nearby, decent town centre, sunny micro-climate, good schools, and frequent trains into London (2 hours).

Two Universities and a tourist industry mean a lot of restaurants and leisure facilities, plus a half-decent football club, albeit one sitting at the bottom of the premiership.

It depends where you need to get to in London and how often. Start from the most convenient main line station and look at what is accessible from there. Bournemouth is Waterloo. There are lots of occasional commuters.

Euston to Birmingham is 1 hour 20 with virgin.

We know that, but if you have to travel at peak times it is ££££££

Lots of choice on right move in my soon-to-be-new neck of woods (moving down from south London - though have been working overseas for past 3.5 years), but this one looks like a pretty good example of what you could get for your money. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61554859.html. We spent ages looking all over, but especially Kent and were won over by its stunning location (walking distance to beach, close to countryside but still able to have days out in capital - kids travel for a quid!) for our 3 boys (8,9,10) as there seemed to be plenty going on for them and lots more in the pipeline. Let us know if you end up there - would be nice to have another family to explore further with!

Ooooh and this one www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66664265.html. Sorry! Am super bored and had forgotten how much I enjoyed trawling through Rightmove!

You won't get great 3 bed properties for £250,000 in reading, but there are some really nice 2 beds with lots of space for that amount.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49705392.html

Market Harborough and nearby villages are a good shout. You'll just about afford a 3 bed, schools are decent pretty much across the board and quick into London. Train station is packed with commuters each morning. My last job was based in London and travel was never an issue.

I don't live in Ashford, but was looking to move out of London as well. A lot of my colleagues recommended and live in Ashford - they has high speed fast train to London (expensive), very good school. A quick search shows this.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61539946.html

Ashford looks fab for the money!

Quite like the idea of Bournmouth and its' microclimate... :-)

Get Kirsty and Phil on it x

Looked at a fair few houses in Ashford and asked for advice on a several FB sites as very nearly plumped for one there. I was told Kingsnorth is a nice part to live but to avoid Stanhope and Kennington as they have higher crimes rates than the rest. No idea how true that is, but thought might be useful if you decide to investigate that area further. FWIW we though it seemed a perfectly pleasant place to raise a family, if lacking a little in character.

Stamford is a lovely small historic town with exceptional schools and lots of countryside. Commute to L.K.C is appx 1 hr 10

Right - I have now entered every suggestion into right move --- v tempted by Dorset now. A completely new departure for my search! Off to look at Stamford now!