Moving from Vancouver to Winchester

[Canadian1]

My wife and I are a very boring, somewhat typical, middle aged Canadian couple and wondered if it would be difficult fitting into a smaller village north of Winchester or surrounding area. My brother and his wife plus my two nephews live close to Guildford and we want to remain in their lives but not too close to drive his wife crazy. We are very flexible, any advice would be much appreciated.

That sounds like both a reasonable and a realistic budget OP. Have you had a look on RightMove yet? That will give you a good idea of what your money will buy, but I live in a small city nearish to London that's one of the most expensive in the country and you could definitely get a nice 3-bed house in/around here with garden for that price.

Rightmove www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1460&maxBedrooms=4&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=1000000&minPrice=700000&radius=10.0&sortType=1&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&primaryDisplayPropertyType=houses&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=garden%2Cparking

We could wait to buy and just rent in the area which I am sure would be advisable but I'm not sure if short term rentals are available in the area. In Vancouver you must sign a one year lease. My wife may want to top up the amount once a second property we have an interest in sells later this year but she may not.

Standard UK lets are 6 months
which is a decent span to get your heads together

rent in winchester and then look around to buy

actual owned open space is less of an issue because you can walk your dogs along the rivers and up the hills and along the paths that are free access
a friend walks her dogs 3 miles every morning from st cross ... her garden would fit in your kitchen

Winchester is horrifically polluted. I wouldn’t recommend living in the city itself. The roads are snarled with traffic and few of the residents seem to even care. I would definitely say you might find a great balance in living in a village just outside with a train link into Winchester though. I love the general area, you can get up to London easily and also down to the coast. And also enjoy things happening in Portsmouth/ Southampton etc.
But if you like your lungs healthy I would steer clear of Winchester itself! (I lived and worked there for a year and also visit regularly)

Speaking of Brexit and the pound, when my brother purchased in November the pound was equal to $ 1.65 now the pound has been souring or the Canadian dollar falling and the exchange is $1.82 with futures in 2019 to be $2.00. The long term future for the Canadian dollar is poor against all major currencies mainly due to rising Canadian national debt and low oil.

Winchester voted in ;-)

And Winchester is only polluted by 4x4s
its an incredibly rich small city
I loved working there
I love that my kids have been at high school there
I love visiting there
BUT
the smaller towns may meet your long term needs better ...

Winchester is lovely but expensive. If you are set on it the some of the places to looks at are Badger Farm, Sutton Scotney, South Wonston (and Wonston although weirdly that's smaller). From the later two you'd need to drive into town to get to the train line, Badger Farm is walkable but will take you 30 mins. Better bus service though.

If you want villages around winchester be sure to ask estate agents / the local council about possible housing developments. Sleepy villages could well be turned into large developments - especially the villages down towards Eastleigh.

warminster
Ah yes, forgot to say to the OP
DO NOT BUY IN EASTLEIGH BOROUGH
until King Keith is deposed, EBC is turning into concrete
Winchester City Council are much saner
as are East Hants
(to mildly explain to the OP : think Counties and townships - each one has its own planning rules)

m.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43390583?search_identifier=89f2599632ce371126f9d60f9c463023

Lovely cottage in Romsey

m.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43975034?search_identifier=89f2599632ce371126f9d60f9c463023
Great cottage in Bishops Waltham which is where I live

m.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/46783429?search_identifier=89f2599632ce371126f9d60f9c463023

3 bed converted chapel in Winchester

There’s lots out there, OP. Down south is a lovely place to live and Winchester/Romsey are especially beautiful.

Talkinpeace

Vancouver is lovely especially if you have another life elsewhere. Many people we know do just that and only spend the spring summer here and avoid the long dreary winter. Travel is a fortune because of the taxes, a one hour flight to Calgary is 200-300 pounds return. It's much more reasonable for us to fly to London instead of Toronto.

We moved from Vancouver ten years ago to a small sleepy village in southwest France. Wouldn't go back if you paid me.

Oh did I forget to mention the Kensington Wholefoods is more reasonable than our local market.

Please could I take this opportunity to thank everyone again for their most useful incite. I never expected such a warm reaction, you should be very proud of your organization.

If anyone ever requires any assistance in our area please do not hesitate to message us. My wife and I would be pleased to help in anyway.

I'm surprised (and saddened), to hear that things in Vancouver aren't that great. I have a good (British) friend who lives there with her British-born, but Canadian-raised DH and two DC. She always wanted to move to Canada - it was her dream - so I hope it's not turning sour for her. She told me last time I saw her that a) they couldn't afford to move back here and b) her DH's job, which is in forestry, just wouldn't translate to the UK job market at all, so they're there until retirement at least.

I’ve grew up near Winchester and have moved to Chicago, comparing to Chicago to Kabul is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard in a long time

However, Winchester, is a lovely place to live. Have many friends in the area who are very happy although it is expensive. Re short term rentals a year long tenancy is standard in the UK too but usually with a 6 month break clause, meaning you can give notice to move after 6 months.

Good luck with the move.

Interesting to hear this insight into Vancouver. We spent 5 days on honeymoon there after 9 days in Lake Louise. My husband's uncle at the time was a bartender in Gastown (?) - he told us which route to walk there to meet him the first night but we got it a little wrong and ended up walking there about 2 streets down. We felt really, really unsafe! Once we were under his wing though we had a great time! But I'd never really thought about the massive distances between places. I can see why you want to move and in comparison the UK is great for that as relatively you can get between different places quickly.

Hi DeepInFrance

Have you been back lately, it's unbelievable the change and atmosphere. Well done and best wishes

SueGeneris

Oddly enough, your probably safer as a tourist, they would hear your voice and offer you directions. The problem happens when the gang warfare spills over which is frequent in restaurants, at stop signs, parking lots etc. It's simple to catch a stray bullet. Petty crime is bad in most large cities but you will have your window broken for anything over a 20p coin if it's visible. We just leave the doors unlocked and windows down in the good weather, it saves a lot on the deductible.

Talkinpeace - can we plot the overthrow of the dark lord of Eastleigh and his low cost low quality development friends?

TroubledLichen

I didn't mean to compare Chicago to Kabul, I was comparing Chicago to a growing Vancouver. We do a lot of business and make many trips to Chicago and we have many similar problems they have with different areas and have been warned by cab drivers to avoid certain parts. When we stayed in a the loop ( which is just fine) our server from Ireland told us on her interview the manager told her to buy mace for her walks home after her shifts. I was using the green zone in Kabul as an example of a safe zone. Sorry to offend.

warminster
I'm doing my best ;-)
All I can say is GET INVOLVED
contested elections are his nemesis
if you are all involved with local government in Hampshire, sooner or later you'll work out who I am

Say hello when you do as its not a huge secret

@canadian1
Welcome to Hampshire
When you get here we'll send you the best menus :-)

Talk - you’ll know my DH then. I’ll identify myself when I work you out!

thank you strawberryvillage

We will try for surrounding villages first but will make an effort to visit Badger Farm, Sutton Scotney, South Wonston, Wonston in April. The sound of living in Badger Farm sounds most appealing to our terriers.