Should we move to Droitwich? Help needed!

[EmilyM13]

Just wondered if anyone can help. My daughter is getting married in May and her fiancé has just found a new job in Solihull. Great news, however my daughter is in meltdown as her family is in Cheshire and although her fiances family is in Bridgnorth, she wants to find somewhere where she can make friends, start a family in a nice, friendly area with fitness classes etc. We don't know where to start. She has seen a house in Droitwich Spa but as I say we haven't a clue where to start as we don't know the area at all. I just thought I would try and help her, so any suggestions are gratefully received. She has a budget of £424K.

Droitwich to Solihull would be a crap commute...anything involving the M42 is to be avoided if possible! Lots of nice villages in and around Solihull and the western side of Coventry, North Warwickshire that could fit the bill. Kenilworth/Leamington/Warwick could be ideal as well for a bit more life than the villages as well.

Lots of nice villages in and around Solihull and the western side of Coventry, North Warwickshire that could fit the bill.
They will be more expensive than Droitwich so you will get less house for your money.

Kenilworth/Leamington/Warwick could be ideal as well for a bit more life than the villages as well.
Beware the route of the proposed HS2.

£400k will do the job nicely though. You're right about HS2, worth checking that OP.

But Droitwich really has nothing special about it as far as I've ever noticed. Other than the lido I guess

I wouldn't choose to commute from Droitwich to Solihull.
You'd be better looking around Shirley, Olton, or even Hall Green if she doesn't want to live in Solihull, IMO

That's a really healthy budget.
What does she need for the money ?
A quick look on Rightmove will get you houses in Solihull itself for that sort of money.

Plus Solihull or North Warwickshire would make the run up to Cheshire to see family easier, it'd be at least half an hour less to drive than going into Worcestershire. More like an hour saved at peak times.

Really good point about HS2 - we hadn't thought about that. They are looking to start a family within the next year so they are looking at 3-4 beds but location is their main concern. Really appreciate your comments.

Plus Solihull or North Warwickshire would make the run up to Cheshire to see family easier
I'm not sure about that. From there you would go through the nasty bits of the M6 (jcn 4 - 10), whereas M5 to the Ray Hall interchange is normally quite free-running (current roadworks excepting)

Shirley, Olton and Hall Green can't really be compared to Droitwich. The first three are suburbs deep in the Second City. The latter is a small town, with countryside mere minutes away. It depends what OP's DD wants.

@senua are you employed by Droitwich to entice in new blood 😂

Solihull itself is lovely
Lots of shops and things going on
More likely to wet people in Solihull than driotwich

It’s about 40 min drive on a good run on a clear motorway - probably kore like an hour and a half in rush hour

@ Heyha.
Worcestershire is very nice. Well, most of it. Don't mention Redditch

@senua I'll second that 😂

I've heard that Solihull, Dorridge, Knowle and Olton are also nice - would you say a better environment for families? Are there any other areas around Solihull that you would recommend? Thank you all for your help!

Are there any other areas around Solihull that you would recommend?
One of the advantages of Solihull and environs is that you are near to the airport. The flip-side to this is that you are under flight paths if you choose the wrong bit.

The first three are suburbs deep in the Second City. The latter is a small town, with countryside mere minutes away. It depends what OP's DD wants.

Well quite (except Hall Green is the only one that comes under Birmingham), but we don't have that much information to go on, as to what the OP's dd is looking for, other than she wants to find somewhere where she can make friends, start a family in a nice, friendly area with fitness classes etc. - which means they would fit the bill.

I would second that Droitwich to Solihull isn’t great for a commute but it does depend on the type of place they want to live and what sort of job/ hours her DF does. Would he be able to avoid rush hour?

Knowle and Dorridge are nice from memory. Where in Droitwich is she looking? It’s nice but as said before it’s nothing terribly special when weighed up against a commute.

Coleshill?

Thanks all, they've decided to look in Solihull/Dorridge/Knowle area. Her DF currently does a 1.5 hour commute each way so it's very important to them to get that down as much as possible.