Help for MIL - best affordable area within 1 hr of London

[lifesnotaspectatorsport]

Hoping the wisdom of Mumsnet can help with my MIL's dilemma. She has lived in Kent (Dartford & around) for most of her life but now she's in her 60s, cannot find work and although she's mortgage-free, she can't manage on her small pension income (won't get state pension till 67). She's looking to move to somewhere cheaper and release some equity from her property to tide her over till state pension kicks in.

However, she doesn't drive and she still has family/ friends in Kent she will want to visit and invite over. She has regular hospital appointments with a specialist in London so needs to be able to get there. Also we live abroad, so within 1-2hrs of an international airport would be helpful. So she needs somewhere where she can afford to live near (within 1 mile of) the train station, with community facilities like shops and parks she can get to easily. Also she wants to be able to get to London within 1 hour, Kent within 2. A friendly area, preferably with a bit of character. She likes Lincoln but worries it's too far. Also considering Peterborough but would have to be quite far from the station to fit within her budget of around £145K. She wants a house with a garden, minimum 2 double bedrooms.

Any suggestions?! I should say she's looking for this to be a long term home.

Where in London does she need to get to? Don't underestimate how long it takes to get across the city after you arrive at a mainline station. (eg, my parents live in Yorkshire - it takes about 2 hours for them to get to Kings Cross and another 1h20 or so to get to where I live in London). I'd definitely recommend looking at where the nearest mainline stations are for her hospital. Tbh, within 1 hour of central London cuts down your options by a lot, and I'm not sure you'd consider any of them to be affordable if Peterborough is too expensive

Hi @CherryCheezcake Thanks for the reply - I know it's a tall order. She needs to be on a line to Kings Cross/ St Pancras ideally. Waterloo or London Bridge could also work.

Midland mainline goes north from St Pancras through Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering and Market Harborough. I think the 1st 3 are within an hour MH slightly over.
Wellingborough and Kettering would probably be within budget, I am not sure about the other 2.
The station is near the town centre in Kettering so a house near the station would also be within walking distance of the town centre and shops.

I think I'd encourage her to get a retirement property in her local area. They are considerably cheaper to buy than open market properties. They have high service charges but you get an awful lot in return.

To give you an example, MIL lived in one of those in outer London and the service charge was 250-300 per month. However that included a residents lounge with coffee mornings, tea afternoons and other events, beautifully landscaped gardens, a guest apartment available for a tiny fee (£10/night or something), cleaning of communal areas twice a week, parking and charging stations for mobility scooters, separate laundry facilities, a manager on site, buttons for emergencies inside apartments etc.

That way she could stay in the area she likes and knows, the service charge is largely offset by lower other costs (like maintenance, heating, council tax etc). It's also a very future-proof solution with no family around.

@PrincessFabian Thanks for those suggestions - I'll check them out!

@JoJoSM2 She's a very young 62, I think she's not ready for a retirement place yet 😧

I say retirement places are a mixture- you do get some octogenarians but some of the neighbours were even younger than your MIL and still working etc It's just the places are hassle free and can feel like hotel while costing a fraction of open market prices so a good way to release equity and stay in the area you like.

Most retirement places are for over 55s so she probably wouldn't be the youngest at all. Some will have younger residents than others so worth checking out. Is her state pension going to be that much more than whatever unemployment benefit she currently gets though. Also won't her consultant in London be because she lives nearby? Moving somewhere like Lincs might mean her new GP would refer her to another specialist.

Rochester, Kent. 35 minutes on the high speed line to St Pancras, around 45mins-1hr to London Bridge, Charing Cross and Victoria depending on which train it is.

We moved to the area from London 3 years ago and couldn't afford to live in any other areas such as Surrey.

Good community atmosphere with several festivals a year (Dickens, Sweeps, Christmas Market) and lots going on if wanted.

Can get the train one stop to Stood to change for the Canterbury and Maidstone lines, so loads of train options!

A house with garden and two double bedrooms for £145k?

I think she should stay where she is and look into equity release or approach the local Council and ask about sheltered housing. Some will consider you for these properties as long as you commit to selling the house. There are service charges but they're not normally as high as the 'McCarthy and Stone' type retirement developments.

I'm surprised she can't find a retail or care work type of job locally.

Retirement properties are usually more expensive than “normal” properties.

I don’t think you’ll get a 2 bed house with a garden, an hour from London. Would she consider a flat?

Ps plenty of flats/maisonettes in the Medway towns, Rochester, Chatham, Stroud, Gravesend for her budget. Some small houses too.

Try searching on Rightmove with 1/2 mile of PE2 9PH. MIL is 67, retired and lives in our old house in that postcode. She really likes it.

There are properties within her price range that are SSTC, so things do come up.

There's a regular bus into town; the station is 30 minutes walk, town centre 20 or so and pretty walks by the river on your doorstep.