Having a total ahhh moment! Where in the UK (incl London) would you move to if these were your criteria?

[Oliveoilsalt]

My house in London has gone under offer. And I don’t know where to move to.

We’re lucky as DH and I are both self-employed and work from anywhere.

We don’t love our kids’ school.

We have NO IDEA where to go.

We put out house up for sale hoping that the time would force us to make a choice... but having almost anywhere in the UK to choose from is too MUCH of a choice!

Where would you go if this was your criteria?
-An amazing school - but not a hot-house. Amazing in the outdoorsy, creative, happy-child way.
-Friendly, villagey place where it’s easy to make friends. (We have this now in our London place.)
-Independent shops nearby.
-Fresh air to breathe!

We sold our house for a great price, opening lots of areas up to us.

We currently live in (in my opinion) the nicest bit of Hackney, if that helps any...

And we’re contemplating staying in London (but leaving hackney), and also talking about doing something really different.

I don’t even know where to begin looking

I think there was recently a thread about creative, alternative towns in England. Maybe that would float your boat?

Did you grow up in a city? Have you ever lived in a town or a village?

Folkestone is quite arty, west side and surrounding villages have some good primaries (Kent grammar system for secondary though). You’d have the sea on one side and the hills on the other.

Or follow the rest of Hackney to Wanstead?

I'd move to Bath in a heartbeat.

Sorry but you won't get an "outdoorsy, creative, child - happy school" in the state sector - sadly; they might exist if you can go private.

We are in a similar position- put our London flat on the market to see what might happen, and got an asking price offer 3 days later! We are moving to just outside of Bath. Maybe an area worth considering?

Mullion in Cornwall. Lovely village, great school (was in Tatler good school guide).

just outside Winchester - somewhere like Arlesford or Stockbridge with good schools and then the incredible Peter Symonds for A level. Gorgeous countryside, Winchester town for shopping / culture / restaurants. Georgian architecture. Fresh air and no litter (and an hour by train to London if you need it!).
Similarly - villages close to Oxford

If you’re open to Wales, there are lots of places on the outskirts of Cardiff with villagey feels to them. You’d get a lot of house for your money. Caerleon and Langstone are picturesque. A suburb of Cardiff is Llandaff which has plenty of little shops, restaurants and pubs and is lovely.

Big plus is they’re close to Cardiff centre and the Bay which can give you a piece of the city if you find yourself missing the hustle and bustle. Also free NHS prescriptions in Wales, always a plus with kids.

Ooh these are great suggestions! Thank you! Am taking note.

I don’t know Bath well at all, robs. Did you have an inkling before you listed you might go there?

anna Would also be willing to pay for private school. Feeling similarly convinced the state sector isn’t great (which isn’t its fault. I know how hard the teachers work and how great schools COULD be if they had the freedom).

mrs Have to admit, Cornwall is a bit of a dream!

jojo I’m from a very very small village in a very small minded place. Not up for that again definitely love how open minded London is. Want to dig out that thread! Was it on this board?

atilla I’ve never been to winchester! I’m not even sure where it is, though have - of course - heard of it. So badly travelled

Tynemouth in the North East?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tynemouth-tyneside-best-places-to-live-hxjptkn70#

Or follow the rest of Hackney to Wanstead?

That's what I thought...

We went to Manchester this summer and loved it. Maybe somewhere near there?

Sorry but you won't get an "outdoorsy, creative, child - happy school" in the state sector - sadly; they might exist if you can go private.
Sweeping statement, @AnnaFiveTowns

Although it is what many in the private sector think. Someone asked me if there were knives in my kid's nice school yesterday..

North Yorkshire. Somewhere.

Cumbria!! Without a doubt!! Lake District to be exact!!

I’m in north west Wiltshire. It’s lovely.

We have easy access to Bath and Bristol. Lovely towns like Marlborough and Malmesbury. Lots of pretty villages. Good road access with the M4 and M5. Good rail links.

Schools are great near me, and house prices whilst not dirt cheap are reasonable I think.

Beautiful countryside and far less inundated with tourists than Oxfordshire.

Personally, I hate Bath. It is heaving with traffic, is also heavily polluted because of its topography. There must be London streets that are cleaner! Not cheap either. There are only certain areas that look nice housing wise, and some of it is really rough.
I would opt for something near a county town, like Hereford, Worcester etc. You would certainly get value for money.

Isle of Man has everything on your list

Worriedmum, it may be a sweeping statement but it's true. The government and Ofsted have made sure all the joy has been sucked out of education for children. I say that as the parent of state - school kids; I'm also a teacher myself and the obsession with exam results and relentless assessments, both in primary and secondary education, means that schools are no longer joyful, creative places; unless you're lucky enough to find and pay for a place in a school that still values the arts and other non- STEM subjects. As Olive said, this is not the fault of the schools and teachers themselves, it's down to government policy.

I was coming on to say Wanstead too. Nice and leafy, lots of forest and good schools. It's got massively 'Shoreditch wannabe' lately but as you currently live in Hackney you'll be used to that!

York. (I'm biased though as we live nearby and our DC attend an excellent independent school in the city).

Southern Lake District or North Lancashire - basically around Morecambe Bay. Excellent schools, good transport links (M6 motorway and west coast main train line). Great outdoors. Plenty of nice friendly villages.

OP, I'm surprised someone from an actual village would call a place in Hackney villagey, though

The thread about these alternative towns was on here somewhere in the last few weeks.

In terms of schooling, Bedales would probably be a great fit. You could search that way?

I