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

Edinburgh and the surrounding areas tick all of your boxes, great value for money property wise too

Lewes - Green, a bit alternative- Downs on the doorstep and sea nearby. 6 miles from Brighton and an hour and a bit from Victoria. Lots of London leavers so getting more diverse and a fantastic arts/cinema complex. Schools are good.

Agree re Edinburgh.

Also Dedham in Essex or Little Bealings in Suffolk, which has a famously creative, outdoorsy little village school.

Hungerford. It has easy access to London, equally easy access to the coast and the countryside of Somerset and Hampshire. The town itself is absolutely beautiful, with a good community spirit, nice canal, great for walks, loads of antique shops and independent stores, everything you could ask for.

Stroud is pretty open minded and inclusive or Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. Both have beautiful countryside and good schools not a million miles away. Both also have the advantage of being on a train line, so useful for DC when they're older.

How outdoorsy do you want it? Just a bit of countryside, or proper hills, moorland etc? How easy access do you want to facilities (and what sort of facilities, i.e. just a few shops, cinema, or opera theatre)?

For a town, depending on how far you want to go, you could consider somewhere like Lewes or Totnes.

You might want to be in a suburb of a totally different city with easy access to the countryside - south-west Sheffield would tick a lot of your boxes, especially around schools, and has very easy access into the Peak District. I bet there are similar areas in Bristol which would be worth a look. Sheffield is two hours from St Pancras, Bristol about 90 minutes from Paddington.

A village near Bournemouth/Poole. Beach, surrounded by great countryside, easy access to London, good schools, great restaurants, and an Arts University employing creative people.

Rugby has great schools for all ages and some lovely villages - with stuff going on too surrounding - in town centre isn’t your thing- plenty of choice of property.

A mini version of Bedales. Might be St.
Chris’s School Letchworth area!??

St. Albans, Hertfordshire.

The forest of Dean but it may take you a while to be accepted if you're snobby. Sad but true. If you throw yourselves in to 'the way of the locals' you'll be fine

Dorchester

South Wales.
Sea, cities, Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire coast all within easy reach.
I’ve met a few people recently who have move from the South East and can’t get over how friendly people are here.
How old are your dc?

South Oxfordshire/Henley area. Lots of lovely villages but close to Reading for Crossrail so getting into London is easy. Also close to M40 and M4.

My son has spent 2 years at a Welsh Uni, and says that the weather is much, MUCH wetter than what we get in the SE. I don't think we realise just how dry we are in comparison.

If you're not a fan of rain, head east to Suffolk or Norfolk.

In reality there's not many private primaries outside of London and major cities, they tend to be attached to secondary schools but my kids attended a lovely state primary in Cambridgeshire, tiny, friendly in the countryside but 45 mins to kings cross.

Further north there's artsy enclaves around but you may find they won't meet your expectations because the are not London

Sounds like you'd like Frome, which is 20-mins away from Bath and don't quote me but 1-hr to London via train. Or there is Rode, very pretty and friendly village. To be fair, there are loads of lovely places to live in Wiltshire/Somerset.

I wouldn't leave Wiltshire personally, low crime, easy to get to lots of cities and lots of places to walk even on the housing estate I live in.

Wales
Cardiff - all the amenities of a big city but in a small one. And mountains, beaches, forests, etc on the door step too.
So much for children to do both indoors and out.
Friendly people
Good schools
Property generally cheap compared to London (although much of Cardiff is, unsurprisingly, expensive for Wales)
No need to live outside the city for an area with a villagey feel, sense of community, etc.

The Forest of Dean - a relatively undiscovered gem of a place. Very laid back, friendly people. Lots of outdoors stuff to do. Beautiful but really affordable housing. It's near Gloucester which is definitely improving, great quay/docks area. I would avoid Bath like the plague, vast differences in wealth - when there's that much inequality it doesn't make for a happy vibe, and the traffic is terrible.

I think village outside Bath too e.g. Freshford, going to school at King Edward's / Prior Park / Monkton which are on that side of town OR live right in Bath (Lansdown, Widcombe or Bathwick areas) and walk everywhere.

True traffic in Bath.

New Forest. You have lots of small towns & villages to choose from all close to the Forest and the coast, excellent schools, close to Bournemouth & Southampton for shopping/nightlife, theatres etc. Easy train into London Waterloo in just over an hour. Very low crime rate, great sense of community. Cheaper property than London.

St Davids in Pembrokeshire.

Do you not have family you want to be near?
I'd be wary about moving to the north west of England/Wales/West of Scotland because of the weather, it is very rainy.
I would move somewhere with an excellent secondary school and good public transport links so you don't end up being Mums Taxi to teens. Personally I'd want to be near the sea and Brighton/Hove and Bristol would be on my list of places with an alternative scene if that's what you want. Portobello in Edinburgh is lovely too.
Personally I would rule out wales as the health system is in an even worse state than England. Cardiff is a lovely city though.

Another vote for the Lewes or Brighton area.

Or even elsewhere in the south downs. There are lots of nice towns and villages like Hassocks on the London to Brighton mainline where you can be surrounded by countryside, 15minutes from the beach and still be under an hour from central London.

Chichester is another really nice area, lovely countryside and beaches, good city centre and reasonable train links to London if you ever need them.