Best areas to locate to for cost of living?

[Maddie2019]

Hi all, i will try to keep this as short and simple as possible.
Me and my partner are considering relocating from Cornwall. The cost of living here is just crazy money in comparison to the low wages. We would really like to bring our son up with more opportunities and a better way of living. We would ideally like to relocate before he starts primary school tomorrow to minimise as much disruption as possible.

I’m a full time estate agent, and my partner is a housing officer. We are looking at an area which offers opportunity but with a low cost of living (rental amounts, purchasing a house amount etc) but a steady wage.

We have been looking at Burnley but this is a 7 hour drive away from our family, and I’m wondering if there may be somewhere closer which could offer the same.

The most important things to us are
1 - cost of living, (we could really like to be able to purchase, but with our rent for a 2 bed semi with no parking at £750 a month and the amount required to purchase a home in Cornwall it’s just too difficult to get on the housing ladder.
2- Somewhere which offers good education for children
3- somewhere which is close or has plenty of job opportunities
4- Good transport links is a bonus! (The bus where we live only comes twice a day! Lol)

If anyone has any suggestions that would be much appreciated. Myself and my partner have reached the stage where we would really like to make something ourselves but we are getting nowhere living somehwere with little to no job opportunities and a massive expense of living costs.

It does stop raining occasionally, usually when it snows.

The local paper can be a laugh for the seriousness it takes local news. They are so serious it could be a parody.

About a year ago the front page was dedicated to the headline, "No Nando's for Burnley".

Apparently someone walking past a local shop that had been boarded up said to his friend that it would make a good Nando's. The local paper got hold of this, phoned Nando's who said, they were not opening in Burnley.

There are a lot of places between Cornwall and Burnley! Why such a big move.. There are parts of Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset that would definitely fit the bill!

Stourbridge?

Shipley area of Bradford is great. I would love to return to the part of the South West I grew up in, but it's too expensive (and isolated physically and politically).

We lived in Cornwall for years and have ended up settling in Somerset, fairly near Taunton. House prices are more reasonable, jobs at worst are a commute to Exeter or Bristol. Truro is two hours drive. Schools excellent and the NHS is less in crisis here than it was in Cornwall (when we were there anyway).
It’s beautiful here, in a different way to Cornwall of course. Lots of green hills and close to exmoor. Lovely Dorset or Devon coast is a minimum of 45 mins away (if that’s important for you).
DH misses Cornwall but it’s been a great choice for us.

Don't move to Burnley! There are so many lovely places near Burnley but Burnley itself is terrible. So depressing. You could honestly drive 10-15 minutes in ANY direction and find a better place to live. Nelson, Todmorden, Rawtenstall, all so much nicer and almost as cheap.

...Sorry, I realise these are all near Burnley and not near where you live. I just felt moved to save you.

Liverpool?

Wales is cheap and not difficult to get back to your family from

Lincoln/lincolnshire

I just felt moved to save you

The Staffordshire moorlands have some beautiful houses for not a lot of money and the schools are good.

@Allthepinkunicorns it's a weirdly overlooked area, isn't it! Practically in the Peak District, not too far from good transport links, good schools etc.

I would have suggested a tool like SearchSmartly, but I think it works much better for areas within London, so probably not much use for you!

How about Southport ? It's close to the seaside too.