Boston lincs....really that bad?

[mklanch]

hi all, i have been on my house search for over a year now!
we have a budget of £325k (possibly 350k for perfect property)
we want a house/bungalow with around 1 acre of land to continue my small holding.(more that 1 acre would be a dream) we don't have an area preference and are willing to relocate as my husband works from home.
we have 2 children (11 and 8) so schools must be good.
we cant find anything! every time we see something we like it sells or they are not willing to accept offers.
so i have seen a few houses in boston, lincolnshire that seem perfect but having had a look through a few previous forums on here i get the impression its not a great area, nothing to do and smells of cabbage!
can anyone give me either advice on boston or advice on other areas that are nice where we can get what we want on our budget.
(husband has said no to rural wales, scotland and yorkshire)
thank you :)

[mklanch]

[quote Offredismysister]Would you consider Derbyshire OP?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94798973.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81546211.html[/quote]
chesterfield one is very nice. im not sure if the garden is big enough though.

my grandparents used to run a chip shop in criche..that was a very interesting place...im not sure if thats in a good way though...the whole village had a weird unsettling feeling.

[mklanch]

@RhubarbJelly

No to Boston. No to Skegness.

However, other areas of Lincolnshire are better - the Grantham and Stamford areas if you are wanting south Lincolnshire. Great schools if your children pass 11plus.
Or areas from mid Lincolnshire to Lincoln area also have Grammar Schools and land - so areas around villages such as Wragby or even towns such as Horncastle or up near Caistor. All near excellent Grammar schools and arable land.

i do like the areas you have suggested, however there are no houses in our budget with the land i need.
do you have any more suggestions of areas that are nice where i can get some land with my budget?

[Fishfingersandwichplease]

Sudbury in Suffolk is nice

[NotMeNoNo]

You are really into the flatlands aren't you? I grew up in Lincs, I was born on the fens. Lincoln and parts of the county/Wolds are lovely but there is a lot of The Land That Time Forgot. I mean you might find your community if you are really into the smallholding thing but I would not go somewhere so remote without a very strong hook.

The ones north east of Lincoln might be a better bet, Louth is nice, you will be forever stuck behind tractors but it's vaguely in reach of a dual carriageway.

[DrCoconut]

The comment about tractors near Louth is true thinking about it. I have often crawled home at 15mph or something on those roads, you just can't overtake safely for huge stretches.

[mklanch]

@NotMeNoNo

You are really into the flatlands aren't you? I grew up in Lincs, I was born on the fens. Lincoln and parts of the county/Wolds are lovely but there is a lot of The Land That Time Forgot. I mean you might find your community if you are really into the smallholding thing but I would not go somewhere so remote without a very strong hook.

The ones north east of Lincoln might be a better bet, Louth is nice, you will be forever stuck behind tractors but it's vaguely in reach of a dual carriageway.

i just put my budget in and my search criteria and picked the houses i liked the most haha.
whats are the good areas north east of lincoln?

[LordOftheRingz]

have you looked in the Sleaford area?

[mklanch]

@LordOftheRingz

have you looked in the Sleaford area?

yes ive looked at the area but again no houses with land for my budget

[stopringingme]

Do not move to Boston, It is a nightmare you have to factor in so much extra time to get anywhere ! There is traffic everywhere and it is always busy.

I will not go into the other problems Boston has, you just have to look it up to see for yourself.

Spalding is okay but I wouldn't live there. but on the outskirts are Cowbit, Moulton Chapel, Weston Hills might be worth a look. Look up a map and it will give you a list of villages and then will make your search easier.

I live in the Deepings and it is great, but the bus services where I live leave a lot to be desired.

There are so many villages around here.

Have a look around Bourne as there are some lovely villages and Bourne has a good High School (I have been told My DC are not old enough yet)

I second Stamford being nice but you will not get as much for your money.

Depends how high up in Lincolnshire you want to go as it is a big county.

[Bella444]

@GuyofGisbourne oooohhh!

[NotMeNoNo]

I don't think I could comment on good areas in Lincolnshire except I vaguely feel Louth is better than Boston area. I know some people from that way, I think it has a grammar school. You are looking at quite a small pool of properties so in a way you'll have to take what you can find though! I take it you are looking at auctions, agricultural occupancy etc.

[mincepieeater]

come to norfolk its lovely! spalding/boston is awful. I too am a local of spalding/boston....it was shit when I left in 1999......and it still is!!

[GuyofGisbourne]

@Bella444 were you a ‘Bull’, ‘Coachhouse’ or ‘Stage’ girl on a Friday night?

[Alvinne]

I know you said your husband has vetoed Wales, but all of these have 2-3 acres of land in budget: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81385886.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71273863.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62549298.html

[Helbelle17]

We live just south of Lincoln. It's lovely - affordable house, village location, transport links ok. There are some really good schools around as well and lots of extra curricular stuff.
I lived in a very rural location for about 8 years, between Sleaford and Lincoln. It was lovely, but very isolated. I had no children then, but they would have needed taking everywhere.

[mklanch]

[quote Alvinne]I know you said your husband has vetoed Wales, but all of these have 2-3 acres of land in budget: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81385886.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71273863.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62549298.html[/quote]
i personally love wales and originally thats where i was wanting to go. then i got confused as all the schools i could find are welsh and my children dont speak welsh. i then read a few threads where people has moved to wales and their children had really suffered as a result.

[Bella444]

@GuyofGisbourne oh my god ... I must know you! Stage when we were underage, coach house when we were legal

OP I'm sorry for such blatant nostalging on your thread

[mklanch]

[quote Bella444]@GuyofGisbourne oh my god ... I must know you! Stage when we were underage, coach house when we were legal

OP I'm sorry for such blatant nostalging on your thread [/quote]
hahaha no problem, do as you please :)

[Cheeseycheeseycheesecheese]

@GuyofGisbourne

I would look at Stamford and the Deepings. Both really lovely. 25 years ago Boston and Spalding were shit holes and I doubt they have improved.

I second this, I'm Peterborough based and DH and I are planning a Deeping move in the next couple of years.

[mklanch]

when i type deeping in on rightmove it comes up with 3 different options.deeping st james, deeping st nicolas and deeping gate....

which deeping are you refering to lol

[GuyofGisbourne]

[quote Bella444]@GuyofGisbourne oh my god ... I must know you! Stage when we were underage, coach house when we were legal

OP I'm sorry for such blatant nostalging on your thread [/quote]
You’ve read my mind. Stage underage (shudder!). I’m sure we would definitely know each other

[Cheeseycheeseycheesecheese]

So Market Deeping is the market town, St James, Gate and St Nicolas are 3 different areas in the same place. Well that's how I'd describe it. A bit like Werrington is a village, but it's actually part of Peterborough itself now and the City has expanded that much it includes it.

Northborough is also quite nice.

[mklanch]

@Cheeseycheeseycheesecheese

So Market Deeping is the market town, St James, Gate and St Nicolas are 3 different areas in the same place. Well that's how I'd describe it. A bit like Werrington is a village, but it's actually part of Peterborough itself now and the City has expanded that much it includes it.

Northborough is also quite nice.

oh i understand :) thank you

[Bella444]

OP There are lots of villages but they are all pretty much connected now. Market Deeping is the main hub and a Deeping St James is connected and pretty much the quieter end! The other "deepings" are all in the close surrounding area.

@GuyofGisbourne just for kicks, how old are you?

[clary]

Also Deeping st Nicks is much nearer Spaldng, Market Deeping nearer Pboro.

Op you see, to be very keen on a rural,location ...or is it just that the houses you can afford with land are rural?

If the latter, I would be wary, esp with DC aged 8 and 11. They are soon going to want to meet up with friends and from Tydd Gote, eg, that's going to mean a lot of taxiing for you.

I agree that Lincoln is the best option in Lincolnshire. but don't know how feasible that is for you.

If you are in s Lincs, it's all about the 11+, if you pass it, you are at a single sex school with a massive catchment (so your friends may live 15 miles away); if you fail it, you go to the sec mod - my dad taught at one, teaching a massive range of lads from those it could barely read to those who should have gone to the grammar and ended up fighting through to go to uni. As you can tell, I am not a fan of this system!

Is you 11yo going into yr seven or yr eight in sept?