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 :)

[GuyofGisbourne]

@Bella444 I’m 40 - I left the Deepings school in 1998 after A Levels. How about you?

[mklanch]

@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?

its more that the houses with land all seem to be rural.
near me there is the 11+ test as well but i worry about that now as they have missed about 6 months of school due to the pandemic.
i dont mind driving them around a bit as me and my husband work from home.
i just want a nice area with nice people

[clary]

hmm I don't know how rural you are atm, but it's not just about driving round...as a teen in rural Lincs, I struggled to get together with friends who lived 10+ miles away, couldn't just walk round their house after school.

Consequence was that I wasn't close with many school mates and in touch with zero of them in the years after leaving.

Re 11+ did your older child take it last year then?

[mklanch]

@clary

hmm I don't know how rural you are atm, but it's not just about driving round...as a teen in rural Lincs, I struggled to get together with friends who lived 10+ miles away, couldn't just walk round their house after school.

Consequence was that I wasn't close with many school mates and in touch with zero of them in the years after leaving.

Re 11+ did your older child take it last year then?

no she would have been taking it this year i believe although its not really needed now because her current school has just also became a high school so she will just continue there. (shes one of the oldest in her year shes a november 08 )

i get what your saying though. as she gets older and gets more independent it would be hard for her to just hang out with her friends.

[Bella444]

@GuyofGisbourne snap (literally to the letter). We must know each other

[GuyofGisbourne]

[quote Bella444]@GuyofGisbourne snap (literally to the letter). We must know each other [/quote]
Hahaha Oh my God! That is so weird. Do you still live in the Deepings (or surrounding area)? Most don’t tend to leave.

[Bella444]

@GuyofGisbourne left for college at 18 and never went back. Still have family there and visit etc. You?

I feel really guilty for monopolising OPs thread and am now going to find her the best house ever!

[GuyofGisbourne]

@Bella444 I’m in London. My parents moved nearby when I was pregnant with our first. I haven’t been back to Deeping in years but I still really miss it. I still have lots of friends in the area and it was a beautiful place to grow up. I am so curious as to who you are

OP, I am also so sorry to totally derail your thread. Take it from me and @Bella444 Deeping is a great place to live!

[clary]

ok well i don't know about where you live but in s Lincs everyone takes the exam in yr 6 (11+ is misleading as you are only 11+ if your birthday is early in the year) and then your mark decides the rest of your academic career pretty much.

Sounds like it is optional where you live as yr 11yo would have taken it in Autumn 2019 (that's what I meant by last year). It's just something to consider I guess. I don't know what happens if people move there mid-secondary - do they take it and then school is decided based on that?

[mklanch]

@clary

ok well i don't know about where you live but in s Lincs everyone takes the exam in yr 6 (11+ is misleading as you are only 11+ if your birthday is early in the year) and then your mark decides the rest of your academic career pretty much.

Sounds like it is optional where you live as yr 11yo would have taken it in Autumn 2019 (that's what I meant by last year). It's just something to consider I guess. I don't know what happens if people move there mid-secondary - do they take it and then school is decided based on that?

i have no idea. to be honest the school never discussed anything so i just assumed they were no longer doing the test and the school was expanding.

[mklanch]

[quote Bella444]@GuyofGisbourne left for college at 18 and never went back. Still have family there and visit etc. You?

I feel really guilty for monopolising OPs thread and am now going to find her the best house ever! [/quote]
hahaha !!! honestly its no problem!

ill take you up on the finding me the best house ever though lol !

im soo confused now lol

[Bella444]

@GuyofGisbourne have pm'd you. I normally use the app so didn't realise I could do that!

[RhubarbJelly]

Sent you a pm!

If you have missed the 11plus then you can arrange to take the One for a school in Lincolnshire if moving to that area.

[RhubarbJelly]

www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-81459262.html

Plot of land here

[RhubarbJelly]

www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-94662659.html

Near Spilsby land

[RhubarbJelly]

www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-94017143.html

Land in QEGS catchment. 12.3 acres.

[RhubarbJelly]

Sorry know land with no housing not much use - but interesting to see different options and if housing allows on the land or if any nearby!

[janeyloves]

I'm from that area. Boston was known for its drug problems in my day. Lincoln is nice and some lovely villages Nettleham, Welton. Scothern and Sudbrooke smaller. Newark is also lovely as is Stamford.

[ExchangedCat]

Probably not enough land, but a nice looking property: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71291814.html

[mklanch]

thank you all for your replies. i was just speaking to my husband and suggesting that perhaps we purchase some land and see if there are any houses near to the land that we could purchase .

[NotMeNoNo]

I know nothing about smallholdings but would think if you are looking to start a business, choose the land and location first - local market, transport, any soil type/drainage considerations. Whether the house is nice is a bonus really - houses can always be improved or even rebuilt. Sounds like you are looking in that direction anyway. Best of luck with your plans, sounds really exciting!

[NotMeNoNo]

@janeyloves is clearly from very near where I grew up!. You see this is the thing about Lincolnshire. It's so rare to come across someone who escaped you almost certainly have something in common. Honestly it's a lovely county with a lot of charm, but it's quite unique.

[mklanch]

is anyone familiar with walpole st peter?
im not sure if its considered cambridge/norfolk/lincolnshire/ its like on on the border area.

ive seen a few nice houses with a nice plot come up round there

[Panpig]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70955448.html

Hi OP. What about this? Louth is a nice small market town

[Ariela]

Could you buy the land and a house nearby?
I'm sure you'd find plots of agricultural land at under £10K/acre - look for the amount of land you need then look for properties nearby. If you could get say 10 acres or so, there's always a possibility long term you could get permission to build with an agricultural occupancy condition on your land.