How did you decide which area to live in?

[Mhschoolq]

We were fixed on an area and all set to move there, then had a couple of problems with properties etc. And now we’re overthinking it and unsure where to live.

I have no idea how to decide WHERE to live. DH says I totally overthink everything (a massive problem of mine), and we should just decide and pack our bags. But how?! I keep weighing stuff up and can’t reach any conclusions. It matters a lot because of kids etc.

How do you find an area that’s right and decide to move there?! I’m going mad overthinking it and wondering if the area is all wrong etc etc.

Did you find your perfect place and know it was right? Or choose based on practical reasons (commute, family nearby)?

Cheap. Well, cheap for London!

We moved to a new city a few years ago, so had to start from no knowledge at all. We rented in the city centre for quite a while, until we got our bearings. We decided we wanted somewhere that my husband could cycle to work from, and one side of our city is hilly and the other is flat. So we chose to look in the flat part, and that narrowed it down a bit!

Plus, I wanted somewhere near a bus route, near shops, and I wanted a garden and easy access to the train station. We made a list and then looked at where we could get these things.

There is a popular large suburb of our city that has all these attributes, and people kept advising us to move there, but we were put off it as it seemed a bit too ‘yummy mummy’ for us. But luckily one day, out on an exploratory bike ride, we happened on the area we live in now. It’s seen as a bit less accessible than the main suburb, so house prices were a bit lower. And it’s a bit less flash and more ‘arty’.

It’s turned out to be a really good location for us, especially now we have our daughter. We’re close enough to the popular area to take advantage of their baby groups and cafes and what not, but we have our own special community feel. I really like it.

Oh and the ironic part is that as soon as we moved to our city, MIL apparently said to DH ‘Oh, you should check out X’ (our area) because she’d had a friend that had lived here for 30 years, and loved it. He ignored her. So if you have any recommendations, give them a chance!

Our criteria were less than 45 mins door to door commute to central London, with more than one route in case of train issues (it’s on the tube plus national rail), at least 2 decent pubs plus local amenities (coffee shop / local shop) in walking distance, close to countryside for walks, and a good sense of community. We actually chose a village that ticks all the boxes and happens to be where a family member lives so we know it well and it’s great.

For us it was all about the community around us. Some things were non-negotiable (within the city limits, walkable to the creek, lakes, local shops and restaurants, etc.,within 20 minutes drive of downtown) but the rest was people.

We looked at literally every 4-bed house in the south of the city over a period of 12 months. I would literally walk along the different streets making note of the houses that had swingsets, etc. Walk our dog around streets we liked and ask people in their gardens about the makeup of the block.

We were lucky with our house in that we knew someone on the street. She gave me info on every house (kids everywhere). We've been here 4 years and love it.