Budget of £750k where do I move to

[velvetfrontdoor]

Has to be within 2 hour each way commute to London (pt commute)

I want a big detached house with garden.
I'm looking for a fun house not a boring run of the mill home.

Would consider moving areas completely and relocating.

Have to consider secondary schools. Can afford private up to £18k pa if stay within commuting distance to London (I know that's not great for private) may afford more if I get a job but I'm happy working in my pt role and support dc so obviously have to consider state schools. No problem to consider grammars as was already considering anyway.

May be able to push budget slightly higher but ideally would get something cheaper that needs doing up. If I stick to below actual price of £725k would probably manage to keep £100k in the bank for repairs as a guide for how crazy renovations can get to but willing to put up with old to have the dream home.

Don't like new houses or estates.
Recommendations of areas would also be very helpful.

Anyone fancy helping? Links welcome

Market Harborough? Leicester Grammar is well within budget, plenty of friends send kids there. Under an hour to st Pancras, large station car park plenty of nice villages within 15 mins of station

My vote would also be villages around Canterbury - Bridge, Pluckley, Chartham. Lovely houses, plenty of land and countryside, close to Kings (and other private school options) and near to beautiful beaches and Eurostar for European city breaks when we can have those again!

If you'll have a teenager on your hands in the next 3-4 years do think about how they will get into town/city to hang out with mates. The appeal of rambling fields and open air isn't a high when you're 13-15....

I am happy to drive dc around they are currently at a prep that has a large radius for friends anyway so I'm used to it.
Listing all the places on here, definitely some I've never looked into.
Especially useful to see actual commuting times as well.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90890204#/

Between Grantham and Stamford, over 5 acres. Plus an annexe.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73834095#/

Beautiful house, close to Grantham.

@velvetfrontdoor fair enough. My 14 year old likes to get the bus into the city to go skating - no way would he want his mother involved!

@didireallysaythat

If you'll have a teenager on your hands in the next 3-4 years do think about how they will get into town/city to hang out with mates. The appeal of rambling fields and open air isn't a high when you're 13-15....

Worth thinking about op, really

In their interests too

The Alkham Valley also gets my vote. The countryside is among some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. There are several do-able private and grammar options and there is HS1 for London close by as well as the tunnel for Europe...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1842&maxPrice=800000&minPrice=600000&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=#prop75155220

With your budget and schools requirements, I would look at Langton Green which is just outside central Tunbridge Wells. You get more for your money, close to a lovely independent school but the local state primary gets a high percentage of pupils into the secondary grammars.

Kent or East Sussex!

I’m outer Sevenoaks - central Sevenoaks is very expensive and I’m not sure what you’d get for £750K but have a look at the very pretty neighbouring villages of Otford, Shoreham, Ightham, Platt and Wrotham. Both Otford and Shoreham have their own train stations with trains under an hour into London and nearby Borough Green has a train station for the other three. In all these areas you would be in catchment for the Grammars in Sevenoaks (Weald and the new TWGBs annexe) as well the Grammars in Tonbridge. There are numerous Private options in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. West Malling is a very pretty & historic town and where I wish we’d put down roots - it has its own train station. Avoid Kings Hill (a new build estate on the outskirts) and while Maidstone has some lovely villages on the outskirts, I’d avoid it too.

East Sussex will give you loads of options and big houses (if a longer commute!). The countryside is far less manicured than West Sussex and a day trip to the beach doesn’t take long. I’d look at Battle, Rye, Robertsbridge & Winchelsea.. all great! East Sussex is non Grammar and has some good Secondaries. Kids from Robertsbridge and Battle do go to the Grammars in Kent and there are Private options.

Nantwich is a lovely town, 10 minutes from Crewe which is an hour and a half to Euston.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-89802866.html

May be try Oxford or Cambridge or Swindon or parts of Buckinghamshire but into the countryside of each for the space.

What do you want from the new area? What amenities? What hobbies? How important is landscape to you?

[quote BigusBumus]@passtheorange Bedford does indeed have some good public schools but the town itself is horrible. Not much in Bedfordshire thats nice either with the exception of Woburn and possibly Ampthill. Shame as it could have been lovely once. But that wasteland A421 of sprawling modern estate villages, warehouses and landfill sites is just awful now. Not like it used to be. The planners have really fucked Bedfordshire over and it's just overspill for cheap Housing for Milton Keynes now. 😢[/quote]
Harsh and rather unnecessary to dismiss an entire county like that. No need to be quite so contemptuous of the place I live in, thanks very much.

We are quite boring people I think. We have no hobbies we like walking but that can be achieved most places. We are a family that spends most of our time together outside of work commitments (dh used to travel 2/3 times out of U.K. every fortnight and I'm so pleased this has been permanently cancelled!) therefore I was main childcare when he was travelling lots but now he's home it's much much nicer. Perhaps I need a hobby though?!
Maybe once dc is older and childcare isn't such an issue we will be going out more but for now we mainly stay at home and tbh don't mind this,

I only see my good friends 3/4 times a year and mainly in London but again I would still be able to do this wherever I moved to because it's always known in advance when we meet up.
I am writing these areas down and doing the research. I like some of the houses on here. 5 acres @covidcorvid !Can't believe that's even achievable within in this budget. I start in the vicinity of London and it's quite depressing so this all sounds much more positive.

Another vote for Bath - but if you head a little west to North Wiltshire you get lovely villages and a little closer to London if you get the train at Chippenham (good secondary schools too). Some examples:

Box, Wiltshire, SN13
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-88728883.html

The Elms, London Road West, Bath, Somerset, BA1
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-88256044.html

Northend, Luckington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96257828.html

Northend, Batheaston, Bath, BA1
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-101389226.html

Cherry Tree Cottage, Thingley, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9QQ
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-100030361.html

West Yatton, Yatton Keynell, Chippenham, SN14
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-99942830.html

Bath if you want generally well heeled city

Cirencester is well placed what with being centre of Cotswolds. However it’s a medium sized town and not a city.

Bristol

Own woodland and house:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/100423922#/

Plenty of space:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/80857330#/

Farmhouse

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101284538#/

[quote Kendodd]How about this.
Probably further than you want but only three miles to train station with two hour Paddington train. It's just across the road from the excellent Ufculme School (or if really clever and you don't mind a commute, Colyton Grammar) and you get to live in Devon.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/77861349#/[/quote]
Another vote for Devon as Exeter has Exeter school and the Maynard, excellent schools and under £18k.

People should as said above think about teenage life most of all so somewhere near a nice City like Oxford, Cambridge, even Swindon or not too far from London in Kent is probably going to be better for a London person in terms of schools and kind of area you will like and what teenagers in due course might want to do than somewhere much further away from where you are. I am from NE England and could have linked to gorgeous places in Cumbria and Northumberland but then not 2 hours from London.

However the closer to those areas like central Oxford etc or in Herts St Albans etc the more the prices are not going to work.

Essex: Brentwood, Billericay, Chelmsford, Colchester

A word of warning. Years ago a friend of mine moved for work. It was a nice-enough town but then they upgraded the train line and it was suddenly commutable-to-London. Lots of Londoners moved there. House prices rocketed.
British Rail, seeing all these people with their roots firmly planted in Nice Town but working in London, realised that they had a captive audience and put up the price of season tickets.
I'll bet that a repeat performance must be on the cards - when the economy has recovered a little - after the latest, Covid round of fleeing-from-London.

I do think teenagers can exist outside of cities. We live in Rutland and my teens go to local
Public schools. They play rugby, cricket, have mates over, go to lots of parties, have girlfriends, get the train to surrounding towns and cities if they fancy it. But the two oldest are driving since 17 so not so bad now, lifts wise. The plus side being is pretty safe and crime free around here. No fear of gangs or stabbings or whatever.