Where’s affordable to buy and decent area to raise a family up North?

[Dippydippydoo]

I live in the South and would like to buy my first house. I don’t mind doing somewhere up at all. I can afford between £64k-£70k max and need a two bedroom house in a decent area for me and my 7 year old. I’m really open to any good areas from the Midlands to the North but have no idea where’s family friendly and decent. I was born in Darlington but lived south for 40 years. Any suggestions please?! TIA

You could probably get a terrace in a reasonably decent area in quite a few towns in NE Lancs- Burnley, Nelson, Colne, and surrounding areas. But it does depend on how you define decent.
Colne, for example, is a small mixed town, so only a few bits are both iffy enough and large enough I'd worry about buying there- even the 'best' bits aren't far from the 'iffy bits' and vice-versa. There are 9 properties on rightmove at 70G or below, and the choice expands a good bit if you can stretch to 75G. Plenty of supermarkets and a pleasant if not fashionable main street, but you need to get muscles on your legs because the whole place is built on lots of step slopes.
It's very friendly, which is nice.
There is also Padiham, smaller place, with about 5 in that price bracket. (More fashionable places like Barrowford, you'd need 100G even for a small terrace.) Burnley I found 68 properties @ 70G or under, but some in areas I'd be VERY keen to avoid, because I'm local- harder for you to judge.

Try Jaywick, on the north Essex coast. Not the best area, but the only place you might get a house for that price range. The beach is actually very nice.

Quite a lot of 2-bed terraces in Whitehaven/Maryport/Workington in Cumbria for about £70k, or the smaller ex-mining villages along the west coast.

I'm rossendale and yes you can find houses for that price in the area. Depends what you mean by decent area, we have some fantastic schools and some sink estates. Open countryside and reasonable access to Manchester, also serious drug issues and anti social behaviour. There's areas I would live and areas I wouldn't in the same small towns.

What exactly makes a decent area for you?

North Shields near Newcastle is cheap and it's getting better each year; www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-shields-transformation-plans-tyneside-21188595

Search results;
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchType=SALE&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1010&insId=1&radius=0.0&minPrice=&maxPrice=70000&minBedrooms=2&maxBedrooms=&displayPropertyType=&maxDaysSinceAdded=&_includeSSTC=on&sortByPriceDescending=&primaryDisplayPropertyType=&secondaryDisplayPropertyType=&oldDisplayPropertyType=&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=&newHome=&auction=false
You can get a flat in your budget, then try and get kids into schools closer to the coast?

@Mammyloveswine

North Tyneside...

Vine Street, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28 6JB
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110427302

Redesdale Grove, North Shields, NE29
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109653401

George Road, Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, NE28
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111042425

Holly Avenue, Wallsend
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/102703010

Grey Street, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108229502

Limekiln Court, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110014931

Jarrow or Hebburn give you lots for your money but I don't those areas well!

In North Tyneside I'd aim for as close to the coast as possible - so North Shields over Wallsend and Tynemouth over North Shields - for 'nice' areas, but it depends if you NEED a house or can make do with a flat.

There are a few houses in south Liverpool for that budget, nice big parks and good schools etc. Not in the super nice areas but still nice community feel and good local amenities.

@Binnaggy in walking distance is an outstanding primary school (I know, DS goes to it) within 1.5 miles there's an industrial estate with a LOT of employment availability.

Also walking distance, 2 x secondary schools, 3 more primary schools, a brand new leisure centre, a tesco, soon to be a Lidl, 3 small shopping areas (takeaways/co op/vet/hardware)

and busses into the town every 20 mins?

where's the issue?

You'll definitely get one in Liverpool - Bootle and Walton area. But you'd need to visit to see what you thought of the area - I wouldn't buy blind.

This is a right mess in New Ferry and I don't know the area at all but it's a real doer-upper and not far from Port Sunlight, which is nice.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110617184#/?channel=RES_BUY

Astonished at the people saying you're being completely unreasonable -- you're really not! There are loads of nice villages in the North East where you can get a house for that price. They're aspirational working-class areas but they're safe and pretty and usually have a lot of green spaces. Try Blaydon on Tyne + surrounding areas (Consett, Burnopfield, etc). www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108773771#/?channel=RES_BUY

where i live (halifax) yes you would get a four bedroom terraced Victorian house but it will be a back to back house in an area noted for cheap rentals and a high eastern European and Asian population, go up a band to 90-100k and you will get an ex council 3 bed house in a reasonable area very working class but decent schools and if you want the suburbian part of our town you have to go up to 150k for a two bedroom semi detached 2 years ago you would have got a lot more for your money but even here in the street we live in houses which are small 2 bed semi detached have jumped from 110k to 150k

You could get a 2 or 3 bed ground floor flat with a garden and drive in the Midlands and it wouldn’t be too bad if you needed to get into London. Possibly 2 up 2 downs in the countryside around Derby or Lincoln

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86006527#/?channel=RES_BUY

@isseys4xmastinselcats

where i live (halifax) yes you would get a four bedroom terraced Victorian house but it will be a back to back house in an area noted for cheap rentals and a high eastern European and Asian population, go up a band to 90-100k and you will get an ex council 3 bed house in a reasonable area very working class but decent schools and if you want the suburbian part of our town you have to go up to 150k for a two bedroom semi detached 2 years ago you would have got a lot more for your money but even here in the street we live in houses which are small 2 bed semi detached have jumped from 110k to 150k

Racism and classism in one post, congrats.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110328899

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85576990#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/80497287

There's hundreds of under £60k properties in the Durham area.

Where I am (East Midlands, so depends on your definition of north), rightmove shows some flats and a few shared ownership scheme flats and houses that fit in that budget.

A poster for their up (sorry can't remember who) suggested keeping to England for continuity with the school system. I'd say look at Scotland and Wales as well as your DD won't have to pay tuition fees if she goes to University and lives in one of those countries.

You can get a two bed terrace in a less posh part of the northeast for that. What about Seaham - lovely (but cold) beaches and surprisingly nice centre.

Or the villages around Durham. I'd probably look on the west side of the City for the better schools. Langley Moor, Meadowfield, Brandon, Ushaw Moor, Esh Winning, Crook. I wouldn't describe them as nice but they're not bad.

@AtlasPine

Sheffield is nice - you might just get something suitable there. Good luck!

I don't think you will get anything g in Sheffield for 70k.

Well, I just looked and there's this in Sheffield. I can't comment on the area but it looks like it needs a lot of work.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/111292178#/?channel=RES_BUY

@Allllchange

There are places around Burnley, Wigan and Bolton for that but not sure what area you are really wanting

Maybe 3 years ago, not now. My mother bought a very small bungalow that needed updating in a very ‘cheap’ area for £95k in January 2020. She’s just sold it for £130k having done no work on it at all!

Might be worth trying West Cumbria if you don't need to be near somewhere particular for work. This house in Cleator Moor is just over your budget and is 2 bed. It's near the lake district so the environment is lovely but I'm not sure about schools. www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/58450709/?search_identifier=bb84c80ca1096b8518279d953bba417a

Colne Lancashire?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110498597#/?channel=RES_BUY

It‘s a bit mixed but you have beautiful countryside on your doorstep and lovely towns like Skipton easily accessible.

You could come back to Darlington there are a few you could see in ok areas. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110666522?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY
Craig street is nice and this area towards cockerton

There are some on branksome estate and bits of there are fine

You can get houses for that price in rural Cumbria and Northumberland. Not all are in bad areas. Not sure about schools though.