Chocolate box pretty places to live - that are also family friendly, community friendly places?

[Whereto]

DH and I are moving with young children, and need to commute back into (or stay in?) london 2 days a week max.

We have no idea where to go!

So we wrote a list of criteria.

We both want pretty! Neither of us have lived in a “pretty” place before. But we also really want schools and community (places where the kids would be welcome to trick-or-treat on Halloween, and there’s a sweet local school, it’s still liberal, etc).

Please inspire me! Where can we start looking?

It depends on your budget, the area of London you need to commute to, whether you want a tiny village or a slightly busier city, etc. A tiny village sounds idillic but as your dc become teens they might want to live somewhere more lively.

Things like trick or treating are very neighbourhood dependent I've found. So my local neighbourhood is fantastic for it, but 5 streets further down there's nothing. But then we live on a new build estate with lots of young families.

We live in Canterbury which has some chocolate box pretty areas, photos attached (but also masses of tourists in non covid times). A couple of the surrounding villages might suit.

I have family who live in Suffolk and I feel like I've travelled back several hundred years going through many towns and villages on the way there. It's quite uncanny and definitely choc box pretty. Fraid I haven't been for so long (thanks covid) that I don't remember any of the names though. I do know they moved there because they needed to be in reach of London still.

Bolton, nelson, jaywick.

Cotswold
Peak District

You're looking for what almost everyone is looking for 😂 It entirely depends on budget and how many bedrooms you want.

If money is no object…

Beaconsfield (especially the old town)
Old Amersham
Gerrards Cross
Henley on Thames
Marlow
Oxford
Cambridge
Godalming

A town city village or rural?

Chalford in Gloucestershire. Train from kemble or Stroud

Henley on Thames
Pangbourne

Long Crendon in Bucks, there are some thatched cottages on Rightmove at the moment and it's one of the Midsummer Murders locations so should tick the pretty box.

Henley on Thames or Marlow would tick your boxes (am not as keen on Marlow because of the traffic down the high street but have lived in both)
Both on branch line trains, so most of the time you have to change at either Maidenhead or Twyford to get into Paddington but there are direct commuter trains at peak times.
We lived in Henley for years and I would move back in a heartbeat-but the traffic can be awful so it depends where you would need to get to most of the time. Schools are good, but the state secondary doesn’t have a 6th form, so it’s either Henley college or one of the local grammar schools/indies for A levels.

In essex you have ingatestone (lovely but expensive), writtle and Danbury but need to travel to train station.

I’m near Marlow and yes, it’s lovely. Not keen on Henley. If you want a village, come to one of the Hambleden valley villages in between Marlow and Henley. We’re in Frieth and it ticks all of your boxes.

Unfortunately your "it's still liberal" stipulation could be tricky.

Where I live (rural Hants) is pretty, family friendly, community minded and a great place to live. But you do have to make your peace with the fact that most people are Tories and it would never occur to them that it would be acceptable for them (or you!) to be anything else...

Ooh yes @Mumblechum0 the Hambleden valley villages are lovely

@Bramshott

Unfortunately your "it's still liberal" stipulation could be tricky.

Where I live (rural Hants) is pretty, family friendly, community minded and a great place to live. But you do have to make your peace with the fact that most people are Tories and it would never occur to them that it would be acceptable for them (or you!) to be anything else...

Nowt wrong with being a Tory!

Shoreham, Otford or Eynsford in Kent.

Ah, I missed the ‘liberal’ stipulation. I would say that I live in a ‘naice’ town with a Tory MP and which voted to leave (although neither result was a landslide) but have nevertheless not had a problem finding like-minded friends of a similar age and stage in life.

Little Gaddesden, near Berkhamsted.
Set in NT Ashridge forest. Short hop to Whipsnade zoo, Dunstable Downs, Ivinghoe Beacon.
Berko to Euston - 35/40mins.
Village shop, pub, post office and outstanding primary school.
Scouts, Guides, choir, cricket, drama etc… - lots of clubs/socs.
Berko has an excellent indie cinema and shops.

What about the Surrey Hills, Abinger Hammer, or Mickleham. Lovely, close links to London, No idea what the politics are like.

@AuntyFungal

Little Gaddesden, near Berkhamsted. Set in NT Ashridge forest. Short hop to Whipsnade zoo, Dunstable Downs, Ivinghoe Beacon. Berko to Euston - 35/40mins. Village shop, pub, post office and outstanding primary school. Scouts, Guides, choir, cricket, drama etc… - lots of clubs/socs. Berko has an excellent indie cinema and shops.

We drove through there on our way to the Ashridge Estate earlier today, and I agree, it's extraordinarily pretty. I even spotted the house I'd buy if I didn't think village life would drive me doolally.

We live in St Albans, OP. Bits of it are very pretty, and it's extremely commutable - 20 minutes to St Pancras on the fast train. Harpenden next door is prettier still, and the nearby villages or Wheathampstead and Redbourn are too. However, none of them are cheap. Our teeny tiny terraced cottage was recently valued at 625k - that's for less than 800 sq feet, no parking, tiny courtyard garden...and not even in one of the pretty bits (though near one).

Ooh, and I think Tring is very pretty too.

Kent- Locksbottom, Keston West wickam, Hayes.
Beautiful villages in Kent / London border. but quite pricey, but beautiful

These areas are not liberal though…,,

@Bramshott

Unfortunately your "it's still liberal" stipulation could be tricky.

Where I live (rural Hants) is pretty, family friendly, community minded and a great place to live. But you do have to make your peace with the fact that most people are Tories and it would never occur to them that it would be acceptable for them (or you!) to be anything else...

Same here (is the first bit of your name a clue?!)

I love where we live and it's super friendly and welcoming but it's a full on Tory constituency (dickhead MP poster boy for gammons)

What do you mean by Liberal?