Where is your ideal place to live in England?

[Samara26]

If you could live anywhere in the South of England, or Midlands (excluding London), where would it be, and why?

I would like to know what areas appeal for what reasons, rather than personal reasons like having family nearby or sentimental reasons.

I'm looking to move within England in the south / midlands and am struggling to find somewhere that has a good balance of amenities, nightlife and being reasonably priced and reasonably safe.

I personally don't know how the op will decide from the above suggestions. As I only lived in 1 UK city all my life I won't proffer that as an option ( because it's a dump run by socialists that hate the motorists and has no airport...oh and terrible football teams).

So my 'ideal place to live in England' is Thailand. 7%VAT, 60p a litre for fuel, no council tax, no business rates, easy to set up and run a business. Maid costs £200 / month, gardener £30 / month , great beaches, £20 to eat out ( or £5 if you wish), 25 degrees and sunny, ( but it can get too hot), good holidays (we have the west New Years Day, the Chinese New Year , then the Thai New Year , Songkhran , and any other day they proclaim to be a Buddha day). My 600k home would be 2 million in the UK and finally most of the Thai people are very pleasant and positive people.

Sorry op if my reply was frivolous but I would be too embarrassed to suggest where I lived previously, although North East Derbyshire has some great walks and scenery.

None of the places you're looking at give me any positive vibes. Certainly when compared to places outside the SE and mids where you could live somewhere beautiful for your budget.

I would look towards Cambridge or the east. Good links and some nice places to live.

Norwich consistently comes out as one of the best places to live in England.
I think you'd get a decent house within your budget there. Cambridge is expensive.

Is Brighton too expensive? Lots of things to do, lovely parks and the South Downs as well as the beach.

Please can you amend your title OP as England incudes areas further north than Birmingham.

@ManchesterTartwithCustard

Please can you amend your title OP as England incudes areas further north than Birmingham.

Haha sorry about that. I would but it won't allow me to

@socialistcab

Is Brighton too expensive? Lots of things to do, lovely parks and the South Downs as well as the beach.

Brighton is nice but there's no work around or not in IT anyway. I lived in crawley and I was commuting around an hour from there so from brighton it would be another 30 mins on top.

@nettie434

I know Farnborough and Chelmsford from your list, Samara26, assuming you are referring to the Hampshire Farnborough rather than the Orpington one. Both feel comparatively safe (but you can look up the actual published crime rates), for instance feeling safe enough to walk to and from the station in the evening.

Farnborough has good rail and road links but not really much of a cultural life or restaurant quarter. However, it's quite near Guildford. Shopping is basic high street rather than bijou or quirky shops.

Chelmsford has really tried to develop its cultural/retail attractions. There is a newish shopping area called Bond Street which has a small John Lewis and lots of restarants.

£365k would not get you a huge amount in either place - Chelmsford is expensive because of its excellent commuter links to London. I think Colchester is cheaper but it's further out of course - but it depends on what you need.

Good luck with your hunting!

Thank you. Farnborough and Chelmsford are definite options. There are quite a lot of 3 bed semis around the 350-375 mark in both places, particularly Chelmsford.

@NashvilleQueen

None of the places you're looking at give me any positive vibes. Certainly when compared to places outside the SE and mids where you could live somewhere beautiful for your budget.

Ok can you make any suggestions elsewhere? I'm not feeling it either

Why not London? I'd have a house in Chelsea.

@onedayoranother

Why not London? I'd have a house in Chelsea.

I'm Sure we all would if we could afford it

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116072873

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/82151667

Have a look at Southampton. It has a lot going on there and is shortlisted for the City of Culture in 2025. It is really well located in the UK with good transport links via the M3 and M27. It has an airport, is just over an hour on the train to London, close to the New Forest and Dorset coast one way, then the South Downs the other. Lovely but expensive Winchester on your doorstep.

I think Cheltenham is very nice, the most wonderful Lido ... interesting architecture... surrounding countryside to explore. Good train links. John Lewis and Waitrose ....

Cheltenham any good? I've seen a beautiful 4 bed house there for 340k, just half mile from the train station!

I know Cheltenham quite well. It's generally a nice town, not too big, but enough to do, parks, restaurants, easy access to the m5, Cotswolds etc.

Thee are a couple of areas that are considered less desirable (Princess Elizabeth way area, Whaddon..) so it depends on where you've found the house.

I like Cheltenham as I'm not a fan of larger towns, but it really depends on what you're looking to be able to do there.

Forest of Dean might be suitable in terms of budget, there are some beautiful areas and you can easily get to Cheltenham, Bristol, Gloucester and Cardiff so a fair few people commute (or do when it's not wfh!).

Guildford and surrounding villages but you are unlikely to get a 3 bed in budget unfortunately. Because of all the amenities (can’t think of an amenity we don’t have) and links to London and the sea.

Farnborough is within your budget and is drivable to some good places. I love here and it is a bit soulless, nothing really going on at all. If you do venture this way, try and be near the town centre. If I had a choice I would move as close to Farnham as I could, it's lovely.

I agree with the pp who mentioned rural Northants and Bedfordshire, there are some lovely smaller towns that are near to bigger places with lots going on which would be within your budget and it's on the edge of the South/Midlands- take a look at Towcester, Leighton Buzzard and Ampthill. Not the same area, but Oundle is also meant to be lovely too.

I live in Cirencester, a market town between Cheltenham and Swindon. It's a good location but I believe very popular as a commuter town because of its central location and being a cotswold town.
We brought here as first timers 4 years ago for about 240.
There are lots of nice market towns around here, Fairford for example, and we are close to the Wiltshire/Oxfordshire border and I believe the SN postcode is slightly cheaper!

eg) this in Leighton Buzzard, is a good area, good school with potential to access grammars in Aylesbury as well. Close to the train to London (35mins) and near to Milton Keynes.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116584805#/?channel=RES_BUY

this in Towcester, a nice little town with good schools, not far from Milton Keynes or Northampton for amenities:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118465733#/?channel=RES_BUY

Ampthill: a lovely little.Georgian town with nice countryside around, train line into London in next door Flitwick, good schools also:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115544882#/?channel=RES_BUY

Oundle, never been but it's meant to be lovely: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117601958#/?channel=RES_BUY

Herefordshire is wonderful if you enjoy a relatively quiet life.

Come to Kent! Where I live, I can go to one of many several coastal towns within an 45 minutes- hour, or have the countryside on my doorstep. Places like London, Bluewater and Lakeside are within easy reach, or I have towns nearer to me.