Let’s vote: best place in the U.K. to raise children

[Jbirds]

I thought(hoped) this might be a fun post.

Shall we vote on where we think would be the best place to live in the U.K. I know that people have different priorities, so I was thinking if I list my priorities for places to live and if these match yours then you could contribute towards the post positively.

1. Good schooling (good ofsted, good behaviour, good results)
2. Safety- low crime figures
3. Green space
4. Community activities
5. Local architectural beauty
6. Affordability

Add cities, towns, villages or hamlets- if you think they fit the bill.

It would be interesting to hear people’s opinions and experiences.

Shropshire for sure. I'm bias

@FAQs

My list would include diversity, opportunity, culture, museums.

Yes diversity is a big one for me. I grew up in bath, there was one Asian boy in my year at school, no black people at all. I've deliberately chosen schools for my DC that mean they meet a wider variety of people.

@TheWayTheLightFalls

My corner of London smashes 1-5 out of the park. 6 though... eeesh.

Never.

London is a complete dive.

🙄

There are very few 'secret' lovely places. I can think of several places that would tick 1 - 5 but because they are lovely, lots of people want to live there.... So house prices are relatively high.

Anyway, I'd throw Skipton into the mix. Small market town with independent shops. Two Grammar schools. Surrounded by gorgeous countryside and accessible to Leeds and Harrogate.

I actually don't know anywhere that fits the affordability

Surely it would be a mortgage that two adults on average wages could afford to purchase with a 10% deposit

So £30k x2 and what mortgage lenders will loan - it used to be 3 times joint income.

So £180k plus 10% would be £200k

My bit of inner London is just fab. It's affordable if you can afford it and has great schools, green spaces and...it's London. Still IMO a fabulous city to grow up in.

Lovely thing about Shrewsbury Dh bought a house there 2 years ago for £178k, lovely Victorian semi on the same road larger houses circa 850k the disparity brings a mix

Sorry got cut off

....Of different folk from all backgrounds. It's not very diverse though which is really noticeable having just moved from Brum.

Otley in West Yorkshire. Ilkley's more affordable close cousin! Prices have gone up lately but still cheaper than many places in that area.
Second this! We’ve got friends there in my platonic ideal of a house – of course they bought back when it was truly affordable and it’d be eye watering now.

East Sussex ticks 2-5 for me (from this thread and others I think some of 1-5 are subjective and down to taste and preference), but fails hard on 1. If anyone knows of a secret small Sussex town with a train station on the London line and 4-bed period houses with big gardens for less than £££… DM me, don’t tell everyone here.

Torbay

Carlisle, Great transport links, rail M6. Lovely parks and open spaces. Reasonable house prices. Good schools. Access to Lake District, Eden Valley.
Less that 2hrs from, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool.

I was going to say Harpenden, Cambridge and Saffron Walden until I got to #6

Yeah I think affordability is a common theme here. I suppose it’s also super subjective as affordable to one wouldn’t fit the bill for another.

Some great places mentioned though.

York is another great one. A really gorgeous place.

Someone mentioned Staffordshire villages. I’d narrow that down to:
Abbots Bromley (more expensive, but still affordable to most I’d imagine).
Yoxall
Fradley
Shenstone (a particular favourite but rather expensive average £600k)
Alrewas

I also do love a place with a good farmers market with local produce. If it’s organic, even better

Much of Shropshire

• Shrewsbury

-Bridgnorth -Ludlow.

All safe, good schooling, lovely environment and affordable!

London has been a brilliant place to bring my kids up in - but no way is it affordable.....

@BananaPant you're so funny.

@gattey

Why on earth would I care that you got married to someone whilst you were at uni whilst I was at uni? I have no idea what's wrong with you or why me replying to a post that lots of nice places were affordable if you bought in the 00s made you upset. It's so bizarre 😆

Oh dear you've misunderstood completely- I wasn't upset, I was just conversationally replying to you making a comment on a comment I'd made and then you randomly seemed to think I was replying because I'd been 'triggered, which was a bizarre thing to write. My last reply was tongue in cheek for the fact you'd accused my response as being 'triggered' - I have to think you have fundamentally misunderstood the point of internet chat forum by your hostile responses!

or you (like us) bought in the 2000s you might think it is affordable :)

"tbf lots of places that are nice were much more affordable in the 00s"

Yes of course but do they tick all the other boxes that the OP mentions like Teddington does?

"I can think of loads that do"

Care to suggest anywhere then or happy just make pointless comments that add nothing to the thread?

@TeddingtonSchools if you look at the exchange above you did seem triggered by my opinion that other places tick the box just as much as Teddington because of your random response to my post which said that.
If that's what you consider conservational & that I'm the hostile one then let's hope Santa puts a good dose of self awareness in your stocking!

I was gattey (I nc frequently)

Scarborough. Ticks all the boxes.

@ivykaty44

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117435992

3 bed homes for £150k

Schools rated Good

Market town
Countryside - outside areas
Plenty to do in the area

That’s fab!! How much do these properties rent for? I’m so tempted! I might pick up sticks and move next month!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117487349#/?channel=RES_LET

I really like the open plan style of this property - and there is still a seperate sitting room. @User112

It doesn’t meet several of your criteria, but compared to my own upbringing, and compared to my kids various cousins, I have loved bringing kids up in London and they have enjoyed it and thrived.

Criteria:
Great schools and because we are all so packed in, they were very local. Walking to schools with very local friends created great quality of life.

Endless brilliant activities. Local parks, bigger parks, museums, galleries, special events, a galaxy of options at every age

Cultural opportunities. Youth theatres, music projects, art clubs, kids carnival bands, etc etc A huge range of high quality arts projects.

Easy access (walking or short bus) to swimming pools, ice rink, bowling, climbing walls, bmx tracks, skate parks.

Fantastic public transport, free or half price for kids. Enabled great independence from 11 or 12 (London kids typically navigate public transport systems as soon as they get to secondary

Diversity. A huge diversity of diversity! ‘No one is different because everyone is different’ as my kids say. Knowledge and understanding of a range of cultures, religions, languages as part of daily life

Beautiful parks, access to bigger spaces such as Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park, etc, and a quick drive or train journey to lovely and wild places in Sussex, Kent, Essex etc

Those £150k houses are nice but Keighley wouldn't be topping many people's lists, unless a recent BNP hotbed is your idea of a great place to raise your DC. I come from a similar place so I know there's complexities, but it's one of the most deprived places in the UK and has all the issues that go along with that, hence why its so affordable.

On the other hand, a lot of the places that are on these lists are so choc box idyll that I'd feel like I was bringing my DC up in a bubble. Even a Wimbledon Village feels like a bubble compared to what I love about London which is the whole mix of different people living close together.