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.

Muswell Hill in London ticks all the boxes except for a very bad fail on the last one.

I think I would add

point 7 - do you have to commute somewhere or are you WFH mostly and/or have a job which most areas need e.g. NHS / teacher - which my DB and SIL have , so had a much bigger choice of places to live without never being back from commuting to see DCs in the evening . They have a lovely house which I think is relatively affordable ( under £200k but needed some work which was desirable but they could live in it in the meantime )

And I would say an idyllic place for very young children is not necessarily the same as when they are teenagers. ( I put the school thing to one side for that )

tuppence worth - but interesting post.

On the edge of South London. So you have London and also countryside on your doorstep, close enough to the sea too. All the advantages of London without a lot of the drawbacks of being cramped in inner London, you can still afford houses if you earn OK but there are social housing, flats and generations of working class people.

Not going to state exactly but village in West Sussex

@Linguini

I would recommend Derbyshire, anywhere around the Peak District totally smashes 1-5 there are affordable homes if you look say Buxton, Tideswell, Matlock or even up towards Glossop which is up-and-coming.

Crime is ridiculously low here which is why I think Derbyshire police now have a terrible reputation for their heavy handedness towards lockdown rules. They literally have nothing else to do!

The people are lovely, schools are great, there's enough outdoor space to share with the rest of England practically.

Unfortunately it probably wouldn't score highly for "Diversity" I must apologize profusely it's mostly English people who live here... So if no one minds us, I'd recommend it here!

Second this!

I don't think you can have 1-5 and achieve 6.

My town has number 6 in spades. It has nice people and my kids are very happy here.

Also, naice places always have road systems designed for when people walked everywhere.

There is nowhere to park and the place is heaving with people desperate to spaff a fiver on a bottle of organic apple juice at the farmers market. Ditto fancy cheeses and steak pies.

Give me function over form any day of the week

@MrsBobDylan places like this do still exist. I’m in Torbay and it is absolutely affordable compared to much of the rest of the country. Grammar schools, great community (in my town, anyway- Torquay, not so much), beautiful countryside. I’d say possibly the only things it’s really lacking is beautiful architecture in the towns themselves. There are loads of gorgeous NT and EH places within the bay too though.

@Twasacceptableinthe80s

Folkestone. Moved here four years ago (knowing no one) and it’s surpassed our expectations. Used to get itchy feet quite regularly, but I’m pretty confident we will never move again. Often pinch myself that we have so much beauty around us and there is always plenty going on for the kids.

I agree with you A lovely place to live

@MrsBobDylan Rubbish. You've clearly never been to Shrewsbury....

realistically no child would want to grow up in somewhere like Torbay or a village in Sussex, no matter how nice it is. not sure you're giving them the best start living somewhere so small or remote.

I am going to say - & it won't be popular - that although the Swallows and Amazons thing is idyllic - if you have a good sized park within walking distance a big city ( e.g. London ) can be a great place to bring up kids. When younger - huge garden etc is fantastic - when they are older - easy public transport to see their friends counts for a bit

I don't disagree that those places are lovely (though you're right @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango I have never been to Shrewsbury )

My friend has just retired to Torbay and I was so impressed by what she got for her money. However, when she still needed to work, she lived in Luton because there is lots of employment (airport and Police are huge employers there).

I don't think in London/ SE commuter belt there are places that achieve 1-6. I am open to being corrected though.

.

Edinburgh

Horsham

Chapel Allerton

@HadEnoughOfBears

Edinburgh

I thought Edinburgh was ridiculously expensive? Never been but would love to visit one day.

@HesBoughtAFuckingHat, I think you and @MrsBobDylan have distilled the whole thread: it is possible to tick 4 or 5 of your boxes within affordable, but tick all six and I would add commutable to a city with thriving commerce to pay for the house you want to live in, and the prices go stratospheric. I have friends who've lived in a London commuter town with a famous race course for 40 years, and I think it's horrid less pleasant than where I live. But they are the people accessing the theatre and exhibitions in London easily and smoothly, and I make a four hour journey each way, so I don't go as often as I would like. But I can walk out of my door into glorious countryside and walk east, west and north (south is a river) every single day.

Norwich

How many of these places are diverse? That's so important to me.

@cafedesreves the town I live in in south Devon is so diverse that a mixed race boy that was in my year group (finished A levels in 2002) is still on the front cover of the school prospectus.

I thought Edinburgh was ridiculously expensive?

Compared to most of Scotland, yes.

Compared to London and the South East, no.

I'm biased as I grew up there but now when I visit I am blown away by how beautiful, cosmopolitan and diverse it is.

It's truly up there among the other great European capital cities.

I live in Shrewsbury (grew up here and moved back a couple of years ago from London after DD1 was born) and I love it. It ticks all of those boxes. Only downsides for me are:

• not diverse
• conservative / Brexit heavy
• doesn't attract the best touring theatre productions or music so if you like live entertainment you would need to travel to

Birmingham or Manchester.

I love Edinburgh but I'm not sure I'd put it up with places like Rome and Barcelona.