Please advise a friend on the best areas (Hinckley, Grantham, Wellingborough or Newark)

[Eve1989]

Hey lovely people

I was speaking to a colleague today who told me that she wants to move out of London like me and like soooooo many Londoners, since the pandemic.

She has two kinds, of primary school age and she is Caribbean while her partner is mixed heritage.

She told me that they viewed properties in Wellingborough and Newark and she liked both properties. Her partner though seems to like Grantham and Hinckley where he has visited previously but has no current connections there. He does not mind however to live where ever she settles with.

What are your thoughts? Their budget is £275k which is likely to purchase in any of these areas. She is more concerned about not living somewhere where her kids will feel too different.

These are not the areas I have considered myself and therefore have no info to share with her. So, I told her that I will ask you guys.

PS: she works from home a lot but she may need to commute once per week to London. She is also thinking of getting a job closer to home, if need be.

Please share your views.

Thanks as always

Barrowby is lovely, really lovely, fabulous primary school, has won best kept village for about 4 years. Right on the edge of open countryside but direct access to Al and regular buses into Grantham which is also walkable.

Wellingborough and Rushden are shite . So glad I no longer live there.

She’d be better booking a Travelodge or something and spending a couple of days getting a feel of each of these places, see how they feel to her personally.

I was born and brought up
In Leicester but moved to Nottingham. Leicester has had loads of money spent on it and it's a fab city now. Very diverse. I'd look at that. You'd get a nice house for your budget. Nottingham on the other hand is a dump!

@Toddlerteaplease

I was born and brought up In Leicester but moved to Nottingham. Leicester has had loads of money spent on it and it's a fab city now. Very diverse. I'd look at that. You'd get a nice house for your budget. Nottingham on the other hand is a dump!

Is this Hinckley?

Hinckley has had money spent in recent years: new leisure centre, new shopping centre, cinema built. Ok market. I used to live very near by - I now live in a different part of the county.

Good transport links to London.

Not far from Leicester city centre with a very diverse population. Leicestershire is, for the most part, staunchly Blue.

@Oldtiredfedup

Hinckley has had money spent in recent years: new leisure centre, new shopping centre, cinema built. Ok market. I used to live very near by - I now live in a different part of the county.

Good transport links to London.

Not far from Leicester city centre with a very diverse population. Leicestershire is, for the most part, staunchly Blue.

So, would you recommend this area? Thanks a lot

It’s ok - one thing I will say is that outside of the city itself (the area is split into Leicestershire county, and Leicester city) there is a lot less diversity in the population. 91 % identify as ‘white’ in thd county as opposed to 46% in the city.,City has some nice areas, but they may be outside of the price range.

Oadby I quite like (Brocks Hill park is lovely) and although Ivd only ever visited there seems to be more diversity there than the side of the county that Hinckley is) and is also much closer to the city than Hinckley.

They might also want to look at Loughborough (nicer than Hinckley I think and better value for your money house price wise) student town, fair bit of diversity - about 20 minute drive from the city.