does this place exist?

[gingerhills]

DC have grown up and DH is retired so we can now move away from the expensive London commuter village we've lived in for years.

We are prepared to move anywhere in England, pretty much, if we can find these things:

4 bed house with large garden for £650k or less

on the outskirts of a small town/big busy village as DH insists on having rural views and I insist on being walking distance from centre

town with lots of life - theatres, cinema, swimming pool, market and loads of community stuff going on

Not too cliquey - not too 'you have to be born here to belong here'

Ideally not Tory heartland. Diverse, bit left wing/arty eccentric.

ideally not more than 2 hours from London as we still have lots of friends there and I still have work meetings there a couple of times a month.

Does this place exist?

Frome, Sherborne or villages between. I live in a south Somerset town that I love but it’s not very cool and locals often go on about “nothing to do”. We have 2 country parks (both amazing and one has a cafe, the other a pub), cinema, 2 swimming pools, theatre, lots of sports clubs for all ages, in fact lots of activities in general. Castle Cary train to London is pretty good although we sometimes drive to Salisbury if we want to come home later. We do day trips to London fairly regularly pre pandemic.

Hebden bridge would be great. Fab community. Countryside /close to town is achievable. Lots going on.

I live south east and you can get something in your budget with an hour to hour and a half from London and close enough to a bigger town without being in it.

Canterbury?

@Neednameinspiration

I'd second Stroud, it is exactly the sort of place you describe. Cheltenham or Cirencester would also be a good shout.

I was coming here to say exactly the same. I’m local to Stroud and it immediately sprung into my mind when you mentioned a quirky, arty vibe.

Cirencester and Cheltenham are a bit more Cotswoldy if you know what I mean? But good candidates nonetheless. But Stroud has some lovely walks and scenery, you’ll find a stunning property for that price and there’s an enormous artistic community which is very alternative and as my DP calls it, hippy 😂😂 We don’t live there now but know it well and I think it’s lovely. And I’m originally a Londoner who moved out here for work. Comfortably within two hours of the capital.

Thank you all. Had a chat with DH and he is interested in looking at Stroud and Frome. They do both sound lovely. I don't know them at all.

@gingerhills I moved out to Gloucester from London around 18 years ago with work, and I've never regretted the move. Best thing I ever did. DP was born and brought up in Stroud and he has family there, so it's an area we're very familiar with.

Stroud is just a short hop away from Bristol, and there's Cardiff a little way further if you want a day/night out in a big city. Cheltenham is very reminiscent of London in terms of boutiques and posh eateries etc, as well as having decent shopping. Stroud itself has a lovely farmer's market and lots of quirky, arty places. It's very much seen as a hippy, artistic community - the streets in the centre are cobbled in places and there are lots of hills around it.

This one is in Nailsworth which is the next little town along, same vibe - rural views and within walking distance of the town centre (which has an amazing craft shop if you're into that kind of thing!) www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119744696#/?channel=RES_BUY

OP - if there's anything specific you want to know, please just ask - if I don't know I can ask DP as he's a native 😅

What about Wymondham

@SpidersAreShitheads Thank you! I can't believe that house you linked. Definitely going to look around there.

Stroud or Frome. I like near Stroud and the Londoners have been moving in big time, property prices soaring. If you are looking for a period style property with 4 bedrooms £600k upwards will be needed. As most of the quirky houses have been lived in by the indiginous hippy types for decades most need a bit of work doing on them.

Yeah, we might be priced out of Stroud. Last year it was 'best place to live in UK' by The Telegraph or Times which pretty much outpriced us in one article. .

Suffolk- Woodbridge or Bury St Edmunds. Beautiful county, lovely coastline and countryside but easily within 2 hours of London

Have a look at the East Midlands - we're under 2hrs away by train and a bit over 2hrs by car from London. Some of the towns and villages south or south west of Nottingham might meet your needs. I'm thinking Beeston or Attenborough in particular.

@Travellingraspberry

Suffolk- Woodbridge or Bury St Edmunds. Beautiful county, lovely coastline and countryside but easily within 2 hours of London

I visited Bury St Edmunds years ago and loved it. I did wonder about it. It has a beautiful theatre, I remember.

@Flev

Have a look at the East Midlands - we're under 2hrs away by train and a bit over 2hrs by car from London. Some of the towns and villages south or south west of Nottingham might meet your needs. I'm thinking Beeston or Attenborough in particular.

Thank you. I don't know that area very well, though I liked Nottingham when I visited. Will look them up.

Look around york (2 hours to kings cross) or leeds (2h 15)

York - lovely city and (I think) not Tory. Some of the outskirts have a lovely villagey feel yet easy bus/bike to the city centre.
Lewes - Tory MP but marginal with Lib Dems and the town itself is lefty and alternative. Other nice towns in the area if Lewes is a bit pricey.
Wallingford in South Oxfordshire. Again, a Tory MP but the council is Green. Small unpretentious market town.

@gingerhills the Theatre Royal in Bury is stunning. There's also a new(ish) venue called The Apex which has lots of bits on too

New forest, Hampshire. Rural but close to the sea and beach and also a city and many lovely villages

Malvern:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/119863511

Suffolk is beautiful

Yeah, you're describing where we live, in a village on the outskirts of Nottingham. We're 80 minutes by train out of London and £650k is very top of the market here.

All the things you want except the guaranteed mp's political party can be found in most university towns/cities.
For a good sized garden you are looking for a suburb or a Local town.
Cambridge is out of budget but the fen towns are easily commutable for shopping and much better value.
Or look up and down the rail lines from London. Stamford?
Lincolnshire has some lovely places if you can be close enough to the mainline to get to London in 2 hours.
Edforddhire us closer to London but less choice for your budget. Some of the small towns would be perfect though and not much more than 30 mins from Cambridge or Milton Keynes for theatre and shopping.

Bedfordshire. Not sure what happened there!

Oh no, @ODFOx - I was hoping Edforddhire was some forgotten gem of a county on the Welsh borders where we'd find our dream home.