We're thinking about leaving London. It's a hard decision but even with our very good salaries, we're getting priced out of the areas we would want to live in.
Some of the places we've identified as potential destinations include:
Bath
Horsham
Hove
Winchester
Budget up to £1m but if we're buying outside London would prefer to keep it under £800k. Ideally 4-bed with good sized garden.
Our criteria:
Good co-ed, non-religious state secondary school options.
The timing is awful because DS will be starting Y7 in September so we might be relying on in-year places, which could be risky. So we would probably want a place with a few good schools so there's a chance one of them will have space. Or am I looking at this through the jaded London lens of oversubscribed schools? Are schools in these areas also likely to be full?
A proper town where we can easily walk to everything. We're willing to get a car, but we can't do a cookie-cutter surburban development on the outskirts of a town. That's just a personal choice, not a judgement btw.
Good transport links. We don't need to be in London regularly for work, but will need (and want) to go in occasionally.
Progressively minded, diverse area.
We are planning some weekend trips to explore these areas further and hopefully look at properties but I would appreciate any thoughts / insight in advance. Thank you!