Moving out of London

[Pink15Lady]

Hello everyone! I was hoping if anyone can help/has information. It would be greatly appreciated.

Our family is looking to move out of London. We love the greenery in Canada Water and the parks, but it's time for more space, peace and something less expensive. Our 7 year old daughter LOVES ice skating and so does my husband and so living close to an ice rink is a must. We are not super keen on getting a car straight after we move out (that's why we have been avoiding considering Milton Keynes for example) but maybe in the future we will get one. We love newer and more modern interiors/buildings (we have had some nightmares with old buildings in the past). Also I need to commute to Euston/KingsX but not very often as we have not been going to the office much but might change as well.

To summarise what we want: Nature (for daily walks or hikes), Ice rink, walkable/cyclable city or town, modern builds to rent available, commute to Euston/KingsX no more than 1h30.

After some intense research here are some of my top candidates:
Basingstoke (Some nature, good ice arena, new builds, not fan of waterloo connection but it's the best we've visited so far)
Leighton Buzzard (Slim property choice, MK Ice arena is close-ish, seems peaceful, nice commute into city)
Gillingham area (Fear it might be quite busy, nice ice rink, fear a car might be needed to get around, not sure about being able to go on walks, nice commute)
Guildford (Lots of complaints about the ice arena, slim flat choice, not too happy about commute)

We've been to Bracknell and did not like it because of how car-centric it was. Chelmsford seems ok if a little expensive.

THANK YOU to anyone who helps. Lots of love!

What is your budget OP?

We are hoping for something less than 1,000pcm 2 bed.

Bristol is an hour and 30 minutes from London. It has a newly opened ice rink Planet Ice (the one where Robin Cousins learned to skate is now student flats!) on the northern edge of the city and there's plenty of new builds on the Charlton Hayes area. I don't know what rental prices are like though.

Romford? Still London but only just. You won't get much for that budget but some do come up, like this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/120927242#/?channel=RES_LET

Still in London transport zone 6 so fares aren't extortionate and transport is really frequent and reliable. The flat above is right by the lovely Chase/Eastbrook End, which feels really wild. Plenty of other beautiful parks a short bus ride away, and in Romford town centre there's Sapphire Ice and Leisure.

If you could stretch to 1hr 45 from King's Cross St Pancras look at the Nottingham area. Places like Wollaton and Beeston to the West have great access to green space, and the ice centre in the middle is where Torvill and Dean were based.

OP I would seriously consider Basingstoke with your budget. I was looking last year and saw some really nice 2 beds for less than 1k.

I settled on Winchester but regret it now as I could have got much nicer for my money in B/S and there are dodgy bits of Winch. I’m now looking to buy and have considered B/S, it’s surrounded by some gorgeous villages and countryside, close to Winch, easy access to Midlands, London and South Coast. Train to London only 45 mins but you have festival place which has a lot of decent shops so you don’t have to go to London for stuff all the time.

My colleague commented recently that it’s a great location (lived there for 12 years) with easy access to activities for kids including the ice rink.

Thank you for all the replies!

@MrsMoastyToasty Interesting! We will look at Bristol, thank you!
@OdeToSadDisco We did look at Romford, have yet to visit. We are however more keen to get properly out of London and see what it's like living out of the city. Though we will still consider it, as you pointed out there might be some golden places to rent.
@Flev It is quite far but we will consider it as well! Anything for a beautiful ice rink
@Somanyquestions1984 Thanks for the words on Basingstoke. We did really enjoy it. I hope we weren't only biased because it was a sunny day after many cloudy ones so it felt fab.

Do you need to be able to walk to the ice rink? Or would a short bus/train ride be ok?

I think you are very probably going to struggle without a car in any of those places.

Hemel hampstead?

@WutheringCripes Walk Cycle preferred but Bus or Train is also fine!
@bunfighters Oh really? Why do you think so?
@Geranium1984 Considered Hemel Hampstead but the ice rink has these massive pillars in the way which is very strange and stops proper figure skating practice or hockey

Thank you again for the replies!

I am amazed to hear you can rent a 2 bed property for less than £1000 within an hour of London.

Another vote for Romford or surrounding areas. The leisure centre and ice rink were only built a few years ago, and are very central.
Brentwood, Harold Wood or Upminster might also work but you may be stretching your budget if you want something walking distance to the station. All a short bus or train journey to Romford station, & the ice rink is just around the corner.
It is still London, Zone 6, but you have lots of parks & open spaces nearby. Easier to get to some of them with a car (the woods at Bedfords & Thorndon, for example) but not essential.

Word of warning - and I say this a lot - we moved out of London and ended up moved back two years later. Bear in mind if you've got a 7 year old, in a few years they'll be a teenager, and they'll wish they were living in London instead of a small town.

We don't run a car, we get London salaries, the childcare and holiday clubs are much better. And the people are interesting, which for us is worth its weight in gold.

@A580Hojas

I am amazed to hear you can rent a 2 bed property for less than £1000 within an hour of London.

And you'll need to run a car, which realistically costs £6k a year. You can still rent a 2-bed for £1,600 in many parts of London...

Why have you discounted MK based on needing a car? It has a huge network of cycle paths - a quick Google says there is 273km of them. It is very bicycle-friendly. I have a friend who moved there and one of his main reasons was he wouldn't need a car and could cycle everywhere.
If you lived in Leighton Buzzard you would definitely need a car to get to facilities such as an ice rink IMO, and if you want a newer property you would most likely be on one of the new developments on the very outskirts of the town, so not able to walk in to the centre (could cycle, but it would be on the road). It has some great countryside surrounding it and is a pretty pleasant town.

Ok, it really depends what's most important to you.

Because of the kinds of places they build ice rinks, you won't get nature and an ice rink together easily.

If you had a car you would have almost unlimited options because you could live in a nice neighboring town with nature, and a 10 /15 min drive to the ice rink.

For example, you could live on the edges of Maidstone or Faversham (beautiful) where you can walk in to town and nature, and a short drive to Gillingham.

I think you'll restricted without a car anyway but can definitely be done if you're in a town that you like. But that won't be with an ice rink!

The only place that ticks nearly all boxes is Guildford, which is a lovely town, has nature, and an ice rink. Compromise on the commute.

Chelmsford is a good shout for rink , parks and lots of cycling routs going in . But , you will struggle with £1000 budget. We rent out a tiny 2 bed Victorian end terrace for that , but very much mates rates .

Cambridge? It's an hour to King's Cross. You don't need a car, and it's got an ice rink. Your budget is a bit tight but it's doable. Also lots of green spaces in the city plus free museums etc.

Pink15Lady If you move somewhere like Guildford without a car you will be very very restricted where you can go (I know!) and won't be able to take advantage of all the beautiful places nearby. You would also be restricted where you could actually live so that you could actually easily access both the ice rink and schools etc.

There was another recent thread about someone thinking about moving from Surbiton (worth reading) and the conclusion was that there is really very little point giving up all that London offers for a very limited (and it will be limited) experience outside London where you can't access the benefits (which are mainly the countryside).

If you really don't want a car, you need to look at somewhere like Cambridge or Oxford (not sure if it is has an ice rink) which truly has a culture of bike riding etc..

Think very carefully what you are giving up by leaving London. Have you considered other parts of London that are greener and more village like e.g. Barnes?

@AwkwardPaws27 Thanks! We will look at Romford, the station is not too important to us but I will observe what our budget can get us.

@halfpastthree I get where you are coming from. We will consider your warning!

@SkankingMopoke Very interesting! Thanks for this. I see so many conflicting posts about MK. Ones that say the car is KING and you can't live without it, others that say the cycling is great (something about red cycle routes). I think we will go visit and judge for ourselves.

@WutheringCripes That's the conclusion I've been coming to as well. Ice rink (which usually includes lots of surrounding industrial area) + nature is a tough find. That's why I came on this very knowledgeable forum and have received lots of help!

@Popetthetreehugger Thank you! Will keep an eye on the rental market in Chelmsford.

@EmmaGrundyForPM Just too expensive for us, unfortunately.

@bunfighters Thank you! It's a conflicting situation. We know we would be leaving a lot in London, but we have really fallen out love with the city and would like a change. However now with all this feedback we will definitley consider the car more!

Thanks again to everyone!