450k, an hour from London - where would would you choose?

[sageandrosemary]

Me and DH considering moving to the south and I’d be grateful for any suggestions for areas to consider as feeling a little overwhelmed right now.

Budget is 450k for a three bed (or two with scope to extent in the future) and we’d like:

• Within an hour of London but there wouldn’t be any regular commuting so doesn’t need to be a particularly easy/reliable connection
• Amenities all within walking distance from our doorstep as that's the main thing we like about our current house - restaurants, cafes, community centre, library, doctor etc are all within a five minute walk
• Have two toddlers so safe area, community feel and good (state) schools

Both wfh permanently and no family connections so while that gives us a lot of freedom, it also makes it difficult to narrow down our search. Would prefer somewhere that doesn't feel too 'sleepy'.

Aware that our budget might not stretch as far as we’d like!

Would be hugely grateful for any help! TIA.

Market Harborough or Northampton

Your search area is just too wide. The first thing you should do is take a few day trips to look at areas around Kent, Sussex, Essex if those are the areas that you are drawn to. Then ask for advice on mumsnet for good areas within the county that you want to move to.

@Twiglets1 I've already found this thread really useful in helping us to start narrowing down that wide area. Next step will of course be to go and explore some of the places we've been more drawn to from the suggestions/our own searches and then take it from there...

Thanks again to everybody for the many suggestions!

Would you consider London suburbs? We're in Gidea Park. Fairly leafy, safe, friendly, decent schools and we're absolutely spoilt in terms of amenities.

Within a 10 minute walk we have:

*Station. 30 mins into Liverpool St and on the new Elizabeth Line so we'll soon be able to get direct trains to the West End and Heathrow. Plus being in London zone 6 means fares are pretty reasonable
*Doctors
*Library
*2 good restaurants and several independent coffee shops/cafes
*2 small supermarkets and seceral idependent shops, hair and beauty salons etc
*a small but lovely park
*multiple bus routes

Within 25 min walk/5 min drive we have:
*2x new council leisure centres (1 with an ice rink)
*David Lloyd club
*Larger retail areas and superstores in Romford and Hormchurch
*2× cinemas
*Bowling
*Trampoline park and soft play
*Several beautiful large parks
*Pretty much every kids class and activity you can imagine including an outdoor adventure centre and a fantastic music school.

We can be in the countryside in about 15 mins or at the seaside (Leigh on Sea or Southend in half an hour).

You should find a 3 bed terrace on a decent road just about in budget.

Oh we definitely would, and that sounds perfect! I love to have everything on the doorstep.

I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with London suburbs as I was one of those people who never really left zone 2

Most places I've seen suggested when looking at other threads have been out of budget but off to look at Gidea Park now. Thank you!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the area. We looked seriously at moving further out but ultimately came to the conclusion that we'd be hard pushed to find anywhere else with so much on our doorstep and convenient for central London without spending mega bucks.

I’m in Kent, the HS1 line is brilliant, 37 mins from Ashford into St Pancras stopping at Stratford en route. I don’t know why the PP slagged off Canterbury because it’s a beautiful small city with lots of culture and history. Everywhere now has closed shops so it can’t be held against it.

Folkestone is somewhere lots of people are flocking to, so expect price rises. But lots of inward investment into the Harbour/Creative Quarter have really paid off, it’s one of my favourite places to visit. Lots to do, restaurants opening, the Harbour Arm is fab. If you wanted somewhere a bit less built up then Hythe is not too far along, ten mins drive, and Sandgate (village adjoining Folkestone) is nice too.

Whitstable is lovely but millionaires row and holiday cottages dominate. Really busy during the summer and locals resent being driven out of affording local homes because it’s now so trendy.

Along the coast to Margate you have Herne Bay (tipped to be the next Whitstable, very untouched seaside town, can be a tad interesting in terms of people being a bit rough, I’ve visited a good few times and each time have witnessed someone going off on one, dunno if I’m unlucky). Birchington is nice in terms of community, Westgate on Sea is a village built to host the Edwardian rich and famous, that’s nice to.

Tenterden and the villages between it and Ashford are very nice, it’s a bit cocooned in terms of it’s pretty, and not much happens, but there’s a decent amount of shops, restaurants and pubs and it’s very safe to bring kids up in. And you can’t so much as fart without the entire town knowing about it! But there’s safety and community spirit in that!

Think you need a road trip down to sunny Kent. It’s a varied county with something to please everyone, and it has the best weather!

I haven't noticed anyone mention Basingstoke?

Lots of places north Hampshire would suit your budget and requirements but Basingstoke has loads for kids and families.

Alton
Aldershot
Petersfield

Definitely Basingstoke fits this budget.

What about Coventry? An hour from Euston and your budget would definitely get you a three bed and possibly a four within fifteen minutes walk of the station. Five miles further out, but on a direct bus route, Kenilworth has that small town feel and a Waitrose.