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Original poster

Where do I want to live?

47 replies

MegBusset · 05/09/2022 22:55

Tired of living in the flatlands of East Anglia and thinking of where to move in a couple of years when no longer tied to schools:

  • Mountains, if possible, or if not then very decent sized hills
  • Good community, not overrun by tourists and Airbnbs
  • Probably a market town, with independent shops, cafés, cinema and swimming pool
  • Not Scotland (midges)
  • An hour or so from a reasonable sized city for culture and gigs
  • WFH so local jobs not an issue

I'm thinking possibly somewhere in Yorkshire (commutable to Leeds or Mcr) or Northumberland (Newcastle)? Any ideas?

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 06/09/2022 23:08

@Octomore the Howardian Hills are gorgeous. As are the Wolds.

Helmsley has already been mentioned. You could look at Pocklington too OP.

HikingBoots · 07/09/2022 08:12

Lots of people are directing you to the Marches area and I will too!
You're describing Abergavenny. It ticks every one of your boxes. It even has dry stone walls - there are miles of them in the Brecon Beacons national park!
Trains (with a view!) run twice an hour to Cardiff, and take between 36-45 mins.

Scrappydoo668 · 07/09/2022 08:13

I immediately thought of the Lake District!

Cyclingforcake · 07/09/2022 08:18

Skipton
Otley
Ilkley

BarbaraofSeville · 07/09/2022 08:22

Scrappydoo668 · 07/09/2022 08:13

I immediately thought of the Lake District!

But that falls down on 'not over run by tourists' and 'near a city for gigs and culture'.

Original poster
MegBusset · 07/09/2022 08:25

Yeah - funnily enough this whole train of thought has been driven by a week in the Lakes that we've just come home from. I adore the landscape - but we felt more than ever that it was like visiting a theme park rather than a place where people live. The village where we stayed was literally 100% holiday cottages.

OP posts:
SuperCamp · 07/09/2022 08:25

Wirksworth, Derbyshire Peak District.

Cervinia · 07/09/2022 08:27

BarbaraofSeville · 06/09/2022 08:59

A lot of the places mentioned are very touristy and get very crowded.

But I recently drove through Ripponden and Sowerby Bridge areas and they both might fit your bill, apart from I don't know where the nearest swimming pool would be.

Also the Greenfield/Delph/Uppermill areas?

I don't know if broadband speed is still an issue in rural areas.

Pickering/Malton in edge of North York Moors but also on outskirts of York.

Ilkley/Otley/Bingley/Saltaire? Ilkley and Otley both have (unheated IIRC) outdoor pools, all except Otley have good train access to Leeds, although budget may be an issue, especially for Ilkley.

Sowerby bridge has a swimming pool, they had a new one built a few years ago, the old one was Victorian.

To the OP, anywhere in West Yorkshire has hills, loads of them. Generally Not touristy like N Yorks either.

emmathedilemma · 07/09/2022 10:00

I know you said not Scotland because of the midges but the east coast and southern Scotland aren't so bad. I wouldn't rule out the borders towns, particularly those that are on the borders railway line into Edinburgh for your culture requirements.

bjjgirl · 07/09/2022 10:19

Pennines / clitheroe / whalley /

New mills

rainbowsandstarshine · 07/09/2022 10:25

Frome, within easy reach of Bath, Bristol and Salisbury.

Underscore21 · 07/09/2022 10:55

Morpeth

OhMerde · 07/09/2022 11:28

Shropshire all day every day.

SuperCamp · 07/09/2022 12:10

You might want to consider ease of travel for your Dc once they are at Uni, if you want them to visit regularly / come home for holidays, and if they will also want to visit old friends in E Anglia.

One of the reasons I suggested Derbyshire / The Peak District is because of good cross country rail from some parts of E Anglia

www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/sites/default/files/assets/download_ct/20220413/nMr3fhS-lxfvV5gZv0WdmdgMiypkzOxxp3rR9QHbzqw/emr_route_map_may_2022_web.pdf

My parents moved to an outer edge of the UK and visiting them is a pain travel wise, long by road, worse by train. Once they got to frail to travel under their own steam it was very difficult. I would have liked them to have had a closer relationship with my Dc.

Pinkdelight3 · 07/09/2022 12:13

Clitheroe is a great shout. Ribble Valley often places high on best quality of life. Skipton is lovely too. Can get touristy but not prohibitively so. Ramsbottom is worth a look and maybe Settle. Forget Hebden as it's swamped with tourists (and yep, with floods too on occasion).

Octomore · 07/09/2022 13:32

Northernlurker · 06/09/2022 23:08

@Octomore the Howardian Hills are gorgeous. As are the Wolds.

Helmsley has already been mentioned. You could look at Pocklington too OP.

They are (although the Wolds are too out on a limb for my liking), but they're not 'York'!

Calmdown14 · 07/09/2022 15:34

You can't write off the whole of Scotland based on midges!

The East coast doesn't have any. East Lothian is nice, (north Berwick, Dunbar etc) or further north stonehaven in Aberdeenshire is where your screen saver is with the castle on a big rock

Scrappydoo668 · 07/09/2022 16:26

BarbaraofSeville · 07/09/2022 08:22

But that falls down on 'not over run by tourists' and 'near a city for gigs and culture'.

Show quote history

Hmm yes. Although quick to Manchester. But definitely fails on the “not full of tourists” request!

Scrappydoo668 · 07/09/2022 16:27

MegBusset · 07/09/2022 08:25

Yeah - funnily enough this whole train of thought has been driven by a week in the Lakes that we've just come home from. I adore the landscape - but we felt more than ever that it was like visiting a theme park rather than a place where people live. The village where we stayed was literally 100% holiday cottages.

Somewhere like Kendal is more a place people live?

Although I get what you’re saying - the Lakes is very touristy!

Vikingmama79 · 07/09/2022 23:13

Another vote for Hexham or Morpeth.

CatAndHisKit · 08/09/2022 00:58

Sheffield - or does it have to be a small town?
As cities go, Sheffiled is not large though

Crikeyalmighty · 08/09/2022 01:26

How about something like this in Stroud- fits your bill well - I would also say Frome and Bradford on Avon would too- it's pushing it on budget but there are small cottages and ex councils and modern semis just in that budget and Bath is very close.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125661698#/?channel=RES_BUY

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