Moving to the English countryside

56 replies

Isanyholeagoal · 27/02/2023 22:22

I’m looking for recommendations on areas of English countryside. We have small DC and are hoping to move from a big city to a more peaceful area, ideally low in tourism.

considerations below

min 3 beds
open to barn conversions, listed buildings, thatched etc
must be close enough to a well equipt town with things to do for young children (we both drive though)
ideally 1/4 acre +
good schools
budget £450k

any and all ideas welcome

OP posts:

C4tastrophe · 03/03/2023 11:05

EyesOnThePies · 03/03/2023 09:57

It is.

I bet you can hear the A14 though. Huge numbers of lorries on the A14 to and from the ports. Sound carries at night.

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And it’s thatched, and it’s listed. Wouldn’t be my first choice.

dephlogisticated · 03/03/2023 11:08

ShadowsShadowsShadows · 28/02/2023 08:13

I'd also recommend Suffolk for that money. Ideally one of the villages surrounding Bury St Edmunds Woodbridge, Stowmarket, Sudbury or Newmarket. We are the top end of Suffolk and find for most big town things we have to head down to one of the above towns which are all about an hour from us so for what you're looking for I'd suggest the Southern parts of Suffolk.
Lots of 3 beds with period features for that money here and we have decent trains into London from Ipswich and Stowmarket.

Totally this, affordable on your budget, beautiful, gorgeous coast!

APurpleSquirrel · 03/03/2023 13:48

Another vote for Somerset - probably the least touristy of the SW counties & yet benefits from good transport links, access to coasts, hills, moors, rivers & all the attractions & culture of Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Exeter etc.

Aphrathestorm · 03/03/2023 13:58

The further north you go the more you'll get for your money.

For train lines look at the routes of the west coast and east coast main lines.

Note the stations on those routes and look at houses within a half hours drive of those stations.

So west there's Penrith, Oxenholme Lancaster Preston Wigan Warrington, Crewe.

East it's Newcastle Durham, Darlington York Doncaster.

If you don't have to be south it's not worth paying more to be south of the midlands.

tracylamont13 · 11/03/2023 11:06

We live in a small village in County Durham 2 minutes drive from a vast forest and on the edge of Weardale (area of ONB). Beautiful area and lower house prices than the South.

dazzlingdeborahrose · 11/03/2023 11:22

Don't always assume the north is cheap as chips. I'm in Northumberland and the OP may struggle to get everything in the list within that budget. Either land or location would have to give. That said, it's a gorgeous county with a beautiful coastline within easy reach.

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