Where would you move?

[Restless]

We are looking to relocate for lots of reasons.
we don’t have a huge budget (£220k max), need 3 bedrooms, schools and good public transport. WFH so jobs aren’t an issue.
The areas we have seen within budget are Plymouth, Ipswich, Norwich and parts of Taunton and Yeovil. If you had to pick between those places which would you pick and why? Also any other suggestions of affordable places welcome.
Thanks!

Do you have family anywhere that you visit? The ones in the SW seem harder to get to, to me.

No, there isn’t any family to consider beyond the family who will be coming. I don’t know a lot about each area. Just been looking at affordability for our fresh start.

I live in the SW so know these areas. It all depends what lifestyle you want?
Plymouth - plenty to do with it being a city, rough parts there but generally good. Near to Cornwall.

Yeovil and Taunton - On the M5 with good road links to the rest of the UK.

You have Exeter or Barnstaple which you could buy the property that you want with your affordability. All have train stations too.
Can’t comment on the other locations as I don’t know them.

Have you considered going further north?

Out of your list, I would definitely go for Norwich, it’s a great city. If you’re happy to go further north there are definitely other options.

I haven't been to Taunton for several years. But it has a good train line to London/Bristol and on to SW. Has good road links with M5, access to north Devon and to A303.

Used to have several great secondaries and 6th form. Am a bit out of date so not sure if that's still true.

Lovely outlying villages.

Plymouth is a long way. Yeovil very small. Norfolk long way from everywhere.

Not Yeovil, really rough.
try one of the outlying villages of Taunton as wiffin suggests:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126694388#/?channel=RES_BUY ?

Of that list Norwich. 100%

Lifestyle-wise we need things to do with the kids (they are still small), need shops, hospital (For long term health condition), we would like to be relatively close to the sea, we don’t drive so need good transport links.

I wouldn’t rule out moving further North, I’ve never been to the North though so i know that part of the country even less and wouldn’t know where to start.

@Sundaefraise and @Lastqueenofscotland2 why do you prefer Norwich?

Thanks for the link, that is the sort of house we would love. Do the outlying villages have good transport links?

Well, I know people who have lived in Yeovil and Taunton and they got out as soon as they could - their view was that they were small town low opportunity type places. Norwich is a university city with arts and culture and decent shops, within reach of the coast and the Norfolk broads.

Thank you for this, it’s really helpful information. We currently live in a small town attitude place that people are always desperate to leave and I don’t want us to end up in the same sort of place. So I think I can rule out Taunton and Yeovil based on this.

I'd choose Norwich - no contest. It's a nice city - lovely historic buildings - castle, cathedral, Elm Hill, Tombland, good public transport, good shops, museums, Norfolk Broads, coast an easy drive away, lakes for watersports. North Norfolk is one of the most sought after holiday destinations in the country, so lots of lovely places to visit for day trips and an amazing coastline with lots of nice towns and villages, seal watching, bird watching. Just off the top of my head, in terms of days out - BeWilderWood, Dinosaur Adventure, steam railways, Thursford Collection/Spectacular, Norwich Castle Museum, Sainsbury Centre. Norfolk and Norwich hospital is a large hospital with a lot of services too.

Would echo what others have said about Yeovil. I worked there for a few years before COVID. Everyone I know who could (ie had money or other opportunity) left ASAP. I never felt like it was rough or unsafe. People were lovely. There was a selection of nice restaurants. There just wasn’t much else to do. One of my friends who grew up there (now lives in Exeter) said she remembers everyone getting excited when the first KFC opened!

I'm from Norwich and I love it, such a wonderful city to grow up in' I'm often looking on rightmove wistfully hoping to return some day and surprised you can get a 3 bed for that budget but I guess it depends on location. I would visit some of the locations before committing as there can be a big difference in how nice they are!

A bit further afield,
I don't know what it's like to live but always like the area driving through: Forest of Dean eg Mitcheldean. Not too far from M5 & Gloucester, has good schools. eg www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130783112#/?channel=RES_BUY

I’m the same as you. It really is a special place, isn’t it? I, too, am surprised that there are any decent houses in either Norwich or Ipswich for that price. In which areas were you looking? Don’t forget that there are good and bad districts in every town and city and if you don’t know the area and are just looking on Rightmove, you could be in for a nasty shock.

Where are you now? Do you want the same vibe? Do you want a similar lifestyle.

While your job might be WFH what happens if it suddenly changes? Are you in an industry that has jobs elsewhere or are you tied to a particular region? A lot of covid WFH is slowly returning to normal now.

Go north. You get so much more for your money!

I don't know Norwich. Taunton is a nice place to live. I would not live in Yeovil.

@maranella you have really sold Norwich to me. As our price range is in the cheapest price bracket I’m assuming the houses are probably in less desirable areas. Do you know what those areas are like? Would you live there?

@Newhousecrying Thank you for the information about Yeovil. That rules that out for us. We want more things to do.
@floratess This is what worries me. Our budget does seem to be the lower end of the house prices, so assume less desirable areas. What are the less desirable parts of Norwich like?

@Ariela Thanks for the link. That’s a great house.
@Violinist64 Ive only looked on rightmove. How bad are the bad areas of Norwich?
@Twizbe We currently live in a deprived town. Don’t want the same vibe. There are good transport links, but that is all that is positive about the place. We both WFH on permanent remote working contracts, so it’s unlikely work would become an issue.
@mamnotmum I really wouldn’t know where to start looking in the North.
@Sprig1 What do you like about Taunton?