Stuck on where to live!

[Ggohome]

Hi all,

I am hoping for some help/ideas on where to live!

A bit of background: I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my life. 32, single, work totally remotely. I have friends scattered around the country and have no ties in a particular area. I'm looking for a new home base, currently in the south east

• the chance to meet people, date etc
• I have a very healthy budget of 600k through inheritance (I appreciate how lucky I am)
• 3 beds house, I would like a it of space to grow
• walking distance to shops, bars, cafes etc
• near the countryside I'm a country girl at heart
• I would love to get a dog so garden, good walks locally
• large town or small city that I could get my arms around.
• I have previously lived in Edinburgh, Leeds and Bristol but never quite settled/life events so not sure on returning. Have previously commuted into London and it's not somewhere I would like to live (large, costly housing etc.)
• some kind of sports teams I play netball hockey so anything like that would be great!

I think I'm kind of overwhelmed by the options and will be trying to visit as many places over the next few months but any help narrowing down the short list would be amazing!

Cambridge or norwich would be good for you xx

Harrogate- walking distance to town with some lovely parades and countryside within easy reach. Good trains to elsewhere too.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133381568

Ok so personally I would try and find somewhere commutable to London for theatre, restaurants and bars if you want them. The best places I have lived or visited are as follows all between 30 mins and 2 hrs of London:

• Richmond - amazing mix of city and country lots of singles and stuff to do
• berkhamsted - more country but a buzzy little town semi rural with 30 min fast trains to London. Near m1 for manc
• hove - pretty, near Brighton (lots of singles) and good links to London
• dorset - Winchester, Lyme Regis Christchurch amazing. Countryside and sea less than 2 hrs from London. Near bournmeth for fun atuff
• Oxford area - vibrant, pretty and lots of stuff to do
• Wimbledon village - great green space and still on tube…village is lovely

if I was single and money was no object I’d love to Richmond in a heartbeat - I also don’t think fully remote job is helping you 😀

Looks at Christchurch/Bournemouth. You have the new forest on one side and the beaches for lovely dog walks. Southbourne would really suit with nice shops/cafes/nightlife. Plus houses there are lovely and usually have great scope, hold value well. It's a big area so lots of opportunity to meet new people. Good luck

Thanks all, some really good ideas and definitely have helped identify a few new locations!

It's true, I may not be fully remote for ever but for the foreseeable future I am. That's why it's important that wherever I end up I can build a social life outside of work.

I will check out and spend sometime in Cambridge, Norwich, South Manchester and some of the parts of London. Definitely open to any more thoughts.

A third vote for Guildford

Lancaster ! Lake District on your doorstep. Beautiful town with uni.

Converted Barn in Lancaster.

Or a former Vicarage more central, but needs a bit of TLC.

@Ggohome
Edinburgh, Leeds and Bristol are all wonderful cities with thriving social opportunities and easy access to countryside. I feel like they should tick your boxes.

what was it about them that wasn’t ‘right’?

I’d definitely add Sheffield to your list of places to check out

Whitstable/deal/folkestone

Sheffield! Nice size and lots going on. Good value housing and access to good parks / the peak district. Good rail connections.

Your completely right, they are amazing cities! I left each due to circumstance either leaving university, or a relationship breakdown or with Bristol I travelled for work significantly and never put down the roots or made feel friends. I guess I am hoping to move forward rather than revisit the past.

I would say Bath or Frome- both have lots of life and plenty going on and lovely countryside on doorstep. bath has good road and rail connections and you can buy a nice 3 bed cottage here for that -

Cheltenham.

I guess my thinking was, what if you build up a social circle then have to leave it if you need to move away for work?

Fair enough, but I wouldn’t necessarily discount them on this basis. You could easily live in a different area and have a different experience in a great city. I think they’re all much nicer than Manchester (rainy) or Cambridge (flat and grey) but it depends what you want

Another approach... pick where you fancy the men (or women, whatever your preference).
If you hope to date and socialize, what kind of man do you fancy? A nice Northern accent? Head north...

@FurAndFeathers Cambridge is certainly very flat, but it's also very sunny and has relatively little rain, so it's not often grey.

OP, you. need to think about what you want from the place you live and then narrow it down to a few possibilities. If you want to grow your social circle, you need to think about where would best offer those opportunities.

I think you’d do better going smaller towns. Get to know people quicker and more permanence than a city that has a transient population. Go where the money is also helpful
Agree with poster above. Think of the sort of partner are you looking for and pick the town accordingly. As Guildford has been mentioned loads I’d just put it out there it’s where Quins rugby train ( if you like rugby player types).

Solihull

From your update I'd maybe try Bristol again...? Or what about Bath? In South Manchester you have a great budget to explore Didsbury/Chorlton etc

Where ever you decide, rent first. It will enable you firstly, to decide if it it the right area, and secondly, if it is the right area, to decide which bit you want to live in.

I think there are cities and cities. Manchester and Birmingham are very different from Oxford and Norwich.

I live in a small town and the dating scene is poor - it’s all families. I’d go small city where you can get facilities but also a good sense of community. And if you’re some years out of uni, check there are grown up activities in that uni town.

It would be Oxford, Bath, Norwich, Cambridge, Canterbury for me!

@theresnolimits - totally agree and would also add in York or Chester if 'up north' is a possibility and Winchester down south