Which town would you choose?

[NorthORSouthThatsTheQN]

We are planning to relocate. WFH so work isn’t an issue. DC in primary school.
We have a small budget, max 190k - £200k.
We have been looking for houses online and the 2 places that we have kept coming back to are Preston in Lancashire and Plymouth in Devon. Does anybody have any experience of living in those places and what day to day life is like living there? If you had to pick between those 2 places which would you choose and why?
The place we currently live is a bit of a ghost town, though it has good transport links. We have seen drug deals go on right infront of us and the whole town smells of pot. It’s quite an unfriendly place to live with zero community spirit. We don’t want to jump from the frying pan into the fire, but at the same time anywhere feels better than the place we currently live.
We need good transport links, shops and amenities like doctors, hospital and school, transport links to the beach and a friendlier place to live. So, Preston or Plymouth or is there some other town you can recommend?
Thanks!

Where are you living at the moment? Have you visited either place? Could you stay in an AirBnB for a few days in each place to get a feel for them? I live nowhere near either place but the comment about better weather in Devon is not necessarily true. It rains a great deal there, as my friends who live there would tell you. I have had some lovely holidays in Devon but I definitely wouldn’t want to live there as it is so far away from everywhere else. As others have said, you are much nearer to major cities in Preston and you are not far from some areas of outstanding natural beauty. In your shoes l would head north.

@NorthORSouthThatsTheQN

I thought you might like that house.

I think they have converted the garage into a hairdressing studio.

However if you work from home it's a perfect home office away from the house or a future "den" for teen children.

Lots of options and even potential for a loft conversation in the future (and to put a downstairs toilet by partitioning the utility room).

Don't know why I didn't think of Lancaster before another poster mentioned it.

DS is at Uni there. So we've been quite a lot. He really likes it.

Always found it to be a welcoming and friendly place.

Been to the Saturday market and bought some lovely duck eggs! Lots of nice stalls selling local produce.

Had some great meals there in good independent restaurants. It's always felt like a safe place to be when we have visited.

Downside is the weather due to the Pennines. It has greater than average rainfall.

I think it's a really under rated place. Hence value for money.

Lancaster is a beautiful city. I also like Preston. I’ve seen a lot of UK cities and Preston is by no means grim compared with others! Beautiful museum, parks. Lancaster is a decent shout though.

Preston as in the centre of is grim. There's loads of lovely places just outside of it though, Fulwood, Penwortham Eccleston, Much Hoole. Tarleton and Hesketh Bank are too rural for you if you rely on public transport.

Southport or Lancaster could be options?

Plymouth is fantastic, especially its location just on the edge of Dartmoor and the South Hams. Your budget would get you a 5 bed for upper in one of the most picturesque parts of town. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134811725?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Otherwise, have you thought about Liverpool? Coastal setting with a redeveloped centre, and many properties in your budget.

There are currently over 700! 3plus bed properties on the market in Liverpool. Definitely very good transport links.

I'm still confused as to why these 2 are your 2 options. One is very north, north of Manchester. The other is very south. One I've never been to. The other I grew up near and know well and have 2 friends with dc at the Uni currently, ie Plymouth. I still can't quite grasp why these are your 2 chosen options. So extreme, so very different.

Plymouth isn’t endless loveliness but it’s got some nice bits and good country and coast on the doorstep. Research your areas but I think it’s a better bet than Preston.

Here are a couple of Plymouth suggestions:

Near Tothill Park https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129584741#/?channel=RES_BUY

Stoke is quite nice.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134111561#/?channel=RES_BUY

I have a group of friends in Preston and stayed there a lot over the years.

Possibly just my friendship group, but I've found it's a "get stuck in and get on with it" place. There isn't a lot a lot money sloshing around but people make things happen anyway. There are places to eat out, bars and venues, things to do. The uni helps keep the energy up as well.

The surrounding countryside especially the Ribble valley is lovely.

We want to move far away from where we live for various reasons.
Ive been looking at houses online for a very long time and researching places in our price range. Preston and Plymouth were the ones that came up frequently and had the best ‘reviews’ on Google compared to many places that were described as the most dangerous in their county. They also both have hospitals, rail links and links to the coastline. They both seemed to fit what we are looking for, but I wanted to hear peoples experiences who actually know the area.

If you ask these questions on mumsnet, you usually get a lot of 'x is a dump' replies. Your best bet is to spend a week in a b&b or travelogue in each city, book in loads of visits and scout out the area. Every city has good and not so good bits. Most people on social media hate the place I live, but I find it's gorgeous and, most importantly, affordable.