If you could raise children anywhere in England, where would you?

[Seashellsseashell]

We are currently in Edinburgh but looking to move South for family reasons. We work remotely, have a budget of around 700k, would like 3 bedrooms and are looking for some inspiration! Bonus points for somewhere as lovely as Edinburgh but not so far from London .

I'd live in or near Winchester I think. Beautiful city, not far from the coast and the new forest. And easy to get to London.

Either North, Lakes area, or South, coast area. Whatever gives me the best natural environment (even if it's not those two areas). Plenty of counties I'd consider.

Personally I love living in London and you could get a lovely 3 bed flat for £700k in south east London, but I know that lots of people would only consider houses …

so in that case - if you’re looking for the posh Edinburgh vibe then maybe Chichester? Or if you want the benefits of London but still a market town then how about Guildford? Or for something a bit less Tory I would look around Brighton and hove.

Yes - somewhere with lots of outdoors activities opportunities.

Oxford and Cambridge have a slightly Edinburgh vibe. Honestly if I was choosing anywhere though I would be quite swayed by house prices as anywhere in the SE in mega expensive and that just IS going to have an impact on how nice your house is and how much you can have in the bank or invested to take the pressure off your working hours.

From looking over a fairly extensive search area recently, areas I think are particularly nice and good value are Somerset, Dorset, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, England/ Wales borders generally. Beautiful countryside, nice towns and small cities, coast in some cases and hills/ mountains to explore. But less intense than bigger cities and much less expensive than Edinburgh or London and the SE. Less new housing development and its attendant pressures on roads/ schools/ GPs etc.

Oxford and Cambridge have a slightly Edinburgh vibe.

They've a vibe all of their own, but I'm not sure you'd get a nice 3 bedroom house in Cambridge for 700k

Derbyshire, Peak District.

A bit further away from London, but good rail links to Manchester if you fancy some city vibes..

South is a big place, if is is family reasons is there family in a particular part you would want to be near?

Canterbury area?

West London.

If money no object then Devon or Cornwall. Out of the cities and towns. Small village somewhere.

Bath or Canterbury area.

@Justcallmelucy

We were 15 years in Exeter. Wonderful city but not close to London.

@ErrolTheDragon of course they are different places with their own - I’ve lived in both Oxford and Cambridge and have close family in Edinburgh. I said they are ‘slightly’ similar and that’s true: historical cities, attractive and distinctive architecture, academic feel/ culturally switched on. Very obviously there are huge differences but the OP asked for suggestions with ‘similar levels of loveliness’ to Edinburgh and ‘closer to London’ (unclear how close she needs to be but these are close enough to be commutable) and - knowing all three places - I think Oxford and Cambridge might well appeal to someone who finds Edinburgh ‘lovely’

you definitely can get a decent 3 bed in Oxford or Cambridge for £700K. A quick RightMove search brings up lots of 3 or 4 bed Victorian terraces and 3 bed 1930s semis in Cambridge. The OP didn’t say it had to be detached and they’re the kind of houses lots of ‘nice’ families live in round me. And of course there are many more expensive 3 bed houses when you get to the ‘best’ areas or bigger houses.

The point I went on to make though is you will get MUCH more for your money out of the SE, so if what the OP is looking for is detached/ big garden etc she would be better off trying other areas like the ones I suggested, in my view.