First time buyer advice

[Shakira77]

Hi
Desperately in need of some advice re buying a house as a first time buyer.
Im fortunate enough to have been given a little deposit to buy my first home.. unfortunately though it doesnt seem to be able to afford me anything nice where I live. My question is this. Had anyone moved to another area away from family and friends. I wouldnt need to go far. Prob 12 miles. So a 30 minute drive from family and an hour and 20 to work but I only need to go in 2 days a week. Im just worried I guess. I get a nicer house but then I feel isolated and lonely because I dont know anyone..
Not sure if anyone has had any experience of moving away from friends and family.

i moved country! You meet new people and get involved in a new community. 30 minutes feels really close to me

Yes like @pinklr I moved to another country. 12 miles is nothing. I don’t know anyone who bought within 50 miles of their parents because that’s not where the jobs were.

The "property ladder" is about to go into its property snake faze.
Could you not hold off buying for now and work on increasing your deposit ? There is a good chance that might get you something nicer nearer to where you want to be.

Agree! I moved continents 😆 30mins is practically walking distance.

I’d weigh up the pros and cons. If you live in a fantastic community or town and have a big social scene with existing friends and family - how hard would that be to sustain if you move?

Is your commute back to where you live now? Is it by public transport? How easy would it be to, say, pop to your mum’s for dinner after work, or to the pub with friends, then drive home at 8pm?

Whats your target new area like? Are there amenities and a community you think you could enjoy? If you’re moving from a busy town of bright young things to a suburban family zone with barely anything going on, what will that be like?

As a 20-something I moved to zone 3 in London having previously always lived north of zone 6 all my life. It was tricky, to be honest. I’m not the kind of person who finds it easy to go and confidently make friends or show up alone at a new activity.

I think a few hundred years ago, I’d have been the girl who married the local farmer, had 7 kids and tended the chickens and the garden, whilst everyone else went exploring and ventured off to America or whatever. That’s me, I’m cool with it!

I do like the idea of holding on for a while to grow the deposit. Also - cheeky offers in your local area if your heart is set on staying!

Everyone saying 12 miles is nothing is right about the distance, but I think the thing you are actually weighing up is the comute - that is the part you will do twice a week every week, whereas seeing family is something you choose when it suits. 30 minutes to your mum is a Sunday roast, not a barrier. Before deciding I would spend a couple of weekends properly in the new area, not just driving through - a Saturday morning coffee, the local park, the pub on a Friday night. If it feels like somewhere you could belong, the nicer house wins. If it feels flat and lifeless, no house will fix that. We widened our search radius for the same reason and the "too far" places started looking very reasonable once we actually spent time in them.

So it sounds like you are living in a nice area and can afford a nicer house in a less good area ? That’s why you get more for your money ?

if it was me - I would look at making the house nice myself / over time turning it into something you think of as nice

people do make friends if they move if they put their minds to it but it’s hard work and takes years to get deeper relationships usually

Thank you so much everyone for your input. Its given me a lot of food for thought. I guess distance isn't a problem if I feel I can build a new community there. But also if I hold off and grow my deposit that could work but houses seem to rising in price quite a bit so worried id still be in the same predicament. I think I need to have a really good think and spend some time in some of the areas that are affordable.

in most areas house prices are falling slightly not rising - have you checked the “sold”
prices . I suspect some buyers are putting in high price tags so they can be seen to give a bargain at the end of the day

I had to do it when I was a FTB.
Housing where I grew up was very expensive but I found that by moving 20-miles away, I could JUST ABOUT afford a tatty house on an awful street.
Wasn't the most pleasant experience as the house was not very nice, I knew no-one there, didn't work in the area (my place of work was 10-miles THE OTHER SIDE of my parents house) and to socialise I ended up back in my old haunts.

I never did put down any roots when living in that house and I knew as many people in the town on the day I left as I did when I first arrived (i.e. none!).

It worked for me though.
Getting that first step on the property ladder meant 3yrs later I could afford to buy somewhere of MY choosing rather than out of necessity. In a rising market, I could never have done that by saving alone.
It also honed my decorating skills and made me become much more independent.

I wouldn't want to commute an hour and twenty mins to work (and then presumably back again). That is the best part of 3hours added on to your working day.
I'd rather live in a smaller property.

People saying they moved countries or continents is a bit irrelevant - you presumably moved for an exciting new opportunity, which the OP isn't.

@Shakira77 - is it just you or are you part of a couple and do you have dc?

Yes, when starting out on the property ladder most people tend to buy in cheaper areas than those their parents have 'worked up' to, but if it is just you, you can compromise on space or outdoor space more so than if you have a family.

You have to decide what is important to you.
I live in a City and we have more expensive and cheaper areas on both sides of the City. You don't necessarily need to move 30mins away to find something to suit.

I moved out of my town to the next town, and was really worried like you but I have made new friends. My neighbours are all amazing and we have a wonderful community. Might work out for the best.

Yes this is true. OP dont get dragged into the false narrative that prices are rising. They are falling in most areas and may continue to do so.