Help! What do we do? Essex or Lincolnshire

[leavethataloneplease]

Please help with our indecision. Should we move further out of London to Essex or completely change and relocate to the countryside of Lincolnshire and be within 20 mins of lovely beaches? Two children in a two bed house does not work and need more space. Like area north of Boston - Spilsby and Alford in particular. Or should we keep it safer and stay in Essex where most of our family live? Where would people suggest in Essex for a growing family? I am feeling 70/30 towards Lincs at the mo!

I live in Essex and find it a great place to live with a growing family.

We are a 35min train commute to London. So we can take DC to the museums, theatres and events in the capital very easily.
There are lots of seaside places to go to, and loads of country parks within an easy drive (even walk in our case). We have a view of fields from our back windows.

Essex is a real mix of suburban and rural settings, I think you could find something to suit your family. But if you've set your heart on a certain area of Lincolnshire and it ticks all your boxes then why not go for it?

well have lived in both essex and lincolnshire, so here's my thoughts. Essex is closer to London which means city life and all that holds. It also has a good mix and also coast line if you like getting to the beach.
The area in Lincolnshire you mention is quite well out. Do remember that getting to decent shops will mean a full day out and long journeys! The roads are rural and this affects journey times. In education terms, Lincolnshire retains the grammar school system which might be important to you.

Hope this helps

chalk and cheese! what about jobs etc? have you thought about whether you would like the rural life?

I live in rural Lincolnshire... there is no public transport at all -which is a nightmare when you have teenagers.

Thanks for your comments, thats is my worry about Lincolnshire, is access to shops etc like I currently have and whether there is enough for the children now and when they are older. It would be a big change for us but have always fancied the country life. Job wise, am looking at both areas to cover myself!
Anyone with ideas of nice small towns in Essex, was born in Colchester but many years since I have been back there.

How rural are you looking for? And how much are you hoping to spend on a house.

There are plenty of places like Billericay with a small town feel and excellent commuting links, or more villagey places like Coggeshall. If you want the coast you could look at Burnham or Maldon which have the feel of smaller towns, or go for one of Southend's suburbs like Leigh-on-Sea.

Perhaps you need to think about your work situation first, try and identify areas that would fit with work and then look on sites like RightMove to get a feel for local house prices. There is so much variance, a 4-bed detached house in Billericay might cost you £400k and in Wickford £290k - the towns are only 10mins apart but have very different atmospheres.

Then I'd suggest getting in the car and visiting your short list to see if you really like the feel of the towns, or let us know what your short list is so we can fill in some details for you.