Bridport or other similar towns

[Cherryblossom200]

Hello!

I’d like a bit of advice please. I’m a single parent to an 11 year old, she had adhd and so do I. Since going through the menopause I’ve realised that l would like a slightly easier life and sell off my property in Essex and use the money to buy a property outright in a coastal town. I really struggle post menopause and with my adhd with full time jobs. Not having the pressure of a mortgage would help greatly. I’d also like a slightly slower pace of life for both me and my daughter.

It’s something I’ve thought about for a while, I also realise it would be difficult at first not knowing anyone and that it would mean starting a new secondary school for my daughter. But I think long term the move would be good for our health.

I would really appreciate anyone’s advice on Bridport or any other suggestions for other places to live. I’m looking for a place ideally near the sea, a pretty town with lots of interesting things to do and see and most importantly a really nice community feel. I want to meet new people.

Many thanks ☺️

I love Bridport! No advice but I’ve always thought if anything (God forbid) happened to DH I’d move down that neck of the wood. I can’t imagine there’s too many properties do probably a case of putting your budget into Rightmove and seeing what’s available.

I'm nowhere near Bridport OP, - nearer Northumberland! I've recently moved to a more semi rural location not far from where I was-and honestly I'm so happy I want to move even further out. My kids have left home now and I'm single/never sharing my home again (married twice) so that puts us in different categories, but so long as your daughter is happy, follow your heart and get rid of the mortgage/live the dream. The days I now spend walking with my dogs in the countryside and the sunsets from my garden and nature from the ancient graveyard and woodland nearby just make me SO happy-it's wonderful. Good luck 🤞

Thank you! I’m going to visit Bridport this summer. Having no support network is super scary. I have my family living close by. And lots of friends. But the burden of the mortgage and not having quite the lifestyle I want is making me want to do this.

I'd really consider whether it's worth moving that far away from your support, just to have no mortgage. Is there nowhere you can find close by but take on a small mortgage? We moved when I was 11 and my mum said she found it hard to make friends with other mums because I was past the age of being walked to school, needing to be accompanied on playdates etc. I know Bridport and you would be completely car reliant, very limited public transport, so do consider that.

Bridport is much more expensive than the surrounding area. Not for nothing is it known as Notting Hill on sea. Like most of the South West it is very Lib Dem if you know what I mean, but maybe you don't mind a lot of identity politics. I was once on a women's rights street stall that got told to shut down because a local in the Tourist Office complained we were anti trans hateful bigots🙄it has nice shops, a nice market, good local arts. The actual sea is more of a harbour a couple of miles away at West Bay, Narrow roads that get very busy with tourists and caravans in summer. Dorset is expensive generally as it's a tourist hotspot. Probably more affordable housing in the wider area, or even further west towards Lyme Regis and Devon if you want coast

Bridport is lovely in a lot of ways, but public transport is shit, which will be something to think about as your 11yo grows.

What factors made you think Bridport? Would Weymouth work? A bit larger, but on a mainline railway. Or Dorchester, a bit more inland. Or do you want to be more west?

I’m open to ideas at the moment, just in exploration mode! It’s important that my daughter can have a life away from me. I’m pretty good at making friends and will probably join lots of clubs 🤣 That doesn’t worry me. But being in a community which is accepting and friendly is important.

I do want to make sure the lifestyle is a step up from what we have, I’d love to live somewhere with character. I’ll check out the other places 😊

Can I ask what sort of budget are you thinking?

A word of warning from someone who did the same.
Dorset is expensive. Transport links are rubbish. If you haven't lived on the coast before then definitely visit in Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan and see if you still want to move. Actually even today in mid April it is blowing a gale and tipping it down.

If you have family and friends where you are currently in Essex then visiting them is going to be at least 3 hours each way by car (there are no motorways in Dorset) or even worse by train (if they are running) . You might find that you feel very isolated and lonely if you do move to Bridport. Weymouth and Dorchester are also rubbish very different to Essex. It's like going back in time.
Your daughter might struggle if she is used to having various things to do that are easy to get to where you currently live.

I made the move from the south 2.5 years ago to Dorset and hate it and can't wait to leave. But if you want a rural life with everything very far away then it might suit you I guess.

Around £250k so not very much!
@Upintheairnow yeah I get what you’re saying hence why I’m doing lots and lots of research first. It may not be the right place. I was thinking of Somerset, of perhaps closer to me but near a beach. 🫣 Oh no, I’m totally confused now 🤣

I echo what others have said about poor transport in Dorset, from Bridport you have to get a bus to Axminster or Crewkerne to reach a station on a line with a slowish service. Weymouth has a lot of housing, has a fantastic beach and a station (takes a v long time to get to London though) but the town centre feels very run down. Dorchester is a nice town with a station but also quite far from anywhere. In Somerset Frome is dead trendy and right on, but house prices will very much reflect that. It's a huge county, a teenager might want to be in reach of Bristol or Bath but that will affect house prices and is far from the coast. Many nice villages and small towns in Somerset. Lots of driving necessary, especially ferrying a teenager around, as much of Somerset is in a Bermuda Triangle of the rail network far from any stations, although you could look around Taunton or Castle Cary if the train is important. The Somerset coastline is muddy estuary not sandy beaches. I am told there is a drug problem in Weston super Mare. Eastern Dorset? Hampshire? There has been some crime around Bournemouth that makes me wonder if it is safe for women and children these days. Sussex is probably as expensive as Essex being an easy commute to London. Sorry to be such a doom monger, I know plenty of women have happy lives in these places, but to choose to uproot and relocate to a new region with a teenager it's as well to know the downsides! Much of it doesn't bother me now I'm old and boring, but a teenager is another matter

I live in the area, grew up here, moved to a city, moved back to support family a number of years ago.

These areas aren't easy to live in. House prices are high, transport links are poor, further education links are limited - I'm not sure if Colfox School has a sixth form now? Worth checking, Weymouth has a college but the journey is a drag for kids especially in the winter. Wages are predominantly low and still quite seasonal.

Bridport is a nice, popular town but understand the realities of living in them

I'm not a fan of Dorset County Hospital at Dorchester which is where most services are delivered, I guess that's a personal view.

I believe SEN services are slightly better in Dorset than in Devon (Devon is very poor) so I'd stay that side of the border.

I'm rooted in the area but we've often discussed that if we weren't we would look at other parts of the country, maybe Suffolk, Norfolk but finding somewhere with better transport links and lower house prices than here.

Don't get me wrong, I love the area, but it isn't always easy.

At the risk of being negative again about poor old Dorset- You’ve just reminded me that Dorset schools are very captured by those dubious organisations that push transgender ideology, who the council commissions to deliver their personal health and sex education, to the extent that Dorset had one of the highest, if not the highest, rate of referrals to GIDS. That would worry me if I was the mother of a teenager

Thank you 🙏@seasidewalker

Really good advice! I’ll look at Suffolk and Norfolk which isn’t as far from me 😊

I think staying closer to your support network is helpful. We have family in Essex and it's a drag of a journey from this part of the world.

Good luck with what you chose to do x

Kent coast?
You could get a house in Herne Bay for your budget, trains to London and easy train access to other Kent places including coastal.
Fast road routes to Essex.