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Post by alf on Sept 17, 2024 9:04:55 GMT
Assuming your kids (if any) were adult, and you had no geographical work ties, where would you consider living in the UK, and why?
I started wondering about this before lockdown, knowing Lu was not far off Uni age, but there was then a big rush to many of the places I considered! Access from the house to nice countryside without using a car is vital for me (for walking/running/cycling - the first two meaning semi-urban or really rural is best as just running onto a busy road is not great). But I know I like to be able to walk to reasonable food shops, a gym/pool, coffee shops and basically somwhere nice to see, working from home can get dull. So the fringes of small towns in pretty areas without too much traffic work for me. I'm a history nerd too so places like Winchester with its incredible past and buildings, are a big plus.
Where, is the difficult one. Personally I still need to get to the odd meeting, to airports, I like the odd shopping and tourist trip, I'm not sure mega-rural is for me, all the time. Avoiding crowds, congestion, and insane property prices was why I left the South East where I grew up in lovely scenery but endless traffic and daft property prices. Go too far South West and travel in/out becomes a nightmare at busy times of year. Dorset and Wiltshire are obvious places I may end up one day. Shropshire is lovely with Welsh mountains one side and not far from airports/shopping the other. But I always really loved the north when at (Leeds) Uni, I will use my daughter being in York now as an excuse to see more of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, and even the area up above Newcastle, which is huge and rich in history and lovely scenery. One big advantage up here is value for money as well, making a huge difference to where you can call home.
And that's without even leaving England! The other 3 countries of the Union have lower population densities and even more stunning scenery.
I like where I live now and it suits me very well, I miss the history of Winchester but the running/cycling from the house here is better, especially for long runs along the canal. But I always think of people who live somewhere with incredible scenery on their doorstep and yet low property prices as "lucky". With modern working culture its more of a choice isn't it? Not just when you retire, but at any time for many of us. There is also the option of living abroad - part or all of the time. We have discussed buying somewhere small in a warm mediteranean place just for a few months in winter each year, rented the rest (made a lot harder for me at least due to Brexit). I hate the winters here and have since getting divorced done what I always wanted to in switching most of the "hot place" holidays to the winter. I don't generally want to come home :-)
Is it just me??
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Post by LandieMark on Sept 17, 2024 9:39:07 GMT
I live in a little village in the North Pennines halfway between Consett and Stanhope. Wouldn't have it any other way. A bar in the hostel and a pub, which is an essential in a village IMO. 10 minutes drive to Consett with its multiple supermarkets and shops, medical centres and small hospital and the same to Stanhope, although being considerably smaller, still has a Co-Op, butcher, greengrocer and other small take aways and shops - the advantage of being in a touristy area. 45 minutes to the centre of Newcastle, half an hour to the airport and 25 minutes to Durham for the East Coast Main Line. 40 minutes to the A1(M) and about an hour to the M6. Scenery is also beautiful. The view from my house.  |
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Post by Roadrunner on Sept 17, 2024 9:48:46 GMT
I think Alf has described what many of us would consider to be the ideal, although I would be happy to go more rural than most.
We live on the northern edge of the Cotswolds, with lovely countryside everywhere. Moreton-in-Marsh station with its direct services to Paddington is 10 minutes away and we are surrounded by other, similar, local market towns such as Shipston-on-Stour and the much-misunderstood Chipping Norton. Stratford-upon-Avon is our nearest big-ish town, with all the facilities we could want and a decent theatre (an absolute gem of a little theatre in Chipping Norton as well). Motorways in all directions are accessible, as is BHX airport. Most important of all, Prescott Hill is just over 30 minutes away in a vintage car.
Other than the fact that I loathe the house we live in, it is just about the perfect place for us.
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Post by PetrolEd on Sept 17, 2024 9:50:10 GMT
Interesting question, where I am in Farnham is in many ways ideal. I live in a very quite area for Surrey with access to superb countryside. Access to some of the best free education in the country for my son. I can walk him to school, walk to town and walk to my local.
Being a bit reformist for a second but its a town that reflects my cultures and we get very few social issues. I'm lucky, I can walk back late at night from the station for example and have never felt unsafe.
Downsides are we have become a bit of a catchment for all of those down from London types so are inundated by coffee shops and fancy bakeries that sell you a loaf of bread for a fiver. But its choice I suppose and as every other high street is dying I'm always impressed by some new eatery that's opened but few seem to last.
If I moved I don't think it would be within the UK, somewhere like the Var in the south of France would be ideal but then France is an odd country at times and they're in for some big political issues far more then the UK.
In the UK I'd probably choose the Cotswolds. Its a bit chocolate box quaint but then you have less traffic then the south east and probably just as good if not better amenities on your door step. On the edge of a large village would be good. With 2 pubs as a minimum ideally. As Mark says, in a village you need 2 pubs just in case one turns to poop. The only issue is its away from the coast but no way I would do Dorset, Devon, Cornwall etc as the A303 would kill me and its seems no less busy then where I am now.
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Post by johnc on Sept 17, 2024 10:00:44 GMT
Definitely not just you James. I have heard lots of the same comments which to some extent have been fuelled by the rotten summer we have had. I think the whole political situation over the past few years has also created a lot of unhappiness and unease and the new Government are doing nothing to make people feel there is anything positive on the horizon. All around me people are retiring and the usual reason is that they are just fed up or as someone I saw on Saturday night said, I am just scunnered. The guy in question lives in Glasgow but has a holiday home in Elie (Fife) and he is moving there full time and selling the house in Glasgow. The East coast generally gets better weather and he wants away from the city.
I think Elie might be a bit quiet for you and expensive, like all the other places on that coast such as North Berwick or St Andrews where prices are often higher than in the city. Personally I would be tempted to move to Spain but that would be for retirement, not whilst I was still working and I would need to look at healthcare carefully because, understandably, you have to pay for it in Spain if you move from the UK. Where I live, on the outskirts of Glasgow, is actually very nice and pretty quiet and apart from the weather and the grey political cloud, I think it is a pretty good place to live with plenty of countryside around, M&S, Waitrose and Tesco all less than a mile away and most of the other shops you would need in the village centre.
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Post by Boxer6 on Sept 17, 2024 10:24:50 GMT
Not just you, no! I think that overall where I live now would fulfil many of your criteria! We have areas of stunning natural scenery within very short driving distance of us, and easy access to plenty of areas for cycling, running and rowing/canoeing too, if that took your fancy. Some history around too, though locally to us it's mostly either very industrial or ancient Roman - and not much of that! Lots of (free to enter) museums in Glasgow though, and the Burrell Collection is recently re-opened. Bit of a trek to your meetings from here though!  Sadly, for us, a home abroad is way outside the realms of possibility .. . unless I win the Lottery! |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Sept 17, 2024 10:42:56 GMT
Northumberland for me; quiet, beautiful coastline, easy access to the Northumberland National Park, with the Lake District an hour away, similar for North Yorkshire, the Borders etc. Reasonable property prices - most people from down South can sell up and buy a mansion up here (not quite, but you know what I mean). Up the Tyne Valley towards Mark is great too. I also fancy East Lothian, North Berwick, Dunbar, primarily for the golf - although it's not cheap there!
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Post by clunes on Sept 17, 2024 11:45:06 GMT
Definitely not just you!
We often talk about where we might end up if/when the kids are more independent - between us we have 3: Boy 15 (16 in May) & 2x 12 yr old girls (soon to be 13) so they are certainly getting closer to uni & work age!
We are both approaching 50 (47 & 46) so the thought that retirement might be possible one day is ever more present hence knuckling down now to give us the best chance to do be able to do 'something' sooner rather than later. It wouldn't be a lavish lifestyle but by our mid-50's we should have reasonable pension & ISA savings set aside (unless the world markets collapse!) to enable us to make choices on our terms.
Work is increasingly tiring, less enjoyable and more stressful as we cut people / budgets year on year and the thought of a slightly slower life in a more relaxed location is very much top of mind
Where we live now (a town/village called Chalfont St Peter in Bucks) is great for the kids school, work (though I largely work from home) travel and general living.
We are about 1 mile from a direct train into London, close to other larger towns, the village has good amenities with a few pubs (and cask ale tap house), restaurants, food stores, hairdressers etc there is real countryside a stones throw away plus the community is generally great.
However, when I visit my mum in rural Notts (Notts/Lincolnshire/Leicestershire border) I'm reminded of growing up in a 'proper' countryside village and I miss that feeling of space and relative tranquility even though I'm fortunate to be where I am.
I love the Cotswolds - have taken many breaks down there over the years and it's a lovely environment so I could certainly see myself living somewhere like that in my future - though not sure it's any more affordable so perhaps a similar environment in a more affordable place.
We also discuss moving abroad - a place in France/Italy would be wonderful - but only if I had the means to do it without having to work my ass off and the reality is perhaps far less perfect than the dream.
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Post by Martin on Sept 17, 2024 12:18:51 GMT
We really like where we live and have the house exactly as we want it now (extended, 3 new bathrooms, new kitchen, garden done etc), the only thing I’d change in an ideal world is more space around it and a bigger garage. The local area is really nice, close to open countryside, can walk/cycle for miles from our house without going near a road, 10min walk into a small town with everything you need and really importantly it’s a very good location for work. It’s 20-30mins into Head Office, easy access to M1/M6/A1 and I can get into London in not much more than an hour from leaving home, c90 mins into our corporate offices. I’ve got 60 warehouses in my Division spread from Northallerton & Barrow in the North down to Dover, west into North Wales and east as far as Stowmarket.
So a central location is important to minimise driving time and staying in hotels.
So I wouldn’t charge where we live now, we had a pretty open choice when we chose it and nothing has changed. Maybe when we retire, but I’m not so sure., only if I can get a great view of an ocean which is unlikely to be affordable.
I like both the countryside and cities, but to visit, not to live in. Travelling down the same road (or worse, lane) most days would drive me mad, although not as much as living in a large city, I would hate that. It’s not just the driving, public transport is worse.
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Post by Big Blue on Sept 17, 2024 13:31:12 GMT
Hmm. We finally reached an accord over the summer that our final home will be “somewhere else”. Being married to and having children who are EU citizens we have a wider set of options so probably a conversation for another thread some time.
In the UK North Devon coast probably hits the target for us. W2.1 likes the rugged coastline and I’d be happy with the isolation in the off season. That said living in a dormitory suburb means anywhere would be nicer, outside of moving to some inner-city ghetto.
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Post by Tim on Sept 17, 2024 14:07:18 GMT
I'm quite happy where I am now (near St Andrews) but over the years have thought about Ullapool.
It's got a Tesco, is only an hour from Inverness, has gorgeous scenery and decent roads (albeit not a huge selection of those). If I went home today and said to Mrs Tim we were going to move there she'd have a van packed by tomorrow morning.
However, I think somewhere like that is actually better kept as a holiday destination because when you live somewhere permanently things like the view become something you take for granted.
As a compromise I'd consider north of Perth, up as far as Pitlochry.
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Post by johnc on Sept 17, 2024 15:17:55 GMT
The Black Isle around Rosemarkie is really nice too.
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Post by Tim on Sept 17, 2024 16:00:36 GMT
The Black Isle around Rosemarkie is really nice too. I've not really been round there much. Has your friend who's moving to Elie spent much time there in the winter? We used to regularly go there for walks and some parts of it, especially Earlsferry, were pretty much deserted when it got cold so it might be a bit lonely. |
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Post by alf on Sept 17, 2024 16:12:26 GMT
I can certainly see how it could go wrong - as people have said about tiny lanes and really rural places, if its even 10 mins up a crappy lane from the nearest "proper" road to your house, thats 20 mins of it every time you go anywhere. And I think human interaction is important - when living alone, the happiest place for me was right in central Winchester where I could instantly be at shops and cafes for a break from calls. Being such a compact "city" it was no trouble getting out to pretty rural stuff on the bike or runs. When I lived on the outskirts of Winchester later, I felt the 25 min walk into town was just a bit too much to make WFH more acceptable. However like Ed says, Winchester has well and truly been found by wealthy couples moving out from London when having kids - when I moved there it was cheap compared to commuter belt Kent/Surrey, it really is not now.
I suppose you can see why the truly wealthy give themselves a choice, as a country house in the middle of nowhere appeals for some of the year - but it has to be in pretty scenery, not just bleak and agricultural (some heavily farmed areas are not exactly swarming with wildlife either). Some (pretty/historic) cities are nice as well and the rich usually have that covered. The rest of us need a compromise in the middle!
France this summer was stunningly beautiful and so quiet compared to England. And warmer. I can see why some end up there permanently! Bayeux was so pretty it barely felt real.
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 17, 2024 17:05:49 GMT
I’m not sure I would live in the UK. Far more likely that I would live in Italy. It’s not just that my wife is Italian but rather that for me it’s like a second homeland after the UK - I lived there from the ages of 2 to 10, which makes a big difference to how “at home” you feel somewhere, and I have been going there at least once a year ever since. In an ideal world, I’d buy back the house my grandmother built overlooking the sea in southern Tuscany in the early 60s and just base myself there, working and travelling as I pleased. That was our “happy place” as kids and we were devastated when our father sold it at the end of the 1990s. I stopped by two years ago and it has changed remarkably little since we left.
But I’d want to keep a bolthole in England if I could afford to and for that, I’d probably not stray from our corner of the Suffolk coast – again I just feel at home there and that is important.
And to the original point, I am slowly coming around to the idea of living in or near an attractive historic town that is big enough to have full amenities and reasonably close to airports. Which is a pretty good description of my wife’s home town in Italy where we have our place, which has the added advantage of being right on the coast. There is an argument that it might be tricky/boring, after many years of living in very international places, to live somewhere that provincial, but I sense that might be overplayed cultural snobbery. I think I could adapt, given regular opportunities to travel.
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 17, 2024 20:55:28 GMT
If you hadn't included "in the UK", I'd have said Canada, and then worked out where ! failing that, Berlin except that not knowing much German would be a hindrance when needing medical aid etc, plus you aren't allowed to wash your own car in Germany......
Knowing Winchester and Farnham fairly well, yos I'm sure that they would be good places to live but Winchester is certainly good to visit, living there may be problematic due to lack of facilities, its anti-car policies and the high cost of housing. Farnham is similar, a great place to visit but I'm not sure I'd want to live there.
Also taking practicalities into account, there would have to be nearby DIY places, supermarkets and a hospital. I'd also want good connections to an international airport and Eurostar at St Pancras on the basis that I'd still be able to travel. Watford was recenty apparently voted as the best place to live in England, and visiting it fairly often, I could settle for living there.
This is a really interesting question for me because hopefully I'll be able to retire in 2 or 3 years time and I'm really only tied to where I am because of my mum who is now 92 and getting more frail with each passing month. When she passes I'd have nothing that ties me to the area and with the traffic issues around this part of the world and alocal council who are pretty inept (mind you, many are) and high council tax, I'd love to move away to somewhere more affordable... but the question is really where to? Watford seems as expensive, if not more so, than where I am now and I wouldn't want to be too far (time-wise) from Heathrow, Gatwick and St Pancras as already mentioned.
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Post by johnc on Sept 18, 2024 8:07:05 GMT
The Black Isle around Rosemarkie is really nice too. I've not really been round there much. Has your friend who's moving to Elie spent much time there in the winter? We used to regularly go there for walks and some parts of it, especially Earlsferry, were pretty much deserted when it got cold so it might be a bit lonely. They have been going there for about 25 years now and know most of the locals and they think it will work. However I have also been to Elie in winter and it is very quiet, almost ghost town - that wouldn't suit me much. |
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Post by Stuntman on Sept 18, 2024 20:00:33 GMT
I'm thinking of moving to Wiltshire or Dorset when I stop working. If Wiltshire it would be a friendly market town such as Devizes with enough going on in it all year round, and close to some great driving roads, if Dorset it would be on the coast in a larger town, perhaps Bournemouth. Ideally I'd have a place in each but that's very unlikely to happen unless the stock market doubles between now and then, and the housing market stands still!
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Post by rodge on Sept 18, 2024 20:17:33 GMT
Interesting reading where wvwryone would like to live.
The Mrs and I have discussed this as since moving back from California, we don’t really feel settled in Dublin. We’ve talked about moving to Northern Ireland because the housing market is much better there, and we could live near the coast, which we would like to we’ve plenty of friends there too.
Coming back to Dublin felt like moving to a new country, not somewhere we grew up- too many friends have moved on and the way my job is going, I could end up in a role where I’m working all over Europe so wouldn’t need to be based in Dublin.
We both have spent a lot of time in Scotland and in particular Edinburgh, but it’s changed a lot since Mrs. R lived there.
If it were to be England, Devon has always appealed.
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Post by PG on Sept 20, 2024 14:00:12 GMT
Fascinating thread.
I grew up in Surrey and lived there - commuting into London mostly - and always felt more at home in the countryside than the town. I came up to Shropshire to follow Mrs PG whom I'd recently met and fallen head over heels for. And fell in love with Shropshire too. We'd never go back now. We live 1.5 miles from a village with a pub, shop and petrol station, and 3 miles from the main A5 trunkroad. Manchester airport and Birmingham airport are both 75 minutes away. The only downer is the train service is shit - no proper direct London link, so if you need to go to London that means driving to Wolverhampton or Birmingham International.
I was lucky when I came up here and found a job in the Black Country, so was commutable from where we are. Eventually I moved to be able to work from home 3 days a week. As hybrid working seems to be what most people end up with, being totally off the beaten track is still an issue. Job opportunities are definitely worse once you leave the connurbations. Probably why I stayed in my last role before retirement so long was that whenever I looked aroundf, about 90% of jobs I was interested in required x days per week in London or the South East.
If I didn't live in Shropshire, I think two other places would be on my list. Dorset or Yorkshire. And maintaining a nice flat off Green Park in London would be nice. Although I'm several £ million short of that...
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Post by Blarno on Sept 24, 2024 19:52:00 GMT
I'm pretty happy where I am to be honest. I don't really have any ideas about living elsewhere - as much as I love Scotland, Wales and the South West.
As it stands, I'm only 30 minutes from North Wales and the M6 is 5 miles away, so getting anywhere is dead easy. As long as I have somewhere to ride my bike, I'm happy.
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Post by Alex on Sept 24, 2024 20:50:23 GMT
I'm thinking of moving to Wiltshire or Dorset when I stop working. If Wiltshire it would be a friendly market town such as Devizes with enough going on in it all year round, and close to some great driving roads, if Dorset it would be on the coast in a larger town, perhaps Bournemouth. Ideally I'd have a place in each but that's very unlikely to happen unless the stock market doubles between now and then, and the housing market stands still! Having grown up in Poole I'd recommend it over Bournemouth hands down. It's get the better beaches and quay as well as being that bit closer to the Purbecks. Perhaps if you retire to Dorset you can join my old man volunteering down at the Swanage Railway. He thoroughly enjoys it and the scenery around Corfe is stunning. As for me if not moving back to Dorset I'd happily live up North in Yorkshire or even in Scotland. Everyone I come across up there comes across as much friendlier than down here in the South East. Immaterial really though as the wife is wedded to Sussex so I doubt we'll leave anytime soon. |
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anitaj93
New Member
Hey Everyone !! Happy and Safe Motoring
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Post by anitaj93 on Oct 18, 2024 5:03:04 GMT
i like cornwall. the beaches and surfing spots are beautiful
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Post by Grampa on Oct 18, 2024 13:55:18 GMT
![]() Where I am suits just fine - this was almost the view from my family home growing up - now about a 10 min walk away  |
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Post by alf on Oct 30, 2024 9:57:54 GMT
![]() Where I am suits just fine - this was almost the view from my family home growing up - now about a 10 min walk away Lovely! Don't you have to go and harrass the tourists in the summer now though, to keep up with the times? I see its becoming quite the thing to do in places like Barcelona, and will ultimately make the people there, who are complaining about their lot, even poorer. I have seriously considered a move to Cornwall at times, at the moment I like to travel a lot, and also do still get called to London/Birmingham a bit with work, I think it would be very hard work to deal with the level of congestion in the summer and just the remoteness all the time. I would like more dramatic scenery and also truly wild places on hand however, just with nice towns and a decent road network and airports accessible too. I don't ask for much :-) |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 30, 2024 15:36:44 GMT
![]() Where I am suits just fine - this was almost the view from my family home growing up - now about a 10 min walk away I see its becoming quite the thing to do in places like Barcelona, and will ultimately make the people there, who are complaining about their lot, even poorer. I've started doing this. I was on Blyth beach this morning and passed a couple who looked like day trippers so I gave them a dark look from beyond the hood of my parka. |
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Post by Tim on Oct 30, 2024 17:00:49 GMT
Lovely! Don't you have to go and harrass the tourists in the summer now though, to keep up with the times? I see its becoming quite the thing to do in places like Barcelona, and will ultimately make the people there, who are complaining about their lot, even poorer. I've started doing this. I was on Blyth beach this morning and passed a couple who looked like day trippers so I gave them a dark look from beyond the hood of my parka. At least you had some clothes on this time, eh? |
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