Confused- areas
Sep 26th 2012, 4:24 pm
#16
Banned
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: The REAL Utopia.
Posts: 9,910
Re: Confused- areas
Having moved from Brisbane we arent seeing this at all to be honest, we sold a very ordinary highset house in the suburbs, paid off the mortgage and bought a beautiful old place here with a bigger garden in a lovely village. Of course it all depends where you are looking at obviously but for us the move has worked out wonderfully from a financial point of view.
Prices of uk homes seem to have fallen but still expensive for what you get vs. Aus Qld prices. Kind of thinking of Perthshire Scotland, or Shropshire/Staffs areas oh dear decisions decisions... Nice to know others in (or have been in) same dilemmas! Like the idea of a map and blocking out areas you dont want, kind of narrows the focus well... So, off to print a map heehee!!
Sep 26th 2012, 4:46 pm
#17
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Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Beautiful Dorset, UK
Posts: 2,195
Re: Confused- areas
Thank you all so much for the replies!! I really appreciate them and will be researching all suggested areas closely.
you're exactly right, we definitely have to consider jobs before choosing a place, but even just narrowing down enough to consider places for jobs is tough. I mean yes jobs are very important, but I wouldn't want to end up somewhere with great job prospects but truly awful schools or high crime. Drawing a circle around where my husband ends up working is a good thought.
you're exactly right, we definitely have to consider jobs before choosing a place, but even just narrowing down enough to consider places for jobs is tough. I mean yes jobs are very important, but I wouldn't want to end up somewhere with great job prospects but truly awful schools or high crime. Drawing a circle around where my husband ends up working is a good thought.
Having said that, I'll also put my usual plug in for the area that I live in - Dorset/Hampshire. Near to fabulous coastline and the new forest, decent climate. Good centres of employment around. Probably not commutable into London on a daily basis.
Sep 27th 2012, 9:47 am
#18
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Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Finally moving!
Posts: 1,236
Re: Confused- areas
There is a high likelihood of having to move again wherever the job is, so plan on it.
Somewhere cheaper for a six month stay not too far from the Motorway and rail networks.
Sep 27th 2012, 2:17 pm
#19
Just hanging around
Joined: May 2008
Location: Back in England
Posts: 1,447
Re: Confused- areas
I'm not sure what the precise definition of the Home Counties is, but I'd say any of the counties that are clustered directly around London. From your POV any places that are within reasonable commuting distance of central London are probably out. I say reasonable, because the places some people commute from are extraordinary!
Bev
Bev
Nov 6th 2012, 7:44 am
#20
Poms in Limbo
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Sunshine Coast Qld
Posts: 43
Re: Confused- areas
Having moved from Brisbane we arent seeing this at all to be honest, we sold a very ordinary highset house in the suburbs, paid off the mortgage and bought a beautiful old place here with a bigger garden in a lovely village. Of course it all depends where you are looking at obviously but for us the move has worked out wonderfully from a financial point of view.
Nov 17th 2012, 9:02 pm
#21
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Joined: Nov 2012
Location: Back in the UK!
Posts: 2,404
Re: Confused- areas
I printed a map of the UK and all its counties then I filled in the areas I did not want to live in and also those I know we could not afford to live in, now I am doing research on the rest of them. We are lucky that we can move anywhere as my husband is retired but some areas I liked are not appropriate when you are older and cannot manage the hills or steep streets so I cross those out. I also need a good hospital so I have researched those. Getting down to maybe a dozen counties. If I find a village I like I take a look at the Church magazine and see whats going on and find a local newspaper.
Nov 17th 2012, 9:24 pm
#22
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Confused- areas
Hi, we went through the same exercise nearly 2 years ago. We were originally from Cambridgeshire, but wanted to return to somewhere new. Schools were a key factor, and we used the ofsted report to create a list of suitable venues.
The "Ofsted filter" created some options and as we had a desire to be more toward the South West, we settled in Wiltshire.
We have easy access to Bath, Bristol and Swindon, and we can be over the bridge into Cardiff in just over an hour. We are fortunate in that we have a mainline station in town, so London commuting is a possibility, and the M4 to the north of us.
We are surrounded by beautiful countryside, the Cotswolds are to the North and great coastline is within an easy drive.
As others have said, most areas will have good school options. Understand your work options first,and use that to guide you on location. Also worth remembering the requirements of your children as they grow up, particularly access to public transport etc.
Good Luck
The "Ofsted filter" created some options and as we had a desire to be more toward the South West, we settled in Wiltshire.
We have easy access to Bath, Bristol and Swindon, and we can be over the bridge into Cardiff in just over an hour. We are fortunate in that we have a mainline station in town, so London commuting is a possibility, and the M4 to the north of us.
We are surrounded by beautiful countryside, the Cotswolds are to the North and great coastline is within an easy drive.
As others have said, most areas will have good school options. Understand your work options first,and use that to guide you on location. Also worth remembering the requirements of your children as they grow up, particularly access to public transport etc.
Good Luck
Nov 17th 2012, 10:05 pm
#23
She'll be right
Joined: Sep 2012
Location: Near the beach, NZ
Posts: 1,498
Re: Confused- areas
I do believe Wokingham was voted as the best area to raise a family due to low crime rates, excellent schools, abundance of green space/countryside and easy access to London for possible job opportunities...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ng-family.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...n-8191511.html
http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s...raise_a_family
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ng-family.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...n-8191511.html
http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s...raise_a_family
Last edited by Pom_Chch; Nov 17th 2012 at 10:08 pm.
Feb 11th 2013, 2:39 pm
#24
Location:West Van, BC
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: Gloucestershire UK
Posts: 132
Re: Confused- areas
Thank you all so much for the replies!! I really appreciate them and will be researching all suggested areas closely.
Chris955, I really liked what you said about Herefordshire, sounds pretty ideal.
Bevm, what do you call the home counties? I know there's some debate on what exactly the home counties are and I was wondering which ones you were thinking of?
Feelbritish, you're exactly right, we definitely have to consider jobs before choosing a place, but even just narrowing down enough to consider places for jobs is tough. I mean yes jobs are very important, but I wouldn't want to end up somewhere with great job prospects but truly awful schools or high crime. Drawing a circle around where my husband ends up working is a good thought.
Trottytrue, I really like your idea of printing a map and filling in the areas we don't want to consider! Great plan!
Daisycutter- can I ask where you decided on?
Almo, thanks for the idea of a holiday cottage, we may just need to do something like that too. As for the list of questions, we pretty much have those included in our list- it's just a matter of figuring out where best suits us and our needs.
Chris955, I really liked what you said about Herefordshire, sounds pretty ideal.
Bevm, what do you call the home counties? I know there's some debate on what exactly the home counties are and I was wondering which ones you were thinking of?
Feelbritish, you're exactly right, we definitely have to consider jobs before choosing a place, but even just narrowing down enough to consider places for jobs is tough. I mean yes jobs are very important, but I wouldn't want to end up somewhere with great job prospects but truly awful schools or high crime. Drawing a circle around where my husband ends up working is a good thought.
Trottytrue, I really like your idea of printing a map and filling in the areas we don't want to consider! Great plan!
Daisycutter- can I ask where you decided on?
Almo, thanks for the idea of a holiday cottage, we may just need to do something like that too. As for the list of questions, we pretty much have those included in our list- it's just a matter of figuring out where best suits us and our needs.
