Good spot to live in the Uk?

[Dr House]

My little one is 3 now and as much as I like living in zone 2 it’s time to think about moving to somewhere with a little more space.

I’m quite open to suggestions, we would need 2 houses 800 to 900k each
(Taking my child care with me lol) ideally close to good independent schools, nice town with good shops, coffee shops and restaurants and nice places to walk and at least 2 A&Es not too far away.

I looked at Chichester and Royal Tunbridge Wells which are both nice and house prices are not terrible.


Any other suggestions? There seem to be nice houses around Cambridgeshire.

 

[DireEmblem]

How about Edinburgh, can get some cracking houses for 800-900k.

This one has a gym, hot tub and outside bar with change left over:

https://espc.com/property/redcroft-house-whitehill-road-eh22-1sq/36032286?sid=129366

 

[uber soldat]

Rhyl is lovely, and you can get a couple of miners terraced houses for about 350k, absolute bargain.

 

[Fubsy]

Rhyl? Mods must condemn.

Bit of a niche thread really. Not many people would even dream of having the ability to buy two almost £1m houses, and also the ability to pay for schooling etc.

No idea about schools, but if I had the money I'd choose somewhere near the Lake District.

 

[BongoHunter]

Oxford or Cambridge sound like they would suit. Or somewhere near Brighton maybe.

Bath is nice.

If you wanted to keep quick access to London - then Beaconsfield, Amersham or Virginia Water area could work - pricey though if you want a big plot

 

[whitecrook]

why 2 houses ?

 

[Mason-]

Near Felsted in Essex. Good schools there.

 

[GreatAuk]

Bath would probably match all requirements and is a nice place.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Didn't OP only just move to St Albans also, hilariously, after asking and then following through on GD advice?



e: hmm, no seems I was wrong. St Albans was on the cards but didn't go ahead. Gibraltar was mentioned as well but was discarded for obvious reasons.

 

[Dr House]

While I love Edinburgh it’s too far away. I had a look around Devon last week. It’s lovely but again just takes so long to get anywhere.

2nd house because me and my partner are both shift workers so need to move my parents to help with school runs. They are retired so they don’t need to be in london now.

St Albans would be lovely but out of my price range for a decent house and the point of leaving london is for more space in and out of the house.

I know it sounds like a healthy budget but actually since covid there is not much around at that price point.

I’m in the process of researching areas now hence the post.

 

[Edinho]

Biggest I have 2 million quid willy waving thread of the year.

 

[Raymond Lin]

There are nice houses everywhere, especially for a million quid, what I would think looking at is more the town you are going to call home. What city or town do you like?

 

[tom01]

I am not one to begrudge anyone based on their net worth but the tone of your post is ridiculous; as someone above said this thread smacks of look at how much money I have. And the statement you have made about the market after covid means 2 million doesn’t buy you much property would make you absolutely delusional to the vast majority of people.

If you have 2 million to drop on property and private schooling then you can afford a relocation consultant to assist you in your endeavours.

 

[Dr House]

Biggest I have 2 million quid willy waving thread of the year.

i don’t. Parents will sell their house and buy a new one. They are not rich but bought their house ages ago and now retired.

I will sell my flat but still take on a huge mortgage.

Raymond. That’s the point. I’m exploring now. I only really came back to the Uk in 2015 and don’t really know much outside the M25 (and sheffield) for a short time.

while I love what chiswick/ Hammersmith has to offer it’s just too expensive for anything more than a small flat.

im taking Lots of weekend trips to explore and try and find the ideal spot to bring up a child and find a nice quality if life.

 

[GreatAuk]

I know it sounds like a healthy budget but actually since covid there is not much around at that price point.

Sorry but that's a ridiculous statement, especially considering that you're considering moving anywhere in the UK except London. Your budget is literally about three times the average house price.

If you really can't find much in your budget you must only be considering the centre of very exclusive areas.

 

[mattyg]

Get yourself up North. Lancaster area. You've got great links and the Lake district is on your doorstep

 

[DB_SamX]

Winchester. Only one hospital in the city though but Basingstoke and Southampton only 20 mins away.

 

[Hades]

Guildford, Surrey. On the A3 a little outside of the M25.

Close enough to get a train into Waterloo if you miss London. Far enough out to be in more rural surrey down the A3 fairly quickly. If you have a boy then I can't recommend RGS (Royal Grammar School) enough. It is fantastic. If you have a girl then Guildford Girls School is great, with Tormead as another option.

It even has a castle.

You might struggle with house prices a little but might be worth checking out.

 

[Rroff]

Bath would probably match all requirements and is a nice place.

Would second Bath - anywhere in the south is in pretty easy reach even London more or less and a nice place in itself.

 

[Angilion]

Nobody has mentioned Stoke on Trent


More seriously, why don't you hire someone? You have plenty of money and no knowledge, so buying knowledge seems like the obvious course of action.

[..] If you have 2 million to drop on property and private schooling then you can afford a relocation consultant to assist you in your endeavours.

Or you could buy a street in Stoke on Trent(*). There are...schools...here and a big A&E. Full of addled junkies. The A&E, not the schools. Although maybe the schools as well. And the streets. But hey, it's the Sity Sentre of culture! The signs say so! There are cultures growing all over the place! Mostly on walls.




* Not completely an exaggeration. You could buy at least 30 houses here for £1.8M and for some inexplicable reason many people are willing to move somewhere else. You could probably buy a short street, especially one on which many of the houses have been demolished because they were unfit for human habitation.