Where should we live? Mixed middle-class family

Posted by Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 31 comments

My husband and I grew up in London but like many others we've been priced out. We're a young mixed family, with a littls one and are now looking for a new city/town to live, but we have a very wide brief so hoping you good folk could help!

We're currently based in South London, and we generally love the community but are feeling cramped in our flat. We'd also like to add another little one to our family, and if we move out would like extended family to be able to come over and stay the night. Our families are based around Hertfordshire and London, so it would make sense to stay where we are but we can't afford to have the quality of life we'd like to currently.

Our budget is around £450k and we're looking for a 3 - 4 bed home to last us for the next 15 years. We don't like new builds.

The search criteria is:

Close to good state schools

Good sense of community - we'd love to join the local football team, reading groups, etc etc

Walkable(ish) or short train ride / drive to city centre. If not close to the city centre then with a local high street - doesn't need to be flourishing but a local shop would help!

Commutable to either London, Manchester, Liverpool or Cardiff (by that I mean 1 - 1.5 hrs max one way)

Ethnically diverse (doesn't need to be predominantly black, but a mix of different races would be fab if possible)

Socio-economically diverse - we are a middle-class family (despite our family budget!) so would like to find like-minded people but don't want to be surrounded by millionaires and would happily live around lower income families (having come from one myself)

Safe(ish) area

Appreciate that we might be asking too much considering our budget, but would love to know if such a place exists!

So far we've been looking at properties in Reading, York, Beckenham (sadly too expensive), Didsbury (Manchester) and Welwyn Garden City.

Does anyone have any suggestions - they'd be much appreciated! Thanks.

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audienceandaudio2@reddit

Commutable to either London, Manchester, Liverpool or Cardiff (by that I mean 1 - 1.5 hrs max one way)

How about Cardiff, as opposed to commutable to it? Should meet all your criteria, and 450k for a 3 - 4 bed home in the nicer bits of Cardiff is definitely achievable. A small enough city that you're never far away from the city centre and under two hours on the train to London.

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Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit (OP)

Would absolutely consider living directly in Cardiff too - we've been before and it's a lovely city! Would you say English folk are welcome? I have nothing but good memories of Cardiff, and not that I expect violence or anything but I'm slightly worried we might be seen as encroaching / taking stock away from the locals (which would be fair enough) - and something we'd be doing no matter where we go

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le_risque@reddit

I moved from England to Cardiff for uni a decade ago and stayed! It's a great city and I still love it. Understand the hesitation but that sort of anti-English sentiment with regards to housing is largely confined to places that have had house prices driven up primarily as a result of holiday homes, which isn't really an issue in Cardiff. Myself and all of my English friends have never had a problem here and for your budget you'll get a lovely house in a great area.

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audienceandaudio2@reddit

Yes, no problem with English people, it's not like North Wales, or holiday makers buying up property in Tenby or whatever. Like most cities, there's always an influx of people coming and going, so being English isn't an issue at all.

I'm English and I've lived in Cardiff for a decade now, the most you'll get is some good natured jokes about rugby or football.

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Low-Pangolin-3486@reddit

I don’t know why you’d look at York but not Leeds? Plenty of places in Leeds would meet your requirements. I’d be looking around the sort of Chapeltown/Chapel Allerton border, possibly into Oakwood/Roundhay (though budget won’t go as far there).

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Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit (OP)

Thank you for the recommendation!

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Useful-Risk-4340@reddit

Is there any reason why you've discounted Bristol because you can afford it. From my understanding school catchment areas can be a bit of a pain, but other than that it fits your bill. I'd be looking at Bedminster.

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Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit (OP)

I just assumed Bristol would be just as expensive as London so discounted it!

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ClarifyingMe@reddit

You can't make assumptions in such a big life decision. Research thoroughly and make sure you've done due dilligence for yourself and family. I know this thread is part of that, but when you're doing independent research.

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Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit (OP)

We did look at a few properties but what we wanted wasn't in budget. I've been to Bristol a few times myself and whilst I like the city, I didn't like it enough considering the house prices I saw.

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Useful-Risk-4340@reddit

This is the biggest house I can find within budget. It's not walkable though, requiring a short drive. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167620880#/?channel=RES_BUY

Also, have you considered Frome? Train journey to London would take approx 1.5hr. Driving to Bristol would take an 1hr. Exeter has a fast train to Paddington that takes 2hrs and a fast train to Bristol that takes 1hr. Neither are very diverse places, however.

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ClarifyingMe@reddit

That's fair enough. If you can drive, always factor that in to it. I know you probably won't want your kids reliant on you driving them but if there's good bus links etc, don't be afraid to go a bit satelitte.

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SilverBirches123@reddit

I’ve just had a look on Rightmove, and if you wanted to stay in S London, you could just about afford a 3-bed terrace in the borough of Sutton. It’s diverse, very safe and the schools are excellent. Whilst 450k is a pretty tight budget, a lot of those houses do have very good school catchments.

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Fwoggie2@reddit

If your families are in Hertfordshire and London that's where I would move to. Mine is in NZ, my wife's in Suffolk and we moved for god knows what reason looking back to Derbyshire. These days we live in Suffolk.

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Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit (OP)

Thanks for sharing! That's part of the reason why we stayed in London (Mum is only a 25 min walk away and other grandparents a direct train journey away), but we want more space than we can afford in the city. Hertfordshire seems just as expensive as London!

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CheesecakeExpress@reddit

I’ll probably get downvoted but Birmingham. Look at Kings Heath, Shirley, Stirchley and Bournville, Bearwood.

If you can increase your budget (or find a bargain) look at Moseley, Harborne or Edgbaston.

All of these places have thriving high streets (apart from Edgbaston- but that’s basically the city centre and there are lots of grocery shops and Edgbaston village), lots of independent shops. Plus they have extremely frequent buses/trains/ir are walkable to the centre.

Birmingham ticks all of your boxes. People live to be vocal about how shit it is, but it’s really not, and we have lots of London transplants.

We still have the grammar system so we have good state schools. A fair few outside of it too.

The places I’ve listed have listed have lovely communities, particularly Stirchley and Kings Heath. So you’ll find lots of activities for you and your kids.

You can get to London in 1.5 hours and will be even quicker if HS2 is ever finished.

We have a real ethnic mix, as well as socio-economic.

Here’s a few properties!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167567111

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161943407

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167812826

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/162260699

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lace_roses@reddit

Stockport is definitely within budget, and very commutable to Manchester on the train. I am part of social groups both locally in Stockport and in Manchester as it’s only a 10min train journey, so loads of options. It’s definitely socio-economically mixed, not sure about exact catchment areas for secondary schools but many excellent primary schools if you have a look around.

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BulkyAccident@reddit

Have you looked a bit further down south near the coast? Brighton, Hastings, Margate, etc. would all get you at least a three bed house for that budget and have decent train/road connections back into London.

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Lady2nice@reddit

Hastings, Margate not incredibly diverse.

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NotWellBitch420@reddit

You won’t find somewhere central enough to York or Didsbury on £450K for the type of property you want.

Have you thought about Nottingham? Good transport links to all the above cities, multicultural and inclusive, some really decent schools and also good local unis if your kids end up staying local too. Arena, theatre, sports grounds, canals, green space as well as a city, rich history so always plenty to see/do. Trams and trains right into city centre. The council also does a lot of family events throughout the year. Not a bad place to be compared to a lot of other cities in UK and you should get a nice house for the money in places like Beeston, West Bridgford, Bramcote.

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andotherthingsareok@reddit

Came here to say Nottingham!

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Jaded_Cantaloupe2845@reddit (OP)

Thanks for this! Will take a look at Nottingham - thank you for the neighbourhood recommendations too! We actually shortlisted a few 3 bed properties in York and were pleasantly surprised to find some good options. My husband is familiar with the area but we're going to check it out in the next few months!

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Draculaaaaaaaaaaahhh@reddit

Northamptonshire. Easy commute to London M1, or fast train Northampton to Euston less than an hour. There are lots of new builds in the area and lovely villages and countryside. Town has some good stuff, and theres Rushden Lakes and Milton Keynes not far away. Birmingham is an hour, Manchester is an hour and a half. Its cheaper than Herts, Bucks and Oxfordshire.

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Kim_catiko@reddit

I live in Reigate and whilst the house prices are huge, I managed to buy a maisonette with a garden which is really nice for just under £250k. All the schools are brilliant in the area, primary and secondary. There is a massive park nearby and the high street is great too.

Five minutes down the road is Woodhatch, which is significantly more affordable and still within catchment areas of the good schools. The posh people in Reigate like to differentiate between themselves and Woodhatch, but it is pretty much all the same town.

There or Horley is a good shout.

I also grew up in south London, I'm white, but it was a bit strange being in a predominantly white area. That being said, since looking around schools for my son, there is more diversity than I first thought.

There are links into London direct from Reigate, Redhill, and Horley train stations too.

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BillyJoeDubuluw@reddit

You won’t get the type of property you are likely to want as a growing family in York. Your money would go further in Leeds or Sheffield.

Given your ties to the south, Birmingham might be a better bet for you and will come in on budget.

Manchester would be another ideal option, but if you’ve got family members you want to see frequently then, again, the Midlands might be better than North for you.

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The_Witcher_3@reddit

In a mixed couple (black/white) and moved from South London to Cambridge about 6 years ago. It will tick most of your boxes besides affordability. Cambridge is safe, diverse, has great schools and tonnes of local amenities (free museums, multiple theatres, cinemas, venues and green spaces). House prices are around £450K for a 3-bed place on the outskirts of the city and in some commuter villages/towns. Quick train to London is 45 mins and Thameslink goes direct to South London. Cambridge to Hertford is also a simple train journey via Stevenage or a short drive.

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