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Yup this is the answer. We left London 3 years ago, did a 6 week loop of England, as north as Lake District and as south as Cornwall. Went multiple different towns and cities every day etc.
Came to the conclusion that between Manchester and Leeds was the winner for bang for your buck property, beautiful scenery, low crime, easy access to cities and airports etc.
Apart from being beautiful in its own right and one of the best walking areas of the country, it's an hour from the Dales, an hour from the Peak district and 2 hours to the Lakes or East Coast. I've lived here all my life and wouldn't move anywhere else.
Comes down to personal preference but I'd look at the Leeds to Manchester rail line and pick stations midway. Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Mytholmroyd etc those areas are beautiful, well priced and tick a lot of boxes. Of course there will be sacrifices Vs what's on your doorstep in London
Lots of drugs issues in Hebden. Loads of tourists too. Look to Rossendale. Great links to Manchester & motorways to everywhere. Really good grammar school for older kids and junior schools are ok. Loads of greenery on your doorstep. Loads of walks & parks. Still good priced houses too.
I wouldn’t recommend Huddersfield to anyone 😂 but the areas around it are super nice. Holmfirth, Slaithwaite, Marsden, Shepley, Denby Dale & surrounding areas, Cawthorne & Wentworth over Barnsley way, over the hill to Saddleworth. Some of these areas aren’t the cheapest house price wise but compared to London & the SE, it’ll blow minds 😂
Saddleworth and surround areas are quite nice. I'm in Manchester, currently renting a room but want my own place. For a single bloke in his mid 30's with no kids, my options seem to be private rent or buy and private rent sounds horrible to me.
I don't have a big budget and been looking at parts of Burnley as a result. For the most part, it's not great but there are some OK areas and houses are as little as £60k without needing much work. For £300k, I would look just outside Burnley. Would get something nice around sabden kind of area for that. Not to far from Manchester and right on the doorstep of the countryside.
Where I live as well. I love ALMOST everything, and have no plans to move. However, my job, while remote, requires quite a bit of travel (3-4 international trips a month). I under to live in Berkshire, and the Heathrow is an exponentially superior international hub. I can get pretty much anywhere from Manchester, but almost always requires an extended layover somewhere- in fact I’m on my way to the airport now to head to Germany, and what would have been a two hour flight at most is now an eight hour trip. But other than that (and more expensive car insurance) I love it here.
What’s the diversity like in those kinda areas? As a black guy there’s a few rural areas I’ve visited in the past where I’ve stood out like a sore thumb and/or got some interesting stares, especially in pubs etc.
Would love to move to somewhere more green and less expensive than London but this has always been a concern for me and I’m never sure if I’m just overthinking it
Another vote for Shropshire here but yes pretty much as far from a beach as you can be in the UK. Some really beautiful areas in Shropshire and nearby Wales though. I'm not a fan of the beach as such but love some of the local lakes etc
Does it have to be England? You can find some wonderful places cheaply in the Valleys. I’d stay towards the bottom of each Valley just because of commute times.
Perhaps check out Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Taff Well? Housing is cheaper North of the M4 from Cardiff.
Wales:
- free prescriptions
- lots of free kids attractions
- hills and parks everywhere
Downsides:
- travel takes longer than you think across Wales. Little roads…
- it rains a lot
Not the case really. West Wales is a bit more cliquey but east of Swansea in the south and you’re fine.
Takes a bit of time for an outsider to be accepted but once that’s done, it’s absolutely fine.
But a holiday home that could be a family home and any rural community will dislike you. But a property and join a community and you'll be welcomed anywhere
Yep I bought in the area you suggested here and I don’t regret it. Very cheap and a nice area with everything you need locally and even more just down the road in Cardiff.
I think you’re right! I’d be genuinely interested in some opinions on “why they didn’t consider wales.” 😊
I’m lucky enough to be in a service industry and work from home, so while there is an office easily commutable in Cardiff, I rarely go now.
Wales is growing fast in the financial sector. Admiral, Starling Bank, Aldermore Bank… etc etc all stable or recently moved into Cardiff.
People should follow Tolkien’s elves and “head to the West”. 😊
Marsden or Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire. Both have trains to Manchester and Leeds. 300k gets a nice three bedroom in ruralish Yorkshire.
Huddersfield had the highest growth of anywhere in 2023 and both Marsden and Slaithwaite are where buyers want to be.
It's a great place for families with very low crime and useful local shops.
Slaithwaite was in the Times as one of the best places are in the UK to live. Personally I think Marsden is a better buy especially if you plan on owning a dog. (Everyone owns a dog round here)
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133923569?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY
An example of how far your 300k will go.
I live in the Colne Valley now and as much as I love it, I have a young family and we're looking to move in the next few years as Colne Valley High School is terrible. We're looking at Holmfirth/Honley/Meltham which are about 10 minutes away from Slaithwaite but with much better high schools (Honley or Holmfirth High School). Similar house prices, but transport links are not as good. Holmfirth has the same community vibe as Slaithwaite.
That's always the catch. If you're not paying for the house, you're paying for the school. House prices shoot up in the catchment areas for the good comps and grammar schools.
I'd say that Slaithwaite, Marsden, and even places like Linthwaite and Golcar are gentrifying and are far from deprived. However places like Milnsbridge, Cowersley and Crosland Moor are getting worse. There's only the one high school, primary schools are a mixed bag – some good, some bad.
ETA: I'm talking about Colne Valley, Huddersfield, not Colne near Burnley.
I'm in a similar situation, though I'm in the SE outside of London, but still feel too expensive.
What holds me back is that remote work is becoming less available and still feel I need to be within hybrid commute distance from jobs. Have you thought about this and what the max commute time you would be willing to do say 2 or 3 days per week?
It depends on your industry, but yes I agree, remote work is becoming harder to get. Even in Tech, most companies are hybrid so to move so far out is a bit of an issue unless you want to earn non London wages - so ~40% less.
I'm in tech and fully remote. Recently the boss insisted on hybrid and a couple of key players threatened to quit and that was that. I guess it's something that, if you are integral to the business, you can work remotely as there's not much they can do about it.
The arguments for wanting people in the office are largely valid, but I feel like those arguments are *always* made by people who already own houses withing an easy commute to the workplace. There's no comprehension that the calculation is totally different for people who don't already have equity behind them, and that's the root of the division on the matter.
I always did the really difficult jobs, not necessarily out of choice but when I started out it was all that was going. Now the boss can't / won't do those jobs himself and nobody with any experience/ commonsense would apply for the role should he want to replace me. But I've got the experience in the 'worst case' scenarios, so to me it's just another day at the office when shit hits the fan.
The downside is it's harder work, there's unwanted overtime, having all the problematic clients can be stressful, and the skills while transferable would not 'sell' very well when moving to another role... But the advantages of doing the difficult / obscure stuff in tech is you do get that security and the ability to dictate the terms of employment. I am often shocked at people who have really difficult jobs who don't realise that they are in an amazing bargaining position, employees need to be just as mercenary with their employers as they are in kind.
For context, I write automated data platforming software for local authorities in the UK. So, it's like the absolute dregs of the software development world. We pick up the pieces once a council spaffs 10 million up the wall on a failed project with someone like Oracle, PWC, or CGI, they obviously bork everything up, then the company I work for picks up the pieces left behind by the big corporations.
Northumberland. Lots of small towns like Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth which are quaint places to live. Good access to nature. Super fucking cheap. And Newcastle is right next door.
Can also head just south of Newcastle to places like Durham, Bishop Auckland or Barnard Castle.
£300k would buy a 3-4 bed semi in a leafy Street in South Belfast, near a park, near some of the best grammar schools, public transport etc. We bought a 5 bed townhouse in one of the most desirable streets, our MP is out neighbour, for £340k last year.
People will laugh but I'm visiting Teesside this weekend and a nice area in a small town meets your requirements. There's a decent 80s 4 bed detached going for 225k asking. 300-350 gets you a great 4-5 bed detached.
North York Moors on the door stop. Awesome coast. 50mins to Newcastle. 60mins to York. 1hr20 to Leeds. 1hr30 to the lake district (all drive times). Never mind the rest of north Yorkshire. Darlington train to London.
Had a jog past here today and the whole area was great
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136062986
Maybe have a look at the areas near to Chester or Liverpool.
Wirral has decent enough trains to both, sits on a peninsula so surrounded by water, marine lake in West Kirby you can buy passes for a go out canoeing and paddle boarding, plus there is a yacht club you could look into.
West kirby itself might not get you the size house you need at your price, but a little walk or drive will get you on outskirts…maybe look at Newton. We still have some Grammar schools, there are some private and there is a mix of good and bad comprehensives.
We are called the Leisure peninsula and have a lot of parks, plenty of equestrian places and golf courses, the Wirral way (starts in West Kirby finishes in Hooton after 12 miles) is a disused rail track good for walks with dogs, family or to cycle (since flat). Plenty of National Trust properties within an hour or two drive in various directions. South Lake District is 90 mins drive on a good run, and you get into North Wales in 30-40 mins
Plenty of food places in major towns around Wirral, there are some smaller theatres dotted around if you like local am.dram, the bigger floral Pavillion in New Brighton, or the Arena just over the Mersey in Liverpool for major acts.
We have Liverpool airport for Europe and Manchester airport within an hour for international. The train to London is bloomin expensive but I think we still have the pendolinos and they maybe stop at two stations before reaching London
Found a semi near West Kirby. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143647562#/map?channel=RES_BUY
Bebington also considered nice. I’d probably be after something like this if I had the budget. It’s a 5 minute walk to Claremont Farm as well which does all sorts of events like classic cars or dog shows, has a farm shop and thriving cafe, PYO strawbs, grow their own asparagus https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147493877#/?channel=RES_BUY
Came here to say Bebington - good schools, close to Liverpool and Chester, 2 hours and 10 mins by train from Liverpool to Euston. And Claremont Farm is lovely. Good community and facilities.
There won’t be a ‘best place’ but your budget is already enough to buy an ‘average’ uk house so you probably have plenty of options. Everyone will have their own preference for places. It’s worth spending a weekend away in various places to get a feel. I know plenty of Londoners who have moved up north and the huge reduction in their cost of living means they have a vastly better quality of life in the north than they ever had in the south. You could visit a few different places in Yorkshire over a weekend. Even cities like Leeds and Manchester are just one hour apart if you wanted to cover just the major cities.
All over the north of the UK not just one spot. When I head back to Yorkshire and Lancashire, every time I go to a restaurant/pub/bar or have any general interaction with staff, I quite often hear a southern/London accent. That gets me talking to them and many say they came north when they went to Uni and just decided to stay here. Others had existing friends/family in the north so went there.
Back in the 90s when I grew up in the north it was very rare to hear a southern accent but now I hear southern, American and European accents there all the time.
The UK is such a vast country and there are so many little pockets of niceness. You just have to go out and discover them. I’d like OP you’re from the south then you’re likely to have a very healthy budget (£300k) which will open up much of the country as buying options.
Up North seems to be showing up frequently in many of the comments. We are going to take some time to collate a list of the frequent mentions and then start exploring what possibilities are there for us. Thank you.
The north is much cheaper and less crowded. The only downside for me was its always a few degrees colder and usually wetter than the south. For the price I paid for my 2 bed flat on the edge of outer London, I could have bought a 4 bed detached house with a driveway at the end of my parents street in Leeds. That gap is narrowing as more and more people are moving north so London prices are flat/falling but the North is getting more expensive.
I'm originally from the North but moved down to London 15yrs ago and I'm very acclimatised to the pace and culture of the south. I do notice, life is a little slower and relaxed up north which may or may not suit some people.
In any case, my recommendation would be to spend a weekend in the North, maybe identify a property or two that you like and visit the area, get a sense of the culture, see the demographics, see whether the amenities you need are near by. Go for lunch in the two centre and get a sense of the vibe. Manchester has three universities so has a very young population. Leeds also has two universities. They're the pick of the big cities. Sheffield is supposed to have the best bang for buck but I have never visited it myself.
Airbnb will be your best friend there.
Also biased but I live in Formby - 30 mins on the train to Liverpool, excellent schools, nice beach, good access to motorways. Only downside is that for 300k you're looking at a 3 bed semi detached (for detached you're looking at somewhere north west, north east or somewhere in the vicinity of Glasgow). Harrogate is decent as well if you're into the dales and Leeds isn't too far away. I hear good things about Lincoln too and there's good links down to London from there.
Lincoln is lovely - beautiful and historic cathedral quarter, and it’s become a lot more vibrant since the uni opened. Direct trains to London in under 2 hours :)
It is awesome here. Very clean and excellent schools. 1 hour to London and Bristol. Bournemouth/Southampton are 40 mins away, with excellent shopping and beeches.
Housing is a little more expensive than average but it’s an excellent place to live.
Edit: we recently sold our 4-bed semi with garden, 2 sheds and a hot tub for £340k.
We left London for Salisbury. I think it’s thriving too. Love that Everyman chose to open a cinema here. Not only is it great for longer films but it means Odeon have slashed their prices also.
I’m somewhat biased. You can get a good selection in our postcode. Pretty sure it ticks all the boxes you’ve stated too.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E457&insId=1&maxPrice=300000&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=24&areaSizeUnit=sqft&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying
The absolute biggest houses for price, maybe not. But low crime, good schools, plenty of suburban sprawl without swathes of new build chaos, and one of the largest zoos in Europe.
East Yorkshire, specifically the villages around South Hunsley School, which is outstanding.
There is a direct train from Brough to London, plus Hull, Leeds, York, the coast all close by.
Various towns in Renfrewshire or Dunbartonshire west of Glasgow will get you a decent 4bed home for that and you would be near a lot of parks, water, greenery and close to Glasgow.
Northern Ireland, pretty cheap houses and a Lovely place to live. I'm about 6 miles outside Belfast. 5 bedroom house and we got it for 290k around 3 years ago. We looked at a lot of houses around the 300k mark and they were all pretty big with plenty of land. One was going for 500k and we had a sneaky peek and It had an indoor pool.
I moved from south east area to go north way
I ended up in Sheffield :) a very friendly outdoor city
One thing that drew me in was our hills, for me I find it fantastic to see everything when I drive about or look out my bedroom window I can see for miles
I’m 10 min drive to sheff city centre, 15 mins to Peak District, just over an hour to Manchester/York, 45 mins to Leeds. I tend to stay in Sheffield tho, has everything anyone could need
Middle of England so 4.2 hours to Brighton, or 4.2 hours to Edinburgh 👍
Outskirts of Cheshire (moved to Congleton 2 years ago myself) can get you a nice semi / detached for somewhere in that region and covers all of your essentials there
Lincolnshire is pretty nice… fields for days, local communities, seaside an hour away, Nottingham an hour away, London direct train is 2 hours away…. House prices are cheaper than most cities too.
Newcastle/Tyneside. 10mins drive to the coast, 20minutes drive to north Pennines, under an hour to the cheviots, kielder and Scotland. City has everything you could need has a lower crime rate than most large city's and for 300k you can get a lush semi/detached house in a nice area. Seems like more folk have clocked this over the last few years.
Is that still true about house prices? I've been looking recently and 300k seems to be at the very outskirts of Newcastle or Gateshead at best... Also rarely "lush" in the sense there's only a tiny paved backyard, when in the city. I agree it is still 3x (or more!) cheaper than anything similar in London.
There's a new build development happening in a small town called Howden. It's in East Yorkshire, about 30 minutes drive from York. and not much further to Hull. We just got a 3-bed Semi for £219k. The town is very supportive of local businesses such as cafes and restaurants, pubs (mostly dog friendly), etc... It takes literally minutes to get onto the M62. Surrounded by small villages with nature reserves, has a golf club nearby and is close to the River Ouse
Visited family many years ago living in Howden, except they were in one of the old houses with high walled garden, vaulted ceilings etc….absolutely gorgeous house not far from church
Yeah, it's a beautiful place and I personally think it's going to blow up in popularity within the next decade. Our house is a 3-bed semi, en-suite, master bath and downstairs toilet, high fence garden, double driveway, amazing scenery and local community. The house was £219k (one of the new builds).
North Norfolk. Miles of coastline and the broads on your doorstep. Low crime rates, beautiful area. Close to Norwich, which is also less than 2hrs by train to London if you ever want or need to visit. It’s just a really nice place to be. We live south Norfolk and would move north of Norwich in a heartbeat!
Sudbury in Suffolk.
Lots of good areas to live all well within your budget. London is about 90 minutes away by train, people are good here and there’s plenty of amenities and places to eat. Good few activities on the River Stour.
For your £300k you’ll get a 3 bed with parking.
I love in Grimsby. I'm moving into my new house (new build) tomorrow. I bought it for £300,000 and it's a 4-bed detached with big garden, 8 car double driveway and double garage.
On the train you're an hour from Leeds, Sheffield and Lincoln. In and hour and half you could drive to Hull or York.
Cirencester - ticks every box although slightly more pricey than up north. One of the towns surrounding Stroud (eg Nailsworth) could also work - would move there in a heartbeat if location was no option. Beautiful, safe and affordable.
I'm in a very similar situation to you and currently in the process of moving to the Rochdale/Calder Valley area. Hebden Bridge is the nicest place there but a bit pricier but there's also Todmorden and Littleborough on the same train line into Manchester Victoria (which is right by the Northern Quarter where all the best bars and restaurants are) and right on the door of the Peak District. You've got easy access to Leeds, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Halifax as well. We've moved from a two bed terrace to a three bed semi with front and back gardens and almost halved our mortgage...
People give it a lot of hate but hull is pretty decent for house prices.
Just recently bought a 5 Bed nearly 3k~ sq foot property for half your budget more or less. Nice green area decent public transport connections.
Lived all over the UK. I grew up in the Rhondda Valley, which is probably the cheapest place to buy property in the UK. The Rhondda is very cheap / attractive countryside and accessible (30 minutes to Cardiff) but it is quite a small minded community in some ways, for outsiders.
Instead, I would recommend West Herefordshire. Peterchurch in the Golden Valley is situated in some of the best countryside in the UK, 30 minutes from Hereford (which is actually pretty decent) and Fairfield High School (in Peterchurch) is a truly outstanding state school, housed in an old Victorian detached house, lots of animals on site etc.
If not that, and you are happy to concede a bit on school quality, then I would head to Newcastle Emlyn. Lovely little town, close to Carmarthen, and you can pick up a 3 bed with large garden for £150,000 - £200,000. you could probably get a small holding with a couple of acres for £300,000. Lots of incomers. Lovely coastline within 30 minutes. Stunning countryside/woodland valleys.
I'd recommend checking out Norwich
- Plenty of greenery whilst also being a thriving city
- Family friendly
- Plenty of good parks
- Close to the coast AND Norfolk Broads
- If you want to get to London it's ~2hrs by train or car
- Independent businesses, including restaurants and cafés
- It's a university city (UEA and NUA) so it has a young and creative buzz going on. Always little extra events going on around the city. Feels kinda like Brighton but cheaper?
Come visit during Norfolk and Norwich Arts Festival, or Lord Mayor's parade, and I bet you'll love it. :)
I live in a town in the North West, £300k can get you a decent 3/4 bed detached. Less than an hour from Manchester, Liverpool, Chester. About an hour from a few sea side towns. 90 mins away from Wales, the lakes and the dales.
Carlisle, serious
This house is near me and walking distance to a gym with pools, a very good school, family dining pub/aldi/m&s/next/morrisons/dominoes/majestic/costa/starbucks, a few playparks nearby, very close to the m6 motorway
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145179191
As a city the centre has got good for food&drink in recent years. Retail… not great but has most of the uk chain shops and some quirky indys
A huge mall called metrocentre is an hour away, lake district national park close by, lots of country pubs close by, edinburgh/glasgow 70mins by train or car
A lot of investment is coming in the city too as well as loads of new builds
Thank you.
We checked this out and house it looks amazing. We've seen some really good places on RightMove but this seems to tick quite a number of boxes for us.
We aren't quite familiar with Carlisle, so we need to do some more research but our initial findings suggest we might like it here.
We are planning to come spend some time up north to have a feel of a few of the places in the comment, but just off this house and the others we've seen in the neighborhood, Carlise looks like a pretty strong contender for us.
The North West, wherever you are you will be within an hour of either Manchester, Liverpool or Preston.
300k will buy you a good sized house in a nice area.
Probably goes across the entire northern belt as well to be fair, only the other side you will always be within an hour of Leeds, Sheffield or Hull.
Come to Bourne in Lincolnshire. If you want clean, quiet, green, good schools, low crime, family friendly, several good quality independent restaurants in the (tiny) town centre and surrounding villages. It is 100% not a major city, it is a market town with nearest city is Peterborough (30mins) and Lincoln is only less than 1hr by car.
Downside? You must be able to drive as no train or great public transport link. To get the most out of your money would normally require you to move to small towns, and to get the most out of those locations you will need to be able to drive and have a car.
For 300k you have a lot of options. Go onto Google maps. Look at what cities you fancy and what towns are nearby. Check right move.
I am considering moving to Scotland myself in a few years. I live 30min outside of London at the moment.
York is a pretty sweet place. Can get fucking cold but I do enjoy the city.
York or surrounding areas eg Selby where property is 30% cheaper. One of the most beautiful small cities in England, hour to the coast, all the walks in the country you could wish for, Leeds in 20 minutes for culture, coast in under an hour. Budget would get you outskirts or ex local authority, excellent schools.
I made the move from Putney to Salisbury 2 years ago. Love it here, clean, green, low crime, when I do need to trek into London the train is 1h15 to Waterloo.
I happen to have a 4 bed house in just such a location (near Barnard Castle) that'll be up for sale in the next few months, right around your budget lol.
Extremely rural, fantastic local schools, 15 mins from the supermarket, 45 mins from Durham City!
I wpuld also recommend between Leeds and Manchester.
Having a quick look. [this](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140091758#/?channel=RES_BUY) caught my eye. Nice views. 5 bedrooms. Two en-suite. £300,000.
But that's just a quick look.
Recently moved west of Stirling in central Scotland.
15 min to a small city that had everything. 20-30 min to loch Lomond (though there's other lochs closer), which is gorgeous. An hour can get you to Glencoe. Or 40 min to Glasgow, 1 hour to Edinburgh if you fancy the city.
Got deer, hares, heron, buzzards bouncing around the garden, mountains in the distance... gorgeously green.
Good local schools.
Tax is a bit higher, but I don't mind.
The area around Warwick offers good VFM and excellent connections to London, as well as easy commuting distance to Birmingham. Generally the historic / satellite cities around Birmingham offer good VFM and connections. You have easy access to nice countryside, but also short trip into the city for shopping/ nights out.
Before my in-laws came over from Hongkong they made their own spreadsheet, basically their own algorithm of where to buy in the UK. They included climate, house prices, schools and lots of other variables and determined that Chester was the best place to live in the UK.
North Yorkshire - why? So many walks/hikes, perfect for family and dogs. Also with York on your doorstep and Leeds a short drive away it's perfect for those who love to spend some time in the city
Saltburn/Marske are both nice and on the sea front. York is a really good shout although it’s been getting more expensive in recent years. I love all the little north yorks villages - Gt Ayton, Stokesley, Osmotherly etc. Their primary schools tend to be brilliant and housing fairly cheap.
We've just moved to exactly the place you're talking about. Paid 330k in March for a 4 bed house next to a canal with a couple of lovely parks nearby, a train station 10 mins walk away that gets you to Birmingham in 50 mins, London in under 2 hours and some incredible restaurants. With that said, we could've moved to any town/village with a train station in Shropshire/Staffordshire and got a very similar setup for very similar money.
Check out Worthing - you have the South Downs & the coast and train to London 1.5 hours. 300k is doable won’t be a huge house but a small house or very large 2 bed Victorian flat - going along the coast a bit further then money will go further.
I live in Wells. 40min drive to Bath or Bristol. Hour to Taunton. Surrounded by countryside. Reservoirs and beautiful walks everywhere. 30 minutes from the seaside ☺️ super peaceful here, good schools, hardly any crime at all to be honest
People seem to be mostly suggesting the north of England, so a couple of options in the east and the southwest:
1. My sister and her partner moved to North Norfolk just after the pandemic, and it delivers most of what you want: great low-key foodie scene, amazing coastline, lots of beautiful countryside (including the Broads if you prefer inland water to the sea). Norwich is a really nice small city with plenty going on, and really the only downside is that the rail link to London is slow (\~1hr45) given how close it is. OTOH if the rail link got faster it would cease to be as affordable…
2. A close friend lives in Exeter and really loves it. Like Norwich, it’s a liveable medieval city with plenty of amenities as well as the quaint heritage stuff. The surrounding countryside is gorgeous and obviously there is the Exe estuary and the sea within easy reach. The fast rail service to Paddington is just over 2 hours, and there’s a slower, cheaper one into Waterloo as well as good services to Bristol etc.
I don’t know about specific schools, but both Norwich and Exeter are family-friendly university towns and I believe have some good options. You can still get houses for <£300k in or around both cities, although you can also spend a lot more.
Rhonda valleys in wales 45/50 minutes by train to Cardiff, 1.5 hours by public transport and probably a hour or less by car ride into Cardiff.
Where I live in the Rhonda valleys houses are between 70-120k for a decent 3 bed house, usually decent size lounges and kitchens, bedrooms not too massive but you could probably stretch to a bigger house with more bedrooms or more land for your budget and have loads left for Reno work, nhs prescriptions are free up here and kids go part time from 3 years old so little one being in year 4 would be full time plus you have choices of fully English or Welsh schools and even have bilingual schools the area itself can be a little desired for but if you are happy to travel about a little while in the area then there are plenty of castles, waterfalls and other national parks around the area alongside all the other normal places
Plenty of nice places in the Selby area near York. You can get a direct train to Leeds in 25min, Manchester in 1hr30, and London in 2hrs. Train to York in about 30min, and the drive is a similar timing as well. Get a 4 bed house for under up to your budget depending if you chose Selby or a surrounding village (such as Riccal). Moved from York to this general area a while ago now due to house prices and been very happy since.
I live in Wigan, some lovely areas. Currently buying a four bed big newbuild for less than 300k, takes me half an hour to get to Manchester or Liverpool
Waterloo/Crosby Merseyside.
15 minutes into Liverpool City Centre.
Next to beach and national park.
Close to drive to North Wales, Manchester.
Medium drive to Lake District / Peak District
Good transport links.
You currently work remotely if that changes in the future and you have to find work where you live you could end up working for alot less money plenty nice places in the north. Yorkshire near Newcastle Northumberland but you can’t get London wages
If you want a market town with everything you need, surrounded by countryside with a very good train link into Liverpool, a city that has everything London has (docks, theatres, unis, shopping, Georgian buildings, metro, decent job market as cities up in the current circumstances), +1 for my hometown Ormskirk.
go to hull east yorkshire, its a hidden gem, fabulous unpretentious welcoming folk, great housing and plenty of access to the yorkshire moors and coast, do not listen to the negative comments the press love to spout, you will not be dissapointed, the best way to describe it is........Home.
The wirral peninsula, close to 2 cities, bordering north wales for rural beauty, can get a house in an incredible neighbourhood for 300k plus you're next to the beach.
Not to mention the abundance of free grammar schools that are some of the best in the country and private schools.
towns/ villages to look at are oxton/west kirby/hoylake/heswall/irby/Bebington/neston.
Public transport is brilliant and extremely cheap, easy to get anywhere between liverpool and Chester for £2.
Come to Horsham! It is a great place for young families! All the schools here are very good. Lots of greeneries around. We are over an hour train ride to London and also close to Gatwick Airport. :)
South Wales, loads of lovely properties in nice areas here in your price bracket, ten minutes drive to the beach
Check out properties in postcodes SA1, SA2, SA3
If you're looking for a great place to live in the UK, consider Dundee! With its stunning waterfront, vibrant arts scene, affordable housing, and friendly community, it's definitely worth checking out. Plus, you get to experience the beauty of Scotland right on your doorstep!
Oswestry Shropshire or surrounding area. Just over an hour to Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Green countryside all round and low prices for housing. Good schools and about 1hour 20 from the Welsh coast. Worth a look
Nottinghamshire in the midlands.
Specific to your list, Newark (just over an hour to London by train), Farnsfield, Southwell. Closer to Nottingham, look at the areas south of the city, Ruddington, Rushcliffe, Ratcliffe.
For that price. Go north towards Scotland! Colleague did this. Nice big 4 bedroom house after moving from London flats.
As for me, I have preference to be around Waterlooville / Horndean/ Lovedean/ Clanfield. There's some nice houses there overlooking farm fields or just trees in the backyard.
I'm Midlands, but I found a nice small village on the outskirts of a town that's driving distance to my parents, surrounded by nature, its quiet, new build so fast Internet and massive drive, actually a rather decent sized garden! But close enough to multiple train stations, and less than an hour away from an airport.
And much better value than some of them in the middle of even small towns (at least here)
I say something similar might be a good start for places to look.
Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. You said UK in the title but England in the main post.
Fermanagh hits every single bit of criteria you’ve asked for. Look near Enniskillen.
We sold a crap semi in Stroud for 300k, lost the mortgage, and bought our dream home here for 90k. We live 5 mins from the lakes, 20-30 mins from beaches in Sligo and Donegal, 30 mins from the nearest big town, and 1.5 hours from Belfast. 2 from Dublin. Can’t beat it.
Not only is bakewell expensive, it gets absolutely rammed with tourists these days and it isnt really a big enough place to absorb them - cars can't get through the village easily, everywhere is crowded etc - it stops it from being an enjoyable village vibe during summer
Bakewell is unfortunately very expensive, due to its location. At the lower end is 2 bed flats or terraced houses for £250-300k, a 3 bed house starts around 330k.
I can’t think of any town near Oxford where every criteria will be ticked though. The ones that tick most (safe, green, quiet, well connected) will not be affordable. £300,000 doesn’t get you much in most towns locally aside from Didcot/Banbury (which aren’t great unless you can be in the surrounding villages) or the ones that don’t have stations (eg Faringdon, Witney).
Moved to Swindon two years ago, I hate it with a passion, this absolute shithole is exclusively populated by complete cunts, it’s a fucking cultural desert with nothing of value going on.
When I moved I was shocked by the complete lack of any good restaurants or places to drink.
The very worst place I’ve ever lived
And for context I’ve previously lived in Slough and Luton, among many other places
That doesn’t matter, just because you live on the edge next to the Cotswolds doesn’t mean you should recommend Swindon. It’s got extremely high crime rates, poverty, the town centre is nonexistent unless you want to shop at an outlet, you’re an hour away from a bigger city - be that Bristol or Oxford. The train into London is 3x the other railway lines around it. I could go on.
“3x the other railways”, what are you referring to, price or time? Price is relative to its distance, and you can get direct to Paddington in under an hour (with a good chance of getting a seat in rush out).
Somerset is great value and stunning. You get the benefits of being in the SW without the Dorset / Cornwall price tag.
Gets pricey round Bath, but there are lots of lovely areas that are much lower.
Wouldn’t go far wrong in the villages and market towns in the Ribble Valley. Clitheroe, Whalley, Barrow, Gringleton, West Bradford, Waddington to name but a few. Less than an hour away from Manchester. I personally live in rural Pendle but as other contributors state the schools over this side of the hill are pretty dismal.
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Rural Yorkshire in between Manchester and Leeds
Yup this is the answer. We left London 3 years ago, did a 6 week loop of England, as north as Lake District and as south as Cornwall. Went multiple different towns and cities every day etc. Came to the conclusion that between Manchester and Leeds was the winner for bang for your buck property, beautiful scenery, low crime, easy access to cities and airports etc.
Apart from being beautiful in its own right and one of the best walking areas of the country, it's an hour from the Dales, an hour from the Peak district and 2 hours to the Lakes or East Coast. I've lived here all my life and wouldn't move anywhere else.
Are there any specifically good areas to look at?
Comes down to personal preference but I'd look at the Leeds to Manchester rail line and pick stations midway. Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Mytholmroyd etc those areas are beautiful, well priced and tick a lot of boxes. Of course there will be sacrifices Vs what's on your doorstep in London
Lots of drugs issues in Hebden. Loads of tourists too. Look to Rossendale. Great links to Manchester & motorways to everywhere. Really good grammar school for older kids and junior schools are ok. Loads of greenery on your doorstep. Loads of walks & parks. Still good priced houses too.
Hoo Hole!
Also look at the Calder valley, Ie. Todmorden/hebden bridge lovely place to love and bring kids up
When you say "in between" do you mean like Huddersfield area?
I wouldn’t recommend Huddersfield to anyone 😂 but the areas around it are super nice. Holmfirth, Slaithwaite, Marsden, Shepley, Denby Dale & surrounding areas, Cawthorne & Wentworth over Barnsley way, over the hill to Saddleworth. Some of these areas aren’t the cheapest house price wise but compared to London & the SE, it’ll blow minds 😂
Saddleworth and surround areas are quite nice. I'm in Manchester, currently renting a room but want my own place. For a single bloke in his mid 30's with no kids, my options seem to be private rent or buy and private rent sounds horrible to me. I don't have a big budget and been looking at parts of Burnley as a result. For the most part, it's not great but there are some OK areas and houses are as little as £60k without needing much work. For £300k, I would look just outside Burnley. Would get something nice around sabden kind of area for that. Not to far from Manchester and right on the doorstep of the countryside.
Thank you very much for that clarification. As someone looking to move away from the SE this year, this is great info.
Where I live as well. I love ALMOST everything, and have no plans to move. However, my job, while remote, requires quite a bit of travel (3-4 international trips a month). I under to live in Berkshire, and the Heathrow is an exponentially superior international hub. I can get pretty much anywhere from Manchester, but almost always requires an extended layover somewhere- in fact I’m on my way to the airport now to head to Germany, and what would have been a two hour flight at most is now an eight hour trip. But other than that (and more expensive car insurance) I love it here.
That's where I am and you are absolutely right. It's a great place to live.
I'd go Skipton. Happiest town in the UK apparently.
What’s the diversity like in those kinda areas? As a black guy there’s a few rural areas I’ve visited in the past where I’ve stood out like a sore thumb and/or got some interesting stares, especially in pubs etc. Would love to move to somewhere more green and less expensive than London but this has always been a concern for me and I’m never sure if I’m just overthinking it
Non-existent
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Only 2.5 h? Isn't that the most you can be from the sea in the UK
Another vote for Shropshire here but yes pretty much as far from a beach as you can be in the UK. Some really beautiful areas in Shropshire and nearby Wales though. I'm not a fan of the beach as such but love some of the local lakes etc
Does it have to be England? You can find some wonderful places cheaply in the Valleys. I’d stay towards the bottom of each Valley just because of commute times. Perhaps check out Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Taff Well? Housing is cheaper North of the M4 from Cardiff. Wales: - free prescriptions - lots of free kids attractions - hills and parks everywhere Downsides: - travel takes longer than you think across Wales. Little roads… - it rains a lot
I always ruled out Wales just because I assumed an English person buying up a house in most places there wouldn't be welcomed
The gripe is mainly with second homes
Some parts of Wales, maybe. But any of the larger urban centres people wouldn’t think twice (especially along the M4 corridor).
Not the case really. West Wales is a bit more cliquey but east of Swansea in the south and you’re fine. Takes a bit of time for an outsider to be accepted but once that’s done, it’s absolutely fine.
But a holiday home that could be a family home and any rural community will dislike you. But a property and join a community and you'll be welcomed anywhere
The Welsh are very welcoming
I moved from London to North Wales and literally nobody cares
Yep I bought in the area you suggested here and I don’t regret it. Very cheap and a nice area with everything you need locally and even more just down the road in Cardiff.
Hello neighbour!
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I think you’re right! I’d be genuinely interested in some opinions on “why they didn’t consider wales.” 😊 I’m lucky enough to be in a service industry and work from home, so while there is an office easily commutable in Cardiff, I rarely go now. Wales is growing fast in the financial sector. Admiral, Starling Bank, Aldermore Bank… etc etc all stable or recently moved into Cardiff. People should follow Tolkien’s elves and “head to the West”. 😊
Marsden or Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire. Both have trains to Manchester and Leeds. 300k gets a nice three bedroom in ruralish Yorkshire. Huddersfield had the highest growth of anywhere in 2023 and both Marsden and Slaithwaite are where buyers want to be. It's a great place for families with very low crime and useful local shops. Slaithwaite was in the Times as one of the best places are in the UK to live. Personally I think Marsden is a better buy especially if you plan on owning a dog. (Everyone owns a dog round here) https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133923569?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY An example of how far your 300k will go.
Don't tell them how to pronounce it though, it's funnier that way 😅
I live in the Colne Valley now and as much as I love it, I have a young family and we're looking to move in the next few years as Colne Valley High School is terrible. We're looking at Holmfirth/Honley/Meltham which are about 10 minutes away from Slaithwaite but with much better high schools (Honley or Holmfirth High School). Similar house prices, but transport links are not as good. Holmfirth has the same community vibe as Slaithwaite.
That's always the catch. If you're not paying for the house, you're paying for the school. House prices shoot up in the catchment areas for the good comps and grammar schools.
Most schools in Colne are now awful, unfortunately. It’s sadly become a rather deprived place.
I'd say that Slaithwaite, Marsden, and even places like Linthwaite and Golcar are gentrifying and are far from deprived. However places like Milnsbridge, Cowersley and Crosland Moor are getting worse. There's only the one high school, primary schools are a mixed bag – some good, some bad. ETA: I'm talking about Colne Valley, Huddersfield, not Colne near Burnley.
I'm in a similar situation, though I'm in the SE outside of London, but still feel too expensive. What holds me back is that remote work is becoming less available and still feel I need to be within hybrid commute distance from jobs. Have you thought about this and what the max commute time you would be willing to do say 2 or 3 days per week?
It depends on your industry, but yes I agree, remote work is becoming harder to get. Even in Tech, most companies are hybrid so to move so far out is a bit of an issue unless you want to earn non London wages - so ~40% less.
I'm in tech and fully remote. Recently the boss insisted on hybrid and a couple of key players threatened to quit and that was that. I guess it's something that, if you are integral to the business, you can work remotely as there's not much they can do about it. The arguments for wanting people in the office are largely valid, but I feel like those arguments are *always* made by people who already own houses withing an easy commute to the workplace. There's no comprehension that the calculation is totally different for people who don't already have equity behind them, and that's the root of the division on the matter.
I also work in tech at a large company - going on strike for being fully remote would equal me being sacked.
I always did the really difficult jobs, not necessarily out of choice but when I started out it was all that was going. Now the boss can't / won't do those jobs himself and nobody with any experience/ commonsense would apply for the role should he want to replace me. But I've got the experience in the 'worst case' scenarios, so to me it's just another day at the office when shit hits the fan. The downside is it's harder work, there's unwanted overtime, having all the problematic clients can be stressful, and the skills while transferable would not 'sell' very well when moving to another role... But the advantages of doing the difficult / obscure stuff in tech is you do get that security and the ability to dictate the terms of employment. I am often shocked at people who have really difficult jobs who don't realise that they are in an amazing bargaining position, employees need to be just as mercenary with their employers as they are in kind. For context, I write automated data platforming software for local authorities in the UK. So, it's like the absolute dregs of the software development world. We pick up the pieces once a council spaffs 10 million up the wall on a failed project with someone like Oracle, PWC, or CGI, they obviously bork everything up, then the company I work for picks up the pieces left behind by the big corporations.
Yorkshire.
Wherever you go , make sure you have good internet access.
Maybe Chorley? Booths/Waitrose/David Lloyd kind of place, half an hour from Manchester by train, £300k will buy you a nice 3 bed detached or semi.
I cannot hear/read Chorley without muttering "coming in your ears".
Really? The parts of Chorley I work in are pretty run down/shabby (near the train station).
Chorley is lovely, my partner grew up there, it’s a good place to raise a family.
West Hull villages
Northumberland. Lots of small towns like Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth which are quaint places to live. Good access to nature. Super fucking cheap. And Newcastle is right next door. Can also head just south of Newcastle to places like Durham, Bishop Auckland or Barnard Castle.
Lovely area, but the sea’s always freezing cold!
I wouldn't bother with Bishop Auckland but would agree with Durham and Barnard Castle.
Barnard castle would be my pick out of those
£300k would buy a 3-4 bed semi in a leafy Street in South Belfast, near a park, near some of the best grammar schools, public transport etc. We bought a 5 bed townhouse in one of the most desirable streets, our MP is out neighbour, for £340k last year.
I would ask yourself the question of what if your job is no longer remote and what problems this could cause before going somewhere rural.
People will laugh but I'm visiting Teesside this weekend and a nice area in a small town meets your requirements. There's a decent 80s 4 bed detached going for 225k asking. 300-350 gets you a great 4-5 bed detached. North York Moors on the door stop. Awesome coast. 50mins to Newcastle. 60mins to York. 1hr20 to Leeds. 1hr30 to the lake district (all drive times). Never mind the rest of north Yorkshire. Darlington train to London. Had a jog past here today and the whole area was great https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136062986
Ssssh...dont be tellin' everyone!! 😉
Scotland, mate moved there from London from a 3 bed semi to an old manor house with acres of land needed some repairs but his job was a handy man.
Bunch of places in South Wales within 30/40 mins drive of Bristol and Cardiff that are cheap and nice. New, Llanyravon, some parts of Cwmbran, etc.
Maybe have a look at the areas near to Chester or Liverpool. Wirral has decent enough trains to both, sits on a peninsula so surrounded by water, marine lake in West Kirby you can buy passes for a go out canoeing and paddle boarding, plus there is a yacht club you could look into. West kirby itself might not get you the size house you need at your price, but a little walk or drive will get you on outskirts…maybe look at Newton. We still have some Grammar schools, there are some private and there is a mix of good and bad comprehensives. We are called the Leisure peninsula and have a lot of parks, plenty of equestrian places and golf courses, the Wirral way (starts in West Kirby finishes in Hooton after 12 miles) is a disused rail track good for walks with dogs, family or to cycle (since flat). Plenty of National Trust properties within an hour or two drive in various directions. South Lake District is 90 mins drive on a good run, and you get into North Wales in 30-40 mins Plenty of food places in major towns around Wirral, there are some smaller theatres dotted around if you like local am.dram, the bigger floral Pavillion in New Brighton, or the Arena just over the Mersey in Liverpool for major acts. We have Liverpool airport for Europe and Manchester airport within an hour for international. The train to London is bloomin expensive but I think we still have the pendolinos and they maybe stop at two stations before reaching London Found a semi near West Kirby. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143647562#/map?channel=RES_BUY Bebington also considered nice. I’d probably be after something like this if I had the budget. It’s a 5 minute walk to Claremont Farm as well which does all sorts of events like classic cars or dog shows, has a farm shop and thriving cafe, PYO strawbs, grow their own asparagus https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147493877#/?channel=RES_BUY
Came here to say Bebington - good schools, close to Liverpool and Chester, 2 hours and 10 mins by train from Liverpool to Euston. And Claremont Farm is lovely. Good community and facilities.
Our initial search started in Warrington, between Liverpool and Manchester. Thanks for the context on other neighboring areas to check out.
There won’t be a ‘best place’ but your budget is already enough to buy an ‘average’ uk house so you probably have plenty of options. Everyone will have their own preference for places. It’s worth spending a weekend away in various places to get a feel. I know plenty of Londoners who have moved up north and the huge reduction in their cost of living means they have a vastly better quality of life in the north than they ever had in the south. You could visit a few different places in Yorkshire over a weekend. Even cities like Leeds and Manchester are just one hour apart if you wanted to cover just the major cities.
Where did those Londoners move too?
All over the north of the UK not just one spot. When I head back to Yorkshire and Lancashire, every time I go to a restaurant/pub/bar or have any general interaction with staff, I quite often hear a southern/London accent. That gets me talking to them and many say they came north when they went to Uni and just decided to stay here. Others had existing friends/family in the north so went there. Back in the 90s when I grew up in the north it was very rare to hear a southern accent but now I hear southern, American and European accents there all the time. The UK is such a vast country and there are so many little pockets of niceness. You just have to go out and discover them. I’d like OP you’re from the south then you’re likely to have a very healthy budget (£300k) which will open up much of the country as buying options.
Up North seems to be showing up frequently in many of the comments. We are going to take some time to collate a list of the frequent mentions and then start exploring what possibilities are there for us. Thank you.
The north is much cheaper and less crowded. The only downside for me was its always a few degrees colder and usually wetter than the south. For the price I paid for my 2 bed flat on the edge of outer London, I could have bought a 4 bed detached house with a driveway at the end of my parents street in Leeds. That gap is narrowing as more and more people are moving north so London prices are flat/falling but the North is getting more expensive. I'm originally from the North but moved down to London 15yrs ago and I'm very acclimatised to the pace and culture of the south. I do notice, life is a little slower and relaxed up north which may or may not suit some people. In any case, my recommendation would be to spend a weekend in the North, maybe identify a property or two that you like and visit the area, get a sense of the culture, see the demographics, see whether the amenities you need are near by. Go for lunch in the two centre and get a sense of the vibe. Manchester has three universities so has a very young population. Leeds also has two universities. They're the pick of the big cities. Sheffield is supposed to have the best bang for buck but I have never visited it myself. Airbnb will be your best friend there.
Staffordshire moorlands/ uttoxeter/ Ashbourne area
Also biased but I live in Formby - 30 mins on the train to Liverpool, excellent schools, nice beach, good access to motorways. Only downside is that for 300k you're looking at a 3 bed semi detached (for detached you're looking at somewhere north west, north east or somewhere in the vicinity of Glasgow). Harrogate is decent as well if you're into the dales and Leeds isn't too far away. I hear good things about Lincoln too and there's good links down to London from there.
Lincoln is lovely - beautiful and historic cathedral quarter, and it’s become a lot more vibrant since the uni opened. Direct trains to London in under 2 hours :)
I live in Salisbury and I love it here. Not mega cheap but you can get a nice 3 bed for about 300k.
I'd say Salisbury is one of the most expensive places in that area, that and Romsey.
It is awesome here. Very clean and excellent schools. 1 hour to London and Bristol. Bournemouth/Southampton are 40 mins away, with excellent shopping and beeches. Housing is a little more expensive than average but it’s an excellent place to live. Edit: we recently sold our 4-bed semi with garden, 2 sheds and a hot tub for £340k.
We left London for Salisbury. I think it’s thriving too. Love that Everyman chose to open a cinema here. Not only is it great for longer films but it means Odeon have slashed their prices also.
I’m somewhat biased. You can get a good selection in our postcode. Pretty sure it ticks all the boxes you’ve stated too. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E457&insId=1&maxPrice=300000&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=24&areaSizeUnit=sqft&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying The absolute biggest houses for price, maybe not. But low crime, good schools, plenty of suburban sprawl without swathes of new build chaos, and one of the largest zoos in Europe.
Chester?
East Yorkshire, specifically the villages around South Hunsley School, which is outstanding. There is a direct train from Brough to London, plus Hull, Leeds, York, the coast all close by.
Various towns in Renfrewshire or Dunbartonshire west of Glasgow will get you a decent 4bed home for that and you would be near a lot of parks, water, greenery and close to Glasgow.
Northern Ireland, pretty cheap houses and a Lovely place to live. I'm about 6 miles outside Belfast. 5 bedroom house and we got it for 290k around 3 years ago. We looked at a lot of houses around the 300k mark and they were all pretty big with plenty of land. One was going for 500k and we had a sneaky peek and It had an indoor pool.
I moved from south east area to go north way I ended up in Sheffield :) a very friendly outdoor city One thing that drew me in was our hills, for me I find it fantastic to see everything when I drive about or look out my bedroom window I can see for miles I’m 10 min drive to sheff city centre, 15 mins to Peak District, just over an hour to Manchester/York, 45 mins to Leeds. I tend to stay in Sheffield tho, has everything anyone could need Middle of England so 4.2 hours to Brighton, or 4.2 hours to Edinburgh 👍
UK or England?
English people forget the UK has other countries
Northern Ireland you get a pretty big house for 300k
Outskirts of Cheshire (moved to Congleton 2 years ago myself) can get you a nice semi / detached for somewhere in that region and covers all of your essentials there
Lincolnshire is pretty nice… fields for days, local communities, seaside an hour away, Nottingham an hour away, London direct train is 2 hours away…. House prices are cheaper than most cities too.
I'm super happy in Gloucester.
Gloucester is a shithole
Not a name I expected to see on here but I guess it's reputation as a shithole is maybe exaggerated
Newcastle/Tyneside. 10mins drive to the coast, 20minutes drive to north Pennines, under an hour to the cheviots, kielder and Scotland. City has everything you could need has a lower crime rate than most large city's and for 300k you can get a lush semi/detached house in a nice area. Seems like more folk have clocked this over the last few years.
Is that still true about house prices? I've been looking recently and 300k seems to be at the very outskirts of Newcastle or Gateshead at best... Also rarely "lush" in the sense there's only a tiny paved backyard, when in the city. I agree it is still 3x (or more!) cheaper than anything similar in London.
There's a new build development happening in a small town called Howden. It's in East Yorkshire, about 30 minutes drive from York. and not much further to Hull. We just got a 3-bed Semi for £219k. The town is very supportive of local businesses such as cafes and restaurants, pubs (mostly dog friendly), etc... It takes literally minutes to get onto the M62. Surrounded by small villages with nature reserves, has a golf club nearby and is close to the River Ouse
Visited family many years ago living in Howden, except they were in one of the old houses with high walled garden, vaulted ceilings etc….absolutely gorgeous house not far from church
Yeah, it's a beautiful place and I personally think it's going to blow up in popularity within the next decade. Our house is a 3-bed semi, en-suite, master bath and downstairs toilet, high fence garden, double driveway, amazing scenery and local community. The house was £219k (one of the new builds).
North Norfolk. Miles of coastline and the broads on your doorstep. Low crime rates, beautiful area. Close to Norwich, which is also less than 2hrs by train to London if you ever want or need to visit. It’s just a really nice place to be. We live south Norfolk and would move north of Norwich in a heartbeat!
Pembrokeshire.
Lincoln.
Sudbury in Suffolk. Lots of good areas to live all well within your budget. London is about 90 minutes away by train, people are good here and there’s plenty of amenities and places to eat. Good few activities on the River Stour. For your £300k you’ll get a 3 bed with parking.
I love in Grimsby. I'm moving into my new house (new build) tomorrow. I bought it for £300,000 and it's a 4-bed detached with big garden, 8 car double driveway and double garage. On the train you're an hour from Leeds, Sheffield and Lincoln. In and hour and half you could drive to Hull or York.
Cirencester - ticks every box although slightly more pricey than up north. One of the towns surrounding Stroud (eg Nailsworth) could also work - would move there in a heartbeat if location was no option. Beautiful, safe and affordable.
I'm in a very similar situation to you and currently in the process of moving to the Rochdale/Calder Valley area. Hebden Bridge is the nicest place there but a bit pricier but there's also Todmorden and Littleborough on the same train line into Manchester Victoria (which is right by the Northern Quarter where all the best bars and restaurants are) and right on the door of the Peak District. You've got easy access to Leeds, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Halifax as well. We've moved from a two bed terrace to a three bed semi with front and back gardens and almost halved our mortgage...
Belper
Some lovely spots around Derbyshire.
People give it a lot of hate but hull is pretty decent for house prices. Just recently bought a 5 Bed nearly 3k~ sq foot property for half your budget more or less. Nice green area decent public transport connections.
South Wales is a nice area and cheap with good links to Cardiff and Bristol
Lived all over the UK. I grew up in the Rhondda Valley, which is probably the cheapest place to buy property in the UK. The Rhondda is very cheap / attractive countryside and accessible (30 minutes to Cardiff) but it is quite a small minded community in some ways, for outsiders. Instead, I would recommend West Herefordshire. Peterchurch in the Golden Valley is situated in some of the best countryside in the UK, 30 minutes from Hereford (which is actually pretty decent) and Fairfield High School (in Peterchurch) is a truly outstanding state school, housed in an old Victorian detached house, lots of animals on site etc. If not that, and you are happy to concede a bit on school quality, then I would head to Newcastle Emlyn. Lovely little town, close to Carmarthen, and you can pick up a 3 bed with large garden for £150,000 - £200,000. you could probably get a small holding with a couple of acres for £300,000. Lots of incomers. Lovely coastline within 30 minutes. Stunning countryside/woodland valleys.
I'd recommend checking out Norwich - Plenty of greenery whilst also being a thriving city - Family friendly - Plenty of good parks - Close to the coast AND Norfolk Broads - If you want to get to London it's ~2hrs by train or car - Independent businesses, including restaurants and cafés - It's a university city (UEA and NUA) so it has a young and creative buzz going on. Always little extra events going on around the city. Feels kinda like Brighton but cheaper? Come visit during Norfolk and Norwich Arts Festival, or Lord Mayor's parade, and I bet you'll love it. :)
I live in a town in the North West, £300k can get you a decent 3/4 bed detached. Less than an hour from Manchester, Liverpool, Chester. About an hour from a few sea side towns. 90 mins away from Wales, the lakes and the dales.
Parts of the north east. There's a lot of nice and really cheap places to live.
Carlisle, serious This house is near me and walking distance to a gym with pools, a very good school, family dining pub/aldi/m&s/next/morrisons/dominoes/majestic/costa/starbucks, a few playparks nearby, very close to the m6 motorway https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/145179191 As a city the centre has got good for food&drink in recent years. Retail… not great but has most of the uk chain shops and some quirky indys A huge mall called metrocentre is an hour away, lake district national park close by, lots of country pubs close by, edinburgh/glasgow 70mins by train or car A lot of investment is coming in the city too as well as loads of new builds
Thank you. We checked this out and house it looks amazing. We've seen some really good places on RightMove but this seems to tick quite a number of boxes for us. We aren't quite familiar with Carlisle, so we need to do some more research but our initial findings suggest we might like it here. We are planning to come spend some time up north to have a feel of a few of the places in the comment, but just off this house and the others we've seen in the neighborhood, Carlise looks like a pretty strong contender for us.
The North West, wherever you are you will be within an hour of either Manchester, Liverpool or Preston. 300k will buy you a good sized house in a nice area. Probably goes across the entire northern belt as well to be fair, only the other side you will always be within an hour of Leeds, Sheffield or Hull.
Manchester, Liverpool or PRESTON??? Ha
Come to Bourne in Lincolnshire. If you want clean, quiet, green, good schools, low crime, family friendly, several good quality independent restaurants in the (tiny) town centre and surrounding villages. It is 100% not a major city, it is a market town with nearest city is Peterborough (30mins) and Lincoln is only less than 1hr by car. Downside? You must be able to drive as no train or great public transport link. To get the most out of your money would normally require you to move to small towns, and to get the most out of those locations you will need to be able to drive and have a car.
Nothing there peterborough outskirts grantham and lincoln are good and have great links
For 300k you have a lot of options. Go onto Google maps. Look at what cities you fancy and what towns are nearby. Check right move. I am considering moving to Scotland myself in a few years. I live 30min outside of London at the moment. York is a pretty sweet place. Can get fucking cold but I do enjoy the city.
York or surrounding areas eg Selby where property is 30% cheaper. One of the most beautiful small cities in England, hour to the coast, all the walks in the country you could wish for, Leeds in 20 minutes for culture, coast in under an hour. Budget would get you outskirts or ex local authority, excellent schools.
I made the move from Putney to Salisbury 2 years ago. Love it here, clean, green, low crime, when I do need to trek into London the train is 1h15 to Waterloo.
I happen to have a 4 bed house in just such a location (near Barnard Castle) that'll be up for sale in the next few months, right around your budget lol. Extremely rural, fantastic local schools, 15 mins from the supermarket, 45 mins from Durham City!
I wpuld also recommend between Leeds and Manchester. Having a quick look. [this](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140091758#/?channel=RES_BUY) caught my eye. Nice views. 5 bedrooms. Two en-suite. £300,000. But that's just a quick look.
Recently moved west of Stirling in central Scotland. 15 min to a small city that had everything. 20-30 min to loch Lomond (though there's other lochs closer), which is gorgeous. An hour can get you to Glencoe. Or 40 min to Glasgow, 1 hour to Edinburgh if you fancy the city. Got deer, hares, heron, buzzards bouncing around the garden, mountains in the distance... gorgeously green. Good local schools. Tax is a bit higher, but I don't mind.
The area around Warwick offers good VFM and excellent connections to London, as well as easy commuting distance to Birmingham. Generally the historic / satellite cities around Birmingham offer good VFM and connections. You have easy access to nice countryside, but also short trip into the city for shopping/ nights out.
Near Crewe. Loads of great towns nearby, easily get a nice 4 bed in your price range and 1.5 hr train to london
Sheffield
Before my in-laws came over from Hongkong they made their own spreadsheet, basically their own algorithm of where to buy in the UK. They included climate, house prices, schools and lots of other variables and determined that Chester was the best place to live in the UK.
North Yorkshire - why? So many walks/hikes, perfect for family and dogs. Also with York on your doorstep and Leeds a short drive away it's perfect for those who love to spend some time in the city
Northern ireland is still UK and you'd get a far better house for your money, plus can be within 90 minutes of the capital pretty much anywhere
Between Exeter and Taunton. 1 hour from stunning north and south coast beaches, 2 hours on train to London, 1 hour from Bristol, cheap as chips.
Saltburn/Marske are both nice and on the sea front. York is a really good shout although it’s been getting more expensive in recent years. I love all the little north yorks villages - Gt Ayton, Stokesley, Osmotherly etc. Their primary schools tend to be brilliant and housing fairly cheap.
We've just moved to exactly the place you're talking about. Paid 330k in March for a 4 bed house next to a canal with a couple of lovely parks nearby, a train station 10 mins walk away that gets you to Birmingham in 50 mins, London in under 2 hours and some incredible restaurants. With that said, we could've moved to any town/village with a train station in Shropshire/Staffordshire and got a very similar setup for very similar money.
Check out Worthing - you have the South Downs & the coast and train to London 1.5 hours. 300k is doable won’t be a huge house but a small house or very large 2 bed Victorian flat - going along the coast a bit further then money will go further.
I live in Wells. 40min drive to Bath or Bristol. Hour to Taunton. Surrounded by countryside. Reservoirs and beautiful walks everywhere. 30 minutes from the seaside ☺️ super peaceful here, good schools, hardly any crime at all to be honest
People seem to be mostly suggesting the north of England, so a couple of options in the east and the southwest: 1. My sister and her partner moved to North Norfolk just after the pandemic, and it delivers most of what you want: great low-key foodie scene, amazing coastline, lots of beautiful countryside (including the Broads if you prefer inland water to the sea). Norwich is a really nice small city with plenty going on, and really the only downside is that the rail link to London is slow (\~1hr45) given how close it is. OTOH if the rail link got faster it would cease to be as affordable… 2. A close friend lives in Exeter and really loves it. Like Norwich, it’s a liveable medieval city with plenty of amenities as well as the quaint heritage stuff. The surrounding countryside is gorgeous and obviously there is the Exe estuary and the sea within easy reach. The fast rail service to Paddington is just over 2 hours, and there’s a slower, cheaper one into Waterloo as well as good services to Bristol etc. I don’t know about specific schools, but both Norwich and Exeter are family-friendly university towns and I believe have some good options. You can still get houses for <£300k in or around both cities, although you can also spend a lot more.
Rhonda valleys in wales 45/50 minutes by train to Cardiff, 1.5 hours by public transport and probably a hour or less by car ride into Cardiff. Where I live in the Rhonda valleys houses are between 70-120k for a decent 3 bed house, usually decent size lounges and kitchens, bedrooms not too massive but you could probably stretch to a bigger house with more bedrooms or more land for your budget and have loads left for Reno work, nhs prescriptions are free up here and kids go part time from 3 years old so little one being in year 4 would be full time plus you have choices of fully English or Welsh schools and even have bilingual schools the area itself can be a little desired for but if you are happy to travel about a little while in the area then there are plenty of castles, waterfalls and other national parks around the area alongside all the other normal places
We are remote workers and moved to North Devon
Plenty of nice places in the Selby area near York. You can get a direct train to Leeds in 25min, Manchester in 1hr30, and London in 2hrs. Train to York in about 30min, and the drive is a similar timing as well. Get a 4 bed house for under up to your budget depending if you chose Selby or a surrounding village (such as Riccal). Moved from York to this general area a while ago now due to house prices and been very happy since.
I live in Wigan, some lovely areas. Currently buying a four bed big newbuild for less than 300k, takes me half an hour to get to Manchester or Liverpool
Waterloo/Crosby Merseyside. 15 minutes into Liverpool City Centre. Next to beach and national park. Close to drive to North Wales, Manchester. Medium drive to Lake District / Peak District Good transport links.
Between Chester / Manchester. Close to everything
You currently work remotely if that changes in the future and you have to find work where you live you could end up working for alot less money plenty nice places in the north. Yorkshire near Newcastle Northumberland but you can’t get London wages
If you want a market town with everything you need, surrounded by countryside with a very good train link into Liverpool, a city that has everything London has (docks, theatres, unis, shopping, Georgian buildings, metro, decent job market as cities up in the current circumstances), +1 for my hometown Ormskirk.
Any of the western or northern suburbs to leeds fit your bill. More expensive in the northern side. All lovely and green though.
go to hull east yorkshire, its a hidden gem, fabulous unpretentious welcoming folk, great housing and plenty of access to the yorkshire moors and coast, do not listen to the negative comments the press love to spout, you will not be dissapointed, the best way to describe it is........Home.
The wirral peninsula, close to 2 cities, bordering north wales for rural beauty, can get a house in an incredible neighbourhood for 300k plus you're next to the beach. Not to mention the abundance of free grammar schools that are some of the best in the country and private schools. towns/ villages to look at are oxton/west kirby/hoylake/heswall/irby/Bebington/neston. Public transport is brilliant and extremely cheap, easy to get anywhere between liverpool and Chester for £2.
I recommend Port Talbot near Swansea.
Rural Shropshire and west Worcestershire!!!
You can get z 5 bed 3 bathroom detached. In Hartlepool
Bury st edmunds
Come to Horsham! It is a great place for young families! All the schools here are very good. Lots of greeneries around. We are over an hour train ride to London and also close to Gatwick Airport. :)
Bristol
South Wales, loads of lovely properties in nice areas here in your price bracket, ten minutes drive to the beach Check out properties in postcodes SA1, SA2, SA3
If you're looking for a great place to live in the UK, consider Dundee! With its stunning waterfront, vibrant arts scene, affordable housing, and friendly community, it's definitely worth checking out. Plus, you get to experience the beauty of Scotland right on your doorstep!
Anywhere near the central belt of Scotland.
Oswestry Shropshire or surrounding area. Just over an hour to Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Green countryside all round and low prices for housing. Good schools and about 1hour 20 from the Welsh coast. Worth a look
Nottinghamshire in the midlands. Specific to your list, Newark (just over an hour to London by train), Farnsfield, Southwell. Closer to Nottingham, look at the areas south of the city, Ruddington, Rushcliffe, Ratcliffe.
Shrewsbury is a good shout for what you're looking for, I think
For that price. Go north towards Scotland! Colleague did this. Nice big 4 bedroom house after moving from London flats. As for me, I have preference to be around Waterlooville / Horndean/ Lovedean/ Clanfield. There's some nice houses there overlooking farm fields or just trees in the backyard.
I'm Midlands, but I found a nice small village on the outskirts of a town that's driving distance to my parents, surrounded by nature, its quiet, new build so fast Internet and massive drive, actually a rather decent sized garden! But close enough to multiple train stations, and less than an hour away from an airport. And much better value than some of them in the middle of even small towns (at least here) I say something similar might be a good start for places to look.
Cumbria!
Central belt of Scotland. If you get it right you're less than 30 mins from both Edinburgh and Glasgow by car or public transport.
You state UK in the title, then say England in the post. Which is it? Are we no longer a United kingdom?
It was an oversight and for some weird reason, Reddit won't let me edit the post. But yea, we meant the UK across board.
Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. You said UK in the title but England in the main post. Fermanagh hits every single bit of criteria you’ve asked for. Look near Enniskillen. We sold a crap semi in Stroud for 300k, lost the mortgage, and bought our dream home here for 90k. We live 5 mins from the lakes, 20-30 mins from beaches in Sligo and Donegal, 30 mins from the nearest big town, and 1.5 hours from Belfast. 2 from Dublin. Can’t beat it.
I found Bakewell pretty nice, I do not live there, just to visit some of my friends.
Not only is bakewell expensive, it gets absolutely rammed with tourists these days and it isnt really a big enough place to absorb them - cars can't get through the village easily, everywhere is crowded etc - it stops it from being an enjoyable village vibe during summer
Bakewell is unfortunately very expensive, due to its location. At the lower end is 2 bed flats or terraced houses for £250-300k, a 3 bed house starts around 330k.
Northampton ticks all your boxes!
Maybe not Northampton itself but the surrounding towns and villages are lovely.
You get a lot of bang for your buck in South Wales, quite close to the beach too in places.
Harrogate/Knaresborough. Lovely parks and strays all around. your close to both York and Leeds aswell. Great schools and very clean.
It's lovely but extremely expensive around there
In any of those villages or market towns near Oxford.
I can’t think of any town near Oxford where every criteria will be ticked though. The ones that tick most (safe, green, quiet, well connected) will not be affordable. £300,000 doesn’t get you much in most towns locally aside from Didcot/Banbury (which aren’t great unless you can be in the surrounding villages) or the ones that don’t have stations (eg Faringdon, Witney).
Swindon, close to south Cerney lakes and Cotswolds, Cirencester or cricklade also close to the lakes for sports 1 hour train to London.
Moved to Swindon two years ago, I hate it with a passion, this absolute shithole is exclusively populated by complete cunts, it’s a fucking cultural desert with nothing of value going on. When I moved I was shocked by the complete lack of any good restaurants or places to drink. The very worst place I’ve ever lived And for context I’ve previously lived in Slough and Luton, among many other places
Swindon???!!! Pahahahahahaa. Swindon is literally a slum.
Ha ha live on the edge and you are in the Cotswolds within 10 minutes
That doesn’t matter, just because you live on the edge next to the Cotswolds doesn’t mean you should recommend Swindon. It’s got extremely high crime rates, poverty, the town centre is nonexistent unless you want to shop at an outlet, you’re an hour away from a bigger city - be that Bristol or Oxford. The train into London is 3x the other railway lines around it. I could go on.
“3x the other railways”, what are you referring to, price or time? Price is relative to its distance, and you can get direct to Paddington in under an hour (with a good chance of getting a seat in rush out).
not swindon😭
Swindon is full of pond life
York
Lived in last 20 years in Stoke, Stafford, Walsall, Birmingham. Bought a house and move back to Stafford. Quite clean that's all what I need.
May need to check for flooding and storm records nowadays
Near your family and friends?
Fair Oak is nice, 300k would be pushing it, Hedge end also ok, both in Hampshire 👍
Coast of Northumberland. If you're near Alnmouth you can get trains easy too. It's beautiful, has castles, the ocean and lots of greenery.
Where you want to live
Shrewsbury/rural Shropshire?
Somerset is great value and stunning. You get the benefits of being in the SW without the Dorset / Cornwall price tag. Gets pricey round Bath, but there are lots of lovely areas that are much lower.
Walthamstow.
Shropshire beautiful county
What's the guarantee that your jobs will always remain remote
Wouldn’t go far wrong in the villages and market towns in the Ribble Valley. Clitheroe, Whalley, Barrow, Gringleton, West Bradford, Waddington to name but a few. Less than an hour away from Manchester. I personally live in rural Pendle but as other contributors state the schools over this side of the hill are pretty dismal.
Genuine question, what if you lose the remote job?