[Closed] Find me the perfect place to live... Several conditions attached!

Bristol

Nope.

edit: [url= http://www.commutefrom.com/ ]commutefrom.com[/url] is best for playing around as for each station it'll show travel times as well as direct links to rightmove etc within a mile of the station.

Very few places within 90 mins travel have an *average* house price under 200k (even the sink towns that happen to have a station), and a 4-bed with garage and garden will be rather more than average. And that's before looking at riding possibilities.

3 bed terrace with a tiny garden and no parking? Maybe.

If someone told me to move somewhere 1.5 hours from Central London I'd tell them to get stuffed.

Define 'decent mountain biking' - off road bumbling or gnaarcore hucking?

@fasthaggis, anywhere specific? Somerset was my first choice. I thought I'd be looking at a pretty dire part of the Home Counties to be honest!

@IHN I live within riding distance of Swinley Forest and under an hour's drive from the Surrey Hills, Chicksands and so on. So I guess something comparable? Would compromise for bumblecore and very good road riding if that helps?

Hogwarts?

The train service to London is excellent apparently.

Somewhere in Northern France?.

Edit - or that home of the best urban MTBing in the world - Swindon?.

Thetford.

You never said you wanted hills.

If someone told me to move somewhere 1.5 hours from Central London I'd tell them to get stuffed.

and a budget of 200k to buy a 4 bedroom house with a garden and garage,

you need to add probably about £100k to that to find 4 beds within your 1.5 train time TBH

What's the flying time from Inverness?

1hr 40m. My first thought was how often do you need to go to London and why?

The better half flies down from Edinburgh at a minimum of once a fortnight no bother.

Derby or Nottingham spring to mind. Mountain biking close-by.

You'll be struggling to get anything 4 bed for £200k in a rural location that would enable you to ride from your front door.

[url= http://www.mapnificent.net/london/ ]Mapnificent[/url]

Except it only lets you do an hour

@piemonster a couple of times a week, maybe less. Somerset is increasingly looking like the best option though!

I think outskirts of Bristol are your only choice if you don't want to drive to mtb opportunities.

With the greatest respect, if the highest house price you can afford is £200k, why are you bothering with London? Doesn't seem worth the hassle working there, and especially a requirement for a commute there, even just a few days a week, if your recompense only allows you to afford a house for up to £200k.

Leeds, once HS2 arrives 😉

[url= http://www.commutermaps.co.uk/ ]train version[/url]

I just liked the Bristol area,but only ever stayed in Montpelier when we visited.No idea what prices are like now.
Good road riding out of the city.
Didn't do any MTB,but the folk we knew went to Ashton Court,Leigh Woods or headed across to Wales.

@piemonster a couple of times a week, maybe less. Somerset is increasingly looking like the best option though!

Yeah, bllx to that much flying and onward travel from the airport.

@Doh1Nut now that's what I'm talking about!

@northerntom maybe 200k is what I've just won in the lottery? 😉

@Woody2000 when's that then?

I'd be impressed if you could find 4 bed houses in Bristol for £200k

@IHN I live within riding distance of Swinley Forest and under an hour's drive from the Surrey Hills, Chicksands and so on. So I guess something comparable? Would compromise for bumblecore and very good road riding if that helps?

In that case, Swindon. But, really:

you need to add probably about £100k to that to find 4 beds within your 1.5 train time TBH

Yup, when I lived there a 1 bed first floor flat cost £140k! Mind you, that was close to the peak. Sounds like it's as bad there now.

[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43805265.html ]Looks alright?[/url]

Would compromise for bumblecore and very good road riding if that helps?

Would you compromise for Dumbledore and very good broom riding?

Hogwarts it is then.

@Nobeerinthefridge where'd the riding be?

This started out as a bit of whimsy. Seriously considering the move to Somerset now.

Anyone know what the deal with HS2 is? Crossrail is already playing havoc with house prices where it's going to be. Surely people are cashing in on the HS2 gravy train (ahahahaha! Sorry) already when selling?

@perchypanther 😀 strangely, Nationalrail doesn't list Hogwarts as one of their stations. Private school brats probably had onward transport from the local station I bet.

I think you may be 15 years too late with that budget and those requirements 😉

Newport 1hr 55mins. House prices low, riding good.

you can find 4 bed houses in certain parks of milton keynes for around 200k. they won't be nice area's though.
The road ridings pretty good and chicksands, woburn and aston hill are all local enough (particulalry woburn which is rideable)

Cannock will be on the list when they've finished the electrification of the chase line.

Currently about 2 and a bit hours to london, but walkable to the station.

Although only an hour and 17 mins from stafford according to the trainline. Stafford train station is less than 20 mins from my house. And I can do a lap of the dog from my door in an hour.

Whether Cannock meets the criteria of 'proper' mountain biking I don't know...

@ctk if only... Does look like your money goes a long way there!

@tommyhine I think at this point I should add a "not Home Counties" requirement? Some cracking suggestions here though!

@prawny whereabouts in Cannock should I look?

Newport 1hr 55mins. House prices low, riding good.

but you have to live in Newport

Can you hang on until HS2 is done? 🙂

[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45980748.html ]Sorted[/url]

Where's my commission.

[quote=IHN ]

Newport 1hr 55mins. House prices low, riding good.

Around Stafford for ease of the train.

Hednesford, Rugely, Etchinghill or Slitting Mill (would be pushing the budget in the last 2 though) for ease of mountain biking.

prawny - Member

Sorted

Where's my commission.

I bet the estate agents say it's 'close to transport links'

Aylesbury. Train into Marylebone in under an hour. Chilterns rideable offroad straight from the town.

Might struggle on price though, although tbh there aren't many places in the UK you'll get 4 beds, garden and garage for £200k

[quote@Nobeerinthefridge where'd the riding be

Cotswolds from your door, Quantocks, Exmoor and Wales not far even round Bath we have some good riding, but house prices would be the issue here.

Andover might just fit, but even there I reckon you'll need £150K more for a 4 bedder. Good road riding, decent mtb nearby, Swinley up the road.

EDIT: Found one under budget!

[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E39&maxBedrooms=4&minBedrooms=4&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=24&radius=0.0&sortType=2&index=48&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&primaryDisplayPropertyType=houses&viewType=LIST&areaSizeUnit=sqft&currencyCode=GBP ]Bit lacking in garden mind...[/url]

Newport 1hr 55mins. House prices low, riding good.

Umm guys, Newport and Bristol have train links to Paddington, which isn't central London. You won't make it door to door in an hour and a half from Bristol, no chance.

scotroutes - Member
If someone told me to move somewhere 1.5 hours from Central London I'd tell them to get stuffed.

I'd extend that to 7 hours... 🙂

Umm guys, Newport and Bristol have train links to Paddington, which isn't central London.

But the OP said...

If someone told you to move to somewhere 1.5 hours from Central London by train door-to-door (to the main terminals like Waterloo, Paddington etc),

A two bed terrace a mile or so away from Temple Meads station in Bristol will set you back £250k nowadays. Silly money.

4 bed houses in Bristol for £200k

[i]If[/i] you can find a 4 bed in Bristol for 200K it's probably not an area you'd want to live in.

But the OP said...

Oops yes so he did 🙂

But point stands - 1.5 hours from Paddington is potentially less useful than 1.5 hours from Waterloo.

Anyway - Swindon might be scruffy but it has tons of superb road riding, and the mtbing whilst being very much non-technical is fantastic for endless adventure rides. In the dry.

Aylesbury. Train into Marylebone in under an hour.

Whilst this is true the 1.5 hours door-to-door is a bit of a struggle unless you live next to either one of the train stations and work within a 5 min walk of Marylebone. Houses in Aylesbury have also gone up a lot over the past 5 years; if you find a 4 bed one for £200k, there will likely be a catch - although there are a lot of new builds with shared ownership options.

However, leaving early in the morning Tring is only a 15 minute drive and has trains that get into Euston in 40 minutes.

Don't bother looking for a 4 bed in Tring, it would be well above £200k. You might in Milton Keynes or Luton though, both of which have stations and trains into London. MKC to Euston is around 35 mins I think and there is plenty of riding not far away, it's probably the OP's best bet.

Ryde, Isle of Wight?
House prices would work but the 1.5 hour commute might be a little stretched if the ferry and trains don't mate up.
Road and off road riding is good there.

I've made my peace with a 2 hour door-to-door to get to work if my moon-on-a-stick is found. Once I'm at the terminal I'm pretty confident I can run/bike to work under 30 minutes, hence the 1.5 hours to the terminal requirement!

Man, a 15 minute drive in the morning would suck though. It would have to be biking or running distance to the station.

2 hours each way as a commute? On top of your working day?

Man, a 15 minute drive in the morning would suck though. It would have to be biking or running distance to the station.

You could ride from pretty much anywhere in Swindon to the station in 15 minutes.

You live in chepstow and be 'posh Welsh'.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42034512.html

Fantastic riding nearby and Paddington 90mins away.

Peterborough? [shudders]

What is posh Welsh?

What is posh Welsh?

You'd have an inside toilet

Well look at IHN here with his fancy inside toilet.

I am quite the dandy.

Posh Welsh - oxymoron (or people who live in Chepstow)

Anyone mentioning Home Counties to you is off the mark, particularly Aylesbury or MK in Bucks - unless you can get shared ownership option. Luton or Dunstable is your best bet maybe but you are talking sub 50 minute trains and this means £200k for a flat in most places in the home counties tbh.

You'd be better off up north or parts of south, Kent or Essex.

Well, that was a comfortable few hours of whimsy. However, it has given me some fuel to find somewhere new.

So, the 200k figure is what it would take to be mortgage free. 90 minutes door to door is the acceptable commute for me based on going into the City a couple of times a week.

That commuter map site is pretty awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

Stroud, Gloucestershire hits the nail, but i think you'll struggle to find anything 4 bed with garden & garage for 200k within 1.5hrs of London!

Stroud: £225k but no garage = http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44418822.html

A little further away is Cheltenham: 200k no garage = http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62919320.html

It can be done in Melksham: £200k with garage = http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43805265.html

Strouds great, a nice mix of affluent, chav & hippy dippy. Great MTB from the doorstep (muddy in winter), great CX / road from the doorstep, FoD & Cwm Carn 1:15hr drive away, Stroud - Paddington = 1:30. It sits at the centre of 5 small but concentrated valleys. Lots of ex Londoners here. No bad schools. Pop over & i'll show you round (email in profile).

I lived for 40 years in Enfield, spent a weekend in Stroud (son was 5yrs old) and thought fu*k it. We moved soon after. Only been back for 2 funerals.

@qwerty I may take you up on that!

.

Well look at IHN here with his [s]fancy inside[/s] toilet.

[i]Houses in Aylesbury have also gone up a lot over the past 5 years;[/i]

Yep, just searched for the house we sold in 2012, gone up £150k...

Luton, yes it's a bit rough, but it's 23 min to St Pancras and the cheapest place north of London that's reasonable to commute regularly from.

Reasonable riding from the door and 20 min to Chicksands.

Still won't get 4 bed detached in an area you would want to live in for less than £250k though!

Just had a quick look around Chippenham, 4-bed detached houses that I know, close to where I live on the west-side of town are around £330,000-400,000...
😯
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/42530129?search_identifier=80bd91cd7cf981f8fd057f2d25711ace

[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1271&maxBedrooms=4&minBedrooms=4&maxPrice=200000&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=24&radius=0.0&sortType=2&index=0&propertyTypes=detached%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&primaryDisplayPropertyType=houses&viewType=LIST&areaSizeUnit=sqft&currencyCode=GBP ]Stoke on Trent[/url]

1hr 30 mins from Euston