MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
OK so here's the deal
My wife, 2 kids and I are going to move in the next 18 months. We currently live in east Kent which is a nice, if overcrowded and somewhat uninspiring part of the country. My two little lads are both under 3 and we want to get sorted and settled somewhere before they are at primary school age.
Next week we are off on our hols which has turned into something of a reconaisance mission for our big move. We are essentially doing a tour of the likely places to move to and I'll be taking a suit/tie/proper shoes/bunch of CV's to take advantage of any job type situation that arises - you know how opportunity knocks 🙂
We cureently own our house and will be able to sell really easily and be able to transfer our mortgage across with little trouble.
What I need from the forum is some suggestions of good destinations, below is a list of areas we are visiting and a list of things that we need to have access to. I've asked about specific areas in the past and have had some really useful info so hopefully I'll get some good suggestions this time, thanks in advance
[b]things we need:[/b]
riding on the doorstep - doesn't have to be awesome but some moorland/woodland stuff I can ride without having to drive to would be great.
rail/bus links to one major city - again don't mind a longish journey but nothing so remote that I have to drive. Is there somewhere with nice bike paths that let me get into a city but live in the sticks? I dunno you tell me. I work in policy/management systems advice with an HSE bias.
proper countryside - doesn't have to be mountains, mountains, mountains but one of the things that has prompted us to move is the claustraphobic nature of the SE. My missus is from Cumbria and you can imagine how she feels about Kent!
Obviously we want decent schools for the kids etc etc but are of the opinion that we can work around this to some extent.
[b]places we are already looking at[/b]
Lakeland
South Shropshire
Staffordshire
Dorset
Any and all opinions are welcome as are experiences of similar moves.
Thanks all
Keep Salisbury Plain in mind. Plenty of riding, plenty of train links, plenty of good local towns as well.
Other end of Wiltshire's worth a look as well, around Marborough/Swindon. Good hills, good countryside, good links.
South Worcestershire/North Gloucestershire
If you can find it on a map (and there's many that cant) it's a wonderful county*. Very friendly people - no chippy northerners or cockneys or possessive Welshmen or Cornwallers - proper English countryside, rolling hills, lazy rivers, beautiful farmland - M4, M40, M5 all run close enough through. Direct rail to Paddington (1.5hrs) and Birmingham New Street (1 hr).
An hour or so from the Black Mountains, not much longer for Afan, about 3 hrs to Coed.
I was brought up round here and after university went straight to London. I lasted 7 years before I missed it too much. This area is about as far away as you need to go to get away from "Londoners" and what theyve done to the home counties and oxfordshire.
* I think it should be its own county - its distinct from south gloucestershire (Stroud and Laurie Lee country) and north Worcestershire (brum)
Anywhere nr Leeds or Manchester will give you access to great riding from the door, with good links to big cities.
north staffs or south derbyshire. A50 corridor? good access to excellent riding, M1, M6 and rail links to birmingham and notts
or even north derbyshire. Glossop/Chapel sort of area
cool thanks Stoner, I had a feeling that you'd be along 🙂
will add it to the list, I'm from Oxfordshire and I hate seeing what parts of my homeland have become in less that 20 years.
South Staffs is good.
Trains into Bham,
If in Lichfield/Tamworth also very quick trains to London
Riding Cannock Chase, hopwas woods etc
Peak district driveable
Lichfield is the nicest place but also the most expensive but your'll probably still get a place cheaper than Kent
Also where ever you are your'll with in a mile of the station.
Tamworth not so nice but MUCH quicker trains to Brum and more trains to London
There is countryside but not basically a farming area but peaks not to far away also driving isnt a complete nightmare like it is in the south east
Around the Harrogate area.
Great for Leeds and York (and mainline trains). Close to the A1, M1 and M62.
Close to Stainburn, Dalby Forest, the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorks Moors...
I love it 🙂
his wife is from Cumbria, i doubt very much Yorkshire is an option
Towns I recommend are:
Upton upon Severn
Tewkesbury
Pershore
Evesham
Malvern
Worcester
Cheltenham
Ledbury (yeah, over the border 🙂 )
Hmm not sure I particularly agree with the north staff /A50 corridor comment.
Not as good trains to Bham away and from the motorway network
Also away from trains down to London unless you drive first.
On the plus side is close to the peaks.
Also as one person is from the lakes and one from oxford shire I would imagine they want to be near M6(toll)/M40/M42
his wife is from Cumbria, i doubt very much Yorkshire is an option
My husband is from cumbria, we live quite happily in Yorkshire, although he does complain that it's too far south.
doesn't say he needs to get to London does it!
I'd imagine if they've been living in Kent then London is the last place they'd want to go.
mrsf - but it's, you know, the wrong side of the pennines!
his wife is from Cumbria, i doubt very much Yorkshire is an option
When I mentioned the Y word there was a sharp intake of breath 😀
Shipley, west yorks. Proper hills. Half hour drive to the yorkshire dales. Trains to Leeds bradford & beyond
Moors & woods literally on the doorstep. Leeds 10 miles away on canal towpath. Best curries in the world in Bradford, only 5 miles away. Cheaper house prices than Leeds
60 miles to Kendal. M62, M1 & A1 not far away
true but where are you suggesting in north staffs ?
The only train stations near the A50 is uttoxeter not very good for getting to Bham.
Unless you mean east staffs ie Burton.
I know. Shocking isn't it!
Actually, don't come to Yorkshire. There's nothing for you here.
😉
Garstang in Lancashire. Bang on M6 so handy for Lakes, and not as expensive or full of trippers as Lakes. Handy for Dales/Peak/Pennines. Good rail & road connections to Preston/Manchester.
And it's not in Yorkshire.
As far as being near london, its not something that either of us are bothered about. I see my job progressing in any major city and although it would be nice to be within an hour or two of nodnol it's not essential.
I think that for me the mid west options in staffs/shropshire/worcester/gloucestershire are looking the most attractive and we'll certainly be winding through the area later this month.
My wife really would like to move up to Cumbria but there seems to be a dearth of jobs and really high house prices which is a shame but perhaps understandable.
thanks all, some very useful comments so far, keep them coming!
edit - for some reason the mention of curry has changed everything, i may leave her and move to bradford 😀
All you Yorkshire types (or should that be Tykes)... Any one tried the Zolshar on the High Street in Knaresborough? It is, without question, the best curry around and I have eaten in loads of places in Leeds and Bradford over the years.
all i'll say is Rossendale
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Given the choice then I'd agree with Stoner.
Spent 4 years in Worcestershire and we are desperate to move back there from Surrey.
Definitely go with something south of Worcester round Evesham/Pershore way.
Glossop/Hayfield/New Mills/Marple on the edge of the Peak. Big enough to have proper shops etc and good rail links into Manchester (and onwards to London, Lakes, Wales), decent enough trains over the Sheffield and the East Cost Mainline.
Excellent riding on the doorstep, not all of which is massively hilly.
Or how about Knutsford on the edge of Cheshire.
What do you do by the way?
We looked at buying a property in Malvern two years ago or so
It was built on a steep slope 3 stories high, with a small but again very steep garden, which backed onto the hill itself, it needed loads of work, but had great views out towards Wales.
On investigating the garden I noticed well worn tyre tracks from the shed, across the lawn to the middle of a garden fence panel?
Looking closely the fence panel, it was hinged, and led straight onto the hill itself!
I was sold on the spot!
My Mrs refused to go into the garden, muttering I don't see you enough as it is and you new about this didn't you!
Sadly the Mrs got her way and we are now a good 8 miles or so from said hill, well at least I can still dream about it 😉
I like Derbyshire. Personally I live in Belper - decent riding nearby, plus great road riding and trains to Derby & Nottingham.
If you want really big cities, then the outskirts of Manchester / Sheffield might be a better bet.
I personally wouldn't consider Staffordshire unless I really wanted to work in Birmingham - there are plenty of big cities near really nice countryside to explore before you move that way.
Joe
What do you do by the way?
Health & Safety Advice/policy development etc. I need a big city thats reachable on a daily basis to peddle my wares and generally act as the fun police etc 🙂
Stoner - MemberTowns I recommend are:
Upton upon Severn
Tewkesbury
Pershore
Evesham
Malvern
Worcester
Cheltenham
Ledbury (yeah, over the border )
Upton upon Severn & Tewkesbury are great towns but might be worth looking at how high the property is above the river level 😉
Thinking about it, some area's of Evesham, Pershore and Worcester also suffered badly in the floods a few years back too 😉
How about the Southwest? There's a few towns bordering Dartmoor that are well within reach of Exeter and/or Plymouth - or somewhere a bit further north on the M5 corridor for (rail) access to Bristol & riding in Exemoor & the Quantocks. It'll be warmer than the North too 😉
like all the above, though some are getting a bit close to the high density areas, I like the sea (should be smiley with sunglasses in here!), so that would also need to be in my list of requirements (poss. Dorset, Devon), but the seasons down here are bland and we keep having wet summers 😐 ..
I can recommend Marple Bridge south-east of Manchester. Got everything you mentioned including good schools. (2 hours on the train to London) and obviously loads of trains to Manchester! Look at my website if you want to get a feel for the riding around here (all from the doorstep!) You could always come here for your holiday, we still have vacancies in August!
Upton upon Severn & Tewkesbury are great towns but might be worth looking at how high the property is above the river levelThinking about it, some area's of Evesham, Pershore and Worcester also suffered badly in the floods a few years back too
Parts of those towns flood - new parts built with the encouragement of idiot government agencies and local planning officers pushed for development targets. The towns have been around for 500 years - with most of the buildings not being swamped.
If Malvern gets flooded though, we're all in the poo 🙂
Ski - where are you then?
outlying areas of exeter, though i suspect like any 'what bike' thread, then 'my bike' may be substituted for 'where i live' 🙂
1. a 'cycling city'
2. dartmoor, quantocks for riding + good local trails ( haldon, woodbury ) within easy riding distance.
3. the sea not far off either.
4. the city has a 'town' feel to it, but due to the uni is quite lively.
thread closed.
Agree with Handsomedog.
We're in Marple.
Riding from the doorstep,
Really good schools,
friendly people,
2 railway stations, with direct links in to Manchester or Sheffield,
Semi-rural but with all the amenities.
Good mtbing community on the edge of the Peaks, so not as busy as Peaks proper.
House prices o.k.
Cumbria has bits that are expensive, and bits that aren't. Anything in the National Park is silly money (well, usually - did find a couple of interesting ones when we were looking a few months back...). Kendal is a bit more reasonable, then you get the South Lakes but not in the National Park bit that is probably the best bet (Grange, Cartmel, Ulverston) which are good on price, and nice places to be. After that you are into Barrow and the Wild West which isn't so good (well, again... with exceptions here and there... St Bees is very nice for example, but a long way from anywhere!)
Other options in the county would be the Pennines (Penrith and into Alston, Kirkby Stephen, Appleby etc), or north to Cockermouth and the area around there.
Just moved to Ulverston from Stirling at the start of the year, and moved into our own house a couple of weeks back. Great place to live, need to sort out doing some riding again soon though 😉
Stafford is a nice but dull town, but I guess all towns are a bit dull.
Fast trains to London, right on the M6, Good trains to Brum, but ridiculously early last train back on Sat nights. Good schools and all other services and you can ride your bike to the Chase, where there are groups doing rides around the cheeky stuff most evenings.
Some very good LBSs too.
Well if that's what you do for a living then West Sheffield should be on your list - the HSE testing place is just down the road (near Buxton) and you've got easy access to the Peaks.
why not come to Dumfries/Lockerbie/Annan/Carlisle area.
Suits the Cumbrian link.
Nearby rail links to Glasgow/Edin and all the southern cities.
For riding you are but an hour and a bit from 7Stanes, Lakes, Howgills, Kielder and have map will find trail in the Borders
http://www.magnoxnorthsites.com/about-us/our-sites/chapelcross
Not Northumberland we don't have great trails, cracking city or miles of empty countryside and beaches.
Edinburgh
Easy peasey, Calderdale / Rossendale
It's cheap, riding on your doorstep (literally), trains from Todmorden to Manchester, very good bus service (leather seats, new buses,every ten minutes) from Rawtenstall to Manchester. Probably make it to Leeds of Bradford by train. From where I am Lee Quarry is 10 mins, Gisburn Forest is 45 mins in the car.
Lakes, Peaks, Dale and North Wales all within easy distance.
Manchester on your doorstep with Leeds, Liverpool, Preston, Bradford all local along with loads of other decent sized towns.
Oh and Singletrack is based in Todmorden.
For a mountain biker with a life outside of mountain biking it don't get any better.
We are also central in the country with good motorway links and an international airport.
Job done, time to pack.
Dorset - Poole/Bournemouth area. I moved here 20+ years ago from Sheffield area - 'soft' living in comparison,good mix of riding with woodland & moorland type riding (Purbecks)- accessible to Southampton & also M3 corridor/London for work (& of course in Poole/Bmth.) Schools are generally good & I've been pleased that my kids have grown up in an 'easier' area, doesn't appear to be that aggession you get living near a major city (well, certainly what I experienced going to school/living in my home city of Sheffield).
Downside is price of housing and you do get the vibe that everyones trying to make a 'buck' out of you, not the same openess & friendliness you'd get in the north I find.
Bit off the network I guess but I like that.
some ace responses so far people, many, many thanks
a lot of food for thought...
calderdale/rossendale, worcestershire/gloucestershire and maybe dorset also now on the list - we're gonna have a busy few weeks!
Another for South Worcs/North Gloucs. Look for Malvern, Ledbury etc.
failing that Bristol if you want somewhere inspiring to live.
No chance of flooding in Rossendale / Calderdale (except in the valley bottoms and you don't want to go down there anyway 😆 ). If my house goes under at 1100ft then most of the rest of you are right royally screwed.
the flooding thing is a red herring.
Firstly since it was a 1 in 200 year event, what it means is now its clear exactly where it floods and using the DEA website you can check you dont buy somewhere vulnerable. Secondly the proportion of the county that was flooded was quite small even if the news made every effort to make it seem more extensive:
This is all flood plain and floods a couple of times a year - as it's supposed to. Only the very edge of it where new housing estates were built stupidly got hit by the exceptional event.
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Firstly since it was a 1 in 200 year event
The thing is, 1 in 200 year events are likely to happen much more frequently than that in the future. I would be very wary about buying a house likely to be affected by this kind of event.
I wouldnt touch a house likely to be affected by this kind of event.
Doesnt mean the whole county is pencilled in as the next Atlantis.
I actually lived in the centre of worcester during the floods and had no problems whatsoever, yes there were badly effected areas, but use your brain when looking, every one who had their house ruined knew it would happen one day due to stupid location.
devon. its ace...
ransos - google "malvern".
If it floods up here, then the rest of the country is ****ed anyway :p
Surrey Hills/Mole Valley/Dorking area. Some of the lowest crime rates in the country, great riding (FACT), great schools, many job options, idylic villages, great pubs, better weather!
moe - where are you?
Im 600 ft up malvern above the lapping tide apparently 🙂
If you are thinking about Gloucestershire/Worcestershire, i have one thing to say, DO NOT GO TO GLOUCESTER!!!!!
"north Worcestershire (brum)"
I think you'll find it is more of an Alpine paradise than that.... 😉
mrmo speaks the truth.
Its the the most ignominious blight on an otherwise perfect piece of England.
Alpine originally meant "pasture land". It certainly looks that way from up here above you on Mount Malvern, valley-boy 🙂
LOL @ "King Stoner Esq of Malvern Estate"
Chesterfield. Tonnes of riding and countryside (real hills, too, not Southern mounds) on the doorstep and within 30 mins drive. Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester all within an hour.
My hill. My rools! 🙂
Blakedown, Worcestershire. I love it here
Houns - dont you mean Kidderminster? 8)
Don't go to cheltenham.. it's getting a bit rough in my opinion..
Malvern is nice
Although I rather there wasn't another H&S bod around.. they've got me 😉
Oh, I was part of a rescue team during the tewkesbury floods.. I paddled past a site with a mahoosvie 'Site acquired by ******* for the development of luxury homes' sign.. the water covering the site was about 6ft deep 😆
Although I rather there wasn't another H&S bod around.. they've got me
cool, lets start a consultancy and make some proper money 😉
It's better than Redditch 😀
as dell and jam bo said.
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[troll comment]why would you want to live up north... 😉
Exeter has a lot to offer for all your requirements...
Most places are!
Bedds - the development on the Bredon road had its name changed since the floods from The Water Meadows to just The Meadows 🙂
Nearly every house, uncompleted, was in standing water.
Serves them right - should never have had planning permission.
Don't go to cheltenham.. it's getting a bit rough in my opinion..
There are some nice areas of Cheltenham, but it does have its areas. avoid any area where most has been built in the last 60 years and the town centre and you won't go far wrong...doesn't leave much...Leckhampton and Charlton Kings Village!
Peak District, preferably northern bit, direct trains to Manchester and Sheffield, if further south Derby / Notts also commutable.
Or just west Sheffield - you can live in a village in / on edge of the peak district and cycle into town largely off road if it takes your fancy.
Yossarian.. proper money.. sounds good to me!! ;o)
Stoner - that's brilliant.. it does serve the developers right though, hopefully they asked the local planners for the back handers back to cover their losses. Stupid places were being developed that anyone could see were going to get affected due to their being slap bang in the middle of a fairly hefty flood plain!
lol.
anywhere other than the SE?
what a horrible place 😉
Shropshires loverly (what where im from)
Wales would get my vote, but its a bit remote in the nicer places.
or Devon, (what where i am now)
Stoner - I think around 50ft above you, if your feet start to get wet the let me know, I should have around 20 minutes!
where? Im near the clocktower.
How about south Wales?
There are plenty of great trails just north of Cardiff then there are the black mountains, Afan, Cwmcarn, Brechfa and the Gower all within an hour or so's drive.
Big enough city to have all the amenities you could need but not so big that you are ever too far from the countryside.
Much prefer it here compared to Herefordshire I have to admit.
but it's, you know, the wrong side of the pennines!
When you said "wrong", did you mean to say "dry"?
If I could move anywhere I'd go for the Lakes, but instead I think I'll be house hunting in north Leeds next year - which will still be a vast improvement on Hertfordshire in terms of both riding and beer.
Curious as to how you can sell your house really easily Yossarian?
Stoner - next to a certain pub which requires a shot of penicillin with every pint! I do believe we have met, did you get in trouble with your Mrs that night?
moe - sheeplike pub?
did you get in trouble with your Mrs that night?
which night?
and the answer is almost certainly yes...
is it anything to do with the howies stickers I have in my ride coat pocket?