Like some others I think we’re already where we want to live but we live here by pure chance, in fact it was STW’s fault for people replying to my thread suggesting the area. We did contemplate the tweed valley but decided the cold weather would kill me off! We wanted the lake district but the budget wouldn’t stretch, well it would but it would have meant paying bills and nothing else, something which neither of us wanted. We’re in Carnforth so in less than 30 minutes can be in Staveley and all fast easy roads to get there, lovely quiet M6 where you get on in either the evening or morning and dont even realise it’s traffic time. Far enough away from the LD to not be bothered by the tourists, can get into the Yorkshire Dales on our motorbikes easily, Bowland etc. Road riding out the door around Arnside etc. is cracking, I get to see the sea everyday! Back to civilisation pretty quickly and easy access to hospitals for my treatment.

That is a tough call.

I would want somewhere with surf, but all the coastal towns are deserted in winter and mobbed in summer… and you need £300k+ to start house shopping. Plus the Tories have allowed something like 1 million sewage incidents last year alone. Last surf in Devon had me shooting water out of my arse for a week. So, the £ to joy ratio is turbo b0ll0cks.

I am going to stay put in Hebden Bridge, and have a cunning overseas, warm water, sunshine and dusty trails plan for when I hit 55, and can cash in some pension. Hebden Bridge has lots going for it, but the weather aint one of them.

£85,000 gbp gets you this in the french hills near Chipps. For sale – House, 4 rooms located in Sahorre (66360) (bleudusud.fr)

£135,000 gbp gets you this in Costa Rica. Casa 2 Plantas (tropisphere.com)

@fathomer

If I could pick anywhere, money no object I think it’d be North Lakes or the Tweed Valley. Family and friends would probably stop us though.

No we wouldn’t as long as your garden was big enough to pitch a tent for the week 🙂

Probably not far from where I am (Derbyshire Dales/edge of Peak) as most of my friends are here. Definitely nicer places than Darley Dale where I currently am though, so money no object, probably somewhere like Baslow/Calver/Froggat or Hathersage direction

It’s tricky for us, Mrs asbrooks wants a large metropolitan city. But not Manchester or Sheffield both of which I’d accept. She want’s something London or Edinburgh, if we are just talking the UK. Both of which we have no chance in affording near what we have in Leicester in those places. And she knows it.

However, she is French and it was always the intention to go to France after the kids had flown the nest. We have two years to decide I guess.

She grew up in rural France with nothing to do as teenager and the thought of going to a small provincial town breaks her out into cold sweats.

The answer is where I am living already: Marple.
Plenty of ‘from the door step’ mtbiking and walking trails, road cycling is great too. Lovely and quiet yet within walking distance of many independent shops, facilities such as dentist and doctors surgeries, as is a cute cinema, theatre, many, great foodie type cafes, restaurants and take a ways. Great community spirit and neighbours tend to look out for each other.
Semi rural yet near enough to the City of Manchester with 2 train stations.

The down side is a busy road in and out of our small town.

For the time being I’m very happy in Midlothian.  30min to the Valley, less than 90min to Dunkeld but also some nice riding on my doorstep.  Train or bus into Edinburgh for gigs, cinema, shopping etc.  Close enough to the sea to keep my other half happy.  Loads of things for the kids to do.  I grew up in the Borders and wouldn’t want to ever live there again.

I would want somewhere with surf, but all the coastal towns are deserted in winter and mobbed in summer… and you need £300k+ to start house shopping. Plus the Tories have allowed something like 1 million sewage incidents last year alone. Last surf in Devon had me shooting water out of my arse for a week. So, the £ to joy ratio is turbo b0ll0cks.

I keep toying with moving closer to the coast but unless you want to live in a static caravan or bugle then anything within sniffing distance of the sea in cornwall is just mental these days.

I’m sticking with just this side of the border, decent moors riding and only 45 mins to the coast. although I don’t surf now if its been recent heavy rain.

I would want somewhere with surf, but all the coastal towns are deserted in winter and mobbed in summer… and you need £300k+ to start house shopping. Plus the Tories have allowed something like 1 million sewage incidents last year alone.

Wick or Thurso…

Realistically and could happen in the future Bo’ness. If we had more money Peebles.

And if money was good I’d have a house on Rhodes Greece.
But being brutally honest I can’t really fault La Costa Del Rishton which is home. You get the odd bell end, but the only really crime is Dog shite on the pavement.

Limiting it to the UK makes it hard, but the only other place I might choose is Northumberland. I LOVE the Northeast.

Otherwise, I am very happy where I am in South Wales. I have always had a temptation toward the (very) rural life, though. @Ambrose may remember this, but I once looked at a house near Ammanford with its own river running through it and an acre of woods. That sort of situation could be a very nice alternative to my inner-city Cardiff life.

I live in Herefordshire. It’s a beautiful county. It doesn’t have a motorway, discounting the M50 which is a poor impression of a dual carriageway, so hasn’t been industrialised. There’s positives and negatives like anywhere else but overall I’m happy.

Pembrokeshire is my choice if escape plan A comes true, or North Devon, but I don’t think I could cope with the crowds of the SW.

Surprised at how little love for the Peak.

But yeah, fairly deliberately moved up here a few years back. No regrets so far.

From the photos I regularly see on this forum, Scotland. Currently live right down south in flat East Kent, so there’s some concern over how much rain might be in store, but then it snows more too, and I’d rather ride in the snow than rain. There’s no rocks to ride where I am. I want to ride over rocks! I want descents on my doorstep that take longer than 30s to get down and are more interesting than a straight line between two fields. I can appreciate the countryside where I am because I grew up here, but the local council don’t, it’s going to be one big suburb and business park sooner or later, saw it coming 15 years ago, seems to really be ramping up now. Want to get away from it.

From the photos I regularly see on this forum, Scotland

It’s as good as it seems. And you just wear more fleece.

Rural Angus. Drier than the UK average, Scottish land reforms, reasonable house prices, access to proper trails and proper mountains. Skiing, including xc and backcountry; lochs and rivers, for paddling and swims.

Superb trails, currently hero dirt in February!  XC from the door, woodland trails, Dunkeld is well known but is just a taster of what is available nearby. We have a lot more variety than the Tweed valley, especially with easy access to big mountain riding. Happy place..

I would want somewhere with surf, but all the coastal towns are deserted in winter and mobbed in summer… and you need £300k+ to start house shopping. Plus the Tories have allowed something like 1 million sewage incidents last year alone. Last surf in Devon had me shooting water out of my arse for a week. So, the £ to joy ratio is turbo b0ll0cks.

One of my staff lives in Forres. He’s a keen surfer, kayaker (sea and white water) and occasional cyclist and hillwalker. He’s lived all over the world – NZ, Mozambique, South Africa, Idaho, Oregon and more.

He is really quite happy with what he has locally and perhaps a couple of hours for a really good surf, often closer.

Houses in Moray can be very affordable, all things relative.

For those based in Scotlandshire, how do you find the weather and the daylight hours in winter?

I know it’s a big place so weather can vary from place to place

(It’s not a loaded question, genuinely interested)

Liguria or Tuscany for short winters, long springs/autumns and hot summers. Lots of good riding throughout the year. Food. Wine (mmmmm) Affordable property. </span>

Bavarian Forest if I wanted proper winters,good riding, cheap housing and quality beer.

Basque coast. Just spent a week riding there and it’s awesome. Property seems reasonable and the landscape is beautiful. Think we were lucky as it’s supposedly normally very wet.

Currently parked up in Bardenas Reales, Spain. Some of the places on the way here from the coast are very pretty. Was pleasantly surprised by Pamplona. Nice city and surrounded by proper mountains.

If I were looking in the UK, I’m pretty sure I would not be moving back to the south east/Essex. Wales or somewhere in the Lake District with a nice pub.

I’m in Fort William, it’s a practical choice living in some of the Lochaber villages would be the dream. However travelling to work was expensive pre the recent price rises So for access to services etc I am in town but still have access to great biking, superb walks and places to mess about in a canoe. Then there’s the ceilidhs, not all the tartan and stuff but a genuine ceilidh is a unique joyful thing.

For those based in Scotlandshire, how do you find the weather and the daylight hours in winter?

It’s colder, wetter and darker than most of Englandshire.

But, there’s drier places (east) and this in my experience makes the big difference to getting outdoors.

At the end of the day, I wear a hat and gloves more. I’ve got more winter/warm outdoor kit.

But we also get amazing long summer days. We have scenery and riding / walking / paddling / nature that many can only dream of or visit on holiday. For many in Scotland there is a strong connection to the land and place we live in.

(Plus I prefer much of our social life and political outlook up here, funded uni places, free prescription etc etc. Not perfect, but better imo)

I’m not moving south of the border again.

For those based in Scotlandshire, how do you find the weather and the daylight hours in winter?

I know it’s a big place so weather can vary from place to place

Edinburgh and the lothians where I live is one of the driest parts of the UK.  Lots of sunshine,. little rain  It is colder than the south but after rainy miserable manchester its lovely

I love the long summer evenings but the winters can be dark

Weather is very localised.  Glasgow is 45 miles away and has twice the rainfall IIRC

Having left Dundee at the age of 18 and never having moved back I would be tempted to return the one of the villages around it.

The city itself has improved massively since I left. ( I’ve been back 2-3 times a year to see the parents ) Great access to outdoors including snow sports and not too far to bigger cities and more entertainment if needed.

Dryer climate than NW england where I am and it’s the wet that stops me going out. Dunked etc lovely too but I do miss a good walk on the beach too so would stick by the coast.

@ Caher – Actually, that’s pretty much my current setup but spend less in Kerry these days. Post pandemic the cost of housing in the summer has gone through the roof. Used to be able to rent a house in Cahersiveen for 120 euros week, more like quadruple that now. Still, few places as beautiful, very friendly, love the locals there and great craic in the pubs. Anywhere around South-West Kerry, Kells, Valenia Island, Dingle, and the interior, absolutely stunning. Ireland is not a cheap country, however, but I guess now it’s pretty much the remaining country outside of the union we can live visa-free.

Granada must be one of the best cities in the world for mountain biking. You just have endless miles of empty deserted dirt roads which cut through olive groves and if you live on the north/eastern side of the city you’ve got single/double track within 10 mins of riding. Within 30k you can reach the Sierra Nevada. Amazing for hiking/biking but no water here so you’ve gotta have a car if you fancy doing any water sports. In terms of wildcamping, hard to beat Andalucia – apart from where they farm pigs, it’s just so open country with few fences/gates/irrate farmers. Southern Spainish winters are incredible for the most apart side from a few days of rain here and there. Today it was 19c – perfect weather for biking. Mostly dry too, my bike loves it here.Not much job opportunties though.

Longer term I do think about moving to Scotland but just waiting for them to get independence so I can retain my EU residency at least. Housing/political situation puts me off.

those based in Scotlandshire, how do you find the weather and the daylight hours in winter?

For me, winter starts a month earlier and ends a month later. So, it’s more the length than the severity that is the difficulty. There is no autumn, it will be Summery one day then, bang it’s winter. Similarly with spring to an extent.

There’s definitely a springtime @Gauss 1777 on the west side it’s the bit in between the dark bit and the midgie bit.

There is no autumn, it will be Summery one day then, bang it’s winter.

I most definitely disagree with this, but then that could be just down to local climate. There’s a definite Autumn here in the Northern Cairngorms. I’d say it’s my favourite time of year and I can “extend” it by heading down to the Moray coast/Black Isle area too.

but I guess now it’s pretty much the remaining country outside of the union we can live visa-free.

With my Irish passport I can live anywhere in Europe visa free.

Agree about the friendliness which grows exponentially if you join a cycling club.

There is no autumn, it will be Summery one day then, bang it’s winter.

I most definitely disagree with this, but then that could be just down to local climate.

I know it’s a tad of an exaggeration, but Autumn was my favourite time of the year too. Autumn in Scotland does not last as long as say in Cornwall or South Wales. Also, the lack of trees doesn’t help 😉

Ps what happened to the quotation button, am I missing something?

Caher, I missed my Irish passport by a generation sadly.

 lack of trees

Err….

@fatmountain

Used to be able to rent a house in Cahersiveen for 120 euros week, more like quadruple that now …the interior, absolutely stunning.

Ciarraí Abú!

Another one for the Kerry appreciation crowd, father was from Glencar and our house is out in the wilds of Dromid so we are in Cahersiveen all the time (mainly at Petit Delice or O’Neills at Renard Point!!). Three more weeks and we’ll be back home, can’t wait.

pretty happy where we are in the high peak (Chinley) as got dark peak riding and walking from the door – took the decision a few years ago to move job to Manchester and get a very modest house to afford the living in the peak. But when the need to commute for work 2-3 days a week is no longer a major consideration it’ll be off to south west shropshire – folks are based there and it’s lovely. or if i can convince sofagirl to got full bore rural isolation, somewhere rural in mid wales

I know Dromid fairly well – used to ride my bike around that area. Not much better than Ballaghisheen Pass on a summer’s day. Keep meaning to get around to walking the Kerry way. When you get those rare weeks of high pressure, that place is simply sublime for outdoor persuits or just taking in the beauty of the place.

For those based in Scotland<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>shire</span>, how do you find the weather and the daylight hours in winter?

Condescending ****.

We moved to Aberdeenshire in 2014, and within a few months, Mrs B, who’s from the S of Englandshire, asked why we’d not moved years earlier.

Space, hills, amazing wildlife (when it’s not getting shot), quiet roads for biking, great access laws which mean the trail network around us is growing constantly, much better weather (drier in summer, colder in winter). XC skiing from the door most winters, ski touring on the bigger stuff a short drive away.  Access to lochs, rivers and beaches for water stuff (paddleboarding etc).  It also seems to draw in similar ‘outdoorsy’ types, so always something going on, whether it’s hill running, ski touring, biking etc.

Downsides are that it is darker in winter, but flip-side is that it’s noticeably lighter during the summer months.  It’s also a bit more of a trek to get anywhere, so on the odd occasion when we need to fly somewhere, it can mean getting to Glasgow/Edinburgh first, as flight connections from Aberdeen are a bit limited.

We’ve lived in quite a few parts of the UK and elsewhere.  Stuff around the Peak (lived in Sheffield and around Manchester for 10 years) is ok for biking/walking/running, but it’s busy, all the time, and the trails are a bit ‘samey’.  Likewise with the Lakes and N Wales.  There’s nowhere in England that appeals at all – that’s partly from the outdoor access nonsense, but also the political landscape.