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I am due to retire in early 2022 and I am considering a move. I have lived where I live now for 25 years and the quality of life is not brilliant.
My main requirements are:
Property value max 375k, a house not a flat. So rules out London area and a lot of the SE (also too crowded see next line!)
Nice area not a big city.
Small town, supermarkets, shops, gym, cinema etc.
Bit of night life, few restaurants and pubs.
Ideally some local things to do maybe NT and the like.
Low crime.
Good transport links, ideally close to major airport and also train links.
I was looking at Cornwall but after the loss of Flybe its well off the cards now as its just too far from a major airport and train "home" to see family would be 10 hours.
Buxton is a nice little town that ticks most of your requirement, in particular low crime and its pretty close to Manchester airport, yet surrounded by the Peak District countryside!
My stepdad parents lived Buxton , remember going when was about 12 - kind of remote as i recall
i can see the attraction now though
It is kind of remote, but yet only about 30 mins drive into Stockport.
Train links are not great but at least exist and no worse than Cornwall, but only about 40 minutes drive to Manchester airport - and a fantastic drive at that
My sister used to live in a little village in the Peak District (close to Whaley Bridge where the dam nearly burst recently). Very remote location, but still really close to Manchester. If I ever went back to the UK, the Peak District would be high on my list of places to live!
Depends on the weather you like. Further north colder, wetter. East of England is drier than most. South West is warmer but pricier area, as is south eastCountryside and reasonable links to cities I would look around Peterborough. Train link to London, airports nearby Stansted/Luton. Prices are cheaper than most. Out in the countryside crime is lower.
I was going to say Cornwall, as was exactly where I moved to 4 years ago. You get alot for your money, great food and produce, and fantastic scenery. But like you said, geographically it's very cut off; ironically that's turned out to be another plus point this last 3 months, and the structure of the aviation industry is going to change massively anyway.
My walk last night
Or in the other direction
Or to the west
I'd take this over proximity to an airport, personally.
I lived in Stockport until 18, I then spent all my time off back in Stockport. I spent all my teenage years racing MTB at a national level & the Peak District was my training ground. All my preteen years were filled with spending time in Buxton and surrounding areas with my dad who was in the Mountain rescue up there. It is beautiful but if I was to play devils advocate I would honestly say the following.
1. Only one train line in and out towards Manchester. It WILL be closed on
occasions due to snow.
2. The roads will be closed on occasions due to snow.
3. Even if the roads are not closed you will still get snowed in on occasions.
4. If this is your final family home you will likely grow old there. On many occasion my dad (with me in tow) & the other mountain rescue guys would go recover the elderly from their homes after a fall or other medical emergencies as even the Land Rover based paramedics couldn’t get in. They cannot now on occasions due to H&S issues & still rely on external support.
5. Road routes in and out towards Manchester and Stockport are limited. Even with the new link road and motorway improvements in the surrounding areas.
6. possibly not a huge consideration as I am assuming you drive a Scoobie but you really do need consider what vehicle you drive for winter road conditions.
7. Buxton and the surrounding areas are beautiful hence why tourism when snowy & picturesque is high (access dependant). Same in summer (access not such an issue, road traffic an issue).
There are other considerations but in the big scheme of things minor so I won’t list as it may appear petty. Why do I say all this? I did want to move there so spent last summer & last winter in Stockport & surrounding areas with family. The above was my first hand experience & according to my brother & parents who are on occasions only miles from the Peak District & Dark Peaks is only getting worse. For these reasons (sadly) I crossed it off my list.
Now if you were to push slightly to the NW of Buxton you would have the best of both worlds. Some lovely towns & villages that are picturesque, affluent and well supported by travel links, local amenities. Just enough of the Cheshire set to benefit but not enough to be overbearing. Poynton, Romiley, Hyde, Bramhall, all have lovely areas surrounding them. Final point Stockport town centre is rough, there is (or was prior to Covid 19) plans to regenerate which it really needs. I would imagine due to Covid 19 it is now worse again. However I have not been down there for around 4 months now. Genuinely don’t want to sound like a miserable f#ck but sometimes it is best to be frank. I mention Stockport as it is Buxtons nearest commuter hub & largest town. Buxton train station is SK17, Stockport train station is SK3. Stockport is actually big enough to be a city & only just missed out on acquiring said status. Me personally knowing Buxton & it’s immediate surrounding areas I won’t be moving there. Hope (on some level) this helps!!!
Cornwall was very high on the list, we spend quite a bit of time there already and had been on a couple of house hunting trips before the demise of flybe.
I think our next move after this one might be cornwall but for now we want something which will allow easier travel around the UK and also into the EU.
Buxton is probably not for us, looks a bit small.
At the moment I am looking at
York / Harrogate (expensive but close to Leeds Bradford airport)
Northwich / Winsford / Middlewich (good value on the doorstep of Manchester airport and train links)
Worcester (good value and not that far from Birmingham airport)
Worcester is getting very expensive as the ‘work in London’ bunch have bought everything up, central Worcester was never ‘that’ cheap bar the old farm houses which have nearly all been made into gentrified mansions now. And new builds are springing up here there and everywhere. Same can be said towards Leamington way too. Maybe look for some Do-er uppers round either Evesham or Ledbury way.
Don’t know what you’ll be able to get for £375k that’s fully meets that criteria. Finding stuff that’s not on top of neighbours, not listed (money pit)/conservation area (the kind that bans double glazing), that isn’t in the middle of nowhere (i.e deepest darkest wales) and isn’t half derelict is becoming a real struggle.
That said if you fancy a compromise and cutting yourself from civilisation, you can buy my Aunty’s cottage just outside of Ponterwyd which is a short drive from the reservoirs and have few hundred grand spare to do it up!
Just round the corner from me. Nearest country park is 1.4 miles away. 15 minute drive to farmland, wind farm, stables, reservoir etc. 2 gyms within 1.5 miles, 1 is a Nuffield gym, the other a David Lloyd. Other gyms near by as well if you wanted something a little more down to earth. Numerous award winning restaurants within a 10min walk. The locals even signed a petition to stop the local Whole Foods being sold to Lidl! There was uproar it would destroy the local image. Nearest airport that does domestic & international flights is 25-30mins away. Very sort after area. Loads on local from folk festival, light show, classic car rallies where the local high street is closed so everyone can enjoy the sights. Great local Xmas events. It is the old Banker Belt community prior to moving further afield. 3 golf clubs within 4 miles (if that’s your thing).
I'd opt for Wales if it had to be somewhere in the UK, not really any airports close by but its not hard to get to Manchester
from North Wales also how many times are you realistically going to fly a year as you get older, I'd be more concerned about proximity to a good hospital than airport.
I took the slightly more extreme route and left the UK for Croatia never looked back.
Matt keswick are you sure its on my doorstep rammed with tourists 365 days of the year admittedly its a bit quiet at the moment due to the virus but still always busy yes you have the fells and the mountain biking but it still gets over busy, fortwilliam is a lot better but for me would be sack the uk off and move to Portugal post virus brexit
A friend saved hard, worked hard to maximise his pension which he received a lump sum of at 40. Sold his place in the Merchant city, Glasgow city centre and moved to Fort Bill. After a year sold up & moved back to Glasgow. He said there was a chronic drug issue in the area out of season. Specifically heroin. He comes from a relatively forth right background so could be considered a little more narrow minded than other people with a relaxed view to some drugs but he was so offended by it he couldn’t live there anymore. I’m not an advocate of drug use but do get it for some people. A bit of pot is one thing. Boshing yourself full of H is something else. Can’t say hand on heart he is 100% accurate but it’s a bit far fetched to say he is lying also. Would be interested if anyone has heard or experienced similar of the area? I go up there a few times a year for mountain biking & occasionally snow boarding but never really spent any time there when the place is dead.
Went to a friends funeral. He was found face down in his dinner in his 30s. He lived in Morecombe Bay. A large portion of his old school friends were at his funeral. A very high percentage of them were off it. So thoroughly upsetting for his parents. Spoke to his dad and he said it was rife & destroyed the town. They couldn’t even stop shouting out during his eulogy, at one point it was nearly stopped to remove some of them. Think they thought it was a fitting send off for him. He was a nice guy, genuinely was but didn’t make the best of decisions in life. Think he probably paid the ultimate price for it. So anyway strike Morecombe Bay off the list of places to sell up for.
Last edited by R666ORY+1; 28 June 2020 at 11:01 PM.
Lake District is a very nice place to live, I moved from Wales over 10 years ago and I love it. Ulverston is a very nice little town, always quirky events going on. It’s close to a larger town Barrow-in-furness that has a good amount of shops. Your about an hour away from Lancaster and two from Liverpool/Manchester if needed.
Going off topic slightly but the governments stance on drugs is a farce, clearly not working at all. As said previously I’m not an advocate of drugs but the reality is nicotine and alcohol are just as damaging as some of the class As we are all told are evil. Yet because there is revenue to be had for some reason it’s acceptable. Yes understand people can drink in moderation etc but then some people can do the same with pot etc. Personally I think pot stinks but then my 11 year old Son thinks red wine stinks & I don’t so what do I know!
Anyway back on topic. The Lake District is beautiful but can be expensive. Think really any of the Dales/Lakes/Shires type areas have great roads for driving, great vistas to behold & wide open spaces to lose yourself in.
Unfortunately almost all of the ex trawler communities are ripe with all descriptions of drugs. The EU with their quota's that suited them put pay to the UK fishing industry and the price of drink in pubs put pay to the fisherman's favourite pastime. Plus the pubs shut due to lack of business.
I spent a lot of time in Newquay in my mid to late teens and early twenties. Always wanted to move there. Loved the vibe of the place in summer, a buzzing place with a good night life. You could easily head slightly out of town and it would be chilled out. I’m reliably informed it’s a sh*t hole now and has been for some time. Truly sad. Another place to strike off the list.
19 June 2020, 12:00 PM
If you could live anywhere?
keswick are you sure its on my doorstep rammed with tourists 365 days of the year admittedly its a bit quiet at the moment due to the virus but still always busy yes you have the fells and the mountain biking but it still gets over busy, fortwilliam is a lot better but for me would be sack the uk off and move to Portugal post virus brexit
