Where should I move to?

GemmaJF

I'm getting itchy feet and thinking of moving.

We've currently got a three bedroom house in a small village with a moderate garden. It is very rural but we have neighbours directly either side. The back gardens adjoins a large arable field.

I've never really been happy here. Neighbours can have extensions built, contractors in 24/7, late night hot tub parties, but I get comments that I'm 'too noisy' when I water the garden with a hose!

It's a case really of townies moving into a rural area and now we have them on both sides.

I'm looking at moving to a two bedroom house (my son will go his own way soon) with significantly more land (min 2.5 acres).

I've always been interested in self-sufficiency and small holdings, but now being in my fifties, not looking at a mini farm, just somewhere with enough room to grow plenty of veg, have chickens and perhaps a pet pig to process the compost! Energy self-sufficiency would be wonderful also.

What I want to get away from is the attitude locally, intensive arable agriculture and having neighbours directly either side, I just feel squashed in the middle and open to their opinion when doing the simplest thing like digging up some spuds.

On the radar at the moment, Norfolk, Wales, Yorkshire

So can anyone help suggest where I'll finally find a place that I really feel is my own, wildlife is still abundant and I'm unlikely to have selfish neighbours?

Hostafan1

We moved from Hants/ Surrey to Devon 9 years ago and have never looked back

Obelixx

It depends on your budget but I'd also look at access to amenities - shopping, GP, dentist, good hospital as well as some social life and ease of visiting rellies and friends and vice versa.   Do you want hills or do you like it flat?  

The east side of the country gets cold winds off the north sea and less rain so look at water and insulation too.  The west side gets more rain and strong winds but not as cold.  Herefordshire and Shropshire always do well on price comparisons on Escape to the Country but a lot depends on how isolated you will be. 

Hostafan1

I'd pick a few locations and go on Zoopla or some other site to compare house prices. Might be a useful benchmark to see what you get for your  money in terms of bricks and mortar.

Bee witched

Hello @GemmaJF,

I live in Scottish Borders .... and pretty much have situation you would like to move to.

My garden is about 3 acres, including some woodland and a river frontage. I don't keep chickens (or a pig!) but we have plenty of room for lots of fruit and veg .... and our beehives. 
If we fancy a day in the city then Edinburgh is just over an hour away.

Property prices here are reasonable ... and local facilities are all very good.

So, worth considering (but then I'm a bit biased ).

Bee x

Pete.8

Google Earth is useful. You can choose a village or town and go for a virtual drive around to see what it's like.

GemmaJF

Hostafan1 said:

I'd pick a few locations and go on Zoopla or some other site to compare house prices. Might be a useful benchmark to see what you get for your  money in terms of bricks and mortar.

That's what I've been doing so far, so mostly looking for people's experiences of where they are so I can get a feel for what it is really like living in different regions. From there I planned to book a weeks holiday in a region so I can meet local people and take a look around. 

@Obelixx budget wise we would like to free up as much cash as possible. Our fairly modest three bedroom house is valued in the region of £400,000 as we fall in the current London bubble. There are more and more people from London wanting to move here because it is 'quiet' and somewhat ironically destroying the peace and quiet in the process as they know the money is in improving the properties.

So budget wise, looking at £325,000 max, the emphasis being on a smaller house but more land.

Isolation is not really a problem. I suffer from depression so have lived in virtual isolation for the past 40 years. Hills would be nice, think I've done enough 'flat' living in East Anglia for a lifetime! More rain would not be a bad thing, last few summers have been super dry here. Though you wouldn't know it today in the drizzle!

I suppose the only other criteria I've not mentioned, good biking roads would be fantastic. I'm a keen motorcyclist, bored to death of the roads around here that I've done a hundred or more times now. 

Hostafan1

GemmaJF said:

Hostafan1 said:

I'd pick a few locations and go on Zoopla or some other site to compare house prices. Might be a useful benchmark to see what you get for your  money in terms of bricks and mortar.

That's what I've been doing so far, so mostly looking for people's experiences of where they are so I can get a feel for what it is really like living in different regions. From there I planned to book a weeks holiday in a region so I can meet local people and take a look around. 

@Obelixx budget wise we would like to free up as much cash as possible. Our fairly modest three bedroom house is valued in the region of £400,000 as we fall in the current London bubble. There are more and more people from London wanting to move here because it is 'quiet' and somewhat ironically destroying the peace and quiet in the process as they know the money is in improving the properties.

So budget wise, looking at £325,000 max, the emphasis being on a smaller house but more land.

Isolation is not really a problem. I suffer from depression so have lived in virtual isolation for the past 40 years. Hills would be nice, think I've done enough 'flat' living in East Anglia for a lifetime! More rain would not be a bad thing, last few summers have been super dry here. Though you'd wouldn't know it today in the drizzle!

I suppose the only other criteria I've not mentioned, good biking roads would be fantastic. I'm a keen motorcyclist, bored to death of the roads around here that I've done a hundred or more times now. 

Sounds like N. Devon/ Cornwall borders would suit you perfectly

GemmaJF

Hostafan1 said:

GemmaJF said:

Hostafan1 said:

I'd pick a few locations and go on Zoopla or some other site to compare house prices. Might be a useful benchmark to see what you get for your  money in terms of bricks and mortar.

That's what I've been doing so far, so mostly looking for people's experiences of where they are so I can get a feel for what it is really like living in different regions. From there I planned to book a weeks holiday in a region so I can meet local people and take a look around. 

@Obelixx budget wise we would like to free up as much cash as possible. Our fairly modest three bedroom house is valued in the region of £400,000 as we fall in the current London bubble. There are more and more people from London wanting to move here because it is 'quiet' and somewhat ironically destroying the peace and quiet in the process as they know the money is in improving the properties.

So budget wise, looking at £325,000 max, the emphasis being on a smaller house but more land.

Isolation is not really a problem. I suffer from depression so have lived in virtual isolation for the past 40 years. Hills would be nice, think I've done enough 'flat' living in East Anglia for a lifetime! More rain would not be a bad thing, last few summers have been super dry here. Though you'd wouldn't know it today in the drizzle!

I suppose the only other criteria I've not mentioned, good biking roads would be fantastic. I'm a keen motorcyclist, bored to death of the roads around here that I've done a hundred or more times now. 

Sounds like N. Devon/ Cornwall borders would suit you perfectly

A few people have suggested the same to me, know a couple of people who were local move that way and not regretted it. I'll take a proper look at the property prices.

Kili

I'm with you GemmaJF . I'm stuck between neighbours and bl**dy hot tub junkies. Tired to persuade the Misses to move to France where you get get a bit of land and be well away from any neighbours but, she's too ill now to move.

Keep looking, I envy you. I so wish I could do what your about to I hate having neighbours around me. Some are very nice people but I prefer the solitude and would love to have a place with at least a quarter mile distance all round between me and any neighbours. 

GemmaJF

Kili said:

I'm with you GemmaJF . I'm stuck between neighbours and bl**dy hot tub junkies. Tired to persuade the Misses to move to France where you get get a bit of land and be well away from any neighbours but, she's too ill now to move.

Keep looking, I envy you. I so wish I could do what your about to I hate having neighbours around me. Some are very nice people but I prefer the solitude and would love to have a place with at least a quarter mile distance all round between me and any neighbours. 

What really gets to me is I'm very tolerant of what other people do, though I have to endure 'dripping tap' comments about everything I do. They think it is very 'unconventional' to grow veg in the back of a rural property, yet if they actually got to know a few more people in the village, they would know loads of us do it! They just don't see all the other back gardens with veg, just ours.

If I do the watering early evening it is 'noisy', I even had a comment of 'what are you doing' when taking the lid off a plastic compost bin! Yet having a hot tub party in rural East Anglia where the neighbours can hear them shouting and swearing into the night as they get progressively more drunk, totally normal apparently.

I really should have told them the truth about the hot tub. They were pondering why the previous owner had it sunken in the ground... ...didn't have the heart to tell them it is because it is in a former cesspit. I love irony.

I'm in a similar situation as a full time carer for my OH. I've been putting off a move for years because he is not well, but having discussed it with him he is prepared for us to move. I'm really feeling the pressure with my own age as I don't want to leave it too late to finally get somewhere with enough land and isolation that I can really be happy. Just want to be 'left alone to do my own thing', a phrase my Mum used a lot when I was child, she knew it was the only time I was really comfortable and happy.