flb Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I'm interested in decent areas in the UK - places where it's worth buying a house (house, not flat; that means parking + garden) By "decent" I mean low crime rate, preferably green area, not some post-apocalyptic nightmare, in driving distance of some jobs (IT; I'm not too bothered by this, I might work from home), not "dark" on the radon map. Obviously I'm not considering the SE - prices around here are just stupid. Any suggestion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie_George Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Shropshire. Some lovely towns, e.g. Ludlow, Bridgnorth and some nice hilly countryside. East is close for West Midlands, west is the back of beyond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flb Posted August 8, 2016 Author Share Posted August 8, 2016 Shropshire. Some lovely towns, e.g. Ludlow, Bridgnorth and some nice hilly countryside. East is close for West Midlands, west is the back of beyond. This place? https://www.police.uk/west-mercia/PAF11/crime/ Not sure whether I'm looking at the right one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie_George Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 This place? https://www.police.uk/west-mercia/PAF11/crime/ Not sure whether I'm looking at the right one. Yep. Is that high for crime? Can't imagine it's very serious crime though. Anyway, go rural for less crime wherever you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flb Posted August 8, 2016 Author Share Posted August 8, 2016 Yep. Is that high for crime? Can't imagine it's very serious crime though. Anyway, go rural for less crime wherever you are. I guess it depends on the size of that place. There's clearly a serious problem on the East side at the very least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChewingGrass Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I'd be very careful, rural crime can be a) vastly unreported and more frightening than the stuff that happens in town. Families are more clan like and word can spread especially if you are an outsider. Marginal farming areas are worse, if the area has lots of small run down farms, overgrown fields and a general air of neglect that goes down to the livestock, avoid it like the plague. Check what the local market town is like on a friday/saturday night and what happens in its pubs/clubs etc as you won't want to be followed home and beaten to death with a breeze block for looking at someone the wrong way (I kid you not). This reflects itself in prices and how long it takes to sell houses that are not in good spots. On this vein avoid properties on north facing slopes and in hollows as they won't see any sun in winter and as a rule of thumb will be damp and probably poorly constructed as these were not desirable plots when they were originally built. If you had money you didn't build on north facing slopes. I know one spot where half the farmers have been jailed at some point or other from everything from animal abuse to the afore mentioned, this only comes to light after you have known the locals for more than a couple of years. Town is a different kettle of fish nowadays as most everyone is a stranger for most of their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowed Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Depends what you like - we've just left London for North Norfolk - for far far less than a small 2 bed in East London, you get a great 4 bed house, with 2 car parking, nicely in town, 5 min walk to train and 2 mins to the sea. My garden is pretty small though, but close to lots of green space, and could make garden bigger if I knocked down the massive 4m by 8m brick built shed. £300k which we thought was pretty good, though likely we over paid as we loved the finish, the location and we had a limited time period to move. Room to add at least 2 more big rooms in attic if we ever need to. In the town we've also seen 4 bed (box rooms and attic already converted) for less than £170k - in need of likely 10k to 30k depending on finish. Plenty of tech jobs in Norwich and the area - Cambridge etc, But then again I know many of my friends wouldn't want to live in such a small quiet town, or in Norfolk at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renting til I die Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 I given some thought to Norfolk and agree that some areas do look cheap when compared to London and SE. Still think it is overpriced when compared to local wages and rents though (just not as crazy as the SE), I haven't looked into inter-structure like internet services,etc. I also haven't been able to get head around the lack of good roads! But I am spoil with the amount of connections (road and rail) I have around my current location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flb Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 I'm really more interested in the crime rate, to be honest. Not having a train or a bus is no big deal - you can get a car for as little as 1500 these days (not a new one)....but you don't really want to get stabbed on your way to the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StainlessSteelCat Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 England is basically like Slough. It isn't fit for humans now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spunko2010 Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Look at a map of constituencies and how they voted. Don't move to any Labour (red) ones, they're invariably shit holes. Choose a blue one. It's true! If you can't afford the SE - and who can in all honesty - I'd be looking at Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Herefordshire. All lovely in parts, and a lot cheaper than suburban London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mubes Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 (edited) Look at a map of constituencies and how they voted. Don't move to any Labour (red) ones, they're invariably shit holes. Choose a blue one. It's true! If you can't afford the SE - and who can in all honesty - I'd be looking at Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Herefordshire. All lovely in parts, and a lot cheaper than suburban London. I find it really interesting that HPCers tend to blue, given that wealth inequality and HPI are arguably bluer policies. Whats going on there then? Edited August 10, 2016 by mubes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exiled Canadian Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Shropshire. Some lovely towns, e.g. Ludlow, Bridgnorth and some nice hilly countryside. East is close for West Midlands, west is the back of beyond. We spent 7 very happy years in Shropshire (had to move away for work reasons)....the small market towns are very pleasant and the countryside is beautiful. We found the locals welcoming if you made the effort to get involved in the community. Commuting to Birmingham is possible from the Shrewsbury and the eastern part of the county....as you'd expect house prices get cheaper the further from Brum you get. My wifes car got broken into one night while parked on the street. Apart from that never had to trouble the local bobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spunko2010 Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 I find it really interesting that HPCers tend to blue, given that wealth inequality and HPI are arguably bluer policies. Whats going on there then? Hpi is a product of blair and brown. Neither side wants to tackle it. If anything the Tories will bring down prices through mismanagement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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