08-04-08, UpMyStreet ©
It's likely that at some stage in your life you've asked yourself: What am I doing this for? We often fall into lifestyles that we might not have actively chosen - or find ourselves wanting something different as we get older.
But have you got as far as thinking: What else could I be doing? A move to a different environment can completely transform your lifestyle. If it's the right time for you to take a step back - even if it's just to dream - we have five options for you to think about, based on the average price of a UK property: £230,000.
1. Up sticks and move to the country
This is probably the most common of fantasies. Who wouldn't think about ditching the pressures of city life for more space, more stars and long walks in the country?
Profile: Melbourne, Derbyshire
Melbourne is a Georgian market town with a rich history, that manages to be a Peak District country escape without being completely remote. Here £230,000 buys a semi-detached, three-bedroom Georgian house with large garden and countryside views.
› Search for properties in Melbourne
2. Breathe the sea air, everyday
The UK has some of the loveliest stretches of coastline in the world. From Unst in Scotland to Gwenver Beach in Cornwall, you are never as close to nature than when you're by the sea.
Profile: Seaham, County Durham
Despite capital appreciation being at 172% in the last few years, property in Seaham is still very affordable. The whole coastline was recently designated heritage status and the town itself has a well preserved harbour. In Seaham, £230,000 will buy a four bedroom, semi-detached house with conservatory.
› Search for properties in Seaham
3. Buy a car and relax in the 'burbs
If you're sick of city life, but don't want to be stuck in the sticks, then sub-urban living could be the ideal choice for you and your family.
Profile: West Bridgford, Nottingham
Situated in the highly desirable Rushcliffe borough, which was voted the 14th best place to live in the UK by Channel 4, West Bridgford offers the best of city life without the window box garden. £230,000 here will get you a three-bedroom terraced property with street parking and a front and back garden.
› Search for properties in West Bridgford
4. Experience the buzz of a city
Inner city living can be intensely exciting - you're never more than a few minutes from arts, culture, shopping and every other amenity possible. Modern, affordable apartments are being built all the time, in cities all over the UK. City living does not begin and end with London.
Profile: Manchester
Manchester long ago shed it's northern industrial town image - brilliant transport links, shops that include Harvey Nichols and Vivienne Westwood and a cultural scene to match London, all make it a great urban choice. Here £230,000 will buy a two-bed city centre apartment in a converted warehouse, with shared garden and secure parking.
› Search for properties in Manchester
5. Go remote: live on an island
It's common to feel overwhelmed by a busy lifestyle, and getting away from it all to completely change your pace of life can be very attractive.
Profile: Orkney Isles, Scotland
Situated to the North of Scotland, 17 of these 70 isles are inhabited. Not only do the Orkneys fit the remote category perfectly, they also offer fantastic scenery, and in winter the beautiful northern lights can be seen. While the property market here isn't exactly booming, £230,000 will buy a four bedroom townhouse with bay views - and you'll have change to spare.
› Search for properties in the Orkney Isles
Related articles
I have loved living in London for the last 11 years but the older I get the less willing I am to tolerate the bad stuff that comes with living in the capital, so my wife and I have decided to relocate to Exeter.
House prices aren't as different in Exeter as London, but we're still able to buy a bigger house with more garden than we could in London for the same money.
We spend most of our spare time windsurfing or surfing or doing outdoorsy stuff. This was quite difficult to do in London which meant we spent lots of time travelling either to the south coast or all the way to north Cornwall (some 300 miles). Plus our retired racing greyhound loves to run on the beach!
Nic Pillinger, swapping London for Exeter
Areas in brief
Melbourne:
- Local attractions include Melbourne Hall and it's public gardens, Calke Abbey and Poppy Wood, part of the National Forest
- Crime figures are well below the national average
Seaham:
- Only a short drive from Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough
- Cost of living in County Durham is well below the national average
West Bridgford:
- Central Avenue has restaurants, bars and shops to rival Nottingham
- Good transport links to Nottingham city and the nearby countryside
Manchester:
- Known as Britain's 'second city' for it's culture, nightlife and size
- The vibrant local music scene has produced bands such as Oasis, Happy Mondays and The Fall
Orkey Isles:
- Crime is almost non existent
- Local events include the yearly Orkney Folk Festival and sailing regattas on many of the islands
Thinking of moving?
Look for houses in Scarborough
Margaret (North Lanarkshire), on 06/08/2008 at 12:53
Anyone looking to re-locate to scotland. I have a fantastic 5 bedroom, 3 ensuite bed villa. As well as great family home is also suitable for families who wish to share with parents etc or bed and breakfast. Exceptionally versatile home. Excellent for commuting to Glasgow, Edinburgh or South. 4 mins drive from railway station. Ideally looking to move to Cyprus to enjoy a different way of life beginning of 2009.
BritInChina (Cambridge), on 04/07/2008 at 16:47
Well I was lucky enough to buy a terrace in central cambridge in 1998 at a ripe old age of 18. Everyone thought I was insane, even I did......but after renovating and renting out all the rooms while living in the loft, I sold up in 2006 with £200,000 in my back pocket!!
With that money I bought to dilapidated terraces in Gainsborough for £60,000 the pair and rent them out for £700 in my pocket per month.
What can you do with £700 a month and £140k? Well, I moved to a small town in Guangdong China with my Chinese wife and we have bought an american style home in a gated complex, 6 beds, 4 bath, swimming pool, triple garage etc for £70,000!
We live off the rental income which equates to 10,000Y in local currency. A wine bottle sized beer is 2Y and a pack of 20 cigs is 2Y, a taxi ride through town is 5Y and an average meal in an upmarket place is around 30Y
So I've effectively retired, though I may start teaching hehe
Julie (Crewe and Nantwich), on 22/06/2008 at 12:11
Well we are going the whole hog, after 7 years studying I have finally managed to 'improve myself' and get a job in Norfolk. We currently live in Crewe. (need I say more) I have to say though I am terrified, what if we don't sell our house? what if we cant afford the mortgage payments on the new house? what if my kids hate it? and the list goes on....
But
We are heading off tomorrow for a week camping in Norfolk to check out the area and view about 30 houses - all rural, no neighbours quiet areas ( i hope) which will be a nice break from the hustle and bustle of crewe
PS anyone thinking about moving to crewe - dont its full lol
but seriously I have a nice 3 bedroomed terraced in a quiet cul de sac with a small but tidy garden, a huge drive ( 3 cars) and a garage. the house has recently been redecorated (all neutral) and has a brand new bathroom (yes i watch property ladder lol) all this for the grand total of 115k so get in touch lol
Sandra (Birmingham), on 18/06/2008 at 15:41
Hi I come into the struggling to pay the mortgage category and will have to reluctantly get a lodger in order to pay off my credit cards, and afford a visit to the hairdressers. I am however happy with my house but as for the quality of life that we are all striving for, mine is far from ideal, distressingly so, and I cannot afford to go back to college to improve my salary prospects. At least paperbacks are cheap and I can read about the wonderful places one can inhabit. I could sell my home and take a giant leap in the dark, travel to an exotic island to live, but am far to sensible for that as what happens when the finances start to dry up along with the dream. No I think for now I'll just read about what everyone else is doing and carry on existing. After all things can only get better, can't they, or is it that in Britain, even that is debatable.
Trisha (Oxon) (West Oxfordshire), on 08/06/2008 at 19:42
Wherever you move - check the neighbours out first! We moved back to Oxon after a break of 5 years away, and our neighbours turned out to be the local loonies (sorry to use such a word) serious pycho problems, turning into death threats, listerning at walls/being spied upon, violence against the house, other treats/ aggression, police involvement. All in a nice middle class expensive area too! In the end, we lost 30,000 off the value of the house to sell it to a rental property, after house sales fell through.
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Gary (Ealing), on 28/05/2008 at 11:48
Debbie wrote:
i have lived all my life in Aberdeenshire. unfortunately house prices are through the roof here. maybe moving down to north Angus Edzell woods. not sure what the area is like yet.
Edzell is a beautiful part of the country, you'll love it there.
Mark (Telford and Wrekin), on 25/05/2008 at 22:10
We live in a wonderful 3 bed fully renovated bungalow in Telford Shropshire. We absolutely love it here with lovely views of woods and a duck pond with 3 very charimatic donkeys strolling about. I love my cars and the driveway is fantastic, If my better half let me I could fit 12 on the drive! sadly I am restricted to 2:-(.
I am in the airforce and now have to move with my job. We are about to put the Bungalow up for sale and I am certain it will sell fast considering the location and the value compared with london and so on. We are going to really miss it here. Should anyone fancy moving to shropshire for some peace and quiet then £290,000 could give you the lovely lifestyle we have enjoyed for the last 3 years.
Janet (Maidstone), on 23/05/2008 at 13:23
shed wrote:
We have our house on the market at the mo in a place called Cheadle Hulme (supposedly a suburb in Cheshire but in reality is attached to the Greater Manchester Sprawl.) Sick of the airport noise, traffic jams, hoodies (and we have an 11 year old - so I worry). We are selling a truly lovely house with open outlooks (which is v rare) but we are escaping to Shropshire. Took me 10 years, but my old man finally got a transfer to Shrewsbury and we are looking for that perfect country abode, with a large garden and inglenook. Not that we can afford what I want!! So its such a pity about the house market turning into Mavis Riley because we have a great house and no-one to buy it. But I can wait a little longer. Shropshire is so beautiful. And space.. so much of the stuff. I just cant wait. I can cope with no John Lewis around the corner and 24 hour shopping. I will miss my lovely neighbours, but we can phone. I am so excited and look forward to swapping the smell of diesel to cow dudy. And I want to keep chickens. I am so going to be ripped off and I fully embrace it. Bring it on....
Hey Shed - I can SO relate to what you are saying...have had the inglenook and the chickens ( even progressed to pigs!)and all that countryside..we had 15 wonderful years in our cottage after moving out of town to escape and I smile when I recall all the fun we had.
Good Luck to you and the family. Hope it isn't too long before you realise your dream and get to Shropshire.
shed (Stockport), on 22/05/2008 at 23:54
We have our house on the market at the mo in a place called Cheadle Hulme (supposedly a suburb in Cheshire but in reality is attached to the Greater Manchester Sprawl.) Sick of the airport noise, traffic jams, hoodies (and we have an 11 year old - so I worry). We are selling a truly lovely house with open outlooks (which is v rare) but we are escaping to Shropshire. Took me 10 years, but my old man finally got a transfer to Shrewsbury and we are looking for that perfect country abode, with a large garden and inglenook. Not that we can afford what I want!! So its such a pity about the house market turning into Mavis Riley because we have a great house and no-one to buy it. But I can wait a little longer. Shropshire is so beautiful. And space.. so much of the stuff. I just cant wait. I can cope with no John Lewis around the corner and 24 hour shopping. I will miss my lovely neighbours, but we can phone. I am so excited and look forward to swapping the smell of diesel to cow dudy. And I want to keep chickens. I am so going to be ripped off and I fully embrace it. Bring it on....
Janet (Maidstone), on 22/05/2008 at 17:02
It's great to read what everyone is doing to change life and enjoy it.
We left UK four years ago. I hit 50 and said,"That's it. I am getting old fast and we need some fun".My husband and I left a year later and now live in the Caribbean in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Only go home to see family and friends but life here is too good to stay away .No taxes, can buy property, loads of sun, fun diving,socialising with great friends from across the globe who live here all year or "snowbird".
We came here to do other things and I am now into property sales which I love doing. I am glad to have had this chance of a change of direction. I miss real bacon, historical buildings, the music scene and decent hairdressers. That important? Nowhere is perfect but we very close to a perfect life here.It's sunny and warm all year and we enjoy leaving island just to put on clothes!!
We had a vaulation on our Kent home last week. It was pitiful so we are hanging in and continuing renting it. It's still a good idea to keep a property in UK.We have the US dollar here so our money goes a long way, even though the island is upmarket and not cheap. I'll name drop now. Bruce Willis, Keith Richards and Rio Ferdinand to name but a few celebs, all have homes here and the private jets and mega yachts that arrive daily are awesome. We may not be in that league ( well, we aren't!) but it's fun to be around.You can do it too...just jump
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