Moving out of East Dulwich to release capital - but where to??

[Pugwash]

Orpington - good train and bus links. House prices generally cheaper than ED however very mixed housing area with large expensive properties and cheaper bungalows and flats

[Sue]

Lynne Wrote:

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> Hastings, very arty, Folkestone, mixed, Rochester,

> perhaps too quiet

Rochester has a very strange vibe, imo.

[Loutwo]

Milton Keynes.

Louisa.

[fishbiscuits]

I can just about get on board with Lewes and Hastings even, but Rochester? ROCHESTER!!!

[Sephiroth]

Yeah, Rochester is an odd one

6 years ago we left East Dulwich for Lewes. And still very much happy with the decision (reflecting on comments fishbiscuits has made in the past, I know people do tend to say that anyway. But it's very much true)

We spent several months travelling to towns within commuting distance of London, often staying overnight to get more of a feel. I'll be honest - not many towns felt great. This was pre-referendum days but that vibe was very much present

The Lewes/Brighton/south downs combo has been a real winner for us. But in many ways we were already "ready" for a move. We didn't want to recreate the life we had in East Dulwich in a different part of London - we wanted to change things up a bit. But not everyone feels the same way - it very much depends which bits of life you get out of London living now and how much you want to retain

[Angelina]

what about Ipswich?

I have a friend who lives there in a massive house (same price as a flat here).

Anyone any views?

[fishbiscuits]

Sephiroth Wrote:

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> (reflecting on comments fishbiscuits has made in

> the past, I know people do tend to say that

> anyway. But it's very much true)

Yeah.. the number of times I've read "we've moved to [ insert nondescript area of Kent ] and it's amazing, we couldn't be happier". As if they had this sudden epiphany and discovered that Dungeness is cheaper than Dulwich. And I just think... yeah, keep telling yourself that...

> The Lewes/Brighton/south downs combo has been a real winner for us.

Sounds like a good mix of town/outdoors/coast, still vaguely close to London. As I said earlier in the thread, that's probably the direction I'd head in. But I'd need the comfort of knowing I was still within walking distance of an outlet selling ?3 coffee and ?5 bread, with a nice large window so people could watch me buying them.

[Sephiroth]

"But I'd need the comfort of knowing I was still within walking distance of an outlet selling ?3 coffee and ?5 bread, with a nice large window so people could watch me buying them."

no shortage of that in Lewes tbf

[fishbiscuits]

Sounds perfect, then!

[KidKruger]

Anyone know owt about West Wickham ?

Considering that..

[GrumpyOldGitLady]

Update - we're still looking!! - Thanks for all the useful replies so far - Lewes sounds a popular suggestion.

What about Rye in Sussex- we like the feel of the town but what's it like to actually live there - does anyone know people who live there??

[monica]

Check out Margate/Cliftonville/Broadstairs, lovely area. A friend moved from ED to Margate, she is renting a whole property for a third of the rent she was paying in ED.

[SpringTime]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-03/one-in-seven-u-k-homes-are-selling-in-a-week-after-tax-cut

Outside London the property market is fluid and looks like prices steady at least - probably on the rise. This is almost certainly due to people's behavioural changes rather than economic ones, bar the stamp duty relief which doesn't mean as much to the higher value London market. How long this will go on for we don't know. You might find, unless you price super-keenly, that a sale in SE22 and the immediate area will be a lot slower than back in 2012-2016 and that you're potentially priced out of your preferred out-of-town destinations, depending where and what they are. On another note some areas, Brighton, for example, are now so expensive that some movers are actually coming from outside and back into the capital again.

Personally I'd go for a proper rural location as far from a city as possible (if it was workable) rather than live anywhere within 50 or probably 75 miles of London! England has become a very suburban place...

[RichH]

GrumpyOldGitLady Wrote:

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> Lewes sounds a popular suggestion.

Except when it's under water! The last serious flooding may have been 20 years ago but that doesn't mean it won't happen again.

[KidKruger]

If you're not having to commute to London a lot why not consider Isle of Wight ?

[siousxiesue]

fishbiscuits Wrote:

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> I can just about get on board with Lewes and

> Hastings even, but Rochester? ROCHESTER!!!

Rochester until very recently, had a double fronted shop for UKIP in it's pedestrianised high street.

[siousxiesue]

KidKruger Wrote:

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> Anyone know owt about West Wickham ?

> Considering that..

Friend in WW loves it, small village feel but with some chains in the high st, and woodlands on the doorstep

[KidKruger]

Did ago down for a look a few week ago.

Houses, space, woods, air, all good.

People put me off big style tho - might as well be on the Isle of White.

siousxiesue Wrote:

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> KidKruger Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Anyone know owt about West Wickham ?

> > Considering that..

>

> Friend in WW loves it, small village feel but with

> some chains in the high st, and woodlands on the

> doorstep

[SpringTime]

A fair few Londoners are moving to Birmingham at the moment. The city centre is lively enough (by half!) and South West Brum has many good places to live. Your money goes very far in relative terms and there are some excellent leafy streets with lots of sound high quality big houses.

[siousxiesue]

Friend just visited her boyfriend in Havant. She was very enthusiastic about it

[KidKruger]

Havant is actually a shithole

[NewWave]

GrumpyOldGitLady Wrote:

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> Update - we're still looking!! - Thanks for all

> the useful replies so far - Lewes sounds a popular

> suggestion.

>

> What about Rye in Sussex- we like the feel of the

> town but what's it like to actually live there -

> does anyone know people who live there??

I think Lewes is a much better option than Rye with better train service and easy to get into Brighton as well Rye is basically a cute tourist town with not much going on-plus properties aren't by any means cheap and are quite poky.

I think you'd get very bored very quickly there tbh

[Bob Buzzard]

What about Shropshire?

[fishbiscuits]

KidKruger Wrote:

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> Havant is actually a shithole

Truth.

[fishbiscuits]

KidKruger Wrote:

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> Havant is actually a shithole

This is the truth.