Buying a house - suggestions for where to buy

The_Pink_Wafer

hanfrangipane wrote: »

Hi!


Since you're living in London currently, I question whether somewhere as small as, say, the North East would suit you. It depends what kind of lifestyle you're after really.


Han

Thank you, this is a BRILLIANT post. I think on the job training would be ideal really, although he's not a spring chicken anymore - at 36, it's a career change. His background (before the poker) was in production and operations.

I'm actually a Cornish girl and was brought up in a tiny village with no transport in the middle of nowhere, so I'm used to a quieter lifestyle. And where we are - we're technically Kent as we're on the London/Kent border is pretty quiet anyway, so not worried about a quieter lifestyle.

Johnandabbey - thank you for that point. I had concerns about Greater Anglia as you do hear of their frequent troubles...of course, South Eastern Failway are also terrible. Commuting into London wouldn't be something to worry about too much to begin with as visits would be infrequent - but who knows in future?

hanfrangipane

The_Pink_Wafer wrote: »

Thank you, this is a BRILLIANT post. I think on the job training would be ideal really, although he's not a spring chicken anymore - at 36, it's a career change. His background (before the poker) was in production and operations.

I'm actually a Cornish girl and was brought up in a tiny village with no transport in the middle of nowhere, so I'm used to a quieter lifestyle. And where we are - we're technically Kent as we're on the London/Kent border is pretty quiet anyway, so not worried about a quieter lifestyle.

Not a problem - glad it was of some use to you!

I used to holiday in Cornwall as a child and loved it! In that sense, I think the North East could suit you quite nicely. It gets a bit of a bashing to be honest, it's not 'grim up north' as some would have you think!

You can be at the coast with really gorgeous beaches within half an hour on the Metro, or a bit further afield on the train within an hour or so, there's loads of countryside to explore, also able to get to via train/buses, plenty of places to shop that are easily accessible and it is also on the east coast mainline which is great for getting to London/Scotland/Anywhere inbetween! it's around 2.5-3 hours to london on the train, depending on whether you get a fast one or not. So if visits to London are likely to be not that frequent, it's almost as easy to get there as it is from the East Anglia area!

Also, taxis are dirt cheap in the area, you can get from most places into central newcastle for less than a fiver.

There are some really lovely areas that you could buy for your budget so you wouldn't be compromising too much on area to get somewhere that was big enough for you. Even a 2 bed quayside flat would only set you back about £140k so a little further afield (although still on the metro track) would be affordable.

Job wise - my friends partner has started retraining and 33 so it's not so out of the ordinary! He has found a training contract though. They're low salaries but then you get the training and you are pretty much guaranteed a job at the end, with the qualifying pay rise. If I were you, I'd look at areas where he could get a job and go from there. If it's a career change he's after then find the job and then the rest will follow, no point moving somewhere that there are no jobs!

patricia..xx

I can't help with the area bit - apart from to say East Yorkshire is worth a look.

Are you sure of the position on jobs/accountancy exams. I am an accountant and it wasn't possible to just sit the exams, you needed a job and a guarantee they would give you relevant experience. It might be he is looking at different exams, but generally no job as an accountant = no exams or qualification.

Having said that, accountancy firms and accountants are everywhere so it would be a good career to be looking at given your relocation