How do you find the optimum place to live?

Towser

How do you find the optimum place to live?

Do you have merged house prices with areas of deprivation data to find out the optimum place to live within a particular price range. Produced in a map form? Do you have such a thing?

I think it can be done with the National Statistics spreadsheet of rank data of areas of deprivation and house price information but I don't feel like inputting all the data for the 32,000 odd LOas! There must be this information out there somewhere. I have tried to google it with no success because I don't know what a spreadsheet or map like this would be called?

Or do you have something better.

I look forward to you replying.

moneyistooshorttomention

Confess all I could find when I came to move was the details of house prices in various areas of the country.

To find a place that I felt acceptable to me (ie enough of "middle class" type things of various descriptions) boiled down to checking out (including in person eventually) what there was in the way of modern coffeeshops/middle class clothes shops/availability of health food and organic food generally/suitable social facilities for a Social Life as such.

That resulted in an equation of just about enough "Middle Class" compared to just about affordable to see if there was anywhere that represented a "good enough" match between the two.

Is recalling a comment about people "picking up London and transporting it down the motorway" I read recently and my home city isn't London....but...errrm...I'm saying nowt LOL.

Am currently watching the high amount of house renovation going on in the area I chose since I moved here and thinking "I think that means I got it right...."...

penguingirl

It depends on what you mean by optimum. We based our choice for our current house on location and transport links. We pretty much looked at the main train stations in the area (trains to nearest city, London, near airport, good motorway links) and looked at the areas around them. We then picked a small town we liked that ticked those boxes, but for some people where we live would be too quiet and they'd have gone for the city centre 20 mins away on the train. For other people where we live would be considered too pricey - you can get a lot more house for your money if you were willing to be 10 minutes drive away and in a less desirable postcode

slowpoke_rodriguez

Are you serious?
What's important to you?

Towser

I think optimum would be the least deprived area with the least house prices.

There must be someone who can work it out. Someone who can see outside of this box.

Currently I am living in an area which is in 10% least deprived area of the country. The thing that drags this area down is that it is very rural so not many services and house prices are extortionate.

Eventually I plan to move to an area with more services and lower house prices still being within 10% least deprived area of the country.

May have to write to the office of National Statistics on this one as nobody understands my lateral thinking,

TBeckett100

I don't think it's about statistics. You pick an area that is commutable to work or if retired near shops and services. Do remember that if you are 90 widowed and all your friends are dead, you may end up lonely, so best to choose an area with family ties.

TBeckett100

What services are you looking for? Fire service, massage parlour, funeral directors, Spar shop?

Towser

I have choosen my current property purely by statistics. A year after we moved here we were still bowled over by such a nice place. We have now been here over ten years and still love it more and more each day. Just wish the house prices weren't well above the national average. Best place we have lived.

We have adapted and now closer commutable distance to work. I prefer to walk the dog and not see anyone rather than be near a whole load of shops. I have about three towns 4,6 and 8 miles away.

Family ties - no thank-you.

Davesnave

It's not possible to find the optimum place to live because one cannot assemble all the relevant data.

Sure, people can do what you have done and come up with some nice and reasonably well-served places, but this doesn't produce the whole picture, because of other, random elements.

For example, one's experience having moved somewhere is heavily influenced by neighbours and those who might become friends.

We moved into this property six years ago and found the village both welcoming and fun to live in. However, last year we met a couple who'd had an entirely different experience, which boils down to neighbour/attitude issues. Some of those neighbours are our friends, so there's clearly a mismatch there which couldn't be measured or predicted.

This couple cannot wait to sell and move on, but during their time of residence, the council approved a housing development on a green field site next door, so you can guess how that's going!

There are always going to be unpredictable elements which have as much bearing on an individual's experience after purchase as those which can be quantified.

moneyistooshorttomention

Towser wrote: »

I have choosen my current property purely by statistics. A year after we moved here we were still bowled over by such a nice place. We have now been here over ten years and still love it more and more each day. Just wish the house prices weren't well above the national average. Best place we have lived.

We have adapted and now closer commutable distance to work. I prefer to walk the dog and not see anyone rather than be near a whole load of shops. I have about three towns 4,6 and 8 miles away.

Family ties - no thank-you.

So why do you want to move in that case?

Are you unable to afford your current house any longer? Is it the location itself that you want - and its now time to "move up the ladder" but you cant afford to in your chosen area?

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

It's not possible to find the optimum place to live because one cannot assemble all the relevant data.

Sure, people can do what you have done and come up with some nice and reasonably well-served places, but this doesn't produce the whole picture, because of other, random elements.

For example, one's experience having moved somewhere is heavily influenced by neighbours and those who might become friends.

We moved into this property six years ago and found the village both welcoming and fun to live in. However, last year we met a couple who'd had an entirely different experience, which boils down to neighbour/attitude issues. Some of those neighbours are our friends, so there's clearly a mismatch there which couldn't be measured or predicted.

This couple cannot wait to sell and move on, but during their time of residence, the council approved a housing development on a green field site next door, so you can guess how that's going!

There are always going to be unpredictable elements which have as much bearing on an individual's experience after purchase as those which can be quantified.

Very true:T

I'm having to work very hard on not having my feelings/thoughts about my current location influenced by the particular (:eek:) neighbours I have. That was coupled with having to spend a high proportion of time initially on renovating the house and that severely restricted time available to go out exploring/make new friends. I think the balance is righting itself now. Cautiously optimistic that maybe the neighbours are behaving themselves at last <fingers crossed smilie> and I can cope with the Glares they are still doing (though I'd prefer them to stop that too - hey-ho). Am now getting the chance to make friends and social circle gradually expanding/getting to know the area better.

That's the thing though - as Dave says - its the things that you don't know about that can have quite an impact as well on how you feel about living in a place.

I would say that if you like the location you are in - then stay there if you can possibly afford to. If you cant afford to (tell me about it:(:mad:) then keep an eye out for those "unknown factors" - because it is surprising how big a difference they can make to how you feel.