Big life decision

PM22

Oh wow...thank you

I really would love a 1/2/3 bed detached house in Cumbria....my budget is only 125k though...any ideas where would be do-able?

I work as a dental nurse and would need to find a job within 3 months...

I would need a GP practice and a vet for the cat and that's pretty much it.

Thank you so much 

andyhawes

Have you considered renting rooms / Airbnb or the like on either your existing or new property to get extra cash in to clear the debt faster?

Sncjw

I've just googled dental nurse jobs Cumbria and there is a few. 

Have a look at the areas. Maybe you need to secure a job first before moving as it can take months to sell a house fully. You may need to rent in Cumbria first.

kimwp

Are you taking into account car and fuel costs if moving to somewhere like Cumbria? Even if you find a job really close to your new home, if that practice closed for some reason, the next job could be quite a commute.

Grumpelstiltskin

Right you need to start at the beginning and get everything down on paper.

1) 3 Estate Agents round to give you a realistic sale price for your flat, ask them if there is anything cheap you could do to get more money for it, ask them how much they would charge you for selling it.

2) How long is there left on your lease, a short lease will make it difficult to sell.

3) Ask round solicitors how much they would charge you for conveyancing.

4) Ring round removal firms for a ball park figure for removals to Cumbria or where ever you decide on.

That is part 1 so when you have all these figures you can start on part 2.

It will be a long process starting now if you are lucky you will be able to get into rented at the beginning of next year.

elsien

Houses in the lake district are obviously going to be more than other parts of Cumbria. And traffic into places like Kendal can be heaving in the summer months (relative lives round that way.)
So if you're considering it, you probably need to be looking Carlisle/Penrith etc rather then the prettier scenic bits, just on affordability. Also consider transport in the winter.
Relative has a half an hour commute to Penrith from his house in the middle of nowhere and you need a 4x4 and nerves of steel on some of the roads. 

PM22

There are some fab houses in Carlisle.....thank you 

PM22

My ex husband has just paid 20k off my mortgage. I don't know why. 
It was a miserable marriage for both of us and we've been divorced since 2010.

It's his last month paying maintenance for our son. I feel confused.

I'm going to Cumbria on 1st June to check it out and `I'm keeping an eye out on what you can buy there 

EssexHebridean

We're eventually planning a complete relocation - to the Hebrides (as per my username - currently we're in the other half of it!) - it's still uncertain on timings at the moment for various family reasons but we've been putting the ground works in place for literally years - including multiple visits at various times of year (if looking at rural or more remote locations it's REALLY important to spend time there at potentially tougher times of year - a big thing for me was the lack of daylight in the winter for example, but having actually now spent time there in midwinter we realise that's not as bad as we originally feared. By "Spend time" I also mean a week, or longer, at a time, not day visits - as a single day doesn't give you the wider vision of what a place is really like once the tourists have gone back to their cottages for the night... Other stuff is as people have mentioned - longer commutes - what happens if you find yourself without a car for an extended period for example, how do you deal with that if you're used to town living and frequent or at least reasonable public transport options as your "just in case". The common thing that pretty much everyone we speak to in the Hebrides mentions around "incomers" (and that's another thing - there is a lot of legwork to be done to ensure that you don't get met with suspicion and hostility in a lot of places!) is that all too often they arrive to live after having had a week's holiday in the summer, and last half way through a winter before deciding they've had enough of the wind/rain/darkness/power cuts and wanting to sell up - except they then can't sell up as property isn't always that easy to sell in "challenging" locations. 

The biggest red flag to me right now on your position  is that you don't seem to have a clear plan in mind - this is not a situation where you've visited a location and fallen in love with it - and have gone back, and back, and back because you just love spending time there, as far as I can see? It feels like - and forgive me if this feels harsh, but it REALLY worries me - you're more focused on running away from the things you're not happy with where you are currently, than on firm, solid positives that you will find somewhere new. As a result you have this thing of "anywhere will do" because you've convinced yourself it will be "better" - but I'm not sure what you're basing that on? To me, that means you face a huge risk that you get to the "somewhere new" only to find that actually, it wasn't the place at all, that was the issue... something to think about, I'd suggest. 

Might being free of financial ties to your ex be a good first step to aim for? And if do, how can you do that - it feels as though you have a lot of unhappiness around still being tied to him, though? While it's fair to say that when there is a child involved - of whatever age - you will never be able to completely cut ties, you can certainly think about the possibility of being financially independent of him. 

enthusiasticsaver

PM22 said:

My ex husband has just paid 20k off my mortgage. I don't know why. 
It was a miserable marriage for both of us and we've been divorced since 2010.

It's his last month paying maintenance for our son. I feel confused.

I'm going to Cumbria on 1st June to check it out and `I'm keeping an eye out on what you can buy there 

Was the mortgage in just your name? Maybe there was an old endowment policy which has just matured. Take your time to decide next steps.