South to north move - aka escape to the country

Ruru10

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to move from down south up to the peak district, including borders of the peak district, as far up as Yorkshire.
I and my husband work from home and would need occasional commutes to London area.  No kids.
After spending lots of time researching areas, many hours on zoopla / rightmove, my question is:...How do you decide on the right area to move to when it's long distance?
I know the area to an extent, but regular visits are not so easy.  I want an area where I feel safe, in a village would be nice, close to country side.  I'm beginning to feel like I need to go on Escape to the Country / Location as they always find lovely little villages.......But would rather avoid that if there's an off camera option
Thank you so much!

comeandgo

I’d start by renting a property in an area you like the look of.  You seem to have no ties so if you don’t like the area move on to somewhere else.

comeandgo

I’d start by renting a property in an area you like the look of.  You seem to have no ties so if you don’t like the area move on to somewhere else.

Flugelhorn

it is difficult to decide - we did Midlands to Yorkshire Dales and after several years decided it just wasn't going to work. Scenery lovely, weather awful - people middling.  

Finding the right area can be really hard when you have no tie eg workplace / school etc that you need to be close to - suspect you have to look for the things that are important to you and draw some maps - ege supermarkets, railway stations, churches, leisure clubs, woodlands for walks etc and then get out there and visit. If you are really tempted by an area then stay for a weeks holiday and see how it works out

youth_leader

You need to make a checklist of must haves, nice to haves, and definitely don't wants, down to the finest detail.  

Do the checklist for each village/town you look at.  I had about twelve places on my original list, narrowed down to two because of a mainline railway station nearby, which turned out to be a priory 'need' so my adult children could visit without driving if they wanted to.

See if the village/town you choose is on Escape to the Country, google to see if there are any YouTubes about it.  I looked at Sidmouth in Devon on YouTube, a young couple recordedtheir walks. 

Do choose carefully.  I'm a Londoner living in Northumberland, can't afford to come back, and after 20 dull years I still miss the Big Smoke.

uralmaid

We moved from West Yorkshire to Lincolnshire. Nearly 14 years now. The first place we moved seemed idyllic.A grade II listed cottage with 1 acre in a very small village.  Never saw anyone and we soon realized the house was too small.  We then moved to a bigger house with 3 acres and 2 fishing lakes.  Loved it for nearly 12 years but decided we needed to downsize on land. Also, the hamlet had no amenities - no shop or pub.  Moved 1 year ago to a coastal village  3 miles down the road with 2 pubs, fantastic walks and beaches, a garage and shop. Bigger house with 1 acre. We love it and would never go back to Yorkshire.

MidnightWolf

My wife and I moved from the West Midlands to a village in the south of the Derbyshire Dales district just under three years ago, primarily because it’s closer to my job. If you’re willing to look at the south end of the Peak District, there’s lots of nice villages along the A50 corridor giving easy access to towns and cities like Stoke, Derby,  Nottingham and Burton on Trent (the latter three offer a reasonably quick journey into London St Pancras and from Stoke into Euston) as well as the M6 and M1.

another_casualty

Ruru10 said:

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to move from down south up to the peak district, including borders of the peak district, as far up as Yorkshire.
I and my husband work from home and would need occasional commutes to London area.  No kids.
After spending lots of time researching areas, many hours on zoopla / rightmove, my question is:...How do you decide on the right area to move to when it's long distance?
I know the area to an extent, but regular visits are not so easy.  I want an area where I feel safe, in a village would be nice, close to country side.  I'm beginning to feel like I need to go on Escape to the Country / Location as they always find lovely little villages.......But would rather avoid that if there's an off camera option
Thank you so much!

It makes it easier if you knew someone like a friend or family member. 

Do you drive ? 

Are there any hobbies / social activities you could join with others? 

Are there any areas on that list that you have been before on a few occasions ? 

You have some good advice already ( and more to come no doubt ).
Going to a place that you want to go to visiting for a few weeks at a  time in different times of the year perhaps. 

One of the main things is to not be too far from family / friends imho. 

I took a gamble and now live in Dorset. My friends and myself used to always socialise every year for a weekend . One of my close friends from the group is born and bred in Dorset and moved back in the '90s . Anyway , long story short..I moved here 6 years ago on  my own . The local friend and his family are all I know more or less. 

Just over 2 hrs from londonistan where family and a few friends are . 

I don't drive . Covid interrupted things socially , but hopefully I'll get there . 

Hope this helps 

Best of luck 

Gavin83

Ruru10 said:

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to move from down south up to the peak district, including borders of the peak district, as far up as Yorkshire.
I and my husband work from home and would need occasional commutes to London area.  No kids.
After spending lots of time researching areas, many hours on zoopla / rightmove, my question is:...How do you decide on the right area to move to when it's long distance?
I know the area to an extent, but regular visits are not so easy.  I want an area where I feel safe, in a village would be nice, close to country side.  I'm beginning to feel like I need to go on Escape to the Country / Location as they always find lovely little villages.......But would rather avoid that if there's an off camera option
Thank you so much!

Do you currently live in London or somewhere urban? We didn’t move up north but we moved from London to a small town, one that many people recommend and is often featured on “best places to live” lists. We hated it. Thankfully we decided to rent first so it wasn’t a major deal to leave. 

Might not be the same for you of course but you might find the realities of village life aren’t for you. Like a few others have recommended I’d also suggest renting first.

TripleH

We live on the edge of the Peak District.

There are villages other direct transpenine route from York to Manchester and can be half an hour in to Piccadilly then about 2 1/2 to London.

We have limited access to shops and in winter some villages can be cut off.

We are happy though.

Skiddaw1

We relocated from urban Berkshire (Reading) to a village in the north of Cumbria three years ago and we couldn't be happier. Mind you, we already had local connections and had been regularly visiting the area at all times of year so we knew the lie of the land to some extent at least. We had a wish-list and spent many hours browsing Rightmove before we narrowed the search down and then we 'blitzed' our shortlisted houses/locations over the course of a three day visit. We can still get down to the south comparitively easily either by road or rail to see friends (and they visit us) and we've made many local friends and connections in the course of the past three years. If you're prepared to make the effort it's really not difficult to soon become a part of a community (I think that applies wherever you are and especially in rural areas).  I can honestly say we have absolutely no regrets whatsoever.