1 month+ Recon in the UK - where to check out?

[grizzly111]

We're going to do a reconnaissance of the UK in preparation for a permanent move if we like it. We are looking to live in the South / South West of England primarily. May consider Shropshire and surrounds. We have no kids and are in our 30's. Looking to make a move to a village / edge of town location in the countryside.

I'm trying to generate a sample itinerary of nice places to check out. Not easy when you've lived in London and been in Aus for the past 20 odd years!

Would love some suggestions and input from the forum to fill this limited time schedule on which areas are best to check out and where to avoid completely. Probably going to AirBnb much of it.

First few days will be spent in London recovering from jet lag/shopping. But after that all good.

[Fisher1]

Do you want to live in a town/city or countryside? Shropshire countryside is lovely, Shrewsbury is a lovely town, as is Ludlow (history and great food). Bath is nice, with many pretty little towns in the environs. 

[tea4too]

I’d second Bath, and Bristol, which regularly features as one of the  top 10 places in the UK to live or visit. Maybe pop over the bridge (no toll fees any more!) to lovely Cardiff with its history, culture, Victorian arcades, access to the coast, Brecon Beacons and motorways? It's perhaps also worth mentioning that as a result of devolution, a number of things are different in Wales. For example,  NHS prescriptions  are free and NHS dental charges are a fair bit cheaper than those payable in England.  T x

Edited March 19, 2019 by tea4too

[Fisher1]

2 hours ago, tea4too said:

I’d second Bath, and Bristol, which regularly features as one of the  top 10 places in the UK to live or visit. Maybe pop over the bridge (no toll fees any more!) to lovely Cardiff with its history, culture, Victorian arcades, access to the coast, Brecon Beacons and motorways? It's perhaps also worth mentioning that as a result of devolution, a number of things are different in Wales. For example,  NHS prescriptions  are free and NHS dental charges are a fair bit cheaper than those payable in England.  T x

If you can find an NHS dentist!

[tea4too]

2 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

If you can find an NHS dentist!

Fair point. Although family experience suggests things may not be much better in England despite their higher treatment charges. T x

[newjez]

Winchester is nice, Bournemouth if you want a sandy beach. I'd avoid Southampton and Portsmouth and anywhere east of Eastbourne. 

[LKC]

We looked at Bath and Bristol as an option before we moved back, and liked what we saw. We ended up moving to Scotland though, so I can't be more help on the Bath/Bristol front!

[ramot]

Bath and Bristol are both very expensive areas. My son has a semi detached 1930s semi with an extra bed/bathroom in the loft in a nice area in Bristol worth a staggering 650,000 Uk pds. It’s nice but not that special.

Both are nice places and we do enjoy visiting Bristol, always seems lots going on.

Did read however it is the heroin capital of UK according to the water testing,  bit of a worry with 2 grandsons there.

Edited March 19, 2019 by ramot

[grizzly111]

Thank you so much for the replies.

I'll be looking for more a town initially serviced by a local station (probably rent first for a year).

Yes I'll be likely looking to stay in Ludlow for a night or two. Shropshire seems to have a few things going for it.

Might check out Bath too. But as one poster mentioned it's not cheap!

Trying to formulate an itinerary - won't be hiring a car.

A trip to Devon is looking on the cards too.

Winchester & the New Forest is actually really lovely.

[alicedaniels]

Bournemouth is always quite a nice place to have a look around, quite a few nice areas to live around too which are a bit quieter than the town centre. Can't beat being so close to one of the best beaches in Europe though!

[Fisher1]

38 minutes ago, grizzly111 said:

Thank you so much for the replies.

I'll be looking for more a town initially serviced by a local station (probably rent first for a year).

Yes I'll be likely looking to stay in Ludlow for a night or two. Shropshire seems to have a few things going for it.

Might check out Bath too. But as one poster mentioned it's not cheap!

Trying to formulate an itinerary - won't be hiring a car.

A trip to Devon is looking on the cards too.

Winchester & the New Forest is actually really lovely.

Yes I spent a few days in Winchester just before I left the UK and I really liked it. Very attractive town, but I think it might be a bit expensive too. Have you ever considered Chester? It’s a beautiful town, only forty minutes or so from the North Wales coast. The historic rows in the shopping centre are, I think, unique, and although Chester is not cheap, it should be cheaper than down south.

[Chortlepuss]

We’re hoping to retire in the UK and I fancied Stroud- house prices still OK - it’s not glamorous so doesn’t attract the London commuters so much, is near fabulous countryside and (for me anyhow) has an arts/craft vibe. I’m from SE UK (near Brighton) but want a change - plus it’s too expensive there now.  

[BacktoDemocracy]

There is a website called' get the data' which gives detailed info about the areas, my experience is that it is important to study economic statistics for areas and the demographics, we moved back to E Anglia, Suffolk and was quite surprised at how downbeat it was, even tho its only 50 miles from London.

We now live in Shrewsbury which has a lot more money in it and is more prosperous and feels easier living.

My personal feeling is that the UK is much more segregated in terms of class and wealth than ever Australia was and you have to bear that in mind when doing your reccie

[ramot]

On 20/03/2019 at 09:24, ramot said:

Bath and Bristol are both very expensive areas. My son has a semi detached 1930s semi with an extra bed/bathroom in the loft in a nice area in Bristol worth a staggering 650,000 Uk pds. It’s nice but not that special.

Both are nice places and we do enjoy visiting Bristol, always seems lots going on.

Did read however it is the heroin capital of UK according to the water testing,  bit of a worry with 2 grandsons there.

Just sold at that price one week on the market 3 offers !!! Seems very expensive to me but what do I know

[Loopylu]

4 hours ago, BacktoDemocracy said:

There is a website called' get the data' which gives detailed info about the areas, my experience is that it is important to study economic statistics for areas and the demographics, we moved back to E Anglia, Suffolk and was quite surprised at how downbeat it was, even tho its only 50 miles from London.

We now live in Shrewsbury which has a lot more money in it and is more prosperous and feels easier living.

My personal feeling is that the UK is much more segregated in terms of class and wealth than ever Australia was and you have to bear that in mind when doing your reccie

I found your comment on class and wealth interesting.  From my 11 years of living in Oz, I think there is a much bigger division in Australia between those who have money and can afford private schools (approx 50%) and private health and those who can't.  I personally think there are more measures in place in the UK to assist the poorest in society such as free school meals, no charge for textbooks and other school materials, no requirement to buy expensive school uniforms (you can buy cheap ones in the supermarket), the NHS (including free and accessible dentistry for the poorest and subsidised for the rest of the workers, much lower caps on prescription charges or no charges if you are on welfare, no GP gaps etc) and so the list goes on.   

Personal examples: my Aussie mother in law waited 5 years for a hip replacement in the public system and only got one because she fell over and broke her hip so they had to do something. I've heard of 12 - 24 month waits in the UK bu never 5 years!  My daughter waited 3 years for an ENT appointment in the Qld public health system to get adenoids and tonsils removed.  Took 5 years all up to get the work done.  In the UK my twin sons were seen within 3 months and operated on 3 months later (and at the same time). If you have money in Australia, life is probably easier than in the UK.  But if you are working poor or unemployed, you are bottom of the pile and vilified as being a bludger....

[Skani]

3 hours ago, Loopylu said:

 I think there is a much bigger division in Australia between those who have money and can afford private schools (approx 50%)

That figure's a bit high.  In 2018  - 34% in non government schools ( of which 20% in Catholic schools - some of which are quite cheap - and 14% independent).

[Amber Snowball]

9 hours ago, BacktoDemocracy said:

There is a website called' get the data' which gives detailed info about the areas, my experience is that it is important to study economic statistics for areas and the demographics, we moved back to E Anglia, Suffolk and was quite surprised at how downbeat it was, even tho its only 50 miles from London.

We now live in Shrewsbury which has a lot more money in it and is more prosperous and feels easier living.

My personal feeling is that the UK is much more segregated in terms of class and wealth than ever Australia was and you have to bear that in mind when doing your reccie

Didn’t know you were in Shrewsbury now! I love Shropshire, but couldn’t find appropriate work......maybe when I retire.

[BacktoDemocracy]

6 hours ago, Loopylu said:

I found your comment on class and wealth interesting.  From my 11 years of living in Oz, I think there is a much bigger division in Australia between those who have money and can afford private schools (approx 50%) and private health and those who can't.  I personally think there are more measures in place in the UK to assist the poorest in society such as free school meals, no charge for textbooks and other school materials, no requirement to buy expensive school uniforms (you can buy cheap ones in the supermarket), the NHS (including free and accessible dentistry for the poorest and subsidised for the rest of the workers, much lower caps on prescription charges or no charges if you are on welfare, no GP gaps etc) and so the list goes on.   

Personal examples: my Aussie mother in law waited 5 years for a hip replacement in the public system and only got one because she fell over and broke her hip so they had to do something. I've heard of 12 - 24 month waits in the UK bu never 5 years!  My daughter waited 3 years for an ENT appointment in the Qld public health system to get adenoids and tonsils removed.  Took 5 years all up to get the work done.  In the UK my twin sons were seen within 3 months and operated on 3 months later (and at the same time). If you have money in Australia, life is probably easier than in the UK.  But if you are working poor or unemployed, you are bottom of the pile and vilified as being a bludger....

I was talking from my experience in Qld 5 years ago.

I think you might need to look closely at the UK education system, it is being strangled of funding.

I never found the Australian  private healthcare that good, it was a rip off.

What I liked was getting to see my GP whenever I rang up and that he treated me like a person and friend. 

But I digress, I can only tell it as I see it here now.

[grizzly111]

I really liked Winchester. But I know it's not cheap. Going to check out Shrewsbury this trip probably.

Australian healthcare is indeed expensive - less and less GP's are bulk billing and those that do only do it mostly for concession card holders (now even this is also on the decline). Specialists add a huge margin on top of the rebate they receive back from Medicare. GP's tend to receive around $40 for a short consult but then additional Medicare Items are added on top (eg Care Plans) which are good money makers ($100+). Long consults >20 mins are billed @ $70+. Bulk billing doctors tend to be of lower quality (generally speaking and will often double/triple book. Not to say that non-bulk billers don't do this though - times are changing fast!  

I have to say, some of the stuff kids are learning schools in Australia AND how it's administered along with the standards often makes me shake my head. Often the younger of my staff cannot even string a proper written sentence together without grammatical and spelling errors. By hey ho, this is the digital age so it doesn't really matter right? I've spoken to several teachers (both experienced & in training) in various states about this and it appears endemic. Not sure if the UK is any different these days. 

Anyway, I'm very thankful to have parents that worked hard to give me the opportunity of being able to attend some decent schools in both the UK & Oz some 20 years ago. I can make something of a comparison in terms of 'private' education anyway. The UK school was ranked in the top 5 according to a newspaper I remember at the time (I forget). The Oz school was state No.1 or 2 (again I forget).  Although the Oz school was extremely wealthy with immense resources (and this was somehow publically well known & even promoted!) I can safely say that - all things equal - I would send my kids to the UK school no question given the chance. The teachers and the overall standard of education I received in the UK was qualitatively far superior.

[Home and Happy]

On 19/03/2019 at 19:11, LKC said:

We looked at Bath and Bristol as an option before we moved back, and liked what we saw. We ended up moving to Scotland though, so I can't be more help on the Bath/Bristol front!

Scotland is very beautiful. 

[Paul1Perth]

I'd go with Bournemouth too. If you've lived close to the ocean in Aus I'd suspect not being close would be tough. 

Bournemouth has a decent beach, nice villages close by, not too busy.

There are some lovely villages around the South West too. Always liked it round St Ives. I think me and the wife would have ended up on the South Coast somewhere, had we not emigrated.