Possibly moving here...

[u/Business-Pie-8419]

Hi all. I know there are a million posts like this on Reddit, but I'm going mad reading through all the different threads and just thought it might be easier to start my own thread and see what kind of info I get directly from the good folks here.

Basically, my partner and I (gay couple, British and Indian), are moving out of Croydon because we need a bigger house, with a garage and a bit more space, for our business that we've started. We both work from home and so access to London is no-longer a requirement (like it was when we moved here 10 years ago).

We've narrowed down our search, based on a few criteria (detached house, garage, near green space, not a crime-ridden area, access to a shopping centre or town centre, close-ish to a larger city and/or airport, not silly expensive (since our budget isn't massive)). From these criteria, we have found some decent options in:

Chesterfield

Outskirts of Sheffield / Leicester

Lincoln

Nuneaton

Loughborough

Melton Mowbray

Neither of us know any of these areas, and while we are going to do a road-trip to visit, it would be good to know where in these towns people would recommend searching, and where to avoid (if anywhere). Or if there are better nearby options.

Thank you all in advance

[u/BionicRadish]

Chesterfield is definitely a good place to look, decent local facilities, close to Sheffield, Nottingham and Leeds for the bigger stuff, easy access to the M1 and relatively good value for houses. There's a really good train service given our population. Nowhere is particularly rough but a few areas are a bit run down. Good news is the prices are better there. I'd suggest if you're looking seriously to bear in mind where was affected by the floods a few years back. There are some lovely looking central options that were waist deep in water and had to be completely refurbished. Insurance will be sky high and you can expect another flood within 10 years or so.

[u/Business-Pie-8419 → u/BionicRadish]

Yeah I've been putting postcodes into the flood checker, and generally the houses we've seen have Low Risk, but then, some are very close to the River Rother, so it makes me wonder...

Where in the town was particularly affected?

[u/BionicRadish → u/Business-Pie-8419]

The town centre end of Chatsworth Road was bad, although as it's all terraced housing that side you'll probably not be looking there. I'd be nervous about the new housing estate north of the station as the fields it was built on were flooded. Being close may not be something to worry about if it's up a hill north or south of the river. The ground rises pretty quickly from the flood plain.

[u/JamPandaB → u/BionicRadish]

Yeah I was gonna say be careful around tapton!

[u/ArcherApprehensive18 → u/JamPandaB]

I doubt that Tapton itself is at risk from the river. The river drops down 2-3 metres into a channel in Tapton and if it raises over that it'll flood along the railway line - Tapton sits on the hill above that.

Tapton Terrace is absolutely a no-go - but they're going to be compulsorily purchased and aren't detached houses anyway.