NICEST Town to Live in if you want Weather/Outdoor stuff?

MrDavidRoberts · 1 May 2018

I'm considering purchasing another property and moving somewhere down south as Most of my clients are from there and It's really soul crushing having at least one whole-day commute per week.
What would you say is the Nicest Smallish town you have ever lived or have visited within about 100mile range from London?

-Best weather overall (Not just the temperature,but the least wind/gloom/rain possible ,most sunshine and all that,but specially the least wind...)
-If possible Good Bicycle Infrastructure connecting with other towns ( I cycle a lot, but I hate cycling on open road but love all the paths)
-Clean,quiet, Not Overpopulated ,but within 10-30miles from a Large city in case you need something.
-Has a Nice countryside/Nature places where you can go and enjoy yourself,Don't really care about the Sea as you can't go and swim in it anyway, only more wind...

I realise ''the best'' is way different for every person, but what is your Dream City/Town to live in and why?

Tasky · 1 May 2018

Probably looking at somewhere around Oxford, maybe Reading... Got all the towny stuff with good transport links and things, but you can still be in nice quiet rural areas in just a few miles.

sunnybob · 1 May 2018

Depends how deep your pockets are.
Hampshire fits all your needs, especially around the new forest. But it aint cheap!!!!
Portsmouth, southampton, and even chichester in easy distance.
London maybe 60 miles or a bit more depending. West country in 2 hours (as long as it isnt a holiday weekend)
And you get such fantastic addresses, like WIDLEY, Littlehampton, et al.

But if you are far north, you might be gobsmacked by the sheer number of people who have to drive everywhere, every day, every hour of the day.

Harbo · 1 May 2018

Piddletown

MikeG. · 1 May 2018

The driest and sunniest place in Britain is near Southend in Essex. So if good weather is your highest priority then get close to there. However, if you want peace and countryside, you'll need to go 30 miles or so from Southend towards Suffolk. I would suggest you have a look at the market towns of north Essex/ south Suffolk for the best combination of the two. Places like Lavenham, Hadleigh and Woolpit (3 very different scales of market towns there). This is some of the best cycling territory in the country, with miles of quiet lanes and beautiful countryside, and the reason why we regularly bump into pros when we are out riding. You'll also find your £ goes further than in some of the more fashionable home counties, and yet these towns are within 50 miles of London.

treeturner123 · 2 May 2018

Quite right about depth of pocket. Oxford has the greatest difference between earnings and house prices. It is VERY pricy but the good thing is that it is bike friendly and car averse. Try driving round Oxford at any time of the day without sitting in a jam.

Also avoid well know places like Cheltenham, Reading etc. If you travel by rail from these into London, the cost is disproportionate to the distance.

You might look at Northants/Buck area. The problem I've always found with more eastern counties is that, whilst they have easy access to London, if you want to get to the rest of the country (and who doesn't) they are actually rather cut off.

NB if you really want a cycling challenge, try the Malverns; plenty of cyclists form the Low Countries go there just to cycle up and down hill!!

Phil

thick_mike · 2 May 2018

Milton Keynes area is good for cycling and they have the red route cyclepaths all across the city. I’ll admit that it takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s much nicer than its reputation.