Advice on moving to Durham

[montesquieu]

The wife is contemplating a job at Durham Uni which is very good in her field. This would involve a move from the south-east - that would be welcome as neither of us have connections here (she's foreign, did her PhD in Leeds and I'm from Scotland originally).

Given we are selling up in the South we'd be able to afford something decent in Durham, thinking £500k (which would leave us mortgage free) to £650k sort of bracket.

Any tips on best areas to live in the city? Is it feasible to be in a nice area and within walking distance (say 20mins) of the campus? Or is it best to be out a bit? (If so, in which direction?)

The wife doesn't drive and gets a train at the moment to her current campus, commute takes about 45 minutes door to door, it would be great to reduce that. (She'd probably take taxis if it's not walkable or trainable - she calculates for her it's cheaper than owning a car though in reality I drive her around a lot).

I work from home mainly but will need to be in London or Reading from time to time (I can handle that).

We are not interested in nightlife, we enjoy culture, nature and peace and quiet, the converted bungalow we are in is about 1/3 of an acre plot with tall trees that screen us from everything - very private, but less than 10 min walk from a railway station.

[spyguy]

1 hour ago, montesquieu said:

The wife is contemplating a job at Durham Uni which is very good in her field. This would involve a move from the south-east - that would be welcome as neither of us have connections here (she's foreign, did her PhD in Leeds and I'm from Scotland originally).

Given we are selling up in the South we'd be able to afford something decent in Durham, thinking £500k (which would leave us mortgage free) to £650k sort of bracket.

Any tips on best areas to live in the city? Is it feasible to be in a nice area and within walking distance (say 20mins) of the campus? Or is it best to be out a bit? (If so, in which direction?)

The wife doesn't drive and gets a train at the moment to her current campus, commute takes about 45 minutes door to door, it would be great to reduce that. (She'd probably take taxis if it's not walkable or trainable - she calculates for her it's cheaper than owning a car though in reality I drive her around a lot).

I work from home mainly but will need to be in London or Reading from time to time (I can handle that).

We are not interested in nightlife, we enjoy culture, nature and peace and quiet, the converted bungalow we are in is about 1/3 of an acre plot with tall trees that screen us from everything - very private, but less than 10 min walk from a railway station.

Get a rental for a year or so and look around.

Dont rush into buying anything. Prices in the North have not and are not going anywhere.

[montesquieu]

Still applies to locations to rent, though less critical obviously.

[Patfig]

You could buy a small village