Where's nice to live in the UK?

[Olly]

How about Camberley or Staines which are near Frimley?

Edit: Thinking about it, look into Surbiton.

Will look at Surbiton

Not fond of Camberly. Used to live in Farnborough and went to Camberley a couple of times, turned away from the clubs, nasty vibe to the whole place.

Fleet is nice enough.
Farnborough an utter soul-less pit.

Quite liked Chichester but the commute doesn't seem feasible.

[Platypus]

North Londonshire?

[Gonzo]

Salisbury - agree, nice place, will take a look but what about the commute?

90 minutes on the train into Waterloo and then a transfer across town depending on where you are working. Getting on the tube at Waterloo is a nightmare at peak time and I generally found getting on a bus to be a less stressful means of doing the transfer.

I did that for three months, with an easy walk to the train station at Salisbury, and could not stand it so I moved to London.

Some people I know that lived in the villages east of Salisbury preferred to drive to Winchester and get the train from there. That would mean that working took up too much of the day for me.

[NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25]

Ive never been north of Watford (not even the Gap, just Watford) so im not in a position to talk.

[Olly]

Surbiton's a no go, too expensive.
Salisbury is a no go because of the commute.

I'm begin to change my way of thinking a little bit.

Get somewhere within M25 for 5 years or something then move somewhere dandy when I can afford it.

OR

Buy somewhere nice but in a cheaper area and B&B in London during the week and try and get a least a day at week working from home.

[portseven]

Huddersfield?

1/2 way between Leeds and Manchester, both good places for contract work. Decent town as has a reasonable Uni there, so will have a bit of life.

Or there is Warrington, slap bang between Liverpool and Manchester, you can be in Birmingham in an hour.

[RichardCranium]

Or there is Warrington, slap bang between Liverpool and Manchester, you can be in Birmingham in an hour.

Please may I borrow your helicopter for my weekly commute?

Elaboration: The M6 is mostly 50 mph average-speed-restricted and looks like staying that way for the foreseeable future.

[tay]

Tunbridge Wells in Kent is nice.

[maddogdoug]

And

Ipswich - Tulipe hole.

Colchester - nicer than Ipswich, more lively too. An hour or so Liverpool Street

Market Harborough - good service to St Pancras, close to M1 and A14.

[Olly]

Tunbridge Wells, hmm I spotted that on the map. Will look at prices, not hopeful though.

Colchester, can't remember much about the place though I have been there. Isn't it a bit chavvy, scraps outside the pubs at night sor fo place?

Cheaper south coast spots are looking more and more appealing, daily commute from somewhere closer to London would still end up costing 25 quid a day say, for £30 you can get a bed in someones house in London for the 3 or 4 nights a week.

Arrrrrgh........you know my original thought was to live somewhere where there was a strong possibility of local contracts but still accessible to London if I couldn't find one. Basingstoke ticked a lot boxes in that respect but even then I think the journey is perhaps a bit too much.