In and Around Mag Aug19

Family Friendly Features
With most parents psyching themselves up
for the impending 6 week school summer
holiday, frantically trying to arrange childcare,
budgeting for the many expensive days out
and keeping everything crossed that the sun
makes an appearance at least three times a
week to prevent the inevitable groans of “Im
booooorrrreed!!”, when the kids are stuck
indoors and rain stops play, it got me thinking
about what attracts families to want to live in a
particular town or city.
As everyone knows, the schools in Newport have long-since
kept prices here slightly higher than in neighbouring areas
and a recent survey carried out by MoneySupermarket found
that Bath was the most desirable U.K. city for families to reside
in, followed by Newcastle upon Tyne and then our nearby
Wolverhampton! London, surprisingly, came bottom of the
list due to a high crime rate, extensive competition for school
places and extortionate house prices. Had Wolverhampton
had more parks and green areas, it would have snuck into
second place but the results showed that a variety of things
motivate people to move to a particular area and it is
important to maintain a good balance of factors in order for
a town to thrive. Things such as healthcare availability, job
prospects, reasonable house prices, amenities, a low crime
rate and, as already mentioned, good schools and parks are
all vitally important to prospective purchasers/tenants.
I happen to be a massive fan of Shropshire and indeed, the
midlands as a whole. In my humble opinion it offers all of
the above and I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather
live! I think it is extremely overlooked and understated as
whenever there is a tv programme on picturesque counties,
it rarely features. I have spent years of going on holidays
abroad where people would ask where I was from, only to
look bemused when I told them…I nearly always had to follow
it up with “in-between Stoke and Birmingham” to which they
would nod in recognition of the approximate geographical
location. But, to be honest, its fine that way. It almost feels a
bit more exclusive and a nice well-kept secret!
Call Barker Healey on 01952 813625 or
email info@barkerhealey.co.uk to arrange
a FREE no obligation valuation.
www.barkerhealey.co.uk
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