Coming home!!!

Lofts or out-buildings mainly I would say. Victorian places often had generous cellars which could be made suitable.
where abouts are you gonna be looking?

after a 20 Hmm, what do/did you model, US railroads or UK railways etc.?
time, and If you are looking for a replacement for a US style basement then I think you'll need to be looking at one of the following, a double width garage, a large (traditionally built) house with a large lost space or a house with a large garden into which you could build a large shed.
It's all going to depend on your budget, after seeing the price of fuel etc. in the UK compared to the USA you just might want to stay were you are !...

Thanks for reply. I will looking in Hampshire / Surrey, probably around Alton (nothing to do with it being near the mid hants!!) Rob

UK 50s / 60s Southern BR etc
Pros and Cons, I've spent a year weighing it up. Some things will cost more, some less. But its home! Thanks Rob

Err, oops, that should have been ...large *loft* space, although if you can find a large lost space.... :~)

Hm, how deep are you pockets !....

The garage is popular.
I understand the problem. I moved to the US in 1989, to California where they don't have basements but I had a double garage. 4 years ago I moved to up-state New York where I have a huge basement, but will be moving back to California soon.
When I eventually move back to the UK I don't know what I will do. O-scale takes a lot of space, especially with Gauge O Guild finescale stock needing 6ft radius curves.
I suspect the solution will be an indoor/outdoor layout. Station, yard and fiddle yard indoors, loops outdoors.

Not very!!!! But I have found plenty of affordable rental property around that area. Certainaly wont be able to buy...

well the reason I asked in the first place... up in the Fens (spalding/holbeach way) Properties tend to have long gardens and a lot have very generous out buildings. One of my mates father, had an outbuilding over 120ft long divided into a retail area, a storage area and a garage... the storage area was about 40ftX12ft... which I would say is about ideal for a *really* nice layour whatever gauge you model :o)
problem is the fens are very uninspiring countryside, highly agricultural, with miserable foggy winters and crap all over the roads from the tractors.
House prices tho are correspondingly - not a rip

If you are lucky enough to be moving to an area north of the Wash to mid Lancs., or have lots of cash, go for a Georgian/Regency house with the usual enormous cellars. Bitterly regret having to leave one we had.
Ken.

What I did was buy a large 12 x 10 ft shed from the local B&Q with the intention of extending it. Luckily the shed had the manufacturers details on the delivery note, so I contacted them and was able to purchase additional add on floor/roof/side panels to make the shed longer. I then fibreglassed the inside and pannelled the walls, some cheap packs wood flooring, coat of paint and the electrics made it into a nice room for the future layout. Trouble is, it has now been commandeered as the games room by the family. Will I get it back I ask
Bob

Do you really really want to live in a part of England that is being rapidly deserted by those who can afford to leave because they are retired? I would not contemplate buying any kind of house anywhere in the SE. Overcrowded, traffic jams, pollution, Ugh! The current thinking amongst the chattering classes is to sell up and move to a part of the country which has quiet roads, no pollution, easy access to good shopping and culture. Where is this? The Scottish Borders. 60 mins from Edinburgh in most cases. Excellent hospitals, good local shops, and supermarkets if you must shop like that. No traffic, no parking fees, I could fill a page with reasons to live here. Even the weather is better here. Oh, and house prices are about 40% of what you will pay in the SE of England. They sell up in Esher for £1M, move up here, buy a better house for £400K, and live off the profits. We will soon be outnumbered by the English immigrants, but we are glad to see them -- they bring their good health and money. And there is plenty going on in model railways as well with flourishing local clubs and societies, and everyone knows everyone else.
I had a 30 year sentence spent largely in the London area. I came back here 15 years ago and am still wondering why it took so long for the penny to drop.
Alistair Wright Melrose Scottish Borders

looking for Overcrowded, chattering Where is Sounds like you either don't know the area that Rob has decided to move to (Alton Hampshire) or you simply have a grudge against what you conceive is the case in the South / SE.
The Scottish Borders. 60 mins from Edinburgh in most cases. Bollox !
How about being snowed in and / or really cold winters, about the only reason for moving to the area (from the south) is to move up to a larger property whilst lowering the mortgage or improving the retirement savings. BTW, with relations still in the Alnwick area I do have some idea, more than you seem to have of the South / SE (outside of the M25)....

In message , ":::Jerry::::" writes Hmm.. I was born in the SE, and lived in and around the area for fifty years before moving to NE Scotland nearly three years ago. Will I move back? Notta chance :-)
Snowed in? Very unlikely. Scots expect, and know how to deal with snow. Traffic? Not a lot. Model railway exhibitions? Plenty, thanks - off to Elgin for the day, tomorrow. Supplies of railway items? Not too many model shops around, but mail order works well. Yes, Royal Mail does extend this far north, and yes, mail arrives in Aberdeen just as quickly as it arrives in London.

(outside Compare, snow very rare with snow more common that not......
Depends were you are talking about, how is rush hour Aberdeen or Edinburgh ? In the area that Rob suggested I doubt that the rush hour is bad, OK Southampton or Portsmouth can get busy at those times of the day.

Im NOT moving to Scotland! Rob

In message , Rob writes You should! :-)

should not

From: "Rob" Subject: Re: Coming home!!!
Don't waste your breath Graeme. If he wants to be gazumped and driven mad by estate agents in the deep south there is nothing more we can do for him. It frees up a space here for someone else anyway. At least in Scotland we have a fairer way of dealing with real estate and even the English are beginning to think they might change! Maybe he likes traffic jams and never knowing how long it is going to take to get anywhere. At least you don't have to pay to use the biggest car park in Europe also known as the M25.
Alistair W
PS It is not generally regarded as polite to begin the statement of a contrary view with 'bollox'. It isn't good netiquette. I don't think that is the correct spelling either.