Home: Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex

You could hardly live nearer Stansted airport without moving into the terminal 10 minutes drive away, yet the village is spared the din of aircraft as they take off in the opposite direction. It’s also a walk from the mainline station and local shops. In contrast to these very modern connections is a quaint interior with timbered walls and ceilings. The 21st century has added underfloor heating and a wood-burning stove. Price: £400,000. Mullucks Wells, 01279 755400

Home: Woolwich, London SE18

London City airport is 10 minutes away on the DLR and next year there will be a Crossrail station beneath the Royal Arsenal Riverside development, serving Canary Wharf and Bond St. This is the reinvention of the enormous 17th-century munitions factory site, and will include shops, bars, gardens and one of the biggest residents-only spas in London. It’s an aquatic lifestyle, with river views from many of the balconies, a waterside park and a pier from where boats leave for central London. Prices from £420,000. Berkeley Group, 020 8331 7130

Home: Melbourne, Derbyshire

A Georgian semi in a Georgian market town, progress has placed it five miles from East Midlands airport, which serves the US and most of Europe. What you see is what you get – the attached neighbour is away to the side. You could get more if you converted the attic to add two more bedrooms to the existing three, and you could also move downwards into the cellar. Most rooms have fireplaces and those elegant sash windows. The only cramped thing about it is the garden, no more than a paved yard. Guide price: £380,000. Fisher German, 01530 410840

Away: San Miguel de Salinas, Alicante, Spain

When you tire of your glass-fronted swimming pool jutting out from the roof terrace, it’s a quick trip back to Blighty from Alicante airport, 25 minutes’ drive away. These three-bedroom villas are built on a championship golf course with views over the fairways and, beyond, a 10,000-hectare nature reserve. You get exclusive membership of a beach club and a discount on golf fees, but frankly, since you can watch the action poolside, why stir from home? Price: €780,000 (£673,000). Sequre International, 0800 011 2639

Away: Dalaman, Muğla, Turkey

For the price of a parking space in London, you could move to a four-bedroom, three-bathroom detached villa amid pine forests and fruit orchards. You can duck the cost of a removal firm, since the £129,950 asking price includes all the furniture, and it’s only a 20-minute drive from Dalaman airport. Three of the bedrooms open on to terraces, from where you can gaze over lake and mountains. It’s well that you have your own pool, for the sea is a 20-minute drive away. Spot Blue, 020 8339 6036