My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

AIBU to ask is there life after London?

572 replies

poppingshop1 · 12/12/2017 09:50

I know there is, but is it a good one?

DH & I are true Londoners & live in a lovely part of SW London that I grew up in. We have a lovely life, mum around the corner, excellent school which DC1 attends around the other corner, lovely neighbours, etc. BUT we are starting to think we should leave. 90% of our childhood friends have moved out to either zone 5/6 or the home counties. 3 of my close friends (met through NCT) who live nearby have all decided to leave & told me this week.

We want more space (property is 1300 sq ft) which we can’t afford unless we move to other parts of London (don’t really see the point) & husband is finding the tube more & more stressful. Plus the general hustle & bustle is starting to grate.

However the idea of moving to the suburbs terrify me (don’t mean to offend), worried I will be bored/lonely & DH might struggle with the commute as he’s used to 30 mins door to door. I’d prefer to live in a 3/4 bed terrace close to amenities than a 6 bed detached in the middle of nowhere.

My 3 NCT friends are moving to other cities (Bristol, Edinburgh & Bath) & I’m starting to think that moving to another city could be a great option.

I’m lucky that I freelance so 90% of my work is wfh. DH would obviously earn less working in another city but still plenty of finance jobs around at the 70k mark and as we have at least 500k equity our cost of living would ideally be lower, I feel we might have a better quality of life. My mum is likely to move to be closer to us (she’s an immigrant, so no other family here).

Has anyone moved from London to other cities? Did you regret it? How hard did you find it settle? Where would you go?

OP posts:
FluffyWuffy100 · 12/12/2017 09:54

Friends all leaving, 500k equity, you freelance, DH can get a finance job @ 70k outside and your mum will move with you?

I LOVE london but in those circs it seems like you could move to e.g. Leeds (good finance hub outside London), buy a VERY nice house in Roundhay with only a tiny mortgage and have a much less stressful life.

That is a very different kind of life but still amenities and city.

curryforbreakfast · 12/12/2017 09:56

No, as you suspect, London IS the centre of the universe, and everyone who lives elsewhere has dull provincial lives, without even the weekly opening of a new hipster fusion pop up to brighten our days.

Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar · 12/12/2017 09:56

If your DH is struggling with a 30 minute door to door commute... Do you think it would be less in the suburbs?

CheeseyToast · 12/12/2017 09:57

Yes and no. There's life after London but it'll be very different. You'd have to build new networks but potentially it could be wonderful.

astoundedgoat · 12/12/2017 09:57

We moved from a smaller city in the SE to London this year (DC's 6 & 8) and we're super glad we did. Much more for the children here, no driving needed, everything on our doorstep. We're one stop into zone 2, so very central, and in a very child-friendly area.

We left our equity in our old city and are renting here until we see how we do. Would you consider trialling a move out for a year? Rent your house out, rent in your likely destination and see how it goes.

VileyRose · 12/12/2017 09:59

Maybe life out of London could be better.

DonnyAndVladSittingInATree · 12/12/2017 10:00

Oh Fgs!

poppingshop1 · 12/12/2017 10:02

Fluffy I do love London & don’t know anything else hence my fear. As my parents were immigrants we never visited other parts of England as we always went to their home country during school holidays. Understand it’s a slight first world prob though.

OP posts:
Whatthefoxgoingon · 12/12/2017 10:03

I’d move to a different city instead of zone 5/6. The commute into central London would be a nightmare from so far out.

There is life outside of London, just not as great of one Wink

RoboticSealpup · 12/12/2017 10:04

In my opinion, no there isn't. We moved to Hertfordshire for two years but quickly realised a bit more space and a garden isn't worth giving up your whole life for.

poppingshop1 · 12/12/2017 10:05

curry The area of SW London I grew up in was rough in my childhood & I will always take the greasy spoon over the overpriced hipstar joint.

lamagrey The longer commute was the downside of the suburbs.

OP posts:
LittleKiwi · 12/12/2017 10:06

If you have to ask...

curryforbreakfast · 12/12/2017 10:07

It's not funny to pretend that there aren't vibrant amazing cities that aren't London, with plenty to do and see and a great quality of life. Its insulting and its arrogant and its really fucking old.

poppingshop1 · 12/12/2017 10:08

astounded That’s interesting, do you feel you have enough space? Garden size doesn’t bother me as park a few minutes walk away just the living space.

Ideally we would rent my only fear is Brexit & the London market stagnating whilst in other cities prices are rising.

OP posts:
southeastdweller · 12/12/2017 10:09

So many people have left London over the past few years, including myself. It was the best decision I ever made and I much prefer visiting London than living there. I live in a big city up north and maybe that would suit you too - maybe Leeds/Manchester/Edinburgh? All with decent financial hubs.

Spartaca · 12/12/2017 10:09

"Life after London" 😂

stevie69 · 12/12/2017 10:09

is there life IN London, once the bills are paid?

Come up north; it's great Grin

grimeofthecentury · 12/12/2017 10:10

There's so much more than London. The fact that you've never been ANYWHERE else to me suggests you should move somewhere else for a change. The uk is a beautiful and diverse place with much lovelier places than London

poppingshop1 · 12/12/2017 10:10

Ok curry where did I say that? I said it could be a great option & much more preferable to the suburbs but it’s the unknown!

OP posts:
OhChill · 12/12/2017 10:10

I live in the Home Counties having always lived in cities before, (including two of the cities your friends are moving to).

I’ve been in the Home Counties for 6 years now. I would say the good points are that the town we live in is safe, has good schools and is close to London. But if there was any chance at all that my DH could find the same sort of career he has here in another city, we would be there in a heartbeat. We loved the cities we lived in so much and it does feel very vanilla here now tbh. But we can’t afford London and we also can’t be too far from London due to DH’s job.

Didiusfalco · 12/12/2017 10:11

You are not sheep - you do not have to follow your friends Wink

It’s finding the balance of what you want the most. Yes, you could get more space, but it will be further from your mum, probably less vibrant - will not having to take the tube balance this out? Nowhere is perfect, it’s just about deciding which elements are most important to you and prioritising them. Don’t get swept along by thinking you should do what everyone else is though.

Creambun2 · 12/12/2017 10:11

Stealth boast post of the day award for this.

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

grimeofthecentury · 12/12/2017 10:11

Life outside London doesn't mean a home county or zone 6. There's actually other regions in the uk, than the south east, believe it or not...

grimeofthecentury · 12/12/2017 10:12

Wtf does vibrant even mean?? Sw London doesn't scream vibrancy to me tbh

Allwashedup · 12/12/2017 10:13

London is unique and I still love going back there, but it isn't the same these days. I can assure you that there certainly life after London, any of the big cities like Leeds, Bath, Sheffield, Manchester might be a good bet for you (I wouldn't recommend Southampton though IMO).
Perhaps you could rent in your possible destination before permanently leaving London?

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.