Where to live other than London?

[SadTomorrow]

Hello,

I live in London and I hate it. DH has 18 months left of his current job contract and then we want to move.

Where can we go? We have no restrictions - literally anywhere in the world. DH wants to train as a teacher when he finishes the 18 months and I work in PR. Probably best to stay in the UK whilst he trains.

We want somewhere where buying a house (with stairs and maybe even some outside space) is possible and we can get a cat. Somewhere affordable but where we will get jobs.

We're late 20s, we've not got kids yet and we'd like to make some new friends wherever we do end up. Our quality of life is very poor at the moment and we'd like to make a big change.

Has anybody else done this? Where did you move to?

I love love love London, but I used to live in Glasgow and if London were no longer an option I'd probably go back there. For the reasons rogue gives, and I'd add it's very green and beautiful (the parks and the domestic architecture both); the people are generally friendly, curious and lively-minded and it's great for culture, art, food etc.

Try Moray in Scotland. Beautiful Beaches, forest trails, Inverness and Aberdeen rail links are good. We are desperate for good teachers, plenty of big business needing PR in Aberdeen and Inverness. House prices are amazingly good value.

People are great.

Moved out, moved back. Thought our quality of life was bad in the big city, even worse in the Home Counties! Big house = cold. Green fields = no neighbours and everyone drives everywhere. We spent all our time running the house instead of living in it. Took half an hour to get a pint of milk.

Sorry!

How about somewhere in the Midlands? You could pop back to London, or up to Manchester. Housing is a reasonable price. You could commute to London if that's what you needed to.

Oxford is very expensive so I’d avoid if you’re looking to cut costs. Reading is so-so: huge urban sprawl but close enough to London to socialise with current friends.

Personally, I’d explore returning to Manchester.

If you're keen to move abroad then what about Dubai or Abu Dhabi? Always work for Maths teachers there and it's an easy area to make friends quickly.

A word of caution if you are considering Scotland. The Researchers in Schools teacher training programme may not meet the requirements to register to teach in Scotland as it is school based. Check with the GTCS.

Manchester seems a good bet!

Brighton? Evenings in the beach, much more relaxed than London but with loads to do if you want it

Your DH could just apply directly for jobs teaching Maths in boarding schools. If he shops carefully he will still find one that offers staff accommodation. Maths teachers are like hens teeth and he will get a job if he is confident to stand in front of a class. He is likely to then be able to train on the job.

My DH's school are going to be putting an advert in shortly for Mathmos, but sadly they don't do full staff accommodation any more.

If you can find staff housing, you would have a chance to draw breath for a while and work out what is right for you.

Wales!

We lived in the suburbs of Bristol for a couple of years and loved it. Not terribly expensive, good shops and a short commute. I still remember colleagues in the office complaining about their long commute. Of 20 minutes! We had a great social life too.

We always said it was like being on holiday all the time.

Brighton and Edinburgh and both expensive though.

Milton Keynes?

Cosmopolitan and semi-rural at the same time, good rail and road links, brilliant shops, restaurants and entertainment, loads of parks and lakes and plenty of job opportunites too. The Open University has its HQ there.

Dubai or Abu Dhabi! Not if Op wants a decent job too.

Come to Cumbria, secondary maths teachers are in short supply!

Houses are cheap (if you stay outside the Lake District NP perimeter), there's some fab schools and our way of life is so laid back we're practically horizontal

If I'm really honest I just want to go home to Manchester.

To quote James (the band, not some random bloke): Come home, come home, come home.

Cardiff. Each and everyday of the week
Your age, no children, quals.

Costline, inland scenery, cheaper than London but still expensive to some degree. Varied housing stock types. Good public transport. Vale of Glamorgan. Cheaper cars and cheaper fuel. Villages, towns, city, better choice of schools (future?). City centre is excellent. Eating out is great. Waterfront, archictecture, marina, watersports centre, ice hockey, swimming, rugby, 3 stadiums, multi auditorium milen. Centre, Theatres. 3 multiplex cinemas. rivers for fishing, The Gower is not too far away. Shopping. Windsurfing. Surfing. Adventure sports. The people are friendly. The air is cleaner. Noticebly less stressful. The pace of life is not dictated by others. You get to choose and slow down.

Countryside is everywhere and is accessible easily.

Set the pace of your life.

BTW: if your DP wants to he can teach in a private school without a teaching qual. Unless ruled have been changed.

I escaped London after 13 years. You just have to steel yourself and take the first bite of the cherry.

Good luck.

That is if you wish to stay in the UK.

York

I am planning to move back there in a year or two. It is awesome. Always wins best place to live lists. Bohemian, gorgeous buildings, loads to do, nowhere near as pricey as London, good transport links

Perfection

Jaxhog why not? No issues with women working there!

Medway in Kent - affordable housing, regenerating so lots of things to do and you can commute to St Pancras in 40 minutes. We just sold our house here and we're sorry to leave Rochester!

We've come to Bristol for the weekend and I'm absolutely loving it. It's got everything that I love about London, all on a much smaller scale, and apparently without many of the drawbacks. And it's beautiful!

I would look at the Midlands in your position.

Someone upthread mentioned Brighton. It is a really fun place to live (I grew up in the Seven Dials) but it isn’t cheaper than London, jobs are not very well paid and there has been a schools problem (although this is being addressed).

Cats live until 18-20. Think carefully before adopting one, if you're planning on moving abroad. Rescues often need fosterers so that might be an option instead.