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?

Bristol or Bath for jobs, and either live there or live in Somerset (in a bigger house) and commute in.

If I'm really honest I just want to go home to Manchester.
Then return dear girl.

If you want to go back to Manchester I don’t understand why you wouldn’t?! It’s perfectly possible to start from scratch somewhere if you want to but when relations are good it’s invaluable to have family close by, especially if you plan to start your own family.

There are no bargains in Oxford. You'll have the same living costs as in London, plus a rubbish and expensive train commute.

I would second the suggestion to look at the possibility of working in a boarding school. If you are potentially interested in teaching as well, you might both be able to work on site. Your husband will probably be of interest to most schools.

Just come back to Manchester then. It sounds like you want city life but just not as expensive and relentless. Of all the other places listed, they're either nearly as dear as London or they're not offering much Manchester doesn't unless you particularly want to be eg by the sea, in the mountains etc.

Places like Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow etc can offer excellent quality of life, especially for people on professional incomes, but seems logical to go to the place where you have family and roots given that you're concerned. Your partner will find a job in about 5 minutes if he's a maths teacher. And there are comms jobs in Manchester. Do you have cousins around your age in Manchester? Good leg up for friends and socialising!