Talk to me about real life outside London

[Herewegoagain84]

We’re considering the big move out. I’ve been a Londoner all my life and always considered I would stay, but I’ve got a third child cooking and I think it’s time. I know it sounds mad but I’d love to hear what your life outside London is like - especially with children at the weekend. We have everything so accessible to us here and always plenty to do. Can you talk me through how we might be spending our time and what activities you do / how weekends are spent? If you lived in London previously was it a good decision to move? Thanks!

@lljkk

"... the volume of museums and galleries, the vast range and diversity of theatre, ballet, opera, music, restaurants, lectures, courses, the multiculture, the metropolis, the history"

Most of those things most Londoners don't 'do' each weekend. Maybe a few times a year. Too expensive ! Life gets in the way.

At the very least weekly pre pandemic Several times per week when dc were preschool I do know people who do make a huge deal about going out but for a lot of people I know it was a much more regular outing. More of a lifestyle. Why would you travel to a different town to go out when you have an ever changing array of bars, cafes, restaurants and venues within walking or tube distance

Given petrol prices, doesn’t it make living in areas with little to no public transport really really expensive
I know when we moved back what was very noticeable was how much more money we had and a lot of it was because of the savings we were making through petrol and transport.
Plus I was so much happier as people were a lot more friendly than the little village and market town were we had lived.

Also these venues are free or can cost very little if you know where to look and what days to go on.

Public transport costs outside London are very variable though and not necessarily cheaper or more expensive than running a car. Where I used to live, on the outskirts, I could catch a bus going miles into London for the £1 Oyster/contactless amount and with the daily price cap. But if I wanted to catch the bus to the hospital for my eye appt 3 miles in the opposite direction it was nearly £6 for a return bus trip. DH did that every day for 8 days when we had DD and it cost a fortune.

Whereas we've relocated to a northern city and buses seem plentiful and cheap!

London life may be many things Kenny, but I've never heard it described as cheap!

In London you are generally a few minutes walk from shops cafés, transport, parks, museums, all sorts

Where I am, this is also the case. And I live in a very big old (listed) house, in the middle of my city, which would be totally unaffordable to most Londoners. And I can afford to go to London whenever I like to see all those other museums. And then I come home & breathe the fresh air.

Public transport costs outside London are very variable though and not necessarily cheaper or more expensive than running a car. Where I used to live, on the outskirts, I could catch a bus going miles into London for the £1 Oyster/contactless amount and with the daily price cap

@RidingMyBikeThis is because London public transport is hugely subsidised by the rest of the country If you look at the figures (sorry, don't have them to hand) it's something up to 8 times the subsidy available in some other areas of the country.

And guess what, for us up in the north, and in some of the areas of poorest income in the north & the deep south west, public transport has the least subsidy.

This is what I find weird @LaChanticleer - buses in the Home Counties where I was living (right by London boundary) were really expensive. I now live in the north and they are SO much cheaper. They aren't plentiful out in the villages but where I am in a northern city they seem to be every 10-15 mins and run in the evenings.

I wonder if if any one will notice this update. Found myself remembering this thread and searching for it (distant memories of being roasted about haricot beans lead my google search 🤣).
We moved back to London last summer and it’s glorious! I think it’s horses for courses - my brother and SIL moved out of London same time as us and we moved to Notts together as it’s only 40 mins from where we grew up, but after 3 years there (although we did ‘settle’) when my husband received a better job offer that required us to move back we (Hubs and I) were relieved and looking forward to it. My Brother however decided to go super rural and has just bought a small holding in the Malvern Hills in the middle of nowhere!

The suburbs of Nottingham, though it allowed for closeness to countryside and city, wasn’t enough for me. I HATED driving everywhere, found it time consuming and annoying to take the children to clubs and hobbies, same with commuting to work all of which put a massive strain on my relationship with my Husband. We also found the people there slow to open up and form relationships which left me pretty isolated (as opposed to the lively community I had left behind in London). I found that a bigger house only leads to more cleaning and was an absolute money pit (our fault for buying an Edwardian cottage with single glazed windows!) and a garden that was too big to handle.
We are now renting a two bed tiny flat in opposite a park on the river and love it. My eldest still misses her friends but from my POV she is happier and more confident here and has benefitted from all the culture and opportunities here. Youngest is thriving and her school got her in to a physical activity that she now competes in. These opportunities were simply not an option where we were before. I’m not saying that EVERYWHERE outside of London is like this. All I can give is my personal experience. I guess it’s affected by my having grown up in a very small town which I hated as a teen and couldn’t wait to escape from! (Husband too - we are ‘those’ people who knew each other from preschool and went to the same Primary and Secondary school, as did everyone in our town!).
Anyway. I hope OP found what she was looking for, as for me, you’ll be happy to hear that my local shop, the bougiest Costcutter I’ve ever been in, sells all kinds of beans, tahini and brown rice (though not the short grain type - have to go to Putney for that!!!!).

I noticed! I’m happy for you. We’re 5 years in to the Cotswold country life and envisioned going back to london for a long time, but now we couldn’t bear it. We love it. I still love London though.

My sheep are particularly attractive!