Moving family from London - but to where?

[Fruityfruit]

Where would you move your young family to (3 kids, two adults) if you lived in London and wanted to escape the terrifying rising crime, and give your kids a bigger place/more green space?

For context; we are nowhere near being able to buy yet so would have to be renting, and we currently don’t have a car so would need to be somewhere with good public transport availability.

If anyone has any insights/tips/recommendations - please do comment. As much as I love London, I think it’s time to leave 🙁

York

What are your other requirements - do you need to be in London for work? Do you have a certain rental budget? Is there any family that you need to be accessible to? Near and airport or rail links? Have you got a preferences for towns, villages, the edge of a city?....too many questions

West or North Yorkshire.
You have the East Coast.
The Yorkshire Dales.
The Pennines..
Easy train/ busses .

We moved to West Sussex, huge improvement in our lives.

Nope. Partner is in emergency services so has potential to move to different stations.

Family is only in London so we’re going to sacrifice that.

Transport links need to be good. Green or coastal - no preference. Just somewhere decent to raise a family where people aren’t getting stabbed on doorstep every week 😭

Are people actually getting stabbed on your doorstep every week? I honestly think London is not as dangerous as people imagine. I say this as someone who lives in London. My family live in the countryside in what would be considered a very middle class area and the rate of burglaries is significantly higher. There’s also no public transport so everyone has to drive everywhere, and very limited school options.

Same.

Do you have links anywhere? Eg family or friends who live somewhere you might be interested in exploring? It can be lonely and hard moving somewhere new. So much easier if you have a close friend or sibling nearby.

I would suggest limiting your search in some way to help you hone in on places eg within 2h of London, rent for 3/4bed is £x per month.

I have some friends in south Manchester and Cheshire who are very happy with where they live…

Don't go to Yorkshire. It us a terribly unfriendly place.

Yes 🥲 One in the local park on Saturday, one on the road adjacent to us the week before, moped robberies constantly, and my partner was also robbed on his cycle home from work. Two people ambushed him whilst he was on his bike and stole all his belongings. So thank you for your input but I say this as someone who also lives in London. I’ve lived here for 15 years and back in the day didn’t have any qualms living here, however it’s all becoming a bit close to home and I have Pre-School children to think of

I think you'll find that, outside London, good transport links will be much harder to find.

Difficult but not impossible 😅

... but this might help you:

Safest cities (and most dangerous)

Worth noting that London doesn't feature in the most dangerous top 5

We do have some friends in Hull, Wakefield and Cornwall, so I’m finding myself drawn to these areas 😂 other than that, no other close family or friends. I moved A LOT as a child and hated it (4 primary schools and several secondary’s) so that’s why I want to do this soonish so that my kids aren’t as affected, as they haven’t started school yet. I get that it can be lonely but we either stay in London in a small flat or take a leap and try do better for them. Everything is a risk isn’t it, I wish I knew what was best! 😟

York is just over 2 hours to London on the mainline. It’s a gorgeous city and such lovely countryside. It’s a small city but I think there is a lot going on for its size. Schools are also really good. It’s more expensive than other Northern cities though. I also know Sheffield really well—although it’s more mixed the whole south west of thr city is beautiful. I grew up there and it was perfect. I could walk to the city and bike out through the parks to thr Peak District. There was a lot going on too. I have also lived in Brighton and really liked it, although to me it isn’t such a big change from London and also Cornwall where I was really happy. There are lots of areas, perhaps as a pp said decide how far from London you want to be and how much rent and be led by that. We’ve recently relocated and it is tough but I think sometimes you’ve got to do what you think is right

We moved from London to Devon 10 years ago. Not one single regret.

Thanks, this is helpful! ❣️

I’m still keen on leaving the city though. The list helps, as I should probably avoid those cities too

Thank you 🙏🏻 out of interest, whereabouts?

Thank you for commenting. Can I ask whereabouts in West Sussex? Rural or town/coastal?

Near okehampton, which is 20 minutes from Exeter. Great transport links. Exeter Airport is 30 mins away from us. 40 minute drive to the coast on either side of us. Better quality of life and much cheaper cost of living.

South Wales or Wiltshire.

I can recommend Fareham.It's a town between Southampton and Portsmouth on the south coast with good transport links.Recently named safest town in the UK! The uplands area is perfect for a young family as a good school with friendly families and a large park with leisure centre. Fareham has a bus station and train station both walkable from the uplands area. I raised my family there, and we were very happy. Thinking term it's also good for teenagers as it has a cinema, bowling alley and Swimming pool its also easy to get into Southampton and Portsmouth. I'm happy to answer any questions

Don't come to Bristol, it really is full up.

I think Shrewsbury would definitely fit the bill.

Peak District is beautiful. Really lovely, vibrant towns within it too.