...to move from a big house in the 'burbs to a small flt in the city?

[CockneySparra]

Has anyone else ever made this 'back to front' type of move?

I grew up in small flats in inner London, but we made the move to a 4 bed semi in the suburbs some years ago.

I miss living more centrally, though. DH does too. Would we be crazy to sell up - which would mean losing an extra bedroom, probably the garden, definitely a lot of the space in the house and the driveway etc - to move back 'into London'?

Anyone else done this.

We currently live in way up on the London/Herts borders, btw, but are thinking of moving to Kensal Rise/Queens Park or even Maida Vale if we can find something we can afford.

had MASSIVE dining table that had to leave behind when came here. No table now at all..eat off knees. Doesn't help that partner is using lounge also as his office. My vintage coffee table and antique dressing table are in storage as no room. It is very very noisy here due to the road..i've been ill a lot lately and it's awful in a noisy location. When i'm better i'm going to get out and about more and try meet new people so as to make the best of being here and to get out of pokey flat. It is a nice flat..just no good for two esp one who has hoarding prob!

I like burgers! [bblush] [bgrin]

I love living in Central London and didn't realise how child-friendly it was until I had one. This is what's making it so hard for us to choose where to live next. Do we join friends in zone 5 area of London or stay in our lovely little enclave in zone 1/2? The upside would be that we could afford more for our money and secondary schools are definitely better, but our local primary now is outstanding in every way. We have looked in the zone 5 area that our friends live in, and the houses out there are really unappealing to us. They aren't our dream home, so we think we may hold off for another couple of years and continue to abuse our child while living in London (how dare we take her to different play groups/museums/zoos/farms/libraries/parks every day? Does the poor child get no stimulation!?!

You can probably ignore all of my posts, I'm feeling very glass-half-empty about London life at the mo.

A more balanced view; it was great when we moved to Tooting 6 years ago with 2 teenage children. It's not so good now with a surprise baby and an autistic 3-year old, stuck out in the 'burbs and watching all the cuts to local services.

Still planning my escape....

I did it... moved to Hitchin (where I grew up) when I had DD. I had lived in London for about 13 yrs.

Lasted 7months. I couldn't bear it, felt like I'd dropped off the edge of the earth.

Moved back to London and no regrets. Not one

I'd rather live somewhere small in the city than somewhere big in the burbs. AND I have 2 kids and make no excuses for my selfish behaviour [bgrin]

Loads of my friends have moved out of the city to the outskirts and I think it's grim there and they NEVER come into town even though they declared it 'only 15 minutes on the train' etc.

DH and I would like to move back into the city when the DC are grown. We wish we'd never moved out.

So many people leave London to move away to the country with their pre-schoolers (it really is the 'done thing' especially in NCT circles). Out of those who absolutely regret it, not many would be prepared to admit outright that they have made a mistake. I do wonder how they manage to keep up the pretense and for how long.

Where does this idea start? Who is responsible for this collective madness? Why do people think they must/should move out "for the sake of the children"? I can understand the space thing but not the "it's better for the children" - truly I can't.

Personally, (and I haven't read the rest of the thread) - apart from the partner driving madness, I would NEVER move back to London. A lovely cottage with massive garden and rail links to mainline London stations in an hour... rent costing £500 a month.. or a small flat costing £1200...easy sum, I found...

Figcake - agree wholeheartedly. I and DH are both Londoners and spent our lives to adulthood in two very different boroughs. We have since lived together in a commuter-belt town centre terrace house and a large detached semi-rural "home of our dreams with huge garden", where DD was born. The area was all thrusting commuting types and NCT enclaves - average schools and with absolutely nothing to do for kids except soft-play sessions at barn-like leisure centres, or desperately-PC play farms and outdoor centres where they charge the earth for the kids to climb safety-approved trees strapped into more kit than a Marine Commando needs. We then downsized to a West Country village in order to give DD a "better" lifestyle and education. It took us a couple of weeks to realise that living in a large village populated by one man and his 798 relatives - we could write a book - sent us screaming back to the safety of "inside the M25". Been here in small, 2-bed urban flat, on Royal Park doorstep, good schools, Oyster Card freedom for now-teenage DD, too many pubs, eateries, events and other distractions to occupy all of us. Let alone go into Central London - blimey - it's 25 mins by train to Waterloo. DD blase about having loads of different groups of chums, weekly trips to Trocadero, Camden Market, ExCel and so on. Sigh. We do think sometimes about the other trapped "incomers" to the village we escaped from; and we breathe a sigh of relief. NCT? Ah, yes . . . I remember . . . haven't thought about them for about 13 years.

I think we can conclude from this thread that London is the best, and everywhere else is a bit rubbish by comparison ;)

But then we all knew that already.

Moved out of London before I had dc, for two years and couldn't wait to get back. Can't think of a better place than where I live now in which to have had my two dc.

Am and amazed at some of the narrow-minded and prejudiced ideas about London on this thread.

Where do you live knittedbreast? Wherever it is, I can't think of a worse place in which to bring up children.

That's not a very nice thing to say, is it?

Look, living in London is like Marmite - you either love it or you hate it. It doesnt mean that those who love it are wrong, it doesnt mean that those who hate it are wrong - just different strokes for different folks.

I grew up in the midlands - city then small town - and am thankful that there is so much more for me to do with my children living as I do in London - and to do for myself living in London too!

And like Marmite, if you don't like it you are wrong ;)

If it wasn't for London I would emigrate and never look back as like others on the thread, I am disenchanted by pretty much every other aspect of UK living. London is my little ray of sunshine. It has it's own rules really. It is a bubble I want to stay inside. I love the fact that there is always something new to discover as well as all the different cultures represented. I also love the mini-identities within different local areas and whilst transport is not cheap, nor is petrol - we use a lot less of it than our rural relatives. There are places in England outside of London which I love too such as Brighton, Bath and parts of Dorset and Cornwall (as well as further afield), though I am always delighted to be coming back home in the end.

i live in w9 right in the centre of them locations you have mentioned, its not so bad, public transport going in every direction from here. Also you have queens park (the actual park) which has huge play area (mini farm thing too) and paddington rec down the road which is also beautiful with lots of things for kids to play on, tons of schools in the area and shops everywhere. Westfields is down the road and so is oxford street.

This area has ups and downs but there is always something to do.

I dont think you will regret it :)

We have discussed moving back to London. The only thing that stops us is that we have our parents nearby to help with DD. They don't help us at the moment as she is too little to be left for long, but they are chomping at the bit to start babysitting.

Moving from our 4 bed house with garden to a 2 bed flat would not worry us at all.

I have abused my children for 9 years. And judging by the postings here I'm possibly the worst offender of them all.

I live in WC1 - right next to Russell Square - OMG!!!!!!

You would never believe what my children have to put up with - playing in the local (Children only) park - Coram's Fields, nipping down to the Royal Festival hall on wet Sundays to run around and play spies, spending Saturday mornings having music lessons and Orchestra.

Not to mention the after school club my son attends at The Sir John Soane museum where he learns about buildings and architecture and is being taken on a tour of the secret passages of the Tate Modern today.

Please please will someone call social services now - it's criminal, we even do all our shopping on foot!

Don't tell me that you live in the Brunswick Centre. If you do, I may have to come and remove your children instantly (and move mine in instead ).

Nope, but you're getting very warm

OK, I'll let you off with a warning then .

Also my husband (who cycles to work) gets home in time for us all to have dinner together and discuss the day.

What a selfish b***d

Given a choice between The Burbs and London I would choose London every time OP, even in a smaller house/flat.

DH and I both grew up in The Burbs and I cringe every time we visit family at the status-climbing, attention-grabbing, narrow minded, have to get in the car to go anywhere, nothing-to-do-ness of it all.

Having been through a phase (quite recently) of thinking we should move out to get more space/better schools etc we have realised we will only ever leave London to move somewhere equally special. For us this would be St Ives in Cornwall or some parts of rural Sussex perhaps. Or abroad...

splodge - we love Coram's Fields too, especially when the zip wire is actually working. There are loads of good shops around there compared to ten years ago and definitely a proper sense of community. If I lived there, I would be tempted to book trips on the Eurostar far too often!