to be thinking of moving to Bath rather than London?

[AgainWhen]

Currently live in Doncaster. Can't stand it.

We're moving this autumn and have been looking at the suburbs in SW London - can afford a teeny tiny 3 bed house. Have always wanted to live in London and as the plan is for our next move to be our 'forever' house this feels like the right time.

However I've just looked at what we could buy in Bath for £400k and we could get someting fantastic for our money.

Anyone got any insight? Best/worst areas etc.The main thing I fear is ending up somewhere provincial and wishing we'd moved to London all along.

I grew up in Bath, went to London at 19 in 1992 and moved back to Bath in 2010.

I really think it depends on where you are at in your life. At 30, childless and still going out a lot I would have cut off my own hand with a rusty saw sooner than moved back here. With 3 DC the picture changed somewhat and I'm really happy we moved here. The schools are great and there are loads of things to do.

There are a fair few drugs in Bath but no more than in most places IMO.

If you've always wanted to live in London why not try it for a couple of years and see how you get on? You could always move to Bath/elsewhere later?

YANBU. Bath is lovely. But, unless you have private means, surely where you get to live will depend on the work situation.

I think it depends what your priorities are

We live in that part of Sw London and have a tiny tiny tiny 3 bed house.

Every now and then people we know move out to sprawling mansions on the Surrey/Sussex border for the same price as our house. But we have looked and have concluded that we would die a slow death not living where we are. We do a lot in London. Our children are at good (state) schools, they travel free on the buses, there is loads and loads and loads that is free for them to do (museums, parks, art galleries) and at the moment, we just can't see ourselves living anywhere else even though we've compromised on the size of the house.

So really that for me is the deciding factor. Larger house/garden vs convenient area with loads to do and great public transport!

Totally agree fox. I am not from London originally but came here after university. I married a born and bred Londoner. We admittedly have quite a big house and a small but nice garden so don't have the urge to escape for a bigger property but even if that was not the case I can't see myself living anywhere else now. We are 15 mins away from Central London and its attractions, a half an hour journey to the rolling hills of Surrey and a relatively short train ride to the sea (my area was after all once nicknamed 'the Gateway to the South'! ). Most importantly we have an easy journey by train or car down to where my family are near Wincheste- now there's another fantastic city to consider!

I have been to Bath a few times, and it is very nice, but I wouldn't want to live there having been spoilt by living in London.

In answer to gettingeasier's question, clearly there is far more to do in London but does anybody actually do it with DCs in tow?, I would say a resounding yes!

Bath is a beautiful place with lovely shops and all the rest of it (used to live there for a short while) but it is very dull and provincial. It's very retrospective culturally, all the focus is on preserving the lovely old stuff with little thought going to anything new or modern.

At it's worst it's up it's arse, rammed full of tourists with crap transport links and limited employment opportunies.

I can see the appeal for some but myself, I hate it!

When we lived in london, the dinner party convos were almost exclusively about 'getting out'. We all did, eventually. I enjoyed living there when I dind't have the kids, but avec kids it's just too much hassle imo.

imo unless you're quite well off (think stupidly well off in comparison to the rest of the country), London can be tough. We always felt so poor there, when we were nothing like poor.

Imo you will have more erm space out of london. If you choose snooty Bath, it's only a hop and a step to London anyway. Whatever, if you are a young family with kids, you will meet and make friends with a lot of people and generally have a roaring social life in Bath/Bristol. That's all of you, not just the kids.

What is the jobs market like in Bath area?