To want to leave London

[DeweyDecibelle]

It's just so expensive! But me and DH both have jobs that are hard to come by outside of London, so we would either have to be very lucky to get new jobs in our sectors, or get unrelated jobs which seems like a waste of many years training and experience and would probably leave us unhappy as we both are happy in our jobs.

Also, both of us grew up in extremely rural places, with no opportunities, and so we want to give our DC the best start in life - to us this includes living within commuting distance of good universities and a wide range of jobs, so the children have the choice to get an education and work in whatever field they choose, while still living at home, should they wish to, so they can save money to set themselves up for the future, an opportunity neither DH or I had due to distance. (Realise this doesn't have to be London, any big city would do, but we are here now).

But I look at houses outside of London, and sometimes I just wish we could up sticks and move.

[Mrsrobertduvall]

I am from the north, but have lived in SW London for 30 years.
I love it...we are in a nice safe suburb, great transport links, dcs are in good state secondaries .

I would never move further out...small villages in Surrey don't appeal. I am a city girl and don't like the country much.

I love being able to nip in to London in 25 minutes...theatres, exhibitions, general mooching.

[Southeastdweller]

I think I'm ready to go. I'm leaving my current crap hole area (problems with scuzzy neighbours and live-in-landlord) and am faced with paying at least £600 in rent alone for a small flatshare in a decent area, which is a significant part of my wage .Nothing else I can do except suck it up.

The huge expense of property here is what's making the gap between living standards between the north and south a bit smaller - certainly I'm envious of friends up there who have a big disposable income and live in nice areas, etc. If I had a nice job lined up in a buzzy city like Manchester or Bristol then I'd be out of here like a shot. But it's not a good time out there for job hunting and certain parts of the country have been hit by the recession more than London has so I'm at quite a crossroads...all a bit confusing, really.

[Pobblewhohasnotoes]

Where are you talking about married?

I used to live in Clapham jct and loved it. But unfortunatey I don't have 2million to buy a house so we moved about two miles down the road and got a lovely three bed. Ok it's not Clapham but it's a very family orientated area. Can be a bit dodgy at night but so can everywhere.

[Goodwordguide]

Well, Simon le Bon did live at the bottom of our road and I believe he was trendy in 1982

Not be pedantic but I think the Jagger children went to a Roehampton school and the great JC lived in Wimbledon...

I'll give you the rowing clubs and the Putney Debates - see, it was very radical in the 17th century!

[umpti67]

A couple of stops along the tube line? Seriously?

Not even on the tube line i'd say. We were a two graduate income no kids family when we lived in London and we were about 14 stops out at the last stop. She's having a larf.

[marriedinwhiteagain]

But compared to 1982 it is trendy goodword guide but you're probably right . But I still luffs it and I will not be moved except to SW19 and it's scary

What's not niche about all the rowing clubs and cathy burke and amanda burton, and Jilly Cooper and mick Jagger sent his kids to school here - as you were - humph!

[MadBusLady]

Nick Clegg lives in Putney, I think. That's how niche and trendy it is.

I remember seeing a Location Location in Highgate where they interviewed someone on the street there who reckoned it was funky and alternative. Maybe in 1982...

[chateauferret]

YANBU. I start to hyperventilate before I even get onto the concourse when alighting at King's Cross and next week I've got to fly to London City at sparrow's fart. Aaargh.

[Goodwordguide]

"What you don't get though is affordable housing or acceptable state schools"

This ^^ is why we moved from SW15 marriedinwhite. We loved it there but couldn't escape the fact that we couldn't afford a big enough house or guarantee that our children would get into a local school. Plus the traffic/planes/general hecticness etc did get to me after a while. I do not miss our old school run along the South Circular! Or the endless conversations with other parents about school places... And I'm not sure I'd ever describe Putney as "niche" or "trendy" but we did love it and still do.

[yamsareyammy]

LittleFrieda. What wages and which house prices are you basing your posts on please?

[Notcontent]

I live in London. Housing is massively expensive, but other than housing I actually think it's reasonable because:

• you don't need a car;
  
• public transport is not expensive and free for children;
  
• I have lots of free or cheap facilities all less than 10 minutes from me - library, swimming pool, school, GP, park;
  
• food can be cheap because there is so much choice and it's very easy to access;
  
• sure there are some very expensive shops and restaurants but also lots of really cheap ones.

[marriedinwhiteagain]

And where do they send their dc little friends

[marriedinwhiteagain]

Agrees with Mrs BetsyTrotwood. If we were just half a mile East DS would not be coming home on public transport. He's 18. Massive difference between Putney Bridge tube and a hop over the bridge or the buses stoppiong at the bottom of putney High Street and walking home half a mile from clapham junction/Wandy town, etc. DS has been mugged but because he went to a party in a dodgy area of NW London and wouldn't listen. He was luicky and came away from it a bit more streetwise.

[LittleFrieda]

Marriedinwhiteagain London has an excellent public transport system so it's entirely possible for teachers (etc) to travel to schools in expensive house price catchments while living a couple of stops along the tube line. Or can't teachers travel on the tube?

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

Sorry, that FT link seems to be behind paywall suddenly. Here's another.
BBC

[MissBetseyTrotwood]

The secondary state schooling in London is not what it used to be - here .

I worked as a ft teacher and returned to the profession after 5 years out this academic year. It was a different school, but very similar pupil demographic. I was astounded at the progress in standards.

One of my own DCs is not strong academically, the other is fairly able; I'd be happy for the latter to be at the school I work at but not the former. The bottom sets still suffer very challenging behaviour and the level of need there is very very high. However, those in the average and more able sets are doing very, very well and the results for the school outstrip or match any for state schools in any of the home county areas we've looked at (with the exception of grammar schools).

Our area has a strong community too and I can totally relate to marriedinwhite 's lovely account of living in a London village. I still find our streets very dangerous for young men though and I really fear that just hanging around the park or whatever teenagers do these days is way more fraught around here than it is out of town. Like I said up thread though, there have been a couple of nasty incidents recently and I've been left rather bitter about certain groups of people in our community and their inability to behave decently.

[marriedinwhiteagain]

They are not proportionate for: teachers, nurses, firemen, civil servants though and london needs high quality public services. Where I live a two nbed lat is 500k plus and a three/four nbed terrace with a postage stamp garden and street parking is about a million.

[LittleFrieda]

London property prices (not Kensingon obviously) are proportionate to London wages.

[marriedinwhiteagain]

middleclassdystopia I live in London because I love it and where I live is a village in London. Putney. Have been her for 32 years and seen it grow from 1 restaurant and a few curry houses to the niche trendy metropolis it is now still no quality on the High Street though. I have met lifelong friends; cared for neighbours and been cared for; I still see the elderly obstetrician who looked afyer me 15/16 years ago in Waitrose ( shuffling a bit now). I met my DH here, had my children here, have cried here, laughed here and been bereaved here. Have brought my DC home here and had the house decked with ribbons and flowers when I came home with them. Where we live is a community in London and I kiss someone every time I wander up the high street I sometimes they give me a hug and I come away having had a convo about their dc and my dc thinking who the heck was that.

I pitched up here because it felt like home the day I got a 22 bus over the river nbecause I really couldn't afford Fulham. I have been with yards of our current home soince 1987 and before that only half a mile away.

What do we have; the river, red buses, black cabs. Tubes, good shops within 20 mins, three supermarkets in five minutes walking distance, theatre, opera, art, commons, heaths, parks, love, charity, friends, history, diversity, difference, tolerance, interesting and different people, good restaurantsm good design.

There are also fantastic schools - DS's is top in the UK at the moment and the local girls' school is not far behind.

What you don't get though is affordable housing or acceptable state schools. We don't have a choice as DH's job is London based and as he works silly hours living further away isn't really an optiuon although we are on our way to zone three buit thatt's a whole other thread.

[maternitart]

I LOVE London but only to visit these days. Between us we'd be lucky to earn £20k more than we do here (a large-ish city) but our money goes a lot further.

[OneStepCloser]

Were moving out later this year after 30 and 20 years. We have been totally priced out and feel we have no choice really, we also want to be by the sea. DH will commute in most days and work from home. Im looking forward to it, and will be close enough to pop back. Funnily enough we have 2 children between us who have been through the school system here and done fantastic, I`m actually worried about our LO as to whether the schools are going to be as good where we are going.

London is fantastic though, but only if you can afford it.

[handcream]

I sometimes find on threads that people choose an average 3 bed in say Chiswick and state you could get a mansion in the middle of Wales. Yes, well you could. However there are little in the way of high paying roles in nmid Wales and Chiswick is a tube ride away into Central London.

If my DH popped off upstairs I would sell up and move back to London