To leave London (burbs) to live in Exeter

[Tinywavesandripples]

I have worked in admin at various universities in London for the last ten years and am increasingly fed up with living in the great big smoke. I have only been to exeter once and loved it. Am I bu to consider selling up, taking dc out of her very good infant school and starting over in Exeter? It appeals to me as it's a university town and close to the Sea. Would it be a culture shock?

Go on, tell me the good, the bad and the ugly!

I moved from Bournemouth to Lincoln after one visit. It was the best thing I have ever done. If it feels right do it. If it doesn't work out there's nothing stopping you moving again.

Bossy - the discrepancy between London house prices and Exeter ones means that if she moves here and then wants to go back she might find it difficult.

Someone said salaries are lower, this is very true for lots of jobs, but it is much cheaper than London, so a university job with a slightly lower salary may represent better value. OP if you like the area and have visited I'd look for jobs in your sector across the whole of the South West as Exeter is cutting back admin staff quite drastically- so look at Exeter, Plymouth, Bath, Bristol, Bournemouth, any of the south coast unis. I would not move to these areas without a job but once you get there, if you love the countryside, the sea, most have decent shopping etc.

I lived in Exeter for a couple of years, remember the double locks, the canal path, topsham outdoor swimming pool.

Also lived in north Devon, would love to go back, I love places near to the sea.

Napoleon - apart from house prices (which are cheaper in absolute terms but not in relative terms) it is not cheaper living here than in London. Food costs the same. Petrol costs the same. Public transport costs more. Water rates and council tax cost more. Insurance is often more because some insurers look at 'the south west' rather than the bit you live in, so we get things like flood premiums, deprivation premiums etc. Cars cost more. It's cheaper to have 'a nice day out' and childcare is certainly a lot cheaper.

DH is from Exeter, most of his family still live in Exeter or nearby. The fact we live a long way away has nothing to do with the City itself.

I have never got to grips with the roads, but that is DH's fault as we never go the same way twice.

(Had a few trips to the Doublelocks)

It is lovely there and roundabout OP, but if you are going to uproot your family I'd consider other places too so you can have an informed decision.

Herc I thought you must be down that way!

Herc- I've lived in London and in Devon and it's much cheaper in Devon- because of rent prices and childcare as you say. I agree food is pretty much the same, and other bills and water is more- but water for a family is £70 instead of £20, £50 difference a month- but rental on a three-bed property would be 100's more- we were paying £1300 a month for a 2 bed in London but you could get a 2 bed here for £6-700. It depends on whether the OP would buy or rent- but if she bought she would still get more for her money in pretty much every part of Devon.

University salaries for academics at least have a London weighting but it doesn't compensate the expense of living in London at all. There are threads on here about how you can't survive on £100,000 in London per family- you definitely can in Devon, even if you included private schooling.

Napoloen My water is not £70 per month. It's £200 per month. At home, it would be about £50. It is very difficult to rent a family home in Exeter, there is a very short supply. Student or one person lets are very over-supplied.

And believe me, £100K is not an income in Devon where you can contemplate private schools (if you have multiple kids). Not unless you are mortgage free.

If you own a property in London, I really wouldn't sell it and move away, as you'll never be able to afford to move back.

I left London and moved to Bristol two years ago and I still really miss London. I'm up there most weeks for work and I do get pangs of sadness that I no longer live in London.

If you own your house, could you release some equity, use it as a deposit for another house elsewhere and then let out your London one? That way, you won't lose money and you can always have a base in London should you need it.

Also, don't underestimate moving away from a support network. I have little family anyway, but I really do realise how much I miss them now that they're in London and I'm not. Also, you don't mention in your OP whether you have a partner, or friends/relatives in Exeter (or the other areas you are considering moving to). It is daunting trying to find a new group of friends in a new city. Be careful of thinking the grass is always greener although with the amount of rain we get in the West Country, it usually is very green

Herc I know what you are saying, it's not as cheap as it appears. I don't use that much for water though!

The Op seems to only have one child though, and perhaps they'd only need a two bed house/flat- or could consider one of the lovely villages around, or other locations and commute in- I did this for many years.

I really do think she could afford private school for one child on that salary, but you don't get paid £100,000 in administration at the uni, so it is a hypothetical argument.

I think the devil is in the detail- would the OP want to sell in which case she would likely have a large amount of equity, would she want to rent (in which case how many bedrooms), she doesn't need huge amounts of childcare for one child and there are lots of schools with cheap breakfast/afterschool club (now that is much cheaper than in London and not the waiting lists either)? There's no savings to be had on regular bills or food though, prices are quite high.

I do also agree that if you love London, don't lose your toe-hold in it. You won't be able to get back in- we can't.

It's not that we use much water. It's that we have 3 kids. If you have more people living in a house than bedrooms (we have a 4 bed house) then SWW advises that a water meter won't save you any money. The rates are just RIDICULOUSLY high.

Lots of the primary schools don't run breakfast/afterschool clubs.

Pre-school care (nurseries) are definitely a lot cheaper here than London from what I hear.

I just think that i's not helpful to tell someone it's way cheaper living here, because it all turns on accommodation costs. And ability to get the 'right' accommodation. House prices are hugely out of step with local incomes, although rental (if you can get one) might be more reasonable. But the property market here has been hugely distorted by the expansion of the university (and before that, by the relocation of the Met office although that was quite a while ago now). Single people have a lot of choices round here, families have fewer.

I think it rather depends on how OP (living in the London suburbs) really uses central London now. I'd rather live in/near Exeter than live in, say, Twickenham seldom getting into central London. I have friends who lived in Barnes but were seldom organised enough to take advantage of the theatres, galleries etc just a few miles away. They moved to Devon and have a great life. Importantly (for them) they plan three week-ends a year in London to see shows, go to exhibitions and catch up with friends. Friends from London love week-ending with them in Devon.

It's also worth considering that how a person uses London will change as their life changes. I used to go to the theatre at least once a week, often more, when I was a student and then in my early years of working. Even if I'd stayed in London, I wouldn't have been able to manage that once I started popping out kids. I'm lucky in that I still work in London a lot, but most of my theatre going now is with one or more of my kids so I don't hugely take advantage of being there mid week and take in a show, but I do (as you say) plan several trips up with one or more of the kids in tow (maybe 8-10x a year?). I'll probably only have seen 7 or 8 things in London by myself (i.e. without kids) by the end of the year and 3 of those were freebies anyway (comp tickets). Oh, and a few footy matches too. When I say I miss London DH always points out that actually, I miss being young. And I think he is mainly right. I think I'm also lucky in that having lived there so long, I never 'unplugged' from the things that make consuming culture easy - I kept up my memberships, so we get cheaper tickets and pre-sales etc, I kept my season ticket (well, I downgraded from a full to a shared one - but that kept my toe in). I wasn't ready to sever those links to my former life and I'm very glad I didn't because it means the kids have opportunities they otherwise might not have.

How about Winchester? You have Southampton uni 20 to 30 minutes away.

How about Durham? There's a uni there. Or Newcastle?

half an hour from here

twenty minutes from here

twenty minutes from here - City Centre

Norfolk/Suffolk borders. Fabulous.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5999565/Saltash-in-Cornwall-is-Britains-most-desirable-postcode.html

A few years out of date but it's next to Plymouth (which has two universities, a medical school and several further education colleges). The commute is negligible but yet you're far enough away (across the bridge) to have a completely different atmosphere. Quick and easy to get to shops/moors/beaches/heritage sites. All the schools are considered good. Grammar/faith/private schools available in Plymouth, as are shops/theatres/cinemas etc. There is a big difference between living in Plymouth and just outside though. Other places locally worth a mention are Plympton and Tavistock.

It may be a bit of a shock to the system from London (as it is when I venture to London), the pace of life is a lot slower, you begin to know or know someone who knows everyone. Any crime is big news here.

I haven't been to the double locks for about 16 years, it used to be fab, shame it's touristy now! We used to love the bbqs at the weekends

We had my step mum's wake at the Double Locks, three years ago!

We moved from a big city (not London) to Exeter a few years ago. We absolutely love it. I work at the uni (am an academic). We like the fresh air, the fantastic outdoor spaces, the size of the city (cyclable and walkable, we don't drive nearly as much as we did when living in a big city where everything was further apart).

Some people don't like it so much, they tend to be more urban types who want the big city action, but for us it's a good mix of city and countryside.
I would like it to be more ethnically and culturally varied, that's something we miss a bit. We don't miss much else from the big city life.

We've used two local primaries and they both had good before/after school and holiday clubs - we did choose that as a priority though.

My children are happy and thriving in one of the local Exeter comps, people diss these comps as though they were junior borstals but our experience so far has been extremely positive.

We are not fans of the grammar system and don't live near any of the Devon grammars (that was deliberate on our part), but I do know many very bright lively children who haven't got it, as well as quite a few who have - I'd be very wary of relying on that.

Wow!!! Thanks a million, so many informative posts and interesting thoughts . Still trying to digest them all. Interesting comment that living costs are the same in terms of food and bills but salaries are lower; I hadn't considered this. Of course I am attracted by the lower house prices. Where we are (terraced house) families like sardines and house prices are obviously sky high .

I am very drawn to the idea of living at the coast but am aware that when dc become teenagers they will want and need access to decent activities so moving to a small village won't do as I would have to chauffeur them around all the time I guess that wouldn't be the end of the world though. A lot to think about.

Also I found it really interesting to learn that so many people in exeter are ex-Londoners. I'm not sure about grammar schools, I guess they would be a good option, no?

This is probably a weird question and hopefully not contentious but is the quality of NHS and other public services comparable to the greater London area? I'm sure this sounds stupidly prejudiced, sorry.

We've got a fantastic GP and have had fantastic service from the hospital- quick referrals and appointments.

Re salaries depends what sector.My dp has quite a well paid job for the area,granted it's less than he'd get in London but it's not bad compared to the rest of the UK.When you factor in housing,commuting etc the diff between a London wage disappears.

Plenty of work in his sector,he's struggling to recruit people with the correct skills atm.

the quality of NHS and other public services comparable to the greater London area? I'm sure this sounds stupidly prejudiced, sorry.

Of course. Not being strained to breaking point by population explosion either.

retro may I be curious nosy and ask what your dh's sector is?