To wonder if you are happy living where you are now?

[superstarheartbreaker]

And if not, where would you like to move to if you were in a position to do so?

I live in a lovely little market town and it's where I grew up. It's beautiful, surrounded by country, I have great friends here and dd is settled in her school.
However, i miss urban life, the culture, the opportunities, the work scene. , the men.

If I could I'd move to the nearest big city Bristol which I love but I'm a single mum and I fear a move as I have a lot of support here.

This is a very interesting thread.

I am pretty much happy anywhere for a while, then move. I lived in London for a long time but post-DCs lived in Belfast and now rural Ireland. I feel in each place that various parts of my identity are opened up and others closed down. In London, I lived the London life - pubs, clubs, trendy cafes - to the full. Now I'm living the country life to the full with freerange chicken and activities like blackberry-picking each weekend.

We are renting and I honestly don't know where I will settle. There are days when I miss the multi-culturalism and professional diversity of London or other big cities I've lived in (have lived in USA and different European cities). But also I love the fact that as another poster said, the countryside does have an off switch and all goes quiet at night.

I never really fit in anywhere (which contradicts me living the lifestyle of the place I am in to the full) as I just tick loads of "minority" boxes (most of them actually - sexuality, marital status, religion, profession etc. etc.!) So long as I don't think too much, it's OK wherever we are! In the past I have had a person accused of murder and a brothel for neighbours, so I figure I am up in the world (if not up, then sideways!)

I figure I am moving up ...

We split our time between a flat on central London and a house in the Home Counties (pretty rural).

I don't think either would be perfect. Mixing them is damn good.

Ooh jealous MillyCariad

Can't wait for the kids to finish school as we'll either be moving more rural or back to a city (also love Bristol OP!). We are stuck in a dull village which isn't really working out for us - would love to up and leave but the kids are happy so will be here another few years at least.

I love where I live. Surrounded by trees, sheep and cows, near a river, overlooked by an ancient abbey, very peaceful and quite. Great local town, good school. I can be at the beach in 15 minutes by car and the heart of the Capital city in 16 minutes by train.

I love in a market city too, with lots of great secondary schools, country side and the sea nearby as well as other bigger cities close. Kids love it here as do I.

Used to lived near Denver with DH and DS1 as a baby. When we were leaving I realised I was pregnant with DD1 and I wanted to stay for her to grow up there, but I've moved on from Colorado and England is where I belong really.

Maninawomansworld I might suggest that you pretty much have won the lottery living in a 13 bedroom manor house with lots of land etc.....

I love my house and village, rural and yet not too far from London for the odd visit. One thing I wish there was more of though are trees and streams so in an ideal world I would have a little cottage in the West Country or the Lake District to visit every few weekends or so.

I couldn't ever move away though as friends and neighbours make it my place and having lived abroad and away in the UK I really do think people make a place.

Sorry for all the people living in hellish places though

Overuse of the word place there

We live in a nice house with a big garden now, but in some ways I miss living in my old city even though we lived in a pokey little flat. I think I was probably happier there because I had more friends, and lived in a place with lots of parks, bars, restaurants etc nearby which I loved. So a swish house and material stuff isn't everything.

I love my house, but wish I could pick it up and transport it five miles down the road, to the town where the DCs go to school and where I work.

It would make life sooo much more convenient. I do like the village where we live, but our life is spent in the car. No way are we moving, though - far too much disruption.

I love it, small town in the south west, near the sea and lots of
Stuff for the DCs to do and all the schools are outstanding.

Cheerears, is that Sheffield? It sounds like where my friends live.

Reading all these, I'm mostly very curious to know where the places actually are. Especially the ones where people are really happy. Understand people don't want to share though.

I am really happy here now. I wasn't content at all for many years when I first came here as I missed the bigger city vibe after living abroad and in London, but as time went on, the city just got better and better with lots of improvements. Then we had children, moved to a much better area (not in terms of being massively wealthy, just a bit more aspiring, both a bit more happening and calmer simultaneously, and more suited to us) and I just realised how lucky I was to live somewhere with lovely parks to hand, shops with everything I needed just about and the revamped city centre nearby for the other bits, good cultural life if you have the chance to make the most of it, and as time went on a great collection of friends who are all like me and without family easily to hand but have become my new one essentially and my support network for each other's children. The kids are happy in school and childcare/nursery, there is lots for them to do and the city is easy to get around and get out of if you want to lovely countryside and the sea. I live close to work so have no wasted time on commuting. Whilst a part of me still occasionally hankers for the travelling I used to do way back when, I am far more content than I ever would have thought possible, and have realised that having roots in the right place does make a difference to how you view your surroundings - ie, not always wanting to change them.

For the people who are not happy where they are, I really do feel for you. The place I lived before here slowly turned into a living hell with awful neighbours who made our lives miserable. We were so lucky that we were able to get out - I still pity those left behind who probably wanted to but couldn't.

I live in a city but would much rather live in a satellite town. Somewhere with a village feel but without being so small that everyone knows every time you sneeze. I'd ideally live in a 4 bed detached house with a decent sized garden, not overlooked, that had a small woodland area in it. The problem is though, I wouldn't want to be further away from my friends & we can't afford anywhere nicer than where we live now!

Thank you captain cup cake .. I do hope so .. It feels very nice when we visit but i know how some people can be so worry they will be mean . Dh woks away a lot so it would be great if someone lovely and kind lived there . I am nice and easy to get on with so fingers crossed .

I love our village, it has a library, school, butchers, couple of general shops, fab biking, fishing, kayaking, riding and walking.

We are a few miles from a town but there are buses to school/town centre and it is possible to walk there through a nature park.

Our medical centre is great.

We will probably move when we retire but happy enough for now.

I do-we just moved last month and wished we'd moved here before DD was born.

Small city, lots of good restaurants, music scene, pubs and events going on in town. Very green, lots of community gardens, eco-initiative etc. Great public transport. Very family and neighbourhood friendly, always stuff for families to do. Often cheap too!

And we live by a forest. It's awesome.

The house needs work. But I can overlook it.

We moved to Cornwall from Nottingham, and it felt almost perfect, but not quite. Then we moved to New Zealand and I now have no neighbours and lovely views. No neighbours pretty much makes it perfect, I am very anti-social.

HATE WHERE I LIVE. Very nice housing estate but due to divorce have had to leave gorgeous village location with acres of land with fields of horses cows and sheep. Plus rabbits birds of prey and raf jets practicing over head. If I won lottery I'm straight back there.
The estate is cold and impersonal the village was warm and friendly.

I hate living in Oldham. My husband and I are planning on moving, but there aren't that many places we can move to being poor and on benefits that are much nicer. I keep looking though.

Yes I do. I still do get a lift most days when I walk towards home. It feels green and peaceful despite being in London.

I live in central Sheffield and it's brilliant. Has everything I ever wanted. Full of life and soul and fun and culture, but also cheap and friendly. The people are great. I walk everywhere, I have all the city stuff on my doorstep, and the Peak district is a 20 minute drive away. Love it!!

Hoping to stay here till the kids (well I have one and am imminently due another) are in secondary school, at least. There's so much to do, for free, and I think it's so healthy for kids to mix with loads of other backgrounds and cultures. God I wish I'd been brought up a cool city kid!

I'm fairly content with where we live. We are sandwiched between the sea and the South Downs, close to shops and the weather isn't bad. Work is close by and the dses are really settled here.

I'd like to live in the Lake District but that's pie in the sky. Don't have the money, I'd have to commute for work and dh wouldn't find work. I'd hate being so far from the shops really and the whole needing 2 cars would piss me off. And the snow and rain. Do love the lakes though, such amazing walking.....

So on balance I do really love where I am. The house is not big, but comfortable enough.