to want to move 'up north'?

[onemiddlefinger]

That is if South Yorkshire is actually considered 'up north'?
We have always lived in London and now DH might have a job offer near Sheffield and i'm actually surprised that really want to move.
If someone told me 3 years ago that we might be moving nearly 3h away from London i would have been laughing, but now it might be a reality and i'm really hoping it works out.

We would have less money each month, but i would be able to stay home with DC for a few years and we would have much more space, a lovely house, a garden and DH would have more free time to spend with us.
I'm just so sick and tired of squeezing into our tiny flat and worrying about the downstairs neighbours coming to complain again about the noise and the commute on packed tube trains and just generally people everywhere.

AIBU?
Maybe it's just a phase of being fed up and once we actually move i'll be missing London? This is really all i can think about the last few days and in my head i'm already decorating the house and imagining us there - kids happy playing, our family able to come and visit (they live in another country) and actually be able to stay with us comfortably.

Yes, there is more to life than museums, and London ones are so madly crowded these days.
Also a trip into town or to London for the day can easily fix that no probs

London ... you don't have to live there, just don't forget it exists!

Whenever I've had this discussion with immigrants before, they've said London is diverse and people are used to foreigners, less so the rest of the south east

I'm 'forrin' (Irish) and the south-east really isn't a wonderful hive of cosmopolitanism once you get beyond London. Even my very mild level of foreignness seems to amaze some people.

Moved from London to sheffield 5 years ago, it's great. Sheffield is very friendly. I doubt you'll regret it, there are lots of non-locals living here so you won't feel like the only Londoner. Good luck!

Moved from Rotherham to Northumberland 37 years ago. I'd live in both places quite happily, naice and not so naice places in both. I have family in both areas.
I couldn't live in London as my piddly salary wouldnt buy a phone box but I'm sure it's very naice.
ps Sheffield is the Midlands!

While I'm wandering along the riverbank in Durham tomorrow looking up at the castle, the cathedral and the world class university I'll remember how disadvantaged my children are to have been dragged away from the south 8 years ago

speaking as someone who moved down south from up north..up north is shit... why do you think if they can people move down south?

Ha ha - I was born near Rotherham - it's not all bad!! Have lived in London and Glasgow, now live in Sheffield, purely by chance we moved here, we planned to move to Manchester as we loved city life, but now we love Sheffield and wouldn't move...hopefully we can stay. It's a brilliant city, very friendly, mainly cheap if you avoid the Dore belt and you're surrounded by countryside, lots of parks. Friends who have visited have been surprised that it wasn't what they expected, it is very green. We've grown out of the going out phase, we might find it a bit limited if we still wanted to go out all the time, but wouldn't swap to go back down south (couldn't afford to now anyway...)

why do you think if they can people move down south?

Because they think people might pay them/like them more?

The thing that worries me about up North is that it is bloody miles from anywhere and the weather is shite.
Anywhere south of London ( leaving Cornwall out because it likes it that way) and you can get to France, Spain and Jersey I in less time than it takes to get to Blackpool. And obviously the glittering capital is a painless train/ drive away. And Gatwick and Heathrow are easy peasy ( plus additional local airports)

And it's generally warmer, less wet and summer lasts till the end of September.
I like Liverpool but generally the over riding impression is that North is just well, endless North...

I think that this comes across as being a bit ignorant.

It's not all Honey and roses down south.

Lancs, yorks, Cheshire etc as all beautiful places with fab cities. Plentiful housing and lovely people.

You should be delighted!

I plan to move down south for the weather.

the weather is far far better

so much warmer

And it's generally warmer, less wet and summer lasts till the end of September revealall

Serves you right for living on wrong side of t'Pennines!

Can't say I've noticed much difference in the weather between the North and South, well, not until you start going far north of Newcassel, like

I remember reading a Postman Pat book to my son ( Yorkshire? ) and being actually shocked that a trip to the seaside was a really rare day out. It had never occurred to me that that if you lived in the middle of England getting to the coast involves many hours and a good few counties.
Living down South everywhere is sort of connected to the sea really.

I think that unless you can live fairly centrally in London, it's a bit academic that there are museums and theatres in the centre. It's going to be a pain in the arse getting to them whether you're living in Sheffield or in Croydon (and given the choice...). Once you're outside of London proper, I think that the South East generally is a lot less diverse - I'm an hour's commute from London, and though I love being here, and love being able to get into London easily, it's not exactly buzzy (no, not even in Brighton - Manchester's got more going on).

I don't see the point of arguing about chippy Northerners and Londoners who think that "here be dragons" is printed on maps of all areas north of Watford, horses for courses, innit. Though I would add that I was copied in on quite a whingey email today from a (not long out of uni, not yet completely house trained, and possibly a bit thick) born and bred Londoner who was complaining vociferously about arriving in an isolated rural station late at night, and the risk of not being able to get a taxi to his hotel. He was booked on a train out of Kings Cross after work, arriving at around 8 o'clock at Leeds station (the largest and busiest station outside of London, I believe). And (as anyone who knows Leeds will appreciate) was booked in to stay at the Queens Hotel. Oh, how me and my Northern mates chortled.

I think the North has done itself no favours. What it does have is a sense of humour which is often lacking down South ( we only have irony and sarcasm now).
The North instead of being on the defensive should market it's sense of fun. The South is very stressed. Also cheap parking and towns that are good all the time not just weekends when the commuters get down time.

Anywhere south of London ( leaving Cornwall out because it likes it that way) and you can get to France, Spain and Jersey I in less time than it takes to get to Blackpool. And obviously the glittering capital is a painless train/ drive away. And Gatwick and Heathrow are easy peasy ( plus additional local airports)

Once again: there are airports other than Heathrow and Gatwick. Blackpool is quite easy to get to from up North, even if it is a long trip from London. City and suburban northerners can catch flights to the continent as easily as Londoners, from smaller, less crowded airports.

Not sure that I would consider Jersey a goal, but I will admit, I can likely only get there by going to London first. Though, if I wanted an island holiday where they speak English, there are others, up north. You will never, ever, convince me the south of the UK/Jersey is warmer enough to matter. I am a native of Florida, who lived a long while in Southern California. brits may disagree, but IMO, it is never hot anywhere at all in the UK in the summer. NO, really, it isn't. In winter, and except for mountainous areas, snowy and mild, or snowy and cold can strike anywhere. Places down south had a worse winter last year than Glasgow did, for example. The warmer down south argument isn't reliably true in winter, bor enough to matter in summer. And it will probably rain anyway.

I lived in Essex before, and getting anywhere by train usually involved going to London first, which was ridiculous when the goal was somewhere up north. Trying to go west or south by car involved going AROUND London. Ugh! Both situations involved half a day. I never had the luck to be able to fly out of Gatwick. Getting to Heathrow was a right pain, either an hour into Liverpool St then across to I have forgotten where and another hour out. Alternatively, over an hour by taxi. In either case, we had to take rush hour(s) into account when purchasing the ticket as that could easily change the trip from 2+ to 4+ hours. Most of us up north accessing other airports can get to them just as easily as Londoners get to Heathrow or Gatwick, and more easily than southerners not actually in London can and easier than some Londoners on the edges. Even if we still have to connect via a London airport to our final destination, getting a flight from our local is no harder than getting across or around London.

*snowless and mild

Eh? The museums are not busy out of term time. I went 2 weeks ago to the imperial war museum, the V and A, the natural history museum - all very quiet

And we had RAF museum at Hendon entirely to ourselves from 3 onwards.

I've genuinely never seen it so quiet.

I know there are other plenty of other airports but if you live in the South East you have two major hubs, several local ones (smaller and less crowded ) and lots of sea ports. You can always get to France cheaply and quickly- the local paper does vouchers for day trips. You can just decide to go and then go.
Think Essex is east not south because as you say you London is right in the way.
The weather is better slthough I agree as someone who spent time in sub tropical climes it is relative. We also get long evenings which you don't get in Florida.

Everytime someone mentions the benefits of London, "museums" is often top of the list

When they ask me what the benefits of the North are, I usually start with "GREEN."

Oh yes, and someone needs to build a major train station hub north of Kings Cross. I'm sick of having to go into town to get out of it too.

I'm going to get attacked here, but I don't get the MN museum obsession. I like the Imperial War Museum, but I thought the Natural History Museum a bit dull. If I go to London, museums would be at the bottom of my list.
It all seems very worthy and 'improving'.