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.

I love Sheffield. I'd move back there in a heartbeat. In fact, plan to retire back to there if I can ...

The Northumberland coasts are deserted for a reason, they're bloody cold !!
(as a native I'm allowed to say that)

Where I live an hour and a bit train journey will get you to - newcastle, York, Leeds, Edinburgh, Durham. 2 hour train journey will get you to kings cross, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool. Can't ask for much more than that for a range really :-)

Do not tell anyone about the north east coastline PLEASE!!!!

"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'm really not convinced that you can base your opinion on this on a Postman Pat book. They're not exactly cutting edge realism.

Depending where we go and which of us is driving, we can be on the coast in anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half.

It's also not a rare day out. We're there at least once a week in the summer holidays for the day, and if DS's grandparents also have time off in the school holidays he's probably on the beach more often than he is in the local park.

We sometimes drive their after school just to eat fish and chips for on the seafront and come home again.

We've got a local pub and a "usual" in one of the seaside places we visit, we're there that often in the summer.

Actually laughing out loud at the postman pat analogy get outdoors and stop watching tv

fredfredsausagehead1
'Do not tell anyone about the north east coastline PLEASE!!!!'

Beautiful isn't it? Did you get as far north as the bum-clenching Berridale Braes?

Another one interested to know what those of us living outside London are missing out on. I accept there are obvious landmarks but I mean in a day to day sense.

In terms of museums and art galleries London has undoubtedly more but there are more than enough in the north (I am yet to run out). I live in Manchester and find more than enough to keep me busy. I also have the option if I fancy a change to get to Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield within an hour, in fact it's likely that I can probably get to the centre of Liverpool quicker than most Londoners can get to the centre of London.

I eat out on a regular basis and have yet to run out of restaurants when you take into account the areas around Manchester (didsbury chorlton etc) as well as the city centre. But what's more is I have the means and the time to enjoy it; my mortgage is 13% of our joint income and we are home by 5.45 every night which means we often go for dinner, drinks, cinema, sport stuff or comedy clubs in the week.

Of course London is unique and when I visit London I enjoy it ( and at just over 2 hours on the train its hardly inaccessible, i often go for work for a day) so this isn't an attack on London but I do find some people feel like London is the only place on earth whereas in reality from reading threads on here there are a lot of people living with a low standard of living (excessive rent for a small flat) leaving them without means to do some of the things that make it great to live in London (eating out for example) or they are working stupidly long hours with stupidly long commutes meaning they have the means but not the time, some people don't have either.

I really can't think of one thing I miss out on by living in Manchester... The tourist attractions and museums are things I've done when I've visited and actually I would hate my local museum to be full of tourists.

nothoing it's not that I feel others are missing out but certainly myself and my family would be if we didn't live ( part time) in London.

The life that we want to live would be hard/impossible to replicate without living in London at least part of the time.

But what is it in London that you can't replicate theword? I do get that there are things that only London has but I wouldn't have thought people are going to these places on a day to day basis therefore they could equally live further out (maybe not as far out as where I am) and go in to London to do these things.

School.
Work ( DH more than me).

We also made a very conscious decision that we would all take advantage of the things London had to offer regularly; lectures, debates, theatre, NFI, exhibitions etc.

It's a rare week we are not doing something. And I know these things happen elsewhere but not as much breadth it as often I YSWIM.

I do accept that London has more choice with things like museums or theatre but my guess is most people don't need that level of choice unless you are doing these things every week(and most people won't be going to the theatre week in week out). We have all the same things London has just less of it I suppose but on a day to day basis I find Manchester has enough choice for me and when its not I may look at what's on at the theatre in Liverpool say (45 min on the train).

I don't know its a difference of opinion and there is no right or wrong but for my part i have done city centre living in Manchester and had a fantastic time and when I say city centre I mean right bang in the centre of the city.... No way I could have afforded to have done that in London. And whilst I may not have had the number of theatres and museums on offer, I could walk to a museum and theatre in 5 mins from my flat and for the number of times I used them that was good enough for me.

NotGoing You have a very narrow view of Londoners. I don't pay a huge amount of rent, though of course it's higher than what it would be out of the capital, rarely work more than 38 hours a week, and whilst I don't have a high disposable income at the moment, I can eat out locally fairly cheaply - I'm talking £5 - £10 for a main course, from about ten different cuisines. I can be in South Ken in 30 minutes on the bus for all the free museums there, twenty minutes to the South Bank...I could go on. I think I'm fairly typical of someone my age renting here who works full-time.

I also think the defensiveness from some of the northerners here silly.

Its a difference of opinion as I say and work is obviously one that can be more difficult. Like I say I do accept you have more choice but I don't imagine the vast majority of people are utilising that choice (although clearly you are). We also try to take advantage of all things we can. I am from a village so to me Manchester is more than enough to keep me going and I and dp do all kinds of things in the evening, but I suppose had I lived in London I may feel differently. I can honestly say we never get bored though and as a childless couple go out frequently

Southeast dweller I don't have a narrow view of Londoners. I accept not all Londoners are in the situation I described but you only need to read the threads on here to understand that high rent and small spaces isn't a rare phenomenon in London.

I think in most cities these days you can choose from about 10 different cuisines fairly inexpensively.

Just noticed you said schools theword. I live in trafford and don't have children but if I do there are many fantastic schools in this area

It's the implication that the rest of the UK is 'backward' and 'lacking in opportunities in culture, travel and education' that pissed me off.

No one is claiming that Leeds is comparable to London on a world stage, but it appears that some Londoners think we don't even have electricity yet.

And we can eat our cheaply with far more than 10 different cuisines.

I bet nowhere in London sells parmo.

Haha, that reminds me of a colleague telling me, a few years ago, about someone visiting Leeds who was genuinely surprised that the street lighting was electric rather than gas lamps! At the time I assumed he was exaggerating somewhat but based on this thread I'm not so sure.

Of course there's a minority of ignorant Londoners who think like that, just as there's northerners who think that the cultural stuff and job opportunities where they live can come close to rivalling what there is here, when they can't.

My ten different cuisines comment was based on my local area. There's few cities in this country that can offer that, out of the city centres.

There's naturally defensiveness on both sides when ridiculous stereotypes are being thrown around. There has been some absurd comments and insinuations. The postman Pat theory that a trip to the seaside is a rare thing for people in Yorkshire and involves hours of travelling through different counties. That would indeed be absurd for a day trip so I tend to stick to the Yorkshire coast. Equally there seems to be plenty of misconceptions about the friendliness of Londoners and lack of green space.

Southeastdweller
''there's northerners who think that the cultural stuff and job opportunities where they live can come close to rivalling what there is here, when they can't.''

Of course there are - how narrow minded and ignorant of you to think otherwise...

''My ten different cuisines comment was based on my local area. There's few cities in this country that can offer that, out of the city centres.''

You would be surprised - I live in a small northern town, bordering on a village and we have 8...

Wow - people 'down there' really do think that we are all uncultured neanderthals who eat nothing but fish and chips or pies... PMSL

FWIW - in my line of work jobs may hold a London weighting but this isn't actually enough to cover the cost of living difference so I am actually much better off where I am. If I was in London I would be one of many fighting for approval - here there is a sense of community in work and I actually enjoy my job. I have friends working in London in the same field who are just stressed all the time. It's no sort of life IMO

notgoingout my DS attends a pretty unique school in Central London. dD will go for sixth form.

There are good schools everywhere but this school we have chosen very specifically IYSWIM.

DH literally could not do his job elsewhere in the UK. His form has offices in the UK so he knows the difference in work/pay etc

In many fields there are lots more jobs in London. I am a proud northerner and would prefer to live in the north (DH won't agree) but find london and all the sights very beautiful and interesting day to day.

I think many northerners used to think of London as a place where the streets really were paved with gold. And I think years ago they were. When I moved to London 17 years ago I had my pick of jobs, the cost of property was pricier than up north but buying wasn't out of my grasp, and we DID buy a nice flat in a naice area. There WERE a wider variety of cuisines, no doubt about that (this is not the case anymore in my city). The only thing I found worse at the time (may have changed - hopefully!) was getting a decent night out. I was used to being able to have my pick of bars and pubs that nearly all had late licenses in Liverpool and was shocked when I was turfed out of quite a few pubs in London at 11.30. I remember thinking "but this is London - the hub of everything!? I don't necessarily want a proper nightclub tonight. Just to stay for another few drinks here!"

As for finding a taxi that was going the right side of the river or getting on the night bus without feeling like I was going to get attacked......no chance. And the clubs that I liked (indie) were just not as good as up here or as good a choice of them, or you had to walk too far to them. I certainly didn't bother going into "proper London" after a while as nights out just weren't as fun and easy and cheap as up here.

But yes, for employment it did used to beat "up north." That has all changed now though. The recession has hit normal Londoners hard. I would not have my pick of jobs now, no way. Owning property is now well out of reach of normal people. So yes, while London is still buzzy and has some unique features, it's not the place it once was. I'm glad I moved back when I did. I can visit it and enjoy its uniqueness but also get to enjoy my laid back, affordable city life up here.

I do GET while people want to live in London. I get that friends and family keep them there, or specific job needs. But those reasons are the only reasons for me. If I ever lived in London again it would be as a rich person, having won the lottery!