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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to move 'up north'?

454 replies

onemiddlefinger · 19/02/2015 14:38

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.

OP posts:
GeekyHybrid · 19/02/2015 22:09

As someone originally from Sheffield but stranded here on the south coast due to a combi of job and DH's family, I'd say go for it. Sheffield is a very friendly city, the theatres are in the top tier for touring productions, the peak district is on your doorstep, you get change when buying a round in the pub....I could go on, and on! The burbs to the SW of the city are particularly nice with good schools. Even my (southern) DH sees us moving there in the future.

Woodchiponthewall · 19/02/2015 22:12

Natureplanter your view of Leeds is really odd. I moved here 10 years ago from the South East and do not recognise the picture you paint at all. Leeds is absolutely buzzing; a major culture rich city with huge investment. The Leeds I know is all pop up bars and hipsters, not some bleak version of Little Britain you are trying to paint! Many of the suburbs you mention are deprived, inner city areas common to any city, North or South, but Roundhay? Seriously? What's rough? The ornate Victorian park? The tree lined streets? The tennis club? A fairly normal house will cost you almost SE prices and the area could not be further from rough.

TrollsTrollsEverywhere · 19/02/2015 22:18

This thread is making me want to move to Sheffield - I love it there.

Fabulassie · 19/02/2015 22:24

I live in/near Manchester and go down to London for a week or so every month - it's just so much better up here. In London people seem sort of miserable. I also noticed that a lot more people smoke in London - is it the stress or something? I know that London has lots of amazing things but Manchester has everything you need - it's like London is pretty much just Manchester repeated twelve times and much more expensive. And, you can pop down to London pretty easily if there's something you really want to see or do. I have taken my kids to the museums/Tower/etc and it's not a big deal. Then we return to a nice, clean, friendly city.

bluelamp · 19/02/2015 22:29

Werejamming is right about some people's commutes. We have people commuting to work from north of Newcastle to as far south as Hull. Work is great though so there's a lot of flexible working. And we're a big multinational business so a good employer to work for so I guess people are prepared to travel to work here.

BarbarianMum · 19/02/2015 22:33

Oh and Sheffield is the southern most end of the north. You can look over the fence at the Midlands. Smile

Nancy66 · 19/02/2015 22:50

more people smoke in London than up north? ! no way..whenever I travel north it seems to me that everyone smokes.

ShoeWhore · 19/02/2015 22:55

Oh OP you are me 12 years ago. Grin

Can I ask you one question? Does your dh have the kind of job where he can get another one in Sheffield with a different employer when the current one comes to an end? (for whatever reason) And will you be able to work later should you wish to return to it? (OK two questions!)

If the answer to both of those questions is yes then brilliant - go for it without hesitation (and try and live on the Peaks side of Sheffield or even in the Peak District itself).

Otherwise I would think carefully before you leap. We got a bit stuck as dh couldn't get another job when his ended and we've ended up moving back South with much older children which has been so hard and stressful. I don't regret our move North in the slightest - we had an amazing 11 years and all of us were much richer in so many senses of the word. I wouldn't have left if there was any way we could make it work for us going forwards. BUT I might have made slightly different choices if I'd known then what I do now.

Runningupthathill82 · 19/02/2015 22:56

Moved to Sheffield eight years ago and I'll never leave.
Biggest theatre complex outside of London, fantastically quirky bars and cafes (esp in Abbeydale Rd), stunning parks, just a 20-min drive from my front door to Stanage Edge, plus I can run to and from work.
The city is green, yet cultured, the people friendly, the landscape just beautiful (a third of the city is within the national park).
And of course it's the north! Now Nottingham, that's the south....

HellKitty · 19/02/2015 23:02

I went for an interview at Sheffield art college a hundred years ago, 'sigh', the boys were soooo beautiful.

Sorry, as you were.

TheNewStatesman · 19/02/2015 23:05

I am from Sheff and would move back there in a heartbeat if my husband's job permitted. Love it.

It has the nicest people with a real sense of civic kindliness towards strangers and neighbors.

Reasonably priced and right on the doorstep of Derbyshire... lovely.

There are some rough/gritty bits and a lot of the town center could be better, but west Sheffield is beautiful and leafy, and I believe the state schools are considered good. Nether Green, Broom Hill etc. all offer a fantastic quality of life.

The student-y buzz in the town is a very positive thing and means that there are lots of interesting little bars, restaurants and shops.

LocalEditorNorthYorks · 19/02/2015 23:15

Yorkshire is brilliant! Come on up and make yourself at home ;-)

Gymbob · 19/02/2015 23:19

I love London, but wouldn't want to live there. As it is, I can get there in less than 2 hours on the train. The peak district is a stunning place to be, it'll be right on your doorstep. I think the only thing I would miss if I moved away from London is the tube.

lavenderhoney · 19/02/2015 23:24

I lived in South Yorkshire once. It was lovely. Everyone was very nice. I even lost a bit of my sarf London accent and said " hey up" a lot:)

I did like the sewing pearls onto flat caps comment though:) that made me laugh.

I think the North is very cultured, just they don't go on about it. Plenty of museums, arts, parks and theatres etc. you'll need a warm coat though:)

Preciousbane · 19/02/2015 23:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BikeRunSki · 19/02/2015 23:46

I have a friend who is a shorts-wearing postie in Huddersfield, so a bit further north than Sheffield. He says he wears shorts sllbyear tound because you get pretty hit walking all that way carrying a big bag; because trousers just get wet and uncomfortable in the rain; PO uniform trousers rub the hair off your legs and finally - dogs bites are cleaner if they don't have trouser fibres in them.

MrJollyLivesNextDoor · 20/02/2015 00:02

Oh the lovely Peak District on your doorstep Smile

Mmmmm Jarvis Cocker - not that he'll be living next door these days but mmmm anyway

Hope you get to do it, you will love it

Annabellina · 20/02/2015 00:02

I'd move up north like a shot if it was feasible... elderly mother and teenager at school keep us down in London for now. But when that changes we'll be off. I've always thought of myself as a born-again northerner (actually a Londoner born and bred) - Staggering wild landscapes close at hand with the invitation of an outdoor life, level of friendliness unrivalled, a very different dynamic generally, cultural delights aplenty and we'll have the fun of coming to London for a city break rather than the stress of daily life. Good luck to you. it sounds perfect timing.

Postchildrenpregranny · 20/02/2015 00:04

Flights from Manchester are similar to Gatwick, Birmingham to Heahrow OP (and there is East Midlands too)

TheNewStatesman · 20/02/2015 00:08

I think the downside of Sheffield (other than the fact that some parts of the town center are a bit grotty/run-down) is that it is definitely a bit colder than the SE and there are more rainy days. Not as rainy as Manc, though, thank goodness!

As others have said, think it through carefully because it would be hard to move back to the SE later on due to property prices. But Sheffield really is a great city, and it is not far from London at all, esp. once the kids are little older and can travel more easily.

Like others I'm pretty stunned at the "children won't have cultural and education and travel opportunities" thing... Sheffield has tons of theaters and galleries, big libraries and bookstores, and we are close to Manchester Airport. Then there is all the countryside stuff on your doorstep, like horse riding... I have London friends and Sheffield friends; the Sheffield kids see and do just as much cultural stuff! Apparently Fulwood (my home neighborhood) has the highest density of people with post-graduate qualifications in the country...

AnnaFiveTowns · 20/02/2015 05:45

Sheffield is great. I went to uni there and I'd move back in a heartbeat if I could.

Petradreaming · 20/02/2015 06:44

I am stuck in the south East. 40 miles from London and still sucked into its vortex. Houses are expensive as we are 'only 30 mins from Euston' busy noisy congested. I would move in a heartbeat if the other half was up for it.

Blondie87 · 20/02/2015 06:45

DH and I briefly lived in London in our early 20s and I loved it. When he got offered a job in Yorkshire, I begrudgingly agreed to it. Three years later and pregnant with DC1 I love it and would never move back to London! While most of my close friends still live in London and love it, they can't believe how good our quality of life is, the size of our house in a lovely area for the amount we paid and having both a city and glorious countryside on our doorstep. Of course, London can't be topped for culture, the arts and restaurant scene but it really isn't too grim up North!

Duckdeamon · 20/02/2015 07:11

Like shoewhore I would be thinking about general future work prospects for you and DH.

bigbluestars · 20/02/2015 07:32

It is impossible to get anything other than casual agricultural work anywhere out side London.

I live in Scotland which is much Norther than North and we have very few cars, we eat sticks and mud and usually marry close family members.

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