to ask if it's grim moving up north

[Eugenekrabs1]

I am from the south (England) and have lived here for most of my life. DH is from the north but has lived in the south for many years. We have children who are school age.

Circumstances have changed for us recently and because of this, we are considering a move to H's northern homeland. I'm wondering what other people's experiences of moving their family have been like.

H has friends and family there whereas I (although being welcomed by them) will not have any friends and will need to find a new job. Our kids are not keen to move.

In short, we don't have to move but there are lots of pros to us taking the leap. At the moment I have a list of pros and cons which I will proceed to bore you with....

Pros
Bigger house with little mortgage
Job change for me (something I want)
DH is close to friends and family - lovely for him
Can get a dog (all want one, current house small)

Cons
Taking kids out of schools they are happy in. They will have to make new friends.
Once we sell in the south it is unlikely we will be able to afford to return
No friends/family close to me
Leaving an area I like (but a house that's too small and expensive to extend)
Rain up north

I'd be grateful to hear any tales of similar moves. Is it grim up north or should I just stop being risk averse and make the move?

Imagine if all the southerners used their riches to buy houses up here - we wouldn't be ale to afford to live here after all. What would happen then?

Ah god, Manchester rain. It really, really does rain less in most of the south and midlands.

There are some really nice places round Manchester, some utter dumps as well. Do your research and you’ll be fine.

I'm a Mancunian born and bred but I wouldn't ever go back to live. There are nice areas but they are outweighed by the utter utter shit holes.....depressing, grey skies, miserable mancs ;). I live in Lincolnshire (via Toronto) and I can't believe how much more sunlight we get here.......and we are an hour Way from London on the train.

I have had a bottle of wine so I'm being quite honest :)

Give me the Free Cultural Stuff up here over packed, heaving tourist magnets of Darn Sarf any day.

Metallic are you a fellow Smoggy? from MiddlesbOrough

DH and I are both from Manchester but moved to London as adults. We were shocked by the fact it didn't rain every day in London. We have many times considered moving back to Manchester (cheaper property prices, nice people, slower pace of life) but haven't because of the weather. DH in particular finds the incessant rain so depressing, we just couldn't live there any more. We do find it a bit grim I'm afraid, having lived in London for so long.

Having said that, we are up here today visiting a relative and it's gloriously warm and sunny right now.

I moved from Manchester area to Lincolnshire area and found it so flat and boring (but yes sunnier!£.

I've lived all over the UK. I moved back up to the Pennines on the Lancs/Yorkshire/Manchester borders. I love it. I work at Heathrow but would hate to live down South again (although there are some nice bits). I like that you can have a bigger house in a nice area for the same cost as a flat in a not nice area down South. I find the people generally friendlier (although it's gradually changing).

Primary school children will adapt and easily make friends, even if there is a bit of teasing at first. I thought you were going to say they were doing GCSEs!

The weather is definitely wetter and cooler. I was living in Brighton before I came back and I really noticed.

I'm on a small rock in the Irish sea at the same latitude as scotland. My sister flew here from London today. It took her hours of smelly train journeys & waiting around.

I checked flight status, drove 10 mins to airport, met sister & left. Cost me £1 parking. Try doing that down south :)

OP, yes, it's totally grim up north, you wouldn't like it. .

But seriously, apart from the weather and the often poor public transport, I will argue to the death that the quality of life in 'the north' is far superior to London and the south east.

I live on the outskirts of Leeds and have access to big cities, wild wilderness, national museums, lots of culture and coastlines and many other great things.

Yes, the weather is better in the south, and so is the public transport, but people on low to average salaries can easily buy or rent in many areas.

If your DH is a northerner, I'm sure he'll know the good areas, and after a while, the positives will outweigh the negatives by a huge margin.

just a few miles south in Cheshire there are beautiful places, but not cheap. Expect to pay £500,000 minimum for a family house in a nice area.

Over-egging it a bit oldenough. I live in quite a nice area and you can get a 4-bed detached for about £300,000.

Lucille - S'funny I was born and brought up in Lincolnshire, went to Manchester for University and have then lived in Cheshire ever since. I can't imagine living in Lincolnshire again. I mean, it's OK - we recently had a nice weekend visiting Spurnhead - but God it's flat isn't it? I am used to living on the edge of the Peak District now and would find the countryside I was brought up with a bit dull if I am being honest.

5foot5, it depends where you are. You'd pay at least that for a nice 4bed detached in Hale. I'm in Wilmslow and I'd say there were more 4beds detached over 500k than under it. I'd say nice areas like Sale, Altrincham, Bramhall etc probably more like 300-400k

Moved to East Yorkshire Coast in 2003 from West Herts, (lived in the area since I was born)
I would Never move back.

We moved here because we could afford a three bedrooms house with a garden, even though we had to give up our jobs to move.
My children have/ are doing very well at school....two are now at Uni.
The work situation is not brilliant in some parts of Yorkshire, but fantastic in others, but you are never far from a city. You also have the wonderful countryside,coast, moors, museums,stately homes,theatres etc,etc.

It is definitely not grim !

I'm from Salford, lived in South Manchester for many years, and now I'm in Rossendale. I love it here. Plus, we get nicer tap water in the north

I moved from a horrid new town in the South East to Manchester. I did find it very different at first but not bad different - just different. The con is that the weather is always a couple of degrees cooler but that is the only downside. It's fab living in a vibrant city without the London prices.

rocker and metallic my hometown has also been slated, and misspelt - until Jeff stepped in and argued for it
Yes to be fair it can be a bit grim here, but all my 29 years have been here and so far I don't want to leave.
Manchester is 2 hours drive south from here, know of areas there wgich aren't great, and some which are. Pretty sure everyone from any town will agree there will be an area in that town somewhere in which you wouldn't want to live.

Don't come, you would hate it. Scotland is particularly dire.

We are basically just a queue waiting to get a chance to live in the SE of England. Something we all aspire to.

The dc having to move school would happen wherever you moved - North or South.

It is horrid up here - all soot and claggy rain 367 days a year. Can't understand a word anyone says and kids are half literate. No green vegetables because it rains (did I mention this) all the time.

It us grim and its full
Stay in the South OP

We have to eat mud and excess small children in Scotland. Most are conceived though sex with close family members anyway so are easily replaced.

Beautiful scenery, short drive to beach. Short drive to countryside. Good road and rail links to the rest of the country and people are more friendly up north.
Sorry for dm link but just look at North Yorkshire pics
[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1325425/Breathtaking-Britain-Natures-beauty-dusk-til-dawn.html]

Leave your vowels at the border, we have no use for them here
And if you don't keep ferrets or eat black pudding forget it

at goblinhat

Oh god these threads always end up the same.
OP yabu --inflammatory title tbh.

Then

I once went to Heathrow/Gatwick and it was busy no shit Sherlock so the whole of the south is like this and people spend their whole life at the airport.
Everyone lives in a flat and its right by a motorway.
The North is always full so stay away

There are lots of nice places to live in the UK,we tend to ,hopefully like where we live but come on lets stop picking the shitty bits and making stupid generalisations whether North or South !