AIBU to think leaving London for a new city is preferable to the suburbs?

[jumpyfrog]

I'm a born & raised Londoner (SW), husband the same (SE). We currently live in SW London & in the catchment of an outstanding school. As my mum is 10 mins walk & inlaws 10 min drive we also have a great support network & have 1 day of childcare plus babysitting provided by them.

However looking to the next few yrs we really would like a bigger property & perhaps try for DC3. 90% of our friends have moved out to either zone 5 (Sutton, Bromley, S.Croydon) or to surrounding counties (Kent, Surrey, Sussex & Essex) & this seems to be the natural step.

AIBU to hate the idea of moving to the suburbs/countryside & thinking moving to another city would be better for me?
I've always lived within 10 mins walk of the high street & the tube & cant stand the idea of driving everywhere. Obviously jobs are an issue but I run a small online business & my husband would still get a decent salary in areas such as Bristol.

Has anyone moved from London to a new city? was it a good decision? where did you go?

We would (and did!) move to another city. In Bristol or Manchester for example you could get a lovely house in a very good area for that budget. However we've never lived near family so weren't leaving a support network behind - that does make the decision harder.

Totally agree with posters saying Teddington etc - beautiful part of the world. I grew up there. Also Surbiton, given your budget. Hampton / Hampton Hill / Hampton Wick and Easy Molsey are GORGEOUS - but the commute is a bit of a nightmare.

Wow, no way I would move if I were you!

I wouldn't move if I were you, and I live in one of Those Cities full of ex Londoners. Some of them are happy about the move, some not. Most moved here to be closer to family again though.

I think you'd be mad to leave your support network/family and you'd find a smaller city quite, well, small. Croydon has twice the people of Bristol for example! You'd get a lovely house for your budget in most places out of London, but I'd consider trying to extend your existing property or upgrading locally if you can.

I am a Londoner that moved to Cambridge. It's fine, very good in some ways especially for raising DC, but it's not the same.
If you really want to be in London, find a way to stay in London. Or accept that it won't be like a little London.
That said, you might find somewhere you really like - have a look around

Great to hear other people's experiences. I'm aware we could find something in London for our budget but realistically if it's within a great catchment is likely to be a terrace & I just would like a bit more space tbh. While that Cardiff house is not to my taste the space & size is impressive! I think our home is about 1100 sq ft, so not tiny but I would like more actual living space.

Many of my friends who moved out either moved closer to parents or there parents followed them out a little bit. That's my dilemma really, more space vs support. Of course if my mum would bloody downsize I would have a bigger budget but I think she has that earmarked for toy boys & cruises! 😂

Tatiana Haven't considered Mortlake actually but I do like the high street but are any of those areas affected by plane noise?

Pricilla what made you fall in love with Birmingham?

mishfish I'm in Norwich and I love it too!
I would say that I moved from South to North London before I had kids so didn't have my family on my doorstep, so when I moved here, it wasn't as if I was suddenly away from family. They seem to think its a mission to get here when its not really. We have made lots of Norwich friends very quickly but our London network expect us to come to see them rather than come here to see us. Other London exiles have said the same thing.

I’ve mostly lived in zone 4 and love it, doesn’t take long to get in to centre at all. I’ve always lived near the tube though, that makes a big difference.

I'm aware we could find something in London for our budget but realistically if it's within a great catchment is likely to be a terrace & I just would like a bit more space tbh. While that Cardiff house is not to my taste the space & size is impressive! I think our home is about 1100 sq ft, so not tiny but I would like more actual living space.

You can afford more like 2000-2500sq ft in the further out areas of London mentioned upthread (Forest Hill Streatham etc). Plus bigger garden. Yes still a terrace (maybe a semi) but will feel a hell of a lot bigger than 1100 sq ft. I'd look round some of those houses and see the difference.

Like pp I wouldn't underestimate the value of family support close by. You never know when a crisis may hit and you may need them. Also bluntly, as your parents and PIL get older you may need to help them out/visit if they have health issues and that will be a lot easier from London.

Oh FFS, I knew Bristol would come up.

Please stop, you're really fucking with our house prices

😊 Sorry Just

tbf minipie we have looked a little around the Streatham & surrounding areas about 9 months ago. But we struggled to find 2000 sq ft homes in excellent catchments. Also I think a lot of areas are overpriced for what they are & worry we would be stuck there for a few yrs what with Brexit/interest rates. In an ideal world we wouldn't even spend 850k so we had a buffer etc for the future.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/20/bristol-housing-crisis-property-prices-rents-young-people

Looks like we are not the only ones considering Bristol.

😭😭😭😭 lol!

If I was moving out of London but still wanted a big city feel, I'd have to go somewhere like Manchester or Birmingham. Maybe Edinburgh (small city but with a capital city buzz to it) Nowhere else is the same, really

Have you looked at moving slightly further down Nappy Valley to Raynes Park, Earlsfield , Southfields, South Wimbledon type places? Clapham and Balham have exploded in recent years, but there are still houses around that price point in those areas that might tick your boxes.

Similarly Tooting is worth a look and possibly Morden - have a look at the plans for a new Crossrail link going from south London up to St Pancras and consider any of the places that would benefit from the new transport links

Would somewhere like this be big enough, for example?

I moved to Brighton from London 15 years ago and haven't looked back. I love it here. It's got everything london has on s smaller scale but has the beach and the South Downs too.

Agree with pp it would be mad to move away from family support when people with young families are normally looking to move nearer their family, not away from them.

We moved from zone 2 London to another city a few years ago to get more space. We had a beautiful big house - 3 times the size of our flat - but I found everything so dead boring. Moved back to zone 3 n London in a very villagy area and absolutely love it. Feel like I got my life back again. I just don't think any city can replace the energy in London. Really regretted moving away in terms of money too. Lost hundreds of k in equity and various taxes and fees. But never mind we are happy now. Our budget was similar to yours OP and it's true 850k probably get you a 3 bed terrace where I'm at (good catchment), so I do see your dilemma too

We lived in London and then in Brighton commuting in to London. Then we moved to Manchester and our quality of life skyrocketed. I cannot explain how much nicer every aspect of our lives were. Both left work on time (same jobs and same company as in London - just turns out people go home on time in Manchester), 5-10 min walk home from work, could afford a beautiful place to live. I could go on for pages.
Now we are back down south to be closer to elderly parents and probably once a week we have to remind ourselves why on earth we left, because everything is definitely worse.
I liked living in Brighton but there is very very little work there and commuting to London was HELL due to southern rail. My “1 hour” journey home would take me 3 hours+ about once a week.
We now live in another city in the south. It nice but feels quite suburban and boring even though it’s a well visited city.
I’d say go for it. We loved manchester. And if you really want to go to the Tate or the science museum you still aren’t that far really. I remember one day going to the British museum with a friend who lives in Wandsworth- and I got back to my house in Manchester before she got back to her house in Wandsworth.
Living somewhere good is better then living somewhere shit, somewhat near somewhere good.

I reckon (tho' not from actual experience) that living in a nice commuter town or village is great if you don't have to commute!

Olenna The size of the property you linked was good & lovely house but I wouldn't say the schools were good enough. Simply because I'm in the catchment now for 2 outstanding primaries (v.highly rated). The issue with moving to another part of London is it would have to be truly worth it as by moving I would loose some family support regardless. I still think I would like a buzz where I live & that's why the idea of another city seems appealing.

thiskittenbarks how long did you take to settle in Manchester? Did you find it hard to make friends?

I think we will get the eldest into his school & see what things are looking like next yr. Ideally we would find a doer upper just out of catchment but these are like gold dust. Either that or I will just squat at my mums whilst she's on holiday & claim squatters rights! Much appreciate the advice.

Look at this beauty!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51333492.html

Wow! Dunno where the fuck redland is but that looks gorge!