Leaving London

[Sonotcivil]

Hi in a serious mess about this, I'm so confused on whether to leave London or not.
Background : grew up in small insular town in lincolnshire. Left at 18 and moved to London working with the civil service.
I'm now 24, in a relationship on about 35k a year in the civil service.

My issue is I want to start a family in a few years time and London is just so expensive. Me and my partner both earn ok money but renting in London is he'll, and would struggle to get a mortgage and the I don't want to be in my eyeballs in debt worth millions the.
However I love all London has to offer and think it could be an amazing place for a kid to grow up and live.
My job restricts me to some cities if I move, it can be Norwich, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff or Edinburgh.

Any help appreciated

Manchester is a great place to live. Loads going on, great city vibe and yet close to the Peak District/Lake District/leafy Cheshire. House prices are a good deal cheaper than London.

All I have to add is that when we as a growing family were looking at buying a house we were unable to compete with people that had bought a small very unappealing flat/house in London as a professional couple, kept it until the children were about to start or had just started school then sold it, made a mint and been able to buy a massive house here in the south. Doing the whole London thing puts you at a massive advantage further down the line even if it’s tough at the time.

I would go for anywhere over London, personally can’t stand the place

I’ve known quite a few people that have made the move to Leeds and they all seem quite happy for it. Check how much time you’d be expected to come to London though and what the culture is like within team at accommodating non-London workers. If there is just one or two at other offices within a team it can be a bit tricky. I suspect different departments are better st managing it than others.

We went for the option of commuting into London but I’ve never loved London like others so it suits us far better. The downside is the commute takes up far too much time and makes juggling work and nursery really hard. If both of us needed trains, we’d need a nanny. If you do go for a commute, check nursery opening times/trains so you have a realistic idea what commuting with small children would be like before you make the move.

Haven’t read full thread but as you’re renting anyway, couldn’t you try a trial year somewhere to see how it goes?

We left London for Edinburgh, and haven’t looked back. Smaller cities don’t require the same amount of public transport (our buses are very good): all those transport links you list loving are required because of the sprawl. We walk or cycle commute in the city - both have about a 20 min commute door to door with schools and nursery 5 mins from home. It makes life a lot simpler and maximises time with kids and time in the office.

Thanks all. I do understand that house prices can still be high in the cities I mentioned, but it's a lot cheaper then London still .
I think my plan is to transfer to either Manchester or Leeds office, see how it goes, if I like it stay and if not I can always move back

I would go and visit those places if you haevn't already - you normally have a gut feel whether you would like to live there or not. But your priorities will change after having children - you will want good schools for a start and for me at least city life got a lot less appealing. I wanted the kids to be somewhere safe where they could run around and where we could afford a nice house. We are just London commuter zone - of those locations I would pick Edinburgh.

Thanks penguin. I've visited Leeds and Manchester before and liked them. So I'm off to go see them two and probably sheffield.

I swapped a 3 bed basement/ground floor flat in London for a 5 bed house, two minutes from a tram stop in Manchester. 20 minutes into town, an hour from Liverpool. Yorkshire Dales, the beaches of North Wales and the beautiful Anglesey. I regularly go to the theatre and pop into town to go for dinner. Manchester House for Covktails, a fantastic range of top quality restaurants. My children can hop on the tram and get to Nandos (so, so important). Schools are excellent. I lived in London in my 20s and 30s and so glad I did. I used to be a girl about town, now I’m so happy to be here, not there.

Good luck.

Not RTT so apologies if this is already covered.

Do not commute if you want to start a family - the costs of the train and the additional childcare will be grim as will the long days for your children. And in any case you would end up in a smaller town and have to commute in to enjoy the experiences London has to offer your children. Much better to be in another city, closer to work and the amenities it has to offer.

A very good friend moved from Edinburgh to London and found that it offered similar career opportunities. Lots to do with children and the possibility of combining a big city with the beach/countryside. Lots of culture which was what she liked about London.

If I were you I'd make a list of all the things I liked about London, all the reasons why I thought London would be a great place to bring up kids and then research the various cities that you could work in and see which fit the bill. Then go visit/talk to colleagues who have made the move and see what they say.

I would be tempted to rent first where you move to unless you know the place extremely well but I would look at places you can buy for your budget now in the cities to give an idea of what you would get.

Manchester is fantastic but not as cheap housing wise as you’d think in the more desirable areas.

DO NOT consider Northampton or Kettering - both crap places - and I'm from Northampton

Thanks, I know I couldn't live in a commuter town.
I appreciate people saying you're only young, but I feel like I can still enjoy life in another city and having lived in London for 5 years I think a change is due

I will probably rent yes for a few years then look to buy

City properties in Edinburgh are very expensive, too, though I'd imagine still less than London. I know it's not the same as London, but Edinburgh does have a lot to offer culturally and historically and you're not far at all from everything Glasgow has, too. If you're determined that London is the only place for you, though, then I guess you will have to look at a commute from the suburbs.

I'm thinking Leeds at the moment and if I don't like it I can always move back to London and try one of the cheaper areas.

Don't mean to hijack your thread, but any recommendations for cities outside London which are similar in being ethnically diverse? I may have to live outside London and will prefer somewhere which is multicultural, so we are not the only or one of the few minorities.

Marielle - Have you looked at Bristol? Lovely city.

I wouldn’t recommend Leeds solely because I went to the Arena one night and couldn’t find my way out of the ringroad system. 🤭😄

@marielle17. Leeds . I do know some of the roads are bad in Leeds as well but nothing compares to London traffic

Ann no I haven't looked at Bristol, I will do some research. Thanks

I am from Leeds.

I’ve lived in London for nearly 20 years and love it and always will. We’re raising our kids here - we bought a big house in a cheaper SE London area and are going to have the benefit of Crossrail very soon.

As much as Leeds is fab for shopping and great nightlife, brilliant music scene etc, I would never move back - it just doesn’t compare in terms of opportunities for work (esp in my industry) and cultural life.

We feel safe in a tight knit, culturally diverse, leafy community with great schools.

As a PP has said, school places are a nightmare at the moment in naice parts of North Leeds - and houses round there are possibly not quite as cheap as you imagine. My parents have been burgled in desirable north Leeds, we never have in London.

Just to add - I would choose Glasgow over Edinburgh to live in a heartbeat - it is so much buzzier, loads going on and is much more “London-like” than Edinburgh.

At age 24 I was “experimenting” with where I wanted to live and tried UK and abroad, and didn’t even think about buying a place as wasn’t ready to make that kind of commitment.

I would say Career is far more important at your stage in life than buying a house, but that’s just my opinion!

The driving is different out of London. Honestly. Noticeably different.

@Ann