Leaving London

[siwel123]

Hi all, don't shoot I know there's life outside of London .
Me, my wife and 2 kids currently live in London and the wife has finally agreed to start looking at other places to live but as were both civil servants we have a limited range of places to choose from.

The options we've been given are Leeds or Manchester. AIBU to ask which would you choose and Why? And also what areas would you live in. We would have a 500k budget for the house so any suggestions appreciated.

@Ted27. Oh dear this may now turn into Liverpool, Leeds or Manchester

Given that choice, Leeds. By a mile.

Manchester house prices are higher, crime is quite visible and it’s a sprawling city.

One of the nicest things I’ve found about leaving London is being somewhere more compact.

Liverpool is a FANTASTIC city. I spent quite a long time figuring out a way to live there (and failed). If you haven’t been, visit this summer. (You should visit all three anyway).

Why? Don’t do it!

We did and now we’re back. Move to another borough or to a commuter place but don’t leave the city!

Holmfirth then commute to Leeds. Or Cumbria and commute to Manchester or Liverpool.

Liverpool is rough though. Every time I’ve been there has been trouble, fights on the street, people drugged walking around! I got yelled at for being a “stick up bitch” for just walking down the street. My friend was called a “nonce” because he had a pink shirt on! (He was working there and hated it. Bullied because of Sputhern accent every working day until he left.)

@qwertyuiopy. Why?

We did and now we’re back. Move to another borough or to a commuter place but don’t leave the city!

Don’t be daft. I’m a born and bred Londoner and this hysterical “there’s no bearable life outside of London” guff does my noggin in.

What on earth is so special about London that you couldn’t survive and thrive without it?

@qwerty. Why stay in london?

Manchester and Leeds are both great. Each has advantages over the other but if you want to live rurally and work in the city centre whilst keeping commute lower, Leeds. Has to be. Manchester built up area is just much bigger physically.

Why don’t leave? Because I think you’ll miss it. Try out somewhere else without breaking ties if you can, but don’t burn your bridges!

@Battleax. I agree, sounds a bit daft.
I don't think staying for a few national museums is worth the cost of London

@Cuntinious. Thanks . I'm leaning more towards Leeds at the moment.

There is life outside London, just not the same. The whole “London isn’t friendly” is a fallacy. It’s the right mix of friendly without being nosy and has everything you need.

TBF, DS was a bit horror struck at the idea of life with no tube. But smaller cities don’t need them and tram systems are fabulous too.

@Battleax. Thankfully mine are still fairly young so shouldn't miss it too much. If we moved, we can always visit London reg ulary, and I can train them on the tube .

Leeds better than Manchester I agree. Lived in Manchester for a couple of years and the music scene was good and pubs/bars but the football mania is ridiculous! Takes over everything.

Much as I love Liverpool, and I do, I wouldn't consider there if you can only work in Manchester or Leeds. Simply because you're effectively bringing one of the worst aspects of London, a longer commute, with you. Unnecessarily. Seems to me the point of the move is to enjoy the advantages the north offers over London. Not import the disadvantages without the London weighting to compensate!

If you could work in Liverpool though, that'd be on my list.

I don't think staying for a few national museums is worth the cost of London

My favourite museums now are in Mancs and Liverpool anyway. (My sector so I get opinionated as hell about museums )

@qwerty. I'm not doubting London isn't friendly or a world class city.
But I want a non London life. I want easy access to countryside, access to a bustling city that is still easy to walk around. A house bigger then a postage stamp. A garden bigger then a postage stamp.

I think I've realised London is not the be all and end all, and that other cities can offer all the basics you need from London there but for half the price. I'm also northern born so I don't mind invasive friendliness

@Battleax . And like I said a 2 hour train into london.
@cuntinious. I agree a slightly shorter commute would be nice, and the job is either Leeds or Manchester based. At the moment I'm leaning to leeds.

Re tube, Manchester does have trams instead. Leeds is apparently the biggest city in Western Europe without a light rail system which seems ridiculous. So I guess your public transport options would be more limited there so you may want to ensure you're on a train route if you pick Leeds.

Northern here too! Just don’t burn your bridges, we said everything you’re saying, moved and missed it with a passion! Good luck though.

There are plenty of London boroughs you can buy a house with that money and have easy access to the countryside. Look at the outer London boroughs.

@Cuntinious. Yes public transport does slightly lack in leeds. But I may or may not have insider knowledge on a couple of possible solutions to that