I want to move out of London but can’t drive. AIBU?

[Twinkletoes77]

Lived in London all my adult life, over it now and would love to move to the countryside (grew up there as did my DH). But do you have to be able to drive to live outside London? Have I totally buggered it up? (I have tried to learn to drive in my 30s, failed two tests. Now in my 40s and if anything would be a more nervous driver esp with kids in the back...)

Well if it’s a town then no you don’t need to be able to drive if you work in town/can get a train to your place of work but if it’s countryside then you do (how else would your children get to school, how would you get to work etc).

Epsom

I live rurally and would be stuffed without a car. DH and I both need one. The train station is a drive away and there are no buses.

I could get by in a town without a car as long as there were buses available.

Don't move rurally with no (independent) access to transport, you will feel v isolated.

Yes I would say, I struggled even in a city not driving as everything is car oriented and buses are pathetic at best, plus very expensive. But I learned when I was older and passed!

Move out and learn to drive at your leisure, as long as you feel you can concretely commit to doing so.

You will want to drive for the sake of practicality and freedom, but being free of whatever is bothering you about the city probably makes it well worth moving first. It did in my case

Make sure you can walk to school etc. in the meantime.

Do it! Driving an automatic in the countryside is a million times easier than driving a manual car in London! I'd recommend you live within walking distance of school/school bus as that makes life much easier. Somewhere with a shop and a pub and within 10 miles of a nice big town/city and you'll be sorted. Norfolk/Suffolk is lovely.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55371021.html
Within walking distance of Waitrose and the town centre.

Salisbury - 90 minutes to London by train. A city because of the cathedral but actually quite small. Almost any large town with a train station. You mentioned Whitstable, that has got very expensive but Margate, Folkestone etc are more affordable. The high speed trains are excellent and stop at Stratford International and St Pancras.

Still within walking distance of Waitrose, town centre and station

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-81385730.html
Oops sorry, forgot link.

It depends how close you need to be to London. Leeds and Manchester still have a direct train to Euston in 2 hours and your £1million will see you live in luxury.
With no car you’d be fine in harrogate/knaresborough/wetherby. Around Manchester you could live on the witch way route up near rossendale, or around disley- both are semi rural but have direct city connections.

Had a look on rightmove and you can afford Alderley Edge! It’s the naicest of nice!!

Knutsford Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, Uk, SK9
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73712288.html

Dorking.

1.5 hours on train to London, you'd get a nice 5 bed detached property for under your budget. Low crime rates. Nice town centre. Independent shops / john lewis / waitrose.

If you move to an established commuter town you could probably get away without driving and using your DH for lifts at the weekend but it might get a bit wearing, especially after the easy proximity and abundance of everything in London.

We moved out of London before I'd passed my test but I was working in London every day so I barely needed a car and DH could drive us places at the weekend. We lived 15 minutes walk to train station (fast trains into London), and 20 minutes walk to town centre with decent selection of shops, restaurants etc so I could do most things without a car or an inexpensive taxi / train to next town.

However, I did resit my test (like you I failed twice before) and being able to drive has improved my options - especially with children!