Life outside of London

[Neitherherenortheir]

Crime, pollution, living costs and expenses all being reasons to wonder what life outside of London is really like. Nearly all our friends and family are here so we have huge ties. But as DC grow older I wonder about leaving. Looking for recommendations for places that aren’t too dissimilar, do not require a driving licence (DH plans to learn but I’ve no want to drive), good secondary schools without moving a million miles away. AIBU?

You know on all those political and news programmes where people seem genuinely baffled about how the divide between London and the rest of UK? This kind of crap is what they’re talking about.

I’m a Londoner but moved to Herts 4 years ago and I’d never move back to London.
Houses are much more affordable and not I too of each other , lots of countryside and great schools .
Only thing I miss is the ease of the tube .
Can still get into London in 20 mins though for work

*not on top of each other

Another Londoner exiled in Herts. I don't regret my move, but I regret no longer having the choice to move back. I'd always assumed DH and I would go back to London for our retirement, but we've been completely priced out, as we'd want to be as central as possible.

I think you're getting a hard time here OP. You weren't saying is there life outside London, you were asking what life outside is like, and that is a valid question.

We moved out of London 6 years ago, and I regret it every day, but we can't afford to move back. I miss having so much going on: so many exhibitions, theatre, even some films in the cinema don't get a showing where we are, as they only show mainstream stuff.

I miss the amount of free stuff to do, the diversity, the choice on offer, the creativity, being able to live without a car, job opportunities, the amazing public transport system. And I miss my friends.

If you love London, there is nowhere like it.

If I want to see any renowned exhibitions or shows I have to schlep up to London on dodgy public transport which is unreliable at best. We can't just pop in, it takes all day. The last train home is at 10.30 which means leaving my friends early, or staying over and having to worry about overnight childcare.

I read a funny post recently which said something like: "I wear a beret in London and no one noticed, I wore a beret in my home town and a white van driver shouted "Bonjour, ooo la la." Sums it up for me.

I saw the title of this post and the first thing that came to my mind is - Life outside of London is effing wonderful!

Cost of living hell, no comparison. Much much much cheaper (and yes that's even on a non-London wage). Safer, peaceful, people are more friendly, cheaper, yes of course there is fantastic education.

I honestly do not know how people live in London and I really don't get the ones who say they could never move from there. As a PP says, there IS life outside of London, and a fabulous one at that!!

I read a funny post recently which said something like: "I wear a beret in London and no one noticed, I wore a beret in my home town and a white van driver shouted "Bonjour, ooo la la." Sums it up for me

Fucking hell.

People talk about “living in London” as if living is Chelsea is the same as New Cross or somewhere.

If you have the money and means to live well in a decent part of London then it’s hardly any wonder that people wouldn’t want to move. Why would you? If you’re struggling, then it’s understandable why you might look elsewhere.

These threads make no sense. People think of the times they’ve visited London and stood in Piccadilly Circus or something and thought, “Ooh it’s too busy for me.... “

I live In zone 2 and it’s very peaceful, far more so than many suburban towns, but it has real character and is only minutes from pretty much everything.

London is a world city and if you’re used to all that comes with this, then of course it would be hard to move. There is nowhere like it because it’s London! I would genuinely find it easier to move to NYC than somewhere else in Britain (and I’ve done both) because it’s less of a lifestyle and psychological shift.

Learn to drive first.

People think of the times they’ve visited London and stood in Piccadilly Circus or something and thought, “Ooh it’s too busy for me.... “

This really annoys me. Someone I know said they didn't like London based on passing through Liverpool St station one morning. It was 'too busy' and people 'looked miserable'.

A massive main station at rush hour? Busy? People not skipping along with bunches of flowers? Whodathunkit?

I should clarify: he actually said 'people in London look miserable all the time.' When what he meant was 'some people in a busy station in London looked miserable in the ten minutes I was there one morning.'

If I said the same about his shithole quiet town in Scotland, based on the same kind of 'experience', it'd be considered a massive affront.

Exactly. Lots of people only visit the tourist bits of town and don't see the London people live in. They base their opinions on people's lifestyles on driving on main roads into London or looking out the window of the train. There are glorious areas and bad areas the same as anywhere else. But if you can afford to live in a nice area then you have the best and most parks in the world and access to world class museums and culture on your doorstep, cheap reliable transport, no need for cars and a world of food and arts to choose from.

Selfsettling
Don't know where you live but 5 miles outside Reading centre and we have no public transport. Nearest bus stop is 20 mins walk away along an unlit road with no pavement.
Don't get me wrong I love it here, but if you're accustomed to London public transport, you'd be in for a big shock here.

You can not drive in Bristol and be completely fine. Just get a bike. Come for a day trip if you haven't already, it's great

I live in the east Midlands and do not drive. The public transport where I am is great. It's obviously not at London standards but it is pretty much 24 hour. There are 4 different bus services running to the main cities and a train station. I've never had any issues not having a car.

What this thread has revealed is the massive number of non-Londoners with such a big chip on their shoulder that it affects their reading comprehension. Everybody insulting her has somehow read an insult into her question that isn't there.

DPotter in the NE near a metro station.

The mono-culture and bigotry is SHOCKING out of London

Please stay in London then, and enjoy your smug bigotry.

investment in infrastructure is London- centric - you get what you pay for!
Shouldn't that be you (Londoners) get what we (the British taxpayer) pay for- or did , it should surely change now after Brexit.

HelgaHere1 Londoners pay their way- they buy much more expensive properties, pay higher rent and pay higher prices for services but anyway surely it is expected that the capital receives the most investment. You do get what you pay for.

Delorabelle - how is it bigotry for the pp to notice a monoculture in other areas?

There's life outside London? Who knew! Is there running water and paved roads and supermarkets and electricity an' all??

Don't move anywhere north of Watford Gap, you'll probably hate it. Don't move to Wales, or Scotland, or Ireland. There's way too much green and space between cities and you'll be expected to talk to people. Same applies to the North (see first sentence for definition).

I was born in the north east but I've lived all around England (and Northern Ireland). Bristol is probably the closest city to London overall, though, you know, there is that right-on hippy vibe to contend with...Birmingham has more going for it than people realise; Leeds and Manchester are large and vibrant, Exeter and Edinburgh are small and relatively friendly for small cities but Exeter is more west country than West Kensington still; other than that it's difficult to suggest somewhere that might suit you.

Bath? Winchester? Salisbury? Harrogate, Ripon or York? (Those last three might be a bit far north from the sound of it though.) Or what about somewhere like Cheltenham or Oxford, or the Cotswolds in general?

she asked what life outside London is like
Honestly that is so glib and dismissive of the whole of the U.K.
life in the Shetland Isles might not be like life in inner Birmingham. Life in Cumbria is unlike life in Glasgow . If what she actually meant was should I move to the London commuter belt, then have a chat on that but why, as everyone is speaking so highly of London, would you fxxxing bother. If she means move to another part of Britain then let's just narrow it to a few hundred square miles. It is typical arrogant London attitude that there is !!!London!!! and the rest- the restjust being this boring blob of not-london. These threads come up aboutonce a week - that's why OP was getting a hard time. Maybe she could spend a few holidays in the rest of Britain to then have a sensible discussion.

Honestly that is so glib and dismissive of the whole of the U.K

That is why - I suspect - the OP got a few acerbic responses.