to ask if you've ever regretted moving out of London?

[thisusernameismine]

We are thinking of moving out of London (I've been there 17 years now). In very early 40s with one child (likely our only). Would go within a few miles of my mum. We would like a bigger place/garden for half the price as well.

Anyone ever made this kind of move and regretted it?

Nope, no regrets. Love it here.

Whats good about London please?

Whats good about London please?

Lived there 20 years. Left 5 years ago to move to Devon and the only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

@HelloDulling

15 years now, still regret moving out. Would love to be able to afford to move back.

Where we are now is great for family life, we have a nice big house, good schools etc, but it’s just not for me. If you love London, there is nowhere else like it.

💯 agree.

'What's good about London'? It's a city with lots of jobs and great transport and interesting looking people rushing about doing stuff.......
Will that do for a start?

Nope! Similar age to you and I think I am at the age where I prefer what I have got here a whole lot more (space, clean air, countryside, beaches) than the bars, restaurants and overcrowded museums on the odd day I felt like being cultured! We go back a few times a year and even though I enjoy it, I literally breath a huge relaxed sigh as we leave...

Oh RubyWho I am so sorry to hear that. Some unbelievably thick ignorant people around xxx

Not for a minute. Best decision we ever made.

Initially moved out to Home Counties and commuted in. Now made the move further north and found new jobs outside London. Zero regrets.

Not regretted it for one second, but then I'm not from London originally so it was never my 'home' if that makes sense. I love getting on the train and going back for the day or for a night out but I'm glad we moved.

Wow what amazing answers, thanks all for taking the time to respond :) it's made me realise that looking into moving out is the right decision. I am quite introverted anyway and whereas a lot of my good friends are here, many of them are scattered around (some just outside London) and I've actually seen more of them on zoom than we did in person thanks to lockdown!

I'm originally from the Southern Hemisphere and grew up with lots of (cheap!) space and I'd prefer a bit more of that for my daughter. When I first moved to the UK some 25 years ago it was to Oxfordshire, which is where we are looking now, especially as my mum and best friend live there. Also not a bad commute for my husband and as I've left my job very recently following repeated discrimination since mat leave, it would be great to be able to reduce our ridiculous mortgage.

Have really enjoyed reading everyone's experiences. London is fab but to be honest I've not made the most of it for a while even before covid, so yes perhaps it's time to retire to the countryside!

No way. It's really not a city for living.

My BFF did and returned 2 years later. She did go to proper Brexitland countryside though!

I only lived in London for a few years so I might not count, but I much prefer living outside and travelling in for work. Life is more affordable, we have a big house (3 bed semi with 70ft garden and our own drive so we always have somewhere to park) and access to lots of green space around. We'd never be able to afford that in London - we couldn't even afford a flat with a separate bedroom!

We're closer to our families here too which is nice. I felt like I was charged £10 every time I left the house when I lived in London. We have the added bonus of London wages as we both commute so our money goes that bit further.

Oh I love that about London, the not giving a shit thing. Still if you have grown up with that it's hard to adjust to small town or village life.
What I did notice when i moved out were little annoying things like the woman in the pharmacy shouting out out my address in front of a packed shop. I was fresh from south London and found that really intrusive
When I mentioned that to her that she acted like I was quite mad....
I like the privacy that london offers.

I actually do think we will move out of London when DH retires from the City as DPS will be elderly. I also dream of being some sort of farmer by the sea but that is mostly am idyllic fantasy haha

Moved away in Jan and I’ve cried every day. I miss it terribly.

We were priced out of the rental market though. Had to move 150 miles away in the end. I’m gutted.

Moved out and have regretted it ever since. We came so close to moving back but nerves got the better of us. Very tricky with young kids as well. I thought I had sorted my head out but it's all come out again being stuck here in lockdown. I hate it. Surrey. Loads of tories and range rovers and golf courses. I love being close to nature though which is why we haven't moved back. I don't know if we just haven't found the right place outside of London. I need culture and life and somewhere a little more liberal. We're now considering moving further away given the wfh aspect. Southwest or maybe Cambridge. If I didn't have kids I would never have left London and I'll be back there as soon as I can! I'm still pondering moving back with kids to either Wanstead or Teddington but wonder if it will be too big a jump now. Plus yeh London is a bit odd right now.

randomer what's good about London?
Public transport is cheap compared to many places in the UK and is pretty good as in there is lots of choice and parts of it run 24/7.
That's it....

No. Best thing we ever did.

Years later, DH left a very interesting and highly paid job because the company had decided to relocate it to London. We'd never go back.

Whats good about London please?

The history. The access to the arts. The diversity. The community feel (contrary to popular belief, areas of London have an amazingly village-y culture). The public transport. The pubs. God I miss London pubs. The Thames. The job opportunities. The food. The street art. The events and festivals. The markets. The independent shops. The architecture. The tolerance. The parks. The geography. The sense of being alive. The theatre. Fuck, the theatre.

I miss it so much. Where I am now is the right place for my daughter. But I adored London and if I could afford it I would move back in a heartbeat.

Yes there is great community feel in parts of London that some people are convinced isn't there. It's a friendly city.

@peachgreen totally agree with you on the community feel, we have amazing neighbours both sides (long terrace) who we will miss dearly - and the kids will miss each other too. We are very lucky with this of course!

We moved out 30 years ago and have had a far better life because of it. We have had a bigger house, better standard of living, lived in better areas and had less pressure (I was able to work part-time which eased childcare pressure too). One small negative is that we had to pay for independent school here as the state schools were not as good but, at least, we could afford it here
The only negative is now that we come to downsize and realise how much less our property here is worth than if we had stayed