To think we won't be living in a car if we move north?

[greyeyes]

Posting for traffic sorry!

Currently live in twickenham, (renting) will never be able to buy here unfortunately as we won't be able to afford here.

I'm originally from Liverpool, but my parents and siblings and other lots of family moved to Appleton/Stockton Heath/Altrincham.

Found a few nice houses to buy and I'm trying to be realistic, would my life style be completely different semi rural ish? Would my bi racial Muslim children fit in? Would they wish I stayed in Twickenham when they are teenagers? My dh is convinced it's the middle of nowhere and doesn't want to spend his life in a car he says?

I know there has been lots of threads recently but dh thinks we will regret it but his family live abroad so there are no ties to this area. And I would rather live near family then move further further away from where we live now! And I don't particularly want to rent my entire life just to live here especially as we have children

He thinks the petrol/mileage used and travel times to nearby areas such as Manchester and Liverpool etc where his work would be based would make his life depressing where as now we live 2 minutes from the station and work local a short bus ride away and just keeps harping on about "we will need two cars, I don't want to spend my life driving"

Has he got a valid point?

He has a point with using your car more if you live more rural.

You don't have to go from city to rural though. You could look to be closer to Liverpool / Manchester so you keep your city life but for less than your London one.

If you move to a semi rural environment you will drive a lot more. I grew up in the countryside and everything was a car drive away (even picking up a pint of milk).

Depends what’s more important for you as a family at this stage in your lives. But if OH is already so against it, it’s a non-starter anyway, isn’t it?

He doesn't think that all of 'the north' is 'semi rural' and lacking in diversity does he?

If you want big city amenities, you'd just live in or close to Liverpool or Manchester and then you'll be able to be close to a station/tram network, diverse population and easily accessible amenities.

Surely his ties are you the kids and then your family. So more than where you are now.
And where you are now is hardly the middle of nowhere, I grew up in the highlands and that is the middle of nowhere sometimes it was 2/3 hours to decent shops etc not 20 mins in car. Plenty people commute to work but you will better moving when your kids are small than teens.

I hope you can move, will be good to be beside family - I’ve never had that

'North' is a very big place. The amount of time you'll be spending driving would largely depend on where you live.

You mention Altrincham, which has great public transport links and no worries at all with your DCs race/religion. It's expensive by local standards though.

You also mention 'semi rural' though - which would inevitably mean longer travelling times, less access to public transport, less places for your DCs to mix with other children, and in many areas of the NW a more 'working class white' atmosphere.

He has a point.

Living rural with teens is a challenge (they are bored, you are a taxi service), and if he’s the one who has to commute and doesn’t want to, that matters - it can really knock your quality of life. I also would approach moving to a rural area with a mixed race family with caution - rent for a year first.

You have other options though - you can look at Liverpool (which is coming up amazingly) or Manchester, or you could look at cheaper areas of London eg South East, Croydon, Far East.

Whatever you do, rent for a year to check it works. And as a country kid, if you do take the rural plunge, the edge of a market town with at least some amenities generally works better than a village.

There’s an amazing transport network around Manchester. I would not want to live so “rural” that I couldn’t walk to the nearest train station. Plenty of people do, but I like to be better connected than that, especially with teens and a commuting on the train partner. So absolutely look “up north” but I’d concentrate the search around better connected areas, of which there are many. Manchester is a fantastic place for teens and very multicultural.