To want to move back to London from Manchester?

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Don't know if I am just having wobble but recently I have felt a strong urge to move back to London from Manchester. We moved here 5 years ago with DC1 (age just 1 at the time) for a better quality of life. Have since upgraded to a decent size house and made rooms in a nice city suburb. Buuuut....

I miss London so much. I am a southerner and feel at home there, its an hour from my family instead of 4. My career prospects are SO much better in London and pay is 20% more. I love the feel of London, the bustle and access to all the museums etc. I would move in a heartbeat if we could afford our home in London but of course it would be way out of our price range. DH also loves London, works there sometimes and always gets pangs of homesickness when he is there. Manchester has a weird feel at the moment- so much litter around and feels scruffy (no offence- I do love the city!!)

Are we mad? Kids now 6 and 2.5. Our budget would be around 600K if we moved back, have previously lived in Wimbledon, Clapham, Crystal Palace but unlikely to afford a decent house in any of those areas but would be open to other areas if nice and family friendly.

Sounds lovely @Wilkolampshade where in london did you settle?

Agree that you need to look at south east London and commit to slowly doing it up, then doing the loft etc. worth it.

Sorry one more - Guildford is pricey. Good schools, lovely town centre. But there are lots of villages just outside Guildford which have amazing access. For example, I grew up in Normandy, a pretty village 6min train from Guildford and then direct to Waterloo. I think the catchments to the good Guildford secondaries have changed though.

Hi. I live in Chorlton too. Southerner who married a Northerner! I miss the south, but I'm realistic about what I could couldn't afford down there. 20% extra covers zip.

Day trips to London are doable.
Why would the work be ''more interesting'' in London?

I'm from the north, used to live in London (Kilburn) and now live in Manchester, well Trafford technically, Stretford.

I think do what you think will make you happy, but I will say that when my oldest was little we lived city centre, he's 10 now, and there was loads of stuff for kids and families to do in Manchester, since covid I think there's been real issues especially with MCR museum being closed and MOSI being refurbed/losing the aerospace hall and loads going to 'virtual' events. I'm hoping this will all go back to normal soon, my youngest is 3 and has had nowhere near as many cultural experiences as my older 2 which is sad. Probably not just a Manchester problem but maybe something to bear in mind, that since March 2020 it's been a bit shit.

I wouldn't move back to London with my kids if you paid me, but we love to visit for day trips.

My other suggestions(and I'm doing a quick rightmove check as I'm not 100% up on prices) would be as follows

I'm basing on a3 bed semi at minimum and a small town at minimum rather than a village .

Guildfords my top pick in terms of facilities and vibe and good train to London and I'm bloody fussy- !! Proper nice and pretty big historic place rather than a suburb

I thought maybe Kingston but it's out of budget

Sevenoaks (some nice ones in budget)

Bromley- very easy into London and areas just outside- Norwood /beckenham etc

Surbiton - (very very close to kingston but a few in budget)

Epsom

Windsor

Chislehurst

Wokingham

Edges of St Albans -

Enfield

Hertford

The reason I said Home Counties rather than London is I think there will be some compromise but doesn't have to be a 2 bed flat etc. i do think though it has to be for the right reasons, careers, family etc- and you both want it --as even then central London's not on doorstep. To be honest when we lived in east Twickenham we tended to stay around Richmond/kingston but my son was a teen and had his fill of museums!! We lived in St Albans too and used to go into London leisure wise every 2 weeks (apart from work which was every day)

Hey, I live in Beckenham, which is relatively affordable compared to other similar areas in London. It's also very close to Crystal Palace, which you've mentioned. Probably worth a look for you.

Good luck with whatever you decide x

Move back now before the kids get too settled.

Home Counties is not a compromise. It’s suburban conservative hell so I am sure op would be happier in Manchester than small town living.

state schools in London are the best in the country eg Lewisham always comes 1st or 2nd in the country for primary schools. The teachers are fresh and enthusiastic on the whole rather than ‘bored jaded been in the same job at same school forever’ teachers in the suburbs.

One issue with London schools is the lower pupil numbers which is having an impact on funding.

@Littlefucker whilst I don't necessarily disagree in part- I'm not getting the impression the OP wants to live in a2 bed flat Or A bit of a grim area etc and hence making suggestions - I'm sure if she could afford a lovely roomy 3 bedder in Putney or Wimbledon etc , then no compromise would be needed. Thing is we all like different and there isn't a right or wrong-

This will get worse as the yrs go by. And certainly schools that I know in London have an issue with retention. Obviously there are multiple reasons for this but high house prices are a big one. Lots of schools I know have older teachers living within walking distance & then younger teachers travelling some distance.

The way the cost of living and interest rates are going it would be a bit nuts. I love London but I’m not sure I’d love it quite as much living in a smaller house/flat doing the daily grind of school runs and commutes with two growing kids and less disposable income, because that 20% salary London weighting won’t touch the sides. It also costs a lot of money to move- stamp duty (£20k on a £600,000 property), surveys, conveyancing, movers’ costs, it all adds up. That stamp duty alone would pay for a lot of train fares and hotel rooms for you to get your London-fix in years to come.

If the salary uplift was 50% it might be a different story, but I think you’d be taking a real hit on your family’s standard of living to feed off the ‘buzz’ of being in London. Only you can decide how much that’s worth to you in real terms.

Grew up in South Manchester, several years ago! I never understand the hype regarding Chorlton. No one wanted to live there when I was growing up. I would live in Altrinchcham/Hale/Bowdon if you stay in Manchester. Loreto, AGGS and AGS are great schools for the DC. Countryside is close, city is close and plenty to do.

One issue with London schools is the lower pupil numbers which is having an impact on funding

almost all the schools round here are oversubscribed so where did you get this from? They’re talking about opening more schools

Agree that Chorlton is over hyped and rather crap. There are better places in Greater Manchester area to live.

Chorlton is probably the problem, not Manchester as such.

We moved from London to Manchester (and surrounds) and go back probably once every 6 weeks to do a weekend break with the kids. We live near the Peaks, the kids go to an outstanding school with no stress of catchment areas.
For those asking about Manchester museums and theatre no, it's crap. And Manchester is just really dirty as a city compared to London. But I do get a better work life balance, bigger house here.
We just go back A LOT.

@Littlefucker whereabouts you? it's an issue for the whole country. We now have more over 65s then we do u15s

schoolsweek.co.uk/councils-cut-primary-school-places-as-baby-boom-flattens/

schoolsweek.co.uk/falling-pupil-numbers-require-an-urgent-policy-response/

www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/south-london-council-warns-37-24307479.amp

www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/london-primary-schools-forced-cut-20864841.amp

On that budget you’d have to live in Catford or Croydon, but it’s not impossible.

Always good to be where you’re naturally more happy and nearer family. But, go if you’re going - don’t dither for years as it’ll be so hard on your DC.

Also - visit a lot of schools, including secondaries, before you commit to an area. And don’t live on or near a main road - the air pollution by the south circular (for example) is horrendous.

@Littlefucker I lived in Lewisham for 12 years- while some of the primaries are good, most of the secondaries are DIRE. The Borough consistently comes bottom of the London league tables for secondary schools.

At my last count there were only 3 Outstanding secondaries. My DH was a governor at one, and on the basis of the stories he told I wouldn’t have wanted my DC to go there. A friend used to teach at one of the others - and in his words it was “ok”. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

Are you still in Lewisham @VestaTilley? I've lived here for 20 years and there has been a vast improvement. Very many excellent primaries and I believe 4 outstanding secondaries - in any case the population is diverse and the education accordingly more pupil focused than results focused in my experience. Better for girls, sadly (sad that it should be better for either sex).

You're right about the South circular though of course. I wonder if that'll improve with the ULEZ or it really is mostly used by people passing through.

The bustle and museums are definitely here in Manchester, but it is no London. I love London as a visitor (if I was single and childless, I would love to live there!). It really depends on what drew you to Manchester in the first place. Ive never much liked Chorlton, but Flixton, Urmston, Stretford and Altrincham are considered nice.

Technically Salford-but just over the canal Irlam, Cadishead and Peel Green are OK too.

Some parts of Manchester are incredibly deprived and others are run down/boarded up-and quite a few of these border the city centre, which you have to pass to go in to the city. There are a lot of development projects though and in 20 years it will be a different place. It has definitely changed a lot since I was a kid.

It might just be you haven't found the right part of Manchester for you yet. I was born here and it took me until I was 30 to find "home".

With a 600k budget in Manchester, you do have a lot of options though-including buying a cheaper house and potentially buying other property to flip-doing this for a little while might help you move back to London where you want to be in a decent sized house. Just a thought.

Could you move a lot closer to London than you are now.

Is it safe for the DC growing up?

I understand your predicament. I am moving from the city from loved ones too due to safety and financial conditions, I'm torn by the decision.

Crazy that £600K can't get you a house in those areas, but I'm someone who grew up in London and moved north for university 30 years ago and never went back.

I'm wondering how your kids' lives would be when they get old enough to want to move out. They'll have had all the benefits of growing up in London but might not be able to afford to put down their own roots there when the time comes?

Then again maybe that's the case for young people in Manchester as well, I know house prices are rocketing there as well