To want to move back to London from Manchester?

[NameChangeLifeChange]

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.

I have lived in greater manchester all my life ,I rarely go to the city centre these days ,but used to go regularly in the 90,sand 00,s I never felt it was sinister then ,but i used to frequent places like the Ritz, and Rock world etc ,I can, t get used to all this Northern Quarter bollocks 🤣,I'm sure there are some grumpy locals ,but you will get that everywhere.

While I don’t agree with the implication in many posts that Manchester is lacking in things to do, I’m afraid I completely get where the poster you’re replying to is coming from. It’s more than just people being ‘grumpy’. It’s open drug dealing and taking in Piccadilly Gardens, antisocial behaviour at tram stops and on the tram and a general edgy feeling in many parts of the city centre. The city needs to get a grip on this stuff rather than just throwing up new buildings.

Go for it!!! Life’s too long to wonder what if.

A smaller home doesn’t necessarily mean a worse quality of life. If you’re happier there follow that feeling, atleast you tried elsewhere!

I would definitely not want to go back up north - although I might be possibly persuaded by Manchester, Edinburgh or Glasgow - which all seem lively cities.
My experience of living even in a large northern town in 90s /noughties was that things were really parochial - although perhaps things have changed!
Everyone says northerners are friendly - generally I found the opposite - although obviously this is my own v anecdotal experience.

I found that people were often quite scared of anything different and therefore could be quite hostile or weirdly snobby. Good work opportunities were few and far between and the weather was awful and depressing. There was also just not many opportunities for young people to get involved in things like choirs, music groups, youth theatres etc like there are in London. Even getting a Saturday job was difficult because the place was so economically depressed.
University friends who came from the South East could easily access internships and and jobs in London. However I found these sort of opportunities were for practical reasons much harder to access.The obstacle wasn't so much the the length of the train ride, more its costs.
I suspect the same might be true for HS2. Good for one-off trips to London, not so great for regular commuting unless you are fabulously paid. Although WFH might make a difference.
Op could you consider somewhere in South East London., near the Cross Rail ?You should still be able to get a nice house for £600k there

600 grand would get you a decent 3 bed house in my area (zone 4)

For me it would be a no brainer, definitely would rather live in London than Manchester.

Hi @Mardyface - no- we moved to Hampshire, where we’re much happier! The bit of lewisham we lived in was fine pre-kids, but a lot of crime in our street alone, and very polluted. I’d never return.

@VestaTilley my parents are in Hampshire and it’s gorgeous but I find it’s either insanely expensive for nice areas or the cheaper bits are a bit blah and I’d really miss the city vibe!

Agree Manchester is a mixed bag although it’s brilliant for small kids in fairness- loads of cheap and free events on and brilliant holiday clubs etc. I certainly y don’t hate it and would probably miss our local area and the lovely friends we have made.

DH thinks we should aspire to moving to a smarter part of Manchester (Didsbury, Hale, Bowden etc) as we would swerve the ‘edgy’ scruffy vibe that we currently have but also have access to the city centre for the great things there. This is probably a more realistic long term goal!

“Up north” sounds like such a generalisation. Even those cities you mentioned are so different, when compared. Others like York and Leeds, even more so.
90s?! Yes things have definitely moved on since then.

You are right about Manchester feeling scruffy at the moment. It is going downhill I think and I’ve lived close by all my life. The area around Piccadilly Station into the City Centre is horrible. What a first impression for visitors.

It’s AWFUL isn’t it. When we have guests we avoid like the plague. There’s so many rumours of complete regeneration of it but it never actually happens and it’s dreadful. There’s some such great bits of Manchester but the area around picadilly is just grim and it is the first impression. Hate it!

@Cakeandslippers @Crikeyalmighty

I was referring to Didsbury. But don't like Chorlton either for all the same reasons.

@NameChangeLifeChange Please dissuade your DH from moving to Didsbury. I think you will find it is just more of the same.

I'm team Alty, have lived here all my life. If you want something better, then Altrincham/Hale is the place to look. It's popular with families moving up north too but it's miles nicer than it's Manchester neighbours. You have children - Trafford schools are better for a start.

Good luck with whatever you decision you make. There is no point living somewhere you aren't happy especially if you have the option to live elsewhere.

I completely agree with @notangelinajolie . I don't mind going for a drink in chorlton or Dids but to live in, Alty is in a different league. Im from a London commuter town but my DH has lived locally all his life and we feel so lucky to live here, all my local friends feel the same way. Its a very different feel to didsbury and Chorlton.

@notangelinajolie and @Cakeandslippers the only problem is that £600k will actually buy you very little there.

Maybe in Hale, but Alty and Timperley you can get a decent house for that. My house is not worth anything like that and it's a decent size, nice garden etc. Though I suppose it's all subjective and what might be good for me might be small for someone else.

@Cakeandslippers I agree with you . I know the area reasonably well and would rather live in Altrincham , Hale or even somewhere a bit further out like Knutsford which is very nice. It's just personal choice I guess but Didsbury didn't exactly wow us, alright, but pricey for what it was we felt.

It might be OP that maybe it's worth finding an area somewhere up there you prefer if London is going to be way too much of a compromise on the home front.

I must admit I liked Liverpool and the Wirral more when we visited and I liked Knutsford!

@Cakeandslippers do you any examples? Not being goady at all - I want to move Alty way and everything is coming in at £600k plus even for a terrace! It’s crazy, although I have ruled out timplerly as it doesn’t really seem it has a centre

Timperley definitely does have a centre - Timperley Village.

@mushrooTimperley has a centre. It has a few pubs, baker, supermarkets, cafes, restaurant, cocktail bar, butcher etc Not as big as Alti but you can walk into Alti pretty quickly from most of Timp so I'd consider it.

Have a look around grosvenor Rd and surrounding road (mostly terraced) or Navigation Road area, and also maybe around Wood Lane/Stockport Rd (not on Wood Lane but a few places round there), also Grove Lane / Hermitage Rd which I think is classed as Hale, and also Broadheath.

I don't know what your budget is, your not going to get a 4 bed detached in thr middle of town for 600, but the 3 bed 1930s houses a bit out of the centre definitely come up. And if you look further out towards the other side of Timp and towards brooklands / Sale you'd find more options. Tram is great though. The problem is they go so quickly and it's so competitive, lots go quite a bit over asking. Most people seem to be extending rather than moving now and I've seen prices rocket in the last 5 years 😔. Hope you find somewhere 🤞

@Cakeandslippers thank you - that’s so helpful to have actual roads to look at it!

really appreciate it - I’ll definitely keep an eye on Rightmove! :)

@NameChangeLifeChange . I have just stumbled across your post and wondered what your decision has been on this?

I too moved up 6 years ago from the same place as you in London. I have had very similar feelings to you, mainly on the point of career progression. Over the past year I have felt much more settled as the kids are in school and I've felt more at home. But still get pangs of how my career might be down there. Be great to hear what your thoughts are now.

@Peony21 we are still here! Although DH recently had a job offer in london and has also considered transferring to the london branch of his company. Realistically I think we would need to earn so much more to have a similar lifestyle that for now we are staying put. I also think if we move I’ve wait until both kids are going to the same school (just logistically so not organising double school/nursery transfer and so they know each other!).
I don’t know. Sometimes I love Manchester, other times I’d really love to move. It’s a tough one!

If it feels like the right thing to do and closer to the family then definitely consider it. We live near Crystal Palace and love it. Unfortunately we can only afford the small 2-bed flat we currently own, so are looking to move near in laws in Sussex to afford a bit more space and a garden. But if we had the money we’d stay without a thought, no kids now but I think it would be fun to bring up kids in London.

I live near and actually don't find Chorlton attractive. Chorlton Green in nice but the rest to me is a bit scruffy and soulless. There's plenty to do and see in the area and interesting cities and museums within an hour.
How old are DC?

Almost 7 and almost 3! I know I do like Chorlton to be fair and the eldest is in a lovely school.

It's a difficult one when you're talking about a significant lifestyle downgrade. Being able to afford a 600k property in a northern city is quite a comfortable life. You'd have to really want to go.