To relocate from the south east up north??

[BadgerLovesMash]

Just to start I have never moved away from where I grew up so this would be huge!! But now after having our landlord decide to sell our home again (5th time in 12 years this has happened to us!) We are seriously considering moving somewhere cheaper. But some things making me wonder whether we should.

We currently live just outside of Brighton so are very used to easy and cheap public transport which is vital as we don't drive.

Our daughters are 14 and 10, so 1 heading into GCSE years and the other just about to start secondary school.

We have a good support network of friends and family here. All the girls friends are here.

However we are both on minimum wage. DH works for a company that would let him change locations. I work in childcare so could find another job in that field (I was looking to change anyway as no longer need term time once dd2 starts secondary and theres no chance of increased hours where i am) so financially we would be significantly better off.

For reference our current rent for a 3 bed is £1500 per month and this is cheap, others in this area are closer to £1800. I was looking at Grimsby and for a similar sized 3 bed it is £515. But that is 5hrs on the train from here!

So has anyone done this and what are the pros and cons?

Oh and this is all quite outing if you know me! 🤣

I really sympathise with your dilemma, but I can remember the feeling that life would be over for me when my parents wanted to move when I was 16, and they were only going 5 miles - though to a place with no transport links to where my friends were. How do they feel about it? And have you considered how much longer they are likely to be living with you? If they both go to university they might stay away, leaving you behind, at which point a move back may be out of reach.

There are plenty of nice places to live in the North and west of the country, and I genuinely believe that people are nicer here than in the south east, but viewed in the round it may not be your wisest option.

This was another consideration about the UC element.

We had dd1 young (19), dh has zero gcses and stayed in a shop job just to keep us paying bills, he now works in catering which he loves but again doesn't pat well. I didnt work when dds were young as the childcare cost outweighed anything I could earn. I retrained and work in childcare. Which is low paid but is what i love. If I moved to another non term time nursery I could earn more but not a huge wage.

We are very happy with our lives, dds are happy and don't ever ask or want for anything. They have grown up appreciating the little things. Today's day out to London has cost me train Fare and a cake in greggs. So under £15. This was a big treat and they love it.

I would like more money but we don't necessarily need it. Just wish I didn't have to worry about every bill and could just buy what i like when going food shopping!!

They also have their own telephone network. The last time I worked in Hull there was no British Telecom. I think its called Kingston Communication or something similar. It took months to get telephone lines into a business we were opening

Liverpool has neither seaside nor relative affluence! It has a kind of grungy charm. It's surrounded by sea on 2 sides and impoverished urban sprawl on two sides, it takes a while to get anywhere really nice.

I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132085943

Another rental in Hull. Close to city centre. All shops you would need within 10 min walk. £585

Think how much you could save each month towards deposit or treating the kids. Your quality of life would improve massively.

I moved from the home counties to Scotland best thing we ever done, life is far better.

For all those saying it's colder up North well yes true in winter.However here in the Pennines last summer was hot enough for me. Temperatures in the South East were even more extreme and for longer.Personally I'd rather put an extra layer on and walk the stunning countryside around here than be unable to cool down.

How about leaving Brighton for New Brighton? Northish, close to Liverpool/Chester/North Wales - good transport links, nice promenade, park, restaurants - not a fancy area by any means but The Wirral is lovely

Also nice weather in the summer and fabulous storms in winter

I'm in the midlands - 1.15 hours from London but no sea side

Hiya OP,

So sorry your landlord is selling up again.
That's such an upheaval 😞😞😞

Have you looked at the Norwich area?

It's is a beautiful City with a lot to do and a lot of beautiful villages and countryside around.

Also much cheaper than Brighton and has a great university, should your girls consider it later.

You sound very happy and settled where you are. I wouldn't uproot away from family and friends in your position. Once the children are a bit more independent you could look to increase your earnings.

Houses in nice areas in the north are probably more like 1000 for a 3 bed, and all the same problems with landlords selling up. It would still be a good saving of course. But maybe not worth the decrease in quality of life

It sounds like you and your partner are working as best you can. Can your partner look to upskill? It sounds like you’re raising two lovely girls with an appreciation for the things you’re doing for them.

Hull is alright, I lived there for a few years and it’s not bad at all.

It sounds like you’re established with your family and friends where you are though.

Go for it op.

I've lived in both and the quality of life is far better in the north (Yorkshire and upwards).

My DH is a southerner who moved up and would never go back. His family are coming too.
The countryside is glorious, beaches are stunning. There is much more space and fresh air. Less crime.

But its the property that is the massive difference. You can buy a generous 4 bed detached for well under £200k and rent the same for £700.

Its a no brainer.

The climate isn't dramatically different, don't make that part of the decision.
I live not far from Grimsby and Hull.
Grimsby is very deprived and I wouldn't want to live there but it's not as bad as some inner city areas. Neighbouring Cleethorpes is also cheap and better.

I love Hull. It's a friendly city and nothing like any other. Plenty of nice areas with much cheaper rents than you are paying. There are however some areas to avoid and some poor schools. You could also look over the river from Hull at Barton on Humber. Market town with a regular bus to Hull and decent schools.
Three bed bungalow with big garden for £900pcm
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132051305#/?channel=RES_LET

For the " bullshit" posters 😂

We moved from Oxfordshire to Cumbria nearly a decade ago, partly to get a bigger house and partly because everything seemed to be getting busier where we were (villages merging into each other with new housing developments, traffic getting worse etc). I had never lived further north than Oxford before.

We really like it here. Beautiful countryside, cleaner air, friendly people. Weather-wise it's not really noticeably colder, but it is a LOT wetter! When we went across East to Northumberland on holiday it was bloody freezing and noticeably warmer on returning to Cumbria!

What about Bristol, Stroud or just over the bridge in Chepstow? Not north by any means but cool places with city life and beautiful countryside on your doorstep.

You could also look at Wigton, in Cumbria near the lakes as you would be in the catchment area for one of the best state schools in the UK but also very isolated.

If you are looking up north specifically then definitely have another look around Newcastle (Great city) near the seaside and Liverpool (also seaside, fantastic city full of culture) with an airport and ferry links to Ireland. As with any area there are good and bad parts of town, and I think places like Liverpool get a horrendous rep in the media but once you go there you'll realise that it's nothing like that day to day. Try the Wirral, it's classed as the posh part 😉

We're moving from near Brighton to Lincoln as housing is literally half the price and we want a better quality of life. However I used to live there so already have friends there, we both work remotely and have chosen a beautiful historic area of the city. I wouldn't just up and move to a city I had no connection with. I've lived in the South for 12 years but am just sick of the ridiculous cost of housing!

Bristol? Liverpool? Manchester? Leeds?

Bristol is lovely but really expensive and I wouldn't advise anyone to move to Liverpool 🙈 .

How do you afford to rent in Brighton on minumum wages? Are you using benefits and if so will these decrease when your children become adults?

I should note here that I come from the Midlands, live in London (the aim is to leave as soon as I am able) and have visited many parts of England beyond Birmingham, some absolutely lovely spots. London is only warm because of pollution. I was taken by Northumbria (I also used to read a LOT of C Cookson) and if I would love to live around there. So different to where I am now. There is coast AND country and some nice towns plus of course Newcastle. Maybe the romance of the wild country overtakes the reality a bit, though.

I’m in Essex and would move north in a heartbeat, if it wasn’t for family ties. I prefer the people for a start. In general it’s true - northerners are more friendly, especially in the smaller towns. I also crave space and silence. Rural Essex is now so crowded it’s unbearable. The traffic is horrific (we can’t be far from having to book time slots to use the roads), and most of the villages have been ruined by awful new estates. But no matter how many rabbit hutches they jam onto every bit of scrap land, it’s never enough. I swear they won’t stop until the whole of Essex is one giant estate.

Then there was last July and August. That heat nearly killed me. The combination of 38 degrees, traffic jams, and the claustrophobia of my new build estate, really got me down. I remember literally sobbing at one point - just overwhelmed by the heat and crowding. I spent most of September looking up house prices in Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland. My dream is to live in the Scottish Highlands.

Instead of moving could you both use the money to gain further qualifications for better paid jobs? You could move but find the area is not very nice and regret leaving where you are.

I moved from near Brighton to Leeds. Absolutely love it up here. Friendly people, gorgeous scenery etc. Southerners always talk about how cold it is "up north" but I really can't say I notice much difference in Leeds. Maybe further north you can feel it. Whenever I compare the temperatures in Leeds and Brighton they're very similar or maybe just one or two degrees difference. It's not like moving from Spain to Iceland!
I don't like Grimsby but there are many other lovely places to live in the North.

Instead of uprooting everything you and your family knows, is there any way of increasing your income by training ?

Please encourage your DC to get educated and aspire for well paying jobs so they don't have the same predicament. Not trying to be horrible, but truthful