To think I can find somewhere like London outside London?

[Cheezywotsitforbrekkie]

We are considering a move outside London for the bigger house. Would have to be commutable, and not TOO far. As a result, a city like Birmingham is out of the question.

But I love London. I know I won’t get the big city feel if we aren’t in a city, but I’d at least like to feel like I’m living in a vibrant suburb that’s just a bit further from London.

currently thinking somewhere with a Brixton/ Herne Hill vibe.

its also the people, so want to move somewhere that attracts a fair number of quite arty types. ( we also aren’t loaded so don’t think we’d be able to go anywhere that attracts the banker crowd)

we aren’t particularly edgy ourselves ( like to think we are 😁) but friends who moved to Tonbridge wells came back with their tail between their legs…it was too dull for them and they aren’t wild!

so looking for places that are cheaper than London, a bit arty, community feel and with the obligatory nice coffee shop. Any ideas?

I thought of Folkestone too. But it’s still not London.

do you like somewhere quite ‘edgy’ and multicultural? Places like Reading are like that near the Oxford Road.

Or maybe just delirious.

Canterbury.

I've lived in at least 8 of the places mentioned and they're fuck all like London

In the main they're bloody horrible

I'd rather live in a one bedroom flat in London than live in all the places mentioned

I definitely do not understand the hype about Bristol or St Albans - both very dull in their own way. Bristol seemed quite rough when I stayed there a couple of years ago.

Brighton

Bristol

Oxford

I think quite a few places mentioned are rough - Hastings, Brighton, Bristol. But it seems like the OP is looking for somewhere like this. A bit arty, a bit multicultural (I disagree Hastings is), a bit edgy. I think much of London is like this, so the vibe kind of fits. Whether I'd move there is debatable, but I'm not looking for somewhere like this!

I cringed and laughed too as OP also mentioned Brixton as the vibe she's after. You couldn't pay me to live there.

I've lived in a few places mentioned here, including Brixton, and it's not... the dream haha

Watford is 20 mins on national rail. Doesn’t thick many of your boxes but easy commute to London. Not sure about the travel costs though

You seem like you love london. Why move out? Why not make your smaller home work for you? I couldn't move out as I know I'd feel suffocated anywhere else. If your brain is wired to London you will never feel satisfied elsewhere.

That'll be the scrumpy

So you aren't living in these places now unless you have 8 different properties. Do you think places may have changed? I'm a born and bred Londoner (proper London) and this idea of living in London is a charmed, culturally rich experience is frankly BS, living in a one bedroom flat in an nondescript part of London, whose local high street has all the same shops as other run down parts of the country is not that! London in the past was not this faux edgy place, a majority of London was dull or edgy and run down where the artwork, creativity in the arts reflected that tension between the two parts of London, the rich/poor that was the inspiration and sadly the gentrification of London has destroyed all that, it is just a Global city for the rich now and those serving them. Isn't Camden market owned by a billionaire, typical example of London's creative demise.

Exactly, all cities in the UK are rough, including London. That's what a UK city is. You don't want rough, you have to go to Denmark or Switzerland or somewhere.

OP, realistically there is nowhere else like London!

It sounds like what you need is somewhere commutable to London but where house prices are lower.

So you get the best of both worlds: you can still commute to London for work/museums/galleries/restaurant and have a bigger house in a different location.

I lived in London for about 25 years then moved the Kent coast. I can still easily get to London if I fancy a trip but I can also travel to places like Canterbury, Margate or Folkestone and I get to live by the sea :).

I would decide how long you are happy to commute for (1 hour? 40 minutes?) to get back into London and then investigate various places that would still give you a fair amount of diversity and an arty vibe.

Hard to recommend anywhere as we don’t know what your lifestyle is like but there are some very nice areas in Greater London not on the tube but on the train near the green belt. I would look into that before rushing off too far.

You'll get the London feel in the city centre of big cities but it's more compact over the space of a few miles.

Goldenbear

I live in London

In the aforementioned one bedroomed flat after living in the 8 places I mentioned

It's bloody brilliant, I don't recognise your portrait of London but I guess we see what we want to see 🤷‍♀️

(I wouldn't go to Camden market, zero interest)

Like most places, it depends which part of London you were in.

@Cheezywotsitforbrekkie, what's your budget? You might find that you can stay in London but maybe a cheaper part like Charlton SE7.

Yabu. Doesn't exist. I'd suggest staying in London

The only places "like London" are other capital cities, such as Edinburgh or Paris. Anywhere with a train journey of 1.5+ hours or less to London = commuter belt country. That gives you a very wide search radius and plenty of options. You can commute in for all your fancy London things and get used to catching the last train home.

You'll want to focus your search on the side that goes to the London train station nearest your office because the train is way faster than crossing London via tube. Also, you can do things on the train that you can't do on the tube - read a book, catch up on your emails, do your makeup, snooze, etc. Yes, even if you're standing room only. Commuting via peak train is a breeze compared to rush hour tube chaos.

You know the old engineering adage - fast, cheap, and good; pick two? That's the sort of compromise you need to make. A fast commute, a cheap location, and a "good" location - you can have two but are unlikely to get all three.

Yes, there is a slight whiff of 'we want arty window-dressing but there definitely needs to be somewhere to get a good coffee and decent schools'.

I moved from the epicentre of North London lentil-weaving to True Blue Shire and have been completely happy here, despite being left-to-centre-ground politically. The countryside and quiet mean that I don't miss the quirk and 'edge' at all, plus I have still found kindred spirits.

Surely a person can make their happiness from different things in different places?

It is these days. Brixton is so very gentrified. Nothing like it was when I was growing up in SE London..