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?

Bath is lovely, but I've not lived there. I think it might be somewhere to have a dream holiday home (Royal Crescent, obviously ).
When I lived in Bristol, I tended to go to Bath instead as it was so much nicer.

This thread just shows how many people don't actually know London.

Some of the suggestions are hilarious.

Visiting London, commuting into London for work, having lived in London years ago or seeing it on the News isn't anywhere close to living, breathing and knowing the true London.

I remember my brother complaining about small London houses, thing is, he'd only been to places with small houses.

One part of London doesn't represent the rest. The beauty of it is how diverse it is in terms of people, culture, restaurants etc. You can pop on the tube/bus for a different vibe just a few stops away.

You can have different experiences everyday of the week.

Bristol, Birmingham, Brighton, Henley, Milton Keynes etc are not anything like London.

Nowhere is.

Where do you go for a day?

@FloreatEtona us too- which is why when our son hit A level stage we moved!! It was actually our choice over Bristol originally 18 months previously - but we couldn't get him in at state school at the time and couldn't afford private

Exhibitions at Museums! It's about the only thing that draws me! Or to catch the Eurostar!
I like my lovely quiet countryside with the occasional brief trip to somewhere like Cambridge for shopping or theatre.

@Treesandsheepeverywhere , Exactly. I don't live there, I work there, I've visited many places there, and no, I don't know it, I never will. It's old but constantly evolving.
If I moved to St Albans, Guildford or Oxford I would get to know the places quite well. They're nice places but they're not vibrant in the way that London is.

Worthing is nice, apart from the fucking horrible multi-storey shithouse on the front. Independent cinemas and a theatre. A drive into Brighton should you wish.

Sorry, should have said it does not have a London vibe. Only London has that.

So your knowledge of London is based on a day at some of the busiest places?

That's a tiny tiny percentage of London.

I've heard people be amazed at the amount of green space London has to offer as they believed everywhere was like Central London.

There are loads of lovely quiet places too,
where you'd forget you were even in London, but with the option of the buzz not being too far away if you fancied.

AS @FloreatEtona says, London is always evolving, which is part of what makes it such a great city.

And as the great Samuel Johnson said:

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

But I am surrounded by clear air, constantly evolving nature, deer, badgers, foxes and rabbits in my garden, and a great community!

I don't need to travel to St Pancras, plough through filthy streets, navigate threatening beggars (yes, experienced), cross busy roads and go into huge shops, holding my bag against pick pockets to experience London's open spaces.
I can attend theatres within half an hour of my house with West end shows and plays without all of the same.
I am actually very well travelled and have even been in various parts of London. My sister lives there! Each to their own. It's not for me.

Samuel Johnson said this in 1777. Life, and London, have changed a bit in the last 250 years.

I think London cheats as its lots of different places stuck together. To get the joy of London you have to be able to travel from your bit to other boroughs..

If I travel 30 mins in a circle from my house by car or on the train i am in 6 towns. They are all different not some ubiquitous 'not london'. Even walking I can hit my village a small town and a big town. Although the big town is a longish walk. But I find Londoners walk a lot.

People living in London don't have to do that either. There are many parts of London with wildlife and clean air, that's the joy of it.

You can happily live in London without ever setting foot in the places you've mentioned.

Again, you give examples of the busiest places.

Glad you love where you live, but you can't say you know London just because you've visited some parts and your sister lives there.

You know parts of London.

It's always evolving, which is part of it's charm.
Love it or not, there's no place like it.

I agree…one of my biggest mistakes was to move to the Home Counties when we moved back to the UK. Luckily the train is about 30 minutes into Waterloo and I go in at least once a week…but I wish I had put my foot down just because the husband wanted a garage.

I feel that! I actually love that we moved to the home counties though, as we have a 5 bed, big garden, and 40 min train to one of the best cities in the world. Best of both! London is special.

Westcliff is pretty grim, I can’t imagine a lot of people saying it’s the posh bit of Southend. Some beautiful Victorian houses but definitely not somewhere I’d want to live. Leigh on Sea is nicer.

But I don’t need my 5 bedroom house anymore. My son is living in London. Daughter is married and settled. We own a flat in London but it’s too small for us. I want to sell both house and flat and just get a bigger flat in London. I shall persevere…husband has promised we can check some places out in the new year. 🤞

Chesham! We just moved there from London and it's lovely. Community feel, pedestrian high street, good music venues and a twice weekly food market. And just to add - it's at the end of the met line, so though it's a bit slow, we commute into London for cheap two or three times a week.

Chesham is nothing like London

Thought someone had found a unicorn 🦄.

I disagree. Some parts of Chesham are like some parts of London for sure!

Which parts would that be? It is many years since I worked there and to be honest all I remember is the bloody road system that seemed to take me round in circles. I would think Amersham would be more Londonish than Chesham but happy to be proved wrong. Loved old Amersham

As a bit more Chesham context: I lived in London for twenty years, lots of different parts, including Herne Hill and although of course Chesham isn't like London (nowhere could fully be apart from London!) the elements I liked particularly in Herne Hill and similar London 'villages' (good independent shops and restaurants, a bit more green than lots of other bits of London), community feel, nice food, music venues, market) are in Chesham and affordable. There are nicer bits and less nice bits of course, but overall it's been a good fit for us when we moved out with the baby, so yes I'd recommend checking it out as houses are still a bit more reasonably priced there.

Thank you as I say I haven't been back in a very very long time. I lived further north in the county and worked in Amersham and Chesham. Liked Tring and Berkhamsted as well

The Chilterns are really beautiful