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?

Brighton obvs, and we have good state schools, no grammars. No ‘the Kent exam’ stress

lots of drugs and homelessness sadly tho. Sadly as in for the people affected, not Brighton.

houses expensive here but you can easily commute three times a week, 5 is hard.

There's nowhere commutable that's all cheaper once fares are taken into consideration. It's a case of move to suburbs/villages/commuter town or stay put though the maths doesn't stack up often even then.

Cheaper living means not commutable, that's why it's cheaper!

I do recommend Bristol if you fancy relocating, I live by a lovely marina yet 25 minutes I'm in the city centre and you get change from £500k for a family home, hardly cheap but compared to London

Half of the expensive but 'vibrant' postcodes in Bristol are inhabited by ex Londoners.....

What is your budget, and what do you need to get for it?

And will you be commuting to London? How often, if so?

Out of interest how are the schools now in Bristol? It always used to be that the state options weren’t great so required private for secondary but that was a long time ago now

There isn't anywhere else like London.

You could do what everyone else has done and move to Kingston or any of the leafy home counties, and actually have expansive green spaces around you. Many are only 30 mins by train to zone 1.

But the lifestyle will change with the relo, and if it's London or bust you should just accept the lifestyle you like necessitates you being in London and instead look at increasing earnings potential to increase your property size in London.

Oh sorry - got distracted by reference to brixton.

Yeah, if it’s cute and commutable with some period housing stock the City crowd will have got there first!

You’ve cracked me up, OP. When I lived in Herne Hill, it was a depressed, run-down spot where I once got mugged at knifepoint outside my front door on Rosendale Road, rather than somewhere someone was trying to replicate elsewhere!

Look, bluntly, if you don’t live in central London (zones 1-3) then the ‘London effect’ is all in your head. Birmingham, Leicester, Bedford, Reading are all better and safer than Greater London suburbs and often easier to commute to / from. Eg it takes me 1hr15mins door to door to get to my London office from where I live in the midlands.

Aldershot.

It feels like lots of bits of London to me is near countryside and the much more home counties vibe of farnham for bars and restaurants. Although maybe doesn't hit arty as a vibe.

You'll grow up/out of London soon, so perhaps wait a while.

And also not what the OP wants as they already said Birmingham was too far.

I mean, if you’re going to respond at least respond with something helpful as well as snarky…

Winchester

God, not Leicester. I moved there from London and thought it was the most depressing place I’d ever lived, and I’ve moved around a lot. And the last fast train to Leicester used to leave St Pancras at 10.15, so not possible to go to the theatre in London and get home quickly. The slow trains took some weirdly roundabout route and could take well over 2 hours.

When we got married we rejected Herne Hill for the same reason.
And as for East Dulwich, that was a hell-hole beyond description that never even got on to the list!

What do you mean by commutable? Pontcanna in Cardiff is a vibrant suburb. You can get a fabulous three storey Victorian terrace for £750k. And it’s two hours or so from Paddington.

https://www.hern-crabtree.co.uk/property/ryder-street-pontcanna-cf11/herna-003887/1

God not Edinburgh please there's nothing more annoying than London people who think London is the centre of the earth

It's a passing point for kids on their way to actual lives

Oh, we lived there because it was cheap, and we were all in our first post-university jobs! We actually had a good time there, but it was during the time HH railway station was closed for repairs, so you had to get the tube to Brixton and then a bus, which was a pain, though probably meant our bombshell of a flatshare was affordable.

Fascinating! I'm 52 - how long should I be looking at before I grow out of London? 😂

Herne Hill, Walthamstow and Brixton ARE London...

OP - you are not going to find London outside London unless you move to another large city like Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle. But you say that is too far and don't like small towns. So stay in London. Don't be one of those Londoners who moves and then spends the rest of their lives pissing everyone off by telling them how much better everything is in London.

Reading?

There is nowhere I would want to live in Bristol where you get change out of £500k for a family home 😳

Prices are very high now, partly due to the influx of Londoners. I would want at least a £700-800k budget if I was looking for a family home in a decent secondary school catchment (still a huge issue here as a PP mentioned). Not sure how much lower than London that is really.

Knowing your budget would help, I assume you both work from home.

Hitchin and get your coffee from ‘Hermitage Road Coffee & Bagel Shop’.

That’s got the vibe of ‘When I used to live in london….’

Or move to Peterborough? Surely it’s about time Lincoln Road got gentrified… beautiful houses and lots of umm… culture?