To move cities ?! School aged children

[Ubfairnessmonter]

Our current circumstance:
Ds1 in yr 10 Da2 in yr 5. We live in a nice part of Birmingham. I work remotely as does DP.

We would love to move to Leamington Spa when Ds1 starts college and Ds2 starts secondary. We are not far from Leamington so are already in catchment for the Grammar school where we want Ds2 to go.

the reason we want to move to Leamington is because we really like the vibe. The beautiful buildings and lovely parks. It feels like Bath but closer to family :) And its proximity to both Birmingham and London.

im just a bit nervous that we might not like it ? I have spoken to DS1 and he is fine leaving friends and making new ones at college , he wants it tat way tbh. He would still only be a 40 min train ride from Birmingham if he wants to meet friends etc

Has anyone got any experience of moving city ? Or if Leamington spa ?

thank you

There's a risk anytime you move. But kids usually learn to adapt and better than adults.

My children were born in the middle east, moved to south america when they were very small, and now in another south american country. We'll be moving back to Europe in a few years. And then somewhere else a few years later. They are fine and thriving. Moving to a nearby city really isn't a huge risk !

But you should probably spend some time there to dispel your doubts, maybe try speaking to some residents, see if there are any bad aspects to the neighbourhood they'd comment on.

Leamington Spa is not really like Bath, the bottom end of town is pretty run down.

Also, which grammar school is Leam in the catchment for? There’s KES Stratford and Alcester Granmar, but neither super close to Leamington.