Considering moving from London to Bristol- is cost of living noticeably lower?

[amalur]

Hi, DH and I are playing with the idea of moving west. We visited Bristol last summer and really liked what we saw. One reason to move is that we'd like to have a bigger house than what we have now (to accomodate DC) without increasing our mortgage. We also like the idea of living in a city without the crazy prices of London. Jobs wise, DH works from home and that shouldn't make a difference, but I would have to find something and I feel that I would probably earn less than I do now. So I worry that what we could save in one way we will lose in another.

I am not sure how much cheaper it is to live in Bristol than in West London/Surrey areas. Where are the differences apart from housing costs? Because I guess prices of gas, elec, supermarket food shopping, etc are the same?

Has anyone who has moved to Bristol from London noticed that the money goes further, and in which ways?

Thanks in advance for any comments

Not sure about London but surely electricity and gas bills depend on usage so will be more for a larger house!
I would also check council tax, as Bristol may be more expensive, and insurance premiums.
Public transport i.e. bus fares is expensive in Bristol, as there is no real competition.

I've never lived in London but both my sisters do, and I am always shocked at the cost of everything when I go to stay with them so I guess there must be some differences!

If you shop in supermarkets there won't be that much price differences, but if you like to shop in smaller businesses you will certainly notice a difference - lower prices and higher quality in suburban areas of Bristol compared with London.

There are big differences in costs of things like childrens activities, soft play centres, music groups etc which my sisters are finding are much more expensive for their DDs than I have in Bristol - e.g. typically £3-5ish per session in Bristol vs £6-£9ish per session in the areas of London where they live. Adult leisure activities such as Yoga and gym membership can also be lower here, and the typical cost of nursery places in Bristol seems to be about 75% of the typical cost in London. You can certainly have a cheaper night out in central bristol than you can in central london but all these things are variable so there will be some bristol places which are just as expensive if not more so than some London places. We've also noticed a difference in the prices we have been charged for services like pumbers, electricians & builders - in London it seems these trades can get away with charging way more than they can round here!

You should consider the schools issue before making any move though - whilst there are lovely large bristol houses available for the same price as a smallish zone-3 flat, the prices rocket when they are in the catchment areas of the relatively few decent state schools we have. Depending on how important this issue is for you, you may get less of an upgrade than you were hoping for.

Thanks all for your comments, it looks like we are going to need to research it well. I guess if we end up even but with a bigger house that is fine, what I wouldn't want is to move and find out we are worse off financially.