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London

Where do Londoners move to?

34 replies

ALyons · 23/09/2024 16:01

Hi, I am looking for Londoners who moved out of the capital and relocated elsewhere in the country. I'd like their honest opinion on life away from a metropolis and how to handle such a transition. I have posted here on moving to Chester but a few people said it's too small; however, bigger places may have the same issues London experiences right now in terms of safety, being over populated, etc. We have no kids and are in our early 50s, and are thinking to rent to start off with although our little dog may be an issue in this case. We would also like good train connections as we will need to come into the city occasionally. In an ideal world, there would be a thriving area just outside London and perhaps I could commute for work. But properties seem to be as high there, and on top I'd have to pay to commute while now my traveling is very cheap. hence Chester came up as it seems to tick most boxes...but it's far 😥 I would appreciate any tip you may have, as whenever I feel like moving I worry that nowhere else is quite the same as London. Thank you🙏

OP posts:
Ridiculousradish · 15/03/2025 22:40

Cornwall.

Copernicus321 · 15/03/2025 22:42

Norwich - check it out.

bytheseaside25 · 09/07/2025 16:36

I can comment well having lived all over London and Brighton too. Can confirm Worthing is a great place if you want:
-A lovely quiet beach-
Beautiful countryside and walking nearby-
Friendly community, quite diverse and queer friendly
-Very good cafes restaurants pubs and bars (both traditional and also natural wines bars and small plates etc, craft breweries for a bit of pizazz)
-Two great cinemas and theatres
-Good schools
-Leafy parks
-Decent town centre with walkable shops
-Three train stations(!) and an easy enough commute straight to Victoria/East Croydon/Clapham
-Decent parking (especially compared to Brighton)
-And affordable homes! I bought my three bedroom house in a good area for only 30k more than my one bedroom flat in Brighton-For us it's been a no brainer and we love it, we're in our 30s and lots of our friends are following suit.
-Best areas: Check it out in person. Personally we're near the station on a leafy nice street, Tarring (West) is also desirable. But the best way to ascertain is to go and walk around

Mercurial123 · 09/07/2025 16:38

Brighton (unfortunately). It used to have a more community feel 20+ years ago

soupyspoon · 09/07/2025 16:40

BotterMon · 23/09/2024 17:19

Unfortunately a lot have moved to Kent. It's rife with DFL's; some are lovely, others not so much.

Yeah well London is rife with
DFM
DFB
DFC
DFL
DFS
DFC
DFS

Yeah pick any place in this country or the world and London is crammed full of Down Fromers. Some are lovely, others not so much

To the extent that we had to move out and are now DFLs as we couldnt afford to live there any more.

IncrediblyGood · 09/07/2025 16:43

The obvious move is up North. The mistake people make is staying in the SE or dipping their toe in the Midlands.

bananashoes · 09/07/2025 16:45

ALyons · 23/09/2024 16:01

Hi, I am looking for Londoners who moved out of the capital and relocated elsewhere in the country. I'd like their honest opinion on life away from a metropolis and how to handle such a transition. I have posted here on moving to Chester but a few people said it's too small; however, bigger places may have the same issues London experiences right now in terms of safety, being over populated, etc. We have no kids and are in our early 50s, and are thinking to rent to start off with although our little dog may be an issue in this case. We would also like good train connections as we will need to come into the city occasionally. In an ideal world, there would be a thriving area just outside London and perhaps I could commute for work. But properties seem to be as high there, and on top I'd have to pay to commute while now my traveling is very cheap. hence Chester came up as it seems to tick most boxes...but it's far 😥 I would appreciate any tip you may have, as whenever I feel like moving I worry that nowhere else is quite the same as London. Thank you🙏

We just moved from Balham to surrey. Seems like loads of others have done the same

soupyspoon · 09/07/2025 16:55

IncrediblyGood · 09/07/2025 16:43

The obvious move is up North. The mistake people make is staying in the SE or dipping their toe in the Midlands.

This is true, we stayed in the SE and I really wish we had gone up north.

I like the midlands too actually, great transport, great scenary, lovely towns and villages.

TaborlinTheGreat · 09/07/2025 16:56

Oxfordshire. Lived there for 12 years and loved it, but eventually moved up north.

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