Would you move to London...

[Tigger03]

Hi all,

Myself and DP (late 20s / early thirties) currently live in a nice area of the NW in a small terraced house. If we were to stay in the NW, family homes in the area we want to live are c.£500k (I know there are cheaper areas but we are fairly set on this as parents are located here).

We are weighing up whether to move to London for the next 5 years or so (pre kids) take advantage of higher wages and save up (we’d get a c£20k payrise between us straight away, plus more job opportunities). I’m well aware London house prices are much higher, but we’d be happy in a very small 1 bed flat whilst down there to save before moving back to the NW.

My question is, am I being foolish? We have a very nice ‘easy’ life in the NW and am I looking at London with rose tinted glasses?

I’d be interested to here from people who have moved to London at a time when most people look to move out - what was your experience?

See, if you're going to just do London for a few years, I would be inclined to avoid the areas disney mentioned like the plague

Those aren't places to rent in and enjoy London life
They are where you go because you want to buy are are prepared to compromise all the best bits of London in order to get your foot on the property ladder

I don’t think the op is completely priced out of the area in the NW. property in the village they want is circa £500,000 and their price is £450,000.

You can get a 1 bed flat in spitalfields for around £1700/month. If you think the pay rises will offset the additional costs I’d definitely move down there for a few years. Spitalfields is central enough to walk to lots of stuff, and a hugely historic part of London - nowhere else like it in the world

Or this.
The views look fabulous

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54934230.html

Thanks all - definitely good for thought.

We’re going to head down in Feb to take a look - leaning towards renting first and buying if we decide to stay a bit more long term!

The thing with London you have to be careful about is sometimes it can take you longer to commute from one part to another even a shortish distance than it is to come in from the edges or further afield.

I would start by looking around where you would work and work out from there.

I would do it, I did after graduation 30 years ago and I never left 😊

I would advise buying to avoid being left behind in the property market. £450k would get you a nice 3 bed semi here in Kingston upon Thames where I live and property prices are still going up here. It is 30 mins by train to Waterloo. It is also a great place to live!