So this is the story so far....
Six years ago, when DS was 3, we left the South Coast and all our family behind and moved to London. My XP (DS's dad) had already moved here and it made sense for me, DS, and my work to be here. For me it hasn't really worked out career wise and London hasn't been all that I thought it would be, in fact, for most of it I've been more unhappy here than anywhere else. Now XP and I are both getting quite tired of the endless commutes, financial struggles and the difficulty in creating proper friendships; we've both decided perhaps it's time to start anew.
My concerns with this are mainly for DS, he is in year 5 now at a good school, the only school he has known, and has many, many friends here. He will be going up to secondary school in 2 years and we are lucky enough to live in the catchment of a good and rapidly improving secondary school, which in London is something that usually comes with a premium price! Part of me would love for DS to stay in the home he has known since he was 3 and go through his school years with the friends he has known since he was 4/5. But there is another part of me that wants DS to grow up in a place where you don't have to travel an hour to get everywhere, where we can afford to do more than just pay the rent and tube fares every month, where it is easy to visit friends and go for walks in the country side or by the sea, and for him to know what it is to have a mum who is happy and fulfilled in her career.
So dear mumsnetters, I ask for your advice... If we do leave, it will be in between primary and secondary school so DS can stay at his school until he would have to leave anyway, has anyone else done this move and if so how have your children adapted?
Secondly, we're currently discussing moving North; Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, or West; Bristol. I would consider Newcastle, Edinburgh or even somewhere South to be closer to family, however XP isn't on board with those ideas and I don't want to take DS away from his dad. Any advice on making the move from London and job ops and schools in any of these areas would be hugely appreciated!
Sorry for such a long post!!! THANK YOU ALL 