Anyone moved from London/south to East Midlands? happy or not?

[beaglesaresweet]

Just really wanted to hear how the transition went for you, any pleasant/unpleasant surprises? do you find people friendly or sticking to their own? are social divides more noticeable than in london (I don't mean money, but in london all sorts tend to mix apart from mega-rich)?

Any tips re nice countryside (to walk/visit)?

Obviously I know that a bigger house is a plus, but apart from that.

yes, this did cross my mind, Holiday. I'm just hoping that Derby in particular wouldn't be affected as there is some industrail activity (Bomabrdier just renewed contracts) and Rolls-royce there so hopefully for business reasons they wouldn't lengthen the journey to london.

Do you know whether rail companies are obliged to give plenty of notice (more than a year)?

haha, JL is all over the place so not exactly some height of aspiration, but it is very useful.

bombardier, that is.

Mrs, I meant Leicester and Derby and suburbs (the nice period houses, not sure about modern ones). Market H quite active too. Villages may well be less so.

Beagles - will ask dh later (posting this to remind me). He knows a lot about this and was saying something the other day about one of the local stations would be changing soon so that there would be far fewer direct trains to London than at present . I was only half listening if that so can't remember which one. Def wasn't Derby though.

I don't know much about NT in Leics, sorry. There are the Leicester University Botanical gardens . Rutland Water is great (nr Oakham).

The Peak District is lovely but to get dramatic you need to be on the high (dark) peak not the light peak (limestone). The popular areas of Dovedale, Matlock and the Derwent valley are pretty grim. (Think Blackpool)

I love Derbyshire and Rutland but I'm afraid commuting from the 'nice bits' would be pretty grim.

Lamb, why would commuting be grim? you mean, too long, or overcrowded trains? I wouldn't commute daily as i said, once-twice a week. Apart from london I travel around generally so being central is good really. Commute from Leicester and derby is 1hr-1h25min, I wouldn't call that bad (and no small stations to go through on direct train) - where I'm now I travel nearer 2hrs to london.

Surprised re Matlock - I thought it was small and touristy, not like a coastal Blackpool full of hens and stags.

I am though a bit fearful of changes to direct trains (as MrsJohn mentions). Yes, Mrs, do find out what was that place.
I think there will be a statoin soon near the airport, btw.

Lamb, so what are the nice 'bits' of Derbyshire iyo? Rutland is small so quite self-explanatory.

Have you thought about Milton Keynes? Bit closer to London but depending on who does the boundaries it counts in lots of things as East Midlands.

Was singing it's praises on another thread a few days ago: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2049481-Surrey-its-over-Hello?

Lots of beautiful countryside within easy reach (often walking reach) of houses
Easy to drive around
Good links to london by rail and road
Fab cultural scene
Plenty of shops
Lots of national trust type places, museums, etc around to visit
Plenty of stuff for kids to do
Some decent schools and some great ones
Best of both worlds in that some of the old villages are incorporated into the city so you have the grid squares that are all self contained square 'villages' that have their own things going on

We moved from central London (having been there for about 20 years) and although we miss it in some respects, we do enjoy living here - and have a much higher quality of life than we would have done in London, now we have dc.

thanks zipzap - no didn't see it as East Mids, but also remember reading negative reviews on here, especially regarding crime levels and it all being new-builds. Are they wrong? Could you recommend specific 'villages' that aer nice (or part of the town) but easy-ish access to station?
Didn't know it had cultural scene or many NT places, so thanks!

Leicester Uni Botanic Gardens are lovely, a do-able walk from Knighton/Stoneygate, and free! There are also lots of excellent country parks within a short drive, e.g. Bradgate Park, Beacon Hill, Brocks Hill. All favourites with my DC.

There aren't any National Trust properties very near Leicester but quite a few English Heritage places not too far away (within about 1 hour drive). Also a fair number of country houses and gardens, e.g. Belvoir Castle, Kelmarsh Hall, Rockingham Castle.

thanks, TheElement, that's very useful! Are any of these situated between Leic and Derby? I thought Belvoir was NT - so when I say NT, I mean any nice large parks/forests/grounds of a historic house.

Do you know of the parks around derby too, and which ones are good? I know there is Keddleston Hall, which is great, but anything less obvious?

Is someone on here involved with chemistry Elements

DD in her third year (not at Leicester).

I'm leics but drive to rugby to commute when needed - 52 min to London euston on virgin
Leics villages lovely with good primary schools, grammar system still in place in parts if that appeals
Very diverse, pretty and affordable
I love being close to M1/M6/M69, 2 hr to heathrow, yet also only 30 min to bhx and 55 to Luton starts to out self...
Leics surprisingly good for shops and bullring only a short journey away
If I was being picky a snob the accent is bloody awful ain eh for the benefit of any fellow e.midlanders and DC are starting to pick it up I've turned into my mother
Have lived all over UK and very surprised to say I have enjoyed living here for considerably longer than a reimport stay that it was meant to be!

accent not great, sleepdodger, but imo much worse in Birm (is that what's called 'bullring' or something else?). I think derby accent is much milder than leicester somehow (but maybe I'm wrong). Also people seem friendlier.
Noticed lots of strong (south?) Yorkshire accent sounding in derby - must be a popular place to relocate for them - or maybe just to shop in Westfiled. I prefer derby accent to yorks one myself. I still prefer any of these to very strong Estuary accents of SE!
Do you mean 'diverse' as in socially/culturally, or just diverse villages in character/countryside?
How do you find it socially btw, is it cliquey?

Not at all cliquey, we've lived in 5 very different villages around Leicester and always been made to feel v welcome (can pm me if you want details)
Diverse in terms of mix of people and cultures, diverse in terms of facilities, lots of city stuff you expect and within 20 minutes great sports stuff
Villages and city offer usual variety of estates and mansions as you'd expect but honestly having lived in larges cities and vvv rural countryside previously I really really resisted the move here... And the found out its was actually good for us!
I have friends from uni days who are from derby originally, who have recently relocated from London To derby who LOVED London but since dc found the time money situation an issue- they love that they can have a nice house/ area for same as flat but that the commute to London when neded for work is longer than anticipated due to less frequent fast trains, and culturally other than the cathedral and Westfield they miss the waitrose effect but really enjoying the time together the move has given them
Hth

I moved to Notts from London, 18 years ago, and have moved back down south a couple of years ago (for work).

Positives (IMO)

Nice, affordable housing
Is a city, so can get to town etc quickly
Nice areas close by/places to visit
Good schools where I was.
Good transport links.
Close to family

Things I found difficult

Lack of access to cultural stuff and the buzz of London
People were very insular, and it took years to make good friends rather than fair weather friends
How far it was from the coast (I love the sea)

Not quite chemistry Lambs , I'm a biochemist! I thought about this discussion today, as we drove through the lovely countryside south of Leicester!

I'm not terribly keen on the midlands accent either, DCs have started picking up a bit from school and we keep correcting them.

What is the Midlands accent?
I have lived all over the north of England but have lived down south for over 30 years.
There is the m'duck etc on the market.
BTW people with a good ear can tell I'm from 'up north' .

Hi there, , my grandparents house is up for sale in Martin Lincolnshire it's a beautiful village and a gorgeous 4 bed house set back of the road with a lovely drive way very private and is detached, lots of garden space I had so many good time in this house it's beautiful, they are only moving cause they need to down size as can't walk up stairs anymore :( and it's on the market at alot less than the estate agents told them to as they want a quick sale, it's definatly worth a look please let me no if you want any other details :)