Thinking the unthinkable: moving out of London...

[StrangeGlitter]

Finally thinking the unthinkable: do we actually move out of London?

All the usual reasons - house with a garden, less traffic/pollution, better for the kids. DH would still have to commute and possibly wouldn't see the kids during the week as a result.

I'm aware this is a well-trodden path so what I want to know from those of you who've done it is this:

• was it the right move?
• what benefits did you expect and did they materialise?
• where did you go (if in commuting distance of London) and what are the pros/cons of your new area?
• do you spend all your time in the car?
• did you end up bored/lonely/quaffing G&Ts with Stepford wives at a golf club?
• anything else we need to think about?

We moved to Surrey from London 10y ago just before having children and it is perfect for us (also not dinner party types). We didn't go far though - Reigate, Caterham etc. Just in zone 6 now which is perfect as we work in London and its a short journey and not the mega bucks for a season ticket if you go further out. Easy access to M25 to visit family and friends, out into nice countryside within minutes. Houses still expensive but coming from London you would still find it better.

We never thought we'd leave London but it was fine - I'm in London every day for work, still go out in the evenings, go up at the weekends etc.

I could never go back to a terraced house, tiny garden and no off street parking which is what we would have in London.

We moved from London to Kent, more space for the money, still a reasonable commute for DH who needs to get into Cannon Street station, so his commute is about 25-30 minutes on the train, it's a 15 minute walk my speed or 10 minutes DH's to the station, and he's just round the corner from the station at the other end, meaning his commute is timewise the same or shorter than a lot of his colleagues coming from West London.

Because of the good commutes into the city, everyone (slight exaggeration) works in the city or worked in the city and has moved out for space and bigger houses, and good schools/being able to see hills rather than flyovers from their windows etc. Therefore the people you are surounded by are very similar to the sorts of people we had as neighbours in London. Because so many people are commuting every day, popping into London doesn't seem a mission, on the other hand, it's not as far out as i'd like, it doesn't feel like we've gone to the countryside, there's a very London-centric attitude still. I think I'd like to move further out, but there has to be a compromise, and as far as quality of life goes, I think it's better for the DCs to have Daddy home to do bathtime every night (and eat breakfast with them most days), than it would be to live in a gorgeous large property with land in the middle of nowhere but not see Daddy Monday-Friday.

oh and as to your question about what are good areas to move to, it would depend where in London your DH works! I could say "It's less than an hour door to door for my DH to the office" but if your DH was say, working near Paddington, then getting from cannon street to Paddington could add 30-60minutes to his commute depending on what time of day it was. The standard advice is to work out which is the nearest 'big' train station to your DH's office, then look at which services go into that station, allowing yourself up to an hour down the line - remembering that sometimes you can be further out and have a quicker train times if you can get on the fast service.

Hi! Can anyone tell me what they did to find a property in a new location out of London? Did you just scour rightmoving and chat with estate agents in the place you were moving to? If you don’t know the place very well, how do you feel confident in the area you are moving to? Thanks.

I would visit areas, check out house prices and schools, commutes, train fares, maybe try out commute, ask others, employment opportunities, leisure opportunities. Think about how you would ideally like to be and if that's realistic in area. But if I wasn't sure I would rent first.

Massive advocate for Folkestone here. Close enough to London that DH still commutes and I meet friends for lunch/theatre trips, beautiful countryside one direction, idyllic beaches and Europe the other and the best bit is you can pick up fantastic period properties for less than you’d pay for a flat in zone 4. Kids love it - they are spoilt for choice for clubs and activities...it’s very ‘artsy’ so lots of free mornings/meet ups for them in Creative Quarter. Superb schools and a great social scene as lots of families taking advantage of HS1 to move down. It has literally been a breath of fresh air after a life living in (and admittedly loving) the smoke! Only wish we had done it sooner!

moved out to worthing 3 years ago now , london is 1hr 15 into Victoria , theres ALOT of development going on in town at the monment initally wanted to go to Hove but it was london prices. Decided to take a pay cut and work locally and am much happier for it , i live a 10 min walk from the beach and its great in the summer , couldn't go back now