Possibly moving up North for a better way of life..

[SouthernNorthernGirl]

We have been seriously thinking about moving up North, and would love some tips on the best areas.

Currently in the South East, and we really do struggle. We are in a tiny new build flat and it's starting to feel very overcrowded. We can't move as we can't afford to (privately rent) and we've had enough now.

It may be possible for DH to get a work transfer as the company he works for has a few bases scattered around the country. I did have a look in Cumbria, and adore the property there (about an hour commute for DH) however we don't know if we would have much choice, if any, by relying on his current job placements.

Has anyone else done similar? Would love to hear about it please.

And London isn't so far away these days with the high-speed trains. Train is just over 2 hours Manchester to London now. Will be just over 1 hour if HS2 goes ahead.

We live rurally but take ourselves off to London on the train for a nice weekend every now and again. Really enjoy it actually, but would never live there. Nice to visit and the journey is easy enough by train.

I live not far from Chorley and there are some really lovely places nearby, many mentioned above. Yy to Rawtenstall. Have a look at the villages of Belmont, Edgworth, Chapeltown, Bromley Cross, Harwood and the towns of Ramsbottom and Haslingden too. Basically anywhere in a straight line East of Chorley would be where I'd head.

One thing you need to be aware of and that bothers my friends who have moved to our area from anywhere else is the amount of rain. It rains an unbelievable amount in this part of the country, but on the plus side, it's lovely and green as a result!

I am good friends with someone from Essex who moved here 3 years ago and has a huge network of friends now so I'd certainly say that it's welcoming to newcomers around here and she hasn't experienced any difficulties whatsoever.

I live in Tyne Valley - Northumberland is fantastic, I work in Newcastle (40 min commute) - I believe I have the best of both worlds.

I wouldn't want to live in Cramlington, but there are some beautiful places to live quite close by!

I lived in Chorley (centre) for 6 months and its awful. Really awful with an awful town centre. Don't move there. Some of the surrounding villages aren't bad, but honestly, cross central Chorley off your list.

Have extended family that lived in Cramlington (with a young family) but subsequently moved to Morpeth. Loved it there and from what I know, my cousins were very happy at school there.

Chorley to most of Cumbria would be a pain tbh.

"Problem with places like Cumbria is that there isn't a huge amount of work there and the work that is there tends to be low-paid and/or seasonal. And Cumbria has the double whammy of lower local wages and high house prices (due to it being a tourist hot spot and lots of second homes). It is also not greatly placed for commuting to where the better-paid jobs are."

Depends on where you are in Cumbria on all these points. Some sectors have very high wages, as long as you are out of the Lake District house prices in Cumbria are cheap and wages are not that much lower/or at all than other parts of the north.

Have you considered the Wirral? It's got everything (IMHO) - beaches, good schools, easy access to cities (Liverpool 15-30mins, Manchester 1hr), lovely countryside, friendly people, reasonable property prices. Chorley might be a bit too much of a commute but because of the fantastic transport links it's easy to commute in pretty much any direction which opens up job possibilities.

Northumberland and Fife have gorgeous countryside, much nicer than Lancashire. The Five coastal villages are stunning and lovely places to bring up children. Easy to get to Edinburgh, St Andrews and Dundee as well.

If I was you I would visit all three areas. I think if you like the idea of Cumbria, you might prefer Northumberland or Fife to Lancashire. Really if you are considering moving as far North as Chorley, Morpeth or somewhere in Five wouldn't seem much further away and are much nicer, IMO.

Fife, not Five obviously.

It is lovely up here in Lancashire.

Look up the Ribble Valley.

We moved SE to Lancaster we are walking distance to Forest of Bowland, short drive to the coast at Heysham, enough in the city quick train ride to Manchester if you want city (actually I can't cope with the business anymore).

DH is SE born and bred and he's much happier now too. No regrets. Chorley is doable from here until something else comes up "local"

I've just moved to Charnock Richard (outskirts of Chorley) and we love it, fields front and rear yet only a 5 minute drive to Chorley, 15mims to Preston or Wigan. There are some lovely rural places to look quite close to Chorley and would save your commute to the lakes, M6 can be a bit of nightmare at times. Euxton, heskin, wrightington, parbold, madwsley, Croston just to name a few.

So much to take in. Thank you so much to everyone who has advised

Anyone that has made the move, I'd be interested to hear how it was managed. I don't know if it's possible to all move up together, or one of should go first? Perhaps look for work, if the transfer doesn't happen. I'd hate to be reliant DH's current job, on whether we move or not.

Catch 22, DH was allowed to keep his job. As soon as we made the decision to relocate I started job hunting up there.

We had to move into rented whilst our house sale went through because we had DC at secondary school so needed to start in the Sept. By the time we went into rented we had sold and bought but just waiting for contracts to exchange and complete.

We knew the city areas fairly well already so it was easier to know where we wanted to buy. The advantage of renting for 6 months is that it is less stressful IMHO - you will then know which schools your DC will have places etc (ok based on your rented property) but it may help determine where you want to buy.

I'm going to throw a spanner into the works and suggest SW England.

2 friends (couple) with 2 DC who are now 10 and 14 moved here into their parents house (sadly both parents now both died) from Kent town and their lives have never been better. SW England especially Devon where they are (more specifically Exeter) but they are in Exmouth has never been more booming. Another friend moved (but has family connections I think in Salisbury) to Bristol a few years ago, for job prospects (is a solicitor) but also for better quality of life for her DD (now 14/15), she had property given to her from her mum but rented then bought same house in Bristol and same, both of them have never been happier!

Sorry for late return!

So by culture shock I meant that in London you get used to having whatever you want at your finger tips whenever you want it, any type of cuisine, great coffee culture, interesting things like supper clubs, pop up restaurants, fancy places to buy lunch bits if you have guests coming etc. There is also so much diversity that people are probably more open minded and don't bat an eyelid at many things. Places like this exist in the north however it might not necessarily be on your doorstep.

Like a pp said you could easily move to a middle class suburb with a Waitrose and coffee shops etc, but the more rural you go the less likely you are to have access to everything you might want.

That's pretty much the only thing I miss, sometimes I think I would like some sushi and a miso soup like you get in itsu which you take for granted on every street corner in London. There is nothing like that near me here.

But everything else we gain is so worth it. I remember when we were moving to where we live people on here said they would never live there as the traffic is so bad. There is NO traffic! Compared to it easily taking an hour to drive 5 miles in London, we find the roads virtually empty here. If I know somewhere is a certain number of miles away and should take X minutes, that is how long it takes and there would be very rarely be a hold up.

There are loads of great towns and villages up north but equally there are some that are stuck in a time warp. For me moving from central London to somewhere not very modern in the middle of nowhere would have been too much of a shock in one move.

We live in a large village/small town near to a large town with great rail access all over the country but equally we are close to loads of great countryside, lots of forest walks near our house etc. If I had gone straight to the countryside I would have felt too isolated.

In terms of how we did the move, we spent a few weekends coming up to drive around different areas and decide where we wanted to live. Once we settled on an area we then came up to view houses. I wasn't working as has histbhad my DD so we were able to move together. DH was moving to another office within the same company so they were flexible about when we moved, we just moved once we completed on our house.

Good luck!

I would add this into the mix OP!

A friend met and married a Sheffield man. They lived and worked in London and partly due to his dad being a widower and partly for economy sake they moved back to Sheffield area. His dad had bought a house next door in same street in Sheffield suburb a long time ago earmarking it for his son. The couple had 2 DC, the wife returned to work part time and husband worked up north but eventually commuted to Leeds.

Now 2 years on they've all moved to Herts (down south!) and when I met up with them I asked why and was told "better job ops for me down south (husband is in IT) and better ops for the kids in the future". No idea how true this was for them. Their 6 year old DS had some trouble adjusting because of friends and luckily their 3 year old DD hadn't made that many friends in Sheffield area yet. The wife also has friends in the South East (she's originally from Bosnia) and her sister lives in Amsterdam but visits London a bit so easier for her to visit here in SE.

Something to think about perhaps though! And they have just as nice a house as they had in Sheffield big garden etc.

We did this and love it. We have had a far better quality of life up north than we would have been able to afford down south. We live in a town with excellent schools close to amazing countryside. We wouldn't go back.

But one major downside to bear in mind is distance from family. All our family and friends were a minimum 200 miles down the motorway and with young dcs that is tough. The value of having grandparents round the corner cant be underestimated.

Certainly from a future job opportunities for DH, me and the DC it's why we stayed in a realistic commute from Manchester. I also wouldn't want to live rurally although that may be because I'm the only driver and do enough taxi duties as it is. Once they are older the bus connections are fab due to the huge uni population in Lancaster.

Fife is fine, and it's probably quicker to get a train or fly to London than it is to drive from Cumbria!

Someone mentioned Derbyshire up thread.

Expeeeensive. Peak National Park and Hope Valley areas are very very dear. Used as commuter land for Sheffield and Manchester.

I grew up in Lancashire, and we all had a fantastic upbringing. I now live in London and can see the difference and will definitely be moving back up north when I have children. I'm enjoying London now but don't like the idea of children growing up here.
House prices are also more affordable/reasonable so buying is easier.

I live near Chorley. There are some nice houses around the area. It's actually a really great location. You are about 40 mins from Manchester, the train goes from Preston to London in 2 hours, or Edinburgh in just a bit more. Lake District 45 mins away, Blackpool and the coast half an hour, Liverpool 45 mins.
If I was moving with children I'd look at houses in Penwortham. It's closer to Preston but is a lovely area with excellent schools and a great place to raise a family. Some nice little shops and places to eat and drink too.

I'm so sure on doing this now, all these posts just make me want to leave now.
I'm going to arrange a trip up near to Chorley to start, and have a little explore of the surrounding area. Then see about Northumberland, if Lancashire doesn't suit. Although it really does sound lovely.

Also I see Wales & the SW have been thrown in there - so many options!

DH has now mentioned that perhaps he shouldn't transfer, and instead look for another job. I'm not sure if that's possible - I've heard a lot about lack of work, is this true?

Also he now says he is rather nervous of moving. We are an hour from his family who are all still in the same village they were bought up in and it was hard enough work moving here. You would have thought we were emigrating from the carry on from certain friends and family of his. I predict a lot of protests from them. And it makes it harder for him, as it feeds into his nerves on the matter.
Any advice on that?

Also just wanted hear a bit more about areas to definitely avoid - seems it is too easy to move to the wrong place. I don't know anything about the area, only what's been said on here, and what I've found online.

I think there are so many stereotypes bleated time and time again about "the North" - it's obviously rubbish that the whole of the North suffers from unemployment - in the same way that it's rubbish that you can walk into a job in "the South".

You obviously need to do your research - and it depends what your H does. Obviously there are parts of the North that have lost their principal industries but the main cities are just like cities in most other parts of the country. Certainly Manchester has a growing reputation for media since Media City was created here, lots of biotech companies relocating here.