Londoners - are you planning on staying in London with kids?

[pilgrimway]

Those who live in London are you planning on staying with your kids or will you move before school - primary or secondary?

I know there is no right decision on this and it is all personal.

Love in a lovely bit of North London - lots of pluses but I can't help thinking perhaps would be better further out - less hectic, less expensive, more space, maybe less competitive?, more countryside nearer and easier to get to the sea, less pollution. The usual.

Can see us staying for primary but lots seem to move out at secondary - I think I'd rather stay somewhere throughout so not uprooting from friends etc.

We are tied to London for work so can't move far if we do move out.

Interested to hear about other people's paths! Why do others move out? And if you stayed, any regrets or worries about your children in London?

We are now in fairly rural country having always lived in London with our 10 &5 year old. We kept our flat and are looking for tenants so it is a reversible move which felt important but really love having so much space now (and still able to visit friends/ come back easily).

Our children say they loved London, but also love being here and it works for us as both work from home

I deliberately moved out. I had (much younger) London cousins and Yorkshire siblings of the same age.

The Londoners were sophisticated in a way I really wouldn't have wanted my own DC to be at a very early age.

Soul you do know that the rest of the country also have trams,trains and buses don't you? That's how my teens go to the cinema/bowling/clubbing/shopping/skiing/ice skating/climbing/abseiling/theatre/comedy/gigging.

I'm a lifelong Londoner, and spent most of my adult life in Zone 1. I never, ever thought I would move to the suburbs - but here I am in Zone 6, two children later, and I love it. We are close enough to London to still feel part of it (yes we ARE, all you sneering zone snobs!). It is a fairly long commute into work, but I can get a bus and tube if the trains go wrong (something that really worried me about moving into the commuter belt). We don't have a car, and the kids are used to getting around by public transport. We have good schools, green spaces, the river. Best of all, it's a family area with a great sense of community (I LOVED living in central London before children, found it very lonely and isolating after children). But I have access to all London's facilities, including jobs - and, in their turn, my children will. I don't want to move out of London altogether, but this feels like a good compromise to me.

Watching with interest

We have a 6 month old and are intending to stay in our 2 bed London flat for the next couple of years at least. We'd love to stay in our area (zone 2 N London) for good but we can't afford a house here.

When we move we would hope to stay in London if we can get somewhere bigger in a good area. If not, we would consider moving but we both grew up here so it'd be a wrench.

I do agree with another poster on here that it does depend on what you can afford to buy and where - living in London near a decent school with a decent commute is becoming harder and harder to do.

We bought a Victorian house in Zone 3 when we were expecting our first, which had a decent sized garden, tube line (Northern) and a local park, good local shops etc. However, we moved out after 18 months, as I got so sick of not being able to park near the house with a pushchair and shopping etc. Also, we were able to buy a lovely historical property with beams and stories to tell, which I fell in love with!

Also, when we were in Zone 3, the commute into the city was an hour door to door, which was hardly any shorter than going in from Herts, and at least you could get a seat on the train, which made the journey seem shorter than strap hanging on the Misery Line!

It always amuses me how many people come onto these threads to say how easy it is to get round London and nowhere else compares because there are parks and museums, as though they don't exist anywhere else!

Trust me, there are amenities and facilities outside London! Also, it really isn't that easy to get around London quickly unless you live in Zone 1 or, at a push, Zone 2, unless you are travelling somewhere close by. North London Zone 3 used to take an awfully long time to get to the Natural History or Science Museums.

In fact, we have always taken the DC to museums and the theatre from an early age and I often think that we have done more than other parents we know who lived in London, but seemed to do very little.

The advantages and disadvantages of both have already been summarised by previous posters, but another massive plus to moving out, in my opinion, is that the DC have been able to have dogs, cats and horses, which massively enhanced their lives. There aren't too many gymkhanas in central London!

Having said that, I love London and, now the DC have left and gone to uni, we are moving back to London, Zone 1!

Why don't you try renting outside London and see how you get on?

Londoner born and bred and I don't really understand what's wrong with raising children here. Best state schools in the country, lots of accessible green space. V child friendly, world class arts and culture, so many opportunities to follow your interests.

As PP have said, it gets better as you get older and you have the freedom of public transport to explore a great city. A base here also makes it much easier for young people to establish themselves in a range of careers without having to find the cost of moving to London. Move if you want to live somewhere else but not because its best for children. I don't live in the most fashionable place (grew up in Zone 2 but priced out) but DC have a great life here and no plans to move.

What do teens DO outside London?

Surprisingly, there are other towns and cities outside London that also have bars, restaurants, sporting activities etc. Most of the population outside London do not live in the Outer Hebrides!

I'm a Londoner born and bred. I'd love to stay in London but it's looking less and less likely due to house prices. We can't stay in our small flat for much longer and we can't afford a bigger place. I'd be very happy to live in the outer suburbs but can't afford that.

I loved growing up in London. I loved all the opportunities. I loved the fact that whatever interest or hobby you have, you could pursue it. I love raising my dd here and it's breaking my heart to consider moving out.

Antihop I am sure you are not alone! It's a sad state of affairs

Depends on your DCs too. DS1 loved the business, the big school, the hustle and bustle. But DS2 hated it and his behaviour was really affected by it. We left in the end and he's a different child now. DS1 settled down here too and is the sort to get on anywhere tbh.

We both love London but it wasn't right for all the family so we left.

Zone 5 here and near to either the city or the hills. Commute is easy for DH into London and life is great for the kids as near to lots of big green spaces plus have a nice big garden.

Hustle and bustle when we want it and peace and quiet when we don't.

Also still have all advantages of oyster cards.

On the whole 'moving out fo london' thing.

London is an amazing place to bring up kid if you have the cash to afford a nice house in a good catchment area for school.

Any other big city (Leeds/Manchester/Bristol/Birmingham/Sheffield etc) is an amazing place to being up kids because you have almost all the 'big city' stuff to do with none of the London style drawbacks. As long as your jobs can be done from such a city.

Living in the London commuter belt (like, 3 miles outside Harlow Town) = why? The only advantage is you can buy a house.

But having a house is quite a big deal, isn't it? More space and privacy, as well as not being subject to service charges at the whim of the freeholder if you live in a flat. Some blocks are well managed, but others really aren't; at a previous flat we lived in (W9), the management company ran off with the sinking fund! Of course that wasn't specifically a London risk but the risk you run with leasehold.

Everyone has a different level of space they need it seems to - some posters are quite happy in 2 bed no garden, while others desperate for parking and a bit of green.

I think the issue also comes when you can't move too far from London as you need to be in everyday. The old space versus commute conundrum. If a move further out were possible I think it would be an easier choice tbh.

We moved out after DC2 arrived largely because of housing costs: DC now primary age. for us the decision worked out well on housing, less pollution, childcare (choice, cost and quality) less pressure on local services (eg GP, schools, DCs' activities), but not well at all in terms of work (we both commute, which is really hard).

I was resistant to moving mainly because I was worried about the impact on my working life and how commuting would affect quality of life and my fears really have come to pass on that. I know a few women who have quit work as a result of the strain.

We have stayed, love london and being able to walk everywhere or bus if it's raining.

We visit friends in the countryside and they have to drive if they want to get anywhere. Could not spend an hour round trip in the car just to get them to swimming or whatever.

Londoner (SE) born & bred. DP also (E London).

DS1 was born in London (zone 2 SW) and we lived there until he was 1. Have had DC2 and moved a LOOONG way out. DP is SAHD and freelance from home. I commute 2h each way every day, DCs are 3 and 1 now.

We couldn't afford to buy even half the 2 bed ramshackle flat that we were renting in London. A change in location within 'the zones' would still have meant a 1hr unpleasant commute and a dip in quality of life.

Instead we've moved to an 'up and coming' coastal town, we have a big house, garden etc - have a 'historical' city 20min away on the bus (theatre, big shops, etc) and a great high street/restaurants/pubs/primary schools in walking distance (so none of that 'having to drive everywhere' that I hated about the outer 'burbs). I suck up the extra commute and so far (after a yr) it seems worth it x100.

Before I had the DCs - I really thought they'd grow up Londoners. I didn't know anything else. Now (I hope) I've found a place where they have equal (but different) culture and activities and where we can live in neighbourhood and house that we really love. I'm struggling to let go of the 'Londoner' label, but I've no regrets at all, it wouldn't have been possible without DP agreeing to be SAHD and some good flexibility from work, though.

We live in zone 2 London, we aren't moving anywhere. We have a big house and garden though, so none of the usual space problems. Kids would scream murder if tried to move anyway, they adore it here it's a great place to raise children and keep them well occupied.

We're in zone 2 london, no plans to move out. We love living and raising children in London for many of the reasons already mentioned by my fellow Londoners! There is a great sense of community where we are, couldn't ever imagine moving out of London...

We are awaiting secondary school allocations this week for dc1, exciting & nervous times regardless of where you are.

We have a big house and garden though

In summary - if you have enough cash to adequately meet the space/environmental needs of your family, London can not be beat :-)

kiroro

Yup. That's basically it. Otherwise, we'd move away for space, just like many others do.

We have a big house and garden

Housing of course is the crux of the matter - for most families already living in London there would be no dilemma as to where to bring up the children but when you're faced with the choice of a 2-bed flat in London or a 4-bed house elsewhere, that's when the difficult decisions have to be made.

We visit friends in the countryside and they have to drive if they want to get anywhere. Could not spend an hour round trip in the car just to get them to swimming or whatever.

It's not a choice between London and the deep countryside though - there are many options in between!

We live in a small, London commuter belt city. DH's commute to central London is one hour, door to door. The DC's school is a 7-min walk and most of the schools here are excellent. The historic city centre is a 5-min drive. Leisure centre with swimming pool is a 2-min drive. We have museums, parks, shops, bars and restaurants. We also have countryside is on our doorstep. Best of all worlds IMO - and we live in a big house with a driveway and a lovely garden. Could we have all that in zone 2 or 3 in London? No. And the equivalent in zone 1 would be £millions.