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?

I think ultimately you just make the most of wherever you are. You don't miss what you don't have if you've never had it iyswim.

We moved from a 2 bed, zone 2, river flat to a small commutable market town to buy our first home, a 3 bed.

For me the best things about the move have been:

*Space. We have a garage for bikes, toys etc. The third bedroom is currently a play room (no more toys in the sitting room hooray!). I have cupboards to store kitchen gadgets and I can do batch cooking because we have space for a freezer. When friends and family stay they don't have to sleep in the sitting room and listen to the noise of the fridge (our flat in London was open plan).

*Garden. Before we would just hang out in local (Royal) park which is magnificient. Now, the kids can potter in and out of the garden making the most of the windows of sunshine. It's another play space and chilled out space for us. We are starting to grow our own vegetables and are slowly learning to garden.

• More relaxed way of life. I can walk or drive to useful shops (where we lived in London it was mostly overpriced cafes), you can park everywhere, and there is no shortage of day trips around including popping back into London like we did last weekend.

*Decent secondary schools. In London where we lived the primary schools were great. Secondaries were dire.

*More freedom for the kids. I can see them going off on their bikes and walking to school from a much earlier age than I would have let them if we were still living in London.

I do miss my friends in London. I miss the vibrancy and craziness of London. But being in London was more important to me in my twenties and early thirties before kids when I was making the most of everything it has to offer. Now, I feel I've been there, done that and it's time for a change of scenery. It's still accessible and no doubt the kids will probably live there at some point in their lives. I feel it's been a fantastic move for all of us.

I think London really comes into its own when they become teenagers so many things to see and do and cheap travel freedom with zip cards

We're one 30 min train journey from central London and I see fields as I wake up! All amenities nearby as well as wonderful countryside/nature. I feel my np go down as the train leave KingsX!

We're up for sale, btw, staying local, if anyone's looking to make the move!!

I love living in London and our area of SW London is amazing. DH would move outside of London in a heartbeat but DS is now going to be going to a London senior school so I think I'll have my way!