Would we be mad to up sticks and leave London?

[RhubarbandCust]

Due to the high cost of living, pollution, crime, commuting times and general business.

As an ex-Northener, I know we could have a better quality of life if we moved North. I’ve lived here for 10 years now and have a nice circle of friends, like my job and my eldest has just started reception - so leaving in some ways doesn’t make sense. But a move North would make financial sense and we could have a better support network in terms of childcare.

Should we? Shouldn’t we? I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. Thank you.

And you’d have a massive house which you could fill up with visiting London friends!
We moved to Somerset 15 years ago and never looked back.

Lifelong southerner and ex-Londoner here. Moved to the NW 4 years ago and haven't regretted it for a moment. Fresh air, little traffic, cheaper houses, friendly people, nice schools, but it bloody rains a lot .

We moved from the SE a couple of years ago. We bought a little cottage for cash and life is great. Just be mindful of earning power though. Our family income has dropped by £60k pa and although it makes no odds to us it might be an issue depending what your profession is.

I moved to the midlands from Greater London where I loved and worked central
London whocib I loved

BUT now I have a home and children I'm much happier here - got a soon to be 5 bedroom home, laundry, driveway garden and live near a lovely high street in a really naice area - no way could we have that in London ! Plus position is lower and we live
Only a short 5 minute drive
To the country, vale of belvoir is close too - we've got the best of everything

Yes, we're both teachers so it made no difference to us really. Lots of people said enviously to us "Oh we'd love to move somewhere like that, but it's not possible because of lack of jobs". It depends on your job and where you want to move to. We're in rural-ish Cumbria, so not amazing for job opportunities!

We did just what you describe, and kept our options open for a few years (rented) before settling. Was 100% the right decision for us.

Sounds like it’s been a positive move for all of you! Out of interest, did any of you have school age children? Did they settle ok following the move? This is my biggest worry.

I wanted to do this for years & I had to go through the pain barrier when my dh refused due to work reasons. I then decided to make the most of it & now I couldn't comprehend leaving. We have everything in London, you can never get bored. I have a fabulous circle of friends nearby. Everything you could want is within arm's reach. And best of all, the dc have a free Oyster to travel around.

Op, no, I did this when DS was an adult.

I've never lived anywhere but London (in the same borough in fact) and to me it would be utter, utter madness and I'd only do it in very grave circumstances.
But you have lived elsewhere and by the sound of it are going back to a place you are familiar with. A fam

Sorry, posted too soon. A family network of support? And you say you know you could have a better quality of life. There's your answer.

We moved 2 years ago after 7ish years in London. We now own our own home. (well mortgaged). This is something we just couldn't afford in London. My partner was able to keep his job and work from home and go to London fortnightly. We don't have children so this wasn't a consideration. Would you need to look for new jobs?

We've done the opposite just moved to London and I can't believe the difference in lifestyle. I've always been very sceptical of the benefits of living here, but it would take a lot for me to move again now.

We've lived in the NE, Midlands and the NW and the difference in transport links and opportunities is staggering. The kids (boys / teens) have settled well and tbh I wish we'd moved here sooner. I'd always resisted. Maybe this is rosy glasses time, but honestly, there's just so much to do and see.

We moved with a preschooler. I had always lived in London and had no family connections to the place we moved to. Through nursery, school etc we quickly met new people and it has been even better than we'd expected. Our main reasons were moving were to have a slower pace, to live near big green spaces, to afford a bigger/better home in a better area, to be able to work less. It has allowed us to do this and more.

I am in the same boat and I think the trouble is that London becomes home. It's all very well that on paper you'd have a better quality of life elsewhere (though much of that is probably thanks to your property and career investment in London) but it requires a big upheaval to realise that investment and I don't know if I want to move somewhere I don't know anyone, and uproot the DC, sort out in year admissions for 2x DC and all that stuff. You don't know till you've done it if it'll be worth it, and I do know people who've regretted it, or said that they'd have love to have stayed if they could have afforded a house, which I do have.

That's interesting Brexit! Welcome to London! I'm glad you're enjoying it - there are a lot of great things about it.

Lots of great things about London, undoubtedly. Great place to be young, free, single, childless. Good place to raise kids if you have well paid work and a suitable place to live.
But your OP indicated that you were wanting to leave because of crime, pollution, cost of housing. I'd investigate options outside London and see if it could work. If your oldest is in reception it would be the best time to move.

We have been having the same discussion and had a vague idea that we would sell up 'one day'. One day earlier this year we realised - what are we waiting for. Started to look at prices around the country and settled on Leeds. We still have the benefits of music, cinema art etc of a city, but we will have less of the travel times, high costs and crowds. And prices are very different! A real surprise as we have lived in London for 30 years.
We decided to sell first and then rent ready to buy later, once we knew the areas of Leeds. Good plan!
We got an offer really quickly and decided to just take a look at what we would get in Leeds - and ended up falling in love with one place right on the river there. Now our original buyer has disappeared of the scene and we are left on tenterhooks if we will still get our dream place while we look for a new buyer. Of course this feels like the worst week for 10 years to be selling a house! Anyway - here is our house if you would like to take a look. Having made up our minds to go - we are really ready to be off!

Good luck! I dont think you will regret it.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-77412869.html

I think you would be mad!

I love London and think it is the most fabulous place in the world to raise children, from babies to teenagers. Each to their own I know, though.

Don't forgot to look at the negatives of moving - still lots of crime in rural places (county lines etc), you'll be a constant taxi come teenage years, it may be hard to make friends if you move children

I think young people growing up in (or near to) London have so many more opportunities open to them. Kids in London- no matter their backgrounds- have a proven advantage in terms of outcomes and aspirations. For this reason I’d stay put and live in a smaller house.

Had to chuckle at the idea of settling for a smaller house in London rather than moving out ... I've worked since I was 15 as has DH and we could only afford a small flat on the outskirts of London - a long way from the thriving culture of the big city.

TiddleTaddleTat - I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. We cannot afford to buy a home that is big enough for all of us. We live in the burbs.....virtually on the edge of London, so in some ways it doesn’t really feel like we live in London iyswim? I love being in the centre of London but the logistics of getting in with a buggy can be tricky to say the least which means we don’t really use London that much. Which got me thinking....why should we stay when it is a financial struggle? We are both NHS workers so getting work elsewhere shouldn’t be too hard. But it’s the upheaval of leaving our friends, work etc. and disrupting my eldest’s circle of friends that’s pulling at the heartstrings.😬
I am the most indecisive person ever and the notion of leaving even though it sounds like the obvious decision, it just feels very, very scary. Help!

It was the same for us. We spent years pondering it, and then in the end we decided that the risk of it failing (and us returning to London) was worth it when we considered how much more time and space we could have if we moved away.
We probably visit central London more now than we did when we lived in the city because we have more disposable income and free time now.

If you can easily move jobs then I would do it now ehilst hes still in reception rather than later- the longer you leave it the harder it gets (we now waiting for DS to finish A levels in 2023 :) and talked about it since he was in nursery) but DH job completely London so we stayed - its great and there are lots of upsides but we zone 4 and id much rather be zone 1/2 !

You say quality of life would be better... that's it in a nutshell, for me.

Do it while your children are younger end of primary - the younger the better really. They will settle more quickly and you will find it easier to make friends than when the children have outgrown playdates, parties, school gate pickups.