Where to move for the lifestyle we desperate want

[MomRose12]

Hi all,
I am looking for some suggestions re best place to move to.

Background: DH and I work in Banking-IT. We live in a leafy London suburb. I've been struggling with managing work and home ever since we had our twins. My main problem seems to be the commute. 1.5 hours each way. Also, our 3 bed house has become tight for us now. We don't want to take on a large mortgage for a bigger house though.

Where in the UK can offer us a decent 4 bed detached home (under £500k), safe area, good schools and within 30 min drive of a town/city with banking/IT jobs? Is Leeds a good option?

I was going to say Leeds. Then read your last few words.

yes!

Can you be more specific about exactly what you do or can do?

Contractor rates tend to be good but bear in mind that it will be lower if you're not in London.

My DH is also an IT contractor.

We moved away from London years ago and ended up moving back (or nearly back!) As there was no work where we lived, and the jobs he did spot were paying literally 1/3 Of a London wage.

MIlton Keynes has plenty of corporate head offices and is very family friendly.

I think 30 minutes door to door commute to somewhere that has a financial centre is really bloody tight. 30 minutes on a train plus walking at both ends might be more realistic. I’m thinking about when I used to commute into Birmingham, the traffic could be at a standstill so a 5/6 mile journey would take 45 minutes, I’m sure a lot of cities are the same. The train door to door with walking at either end was also longer, and I lived right by the station. Doesn’t mean you can’t improve on what you’ve got though.

If you still want amenities etc (so large village rather than rural) you could look at Theale. 20min drive to centre of Reading (and Reading has loads of IT companies!!) and this is the first one I saw on rightmove
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67908499.html

Nationwide Building Society always seem to be recruiting in Swindon - lots of nice places within 30 mins of Swindon in the Cotswolds if you're looking for somewhere smaller - might be a culture shock coming from London though!

We’d like to be under 30min commute door to door.

I'm not sure that is super viable in most places!

I lived in a North Leeds 'burb (closer than the better Roundhay) and when I was in the city center it still took more than 30 mins to walk/wait/bus/walk, or just wlak, or drive/park/walk. I can't think of many places you would want to live in a 4 bed detached house, in Leeds that would have a door-to-door commute of

House prices are still rising in the North but not in London.

Have you thought about schools? How old are your dc?

We were in a very very similar situation to you (down to the twins!) and ended up moving to Luxembourg. It’s brilliant for quality of life as a family, and whereas in London our budget would get us either a tiny house or an insane commute, here we have been able to afford a 5 bed house in a forested village that’s 10 minutes’ drive from the city (30 in traffic) on a single salary. The government sponsors 20 hours of free nursery per week for all children up to age 4. Obviously Brexit makes a move harder now, but you still have two months I guess...?

In Sheffield you could get that (we sold a 6 bed terrace for about £400,000 last year) and be in catchment for the good schools and 30mins walk to city centre. I think HSBC has a big office in Sheffield.

Solihull, Sutton Coldfield or Edgbaston. Lots of finance & IT in Brum.

I'd also say Edinburgh, although I'd say that you might want to consider looking at flats closer to town as well as the detached houses in the suburbs. Edinburgh has a lot of fantastic big period flats in the catchments for great schools which are super popular with families and often have big communal gardens. I live centrally and can walk to work in less than 10 minutes which makes a huge difference

I can vouch for Leeds. We just moved here after 18 years in the USA. We could stick a pin in the map and Leeds kept coming top for every one of our criteria. We bought a huge Victorian in Headingley and are thrilled with our lifestyle here. Our children love their schools, I'm teaching at the University and there are lots of big companies here and the NHS of course.

You need to switch this around. First look at jobs or companies you'd like, then look within a 30 minute commute to see what areas are like and likely house prices. The way you are approaching this is too vast as there are so many lovely places you can live and get a banking job in plus a 4 bed detached house

HSBC has IT people in Sheffield city centre, Barnsley (Tankersley) and a few in Wakefield (Normanton).

This is within 30 mins of Sheffield and about 10 mins from the Barnsley site. It's a tad unusual but a lot of property for the money (especially if you're used to London prices!) :

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67408549.html

Most people who have left HSBC IT have ended up with jobs in Leeds, so I believe there is a thriving IT sector there.

Belfast and surrounding towns, easy run down to Dublin also.

Leeds is incredible, fabulous city and so close to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Look for properties in Alwoodley

We made the move to Edinburgh. DH is in banking. He walks to work now. It takes 10 mins, we live close to the center. Edinburgh is getting more expensive, house prices are really rising but there are still deals to be had. We’re very happy here.

JPMorgan has a massive IT hub in Bournemouth. It’s probably a bit risky to rely solely on one employer but you could buy walking distance to the office for circa 500k and life in Bournemouth amazing for raising kids - beach right here AND New Forest so close. Decent schools.

I think a 30 min commute may be pushing it. You might need to consider being a little more flexible or you may restrict yourself too much.

HSBC (retail bank) has a strong IT dept presence in Sheffield - however, some travel to other UK locations (usually London, sometimes Birmingham) will be required, especially for more senior roles. I know someone senior who was turned down for a C-level role because they were Sheffield based rather than London based (at that level, face time with the Gods in London Global HQ matters). I also know someone who now commutes from Wakefield to London for 2 days a week as he couldn't find an alternative senior banking IT role in Sheffield or Leeds.

HSBC also have a presence in Leeds with First Direct. It's like a big aircraft hanger and you have to either drive or get the (free) staff bus from the train station. The staff bus journey time alone will almost hit your 30 min limit though.

Then there's HSBC (retail again) in Chester in the M&S office. This is more branch focussed (they even have a pretend branch) rather than IT, and of course there is M&S Cards here as well.

And finally for HSBC, the UK retail bank's fairly new HQ in Birmingham. A lot of hiring took place here when they started but that seems to have calmed down now.

I'm not sure if either of you have HSBC experience but they really like contractors (or perm staff) who've worked for them before, mainly because they understand the politics and speak the lingo. It's perfectly feasible to be Yorkshire based if you work in the retail bank. But pretty much impossible if you want to work in the investment bank. Commercial banking and private banking are also more London focussed.

Barclays at Radbroke Hall (Cheshire) has already been mentioned. Again there is a fair amount of travel between Radbroke and the London office so be aware of this. Barclays also have a small office (2-3 floors) in central Glasgow and I believe they have an office in Birmingham (but I've never been....it might be an urban myth lol) and also Edinburgh (another possible urban myth!). Same comment about travel to London as previously, espeically for more senior roles. Someone I know who had a senior role used to pay for her own flights (and hotel) down to London every 2nd week. She built the cost into her contractor rate but she was obviously on a good rate as she was super-senior (and highly rated).

Hope this helps a little in terms of where to consider for work locations.

I think 30 mins door to door will be tight. It takes me 20 mins to drive across to the other side of my medium sized town.

Obviously hopefully you'll find something, but I think if you definitely want to keep the commute that short you'll have to find jobs then a house as that's 7 mins walk, 2 mins on platform, 15 mins on the train, and 6 mins other end. Or might only be a 5-6 mile drive in traffic. (Though if that's the case it's worth looking at cycling.)

I have managed to get a job that's a 30 mom walk from home and the difference it has made to my quality of life is extraordinary, so I definitely think it's worth looking!

If Bristol has good enough career prospects, it's huge and there's a mecca of small suburbs, towns, villages etc surrounding it, which much lower house prices. Parts of South Gloucestershire are extremely close to Bristol city centre (20 mins) and you could get a gererous house in a nice area for that kind of money. (Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, Bradley Stoke, Hambrook, Westbury on Trym, Pilning are all lovely places with low crime, good schooling, easy commutes, plenty of green spaces, and an abundance of local places for families to enjoy) Having said that, we've just moved outside of Bristol altogether, as we wanted to be more rural, and have relocated to Dursley, Gloucestershire (voted top commuter town in the UK last year) it's equidistant between Gloucester and Bristol (can get to the centre of both in 30 mins due to great motorway links) it's on the Costwold Way, absolutely stunning countryside on your doorstep, brilliant schools, surrounded by lots of family fun activities and days out, lots of shops, and 25 mins from a really great shopping mall/cinema/bowling/dining out complex (Cribbs Causeway) There's also a train station with FREE parking which can be used to get in and out of bristol and glos in under 30 mins, and will set you back around 2k a year for a yearly train pass. I cannot begin to explain what sort of houses you could buy here with that kind of money! We spend under 300k for the most beautiful 3 storey 4 bedroom house.

You will struggle to get a well paid job out of London

ODFOD. There is a (well paid) world outside of London you know - with much lower living costs so ending up with higher disposable income after mortgage/bills.