Crazy to move out of London if we can afford to stay?

[goteam]

Just that. We need to move in the next few years currently in zone 2 flat with 2 kids (7 and 5). Kids comment a lot how noisy and busy London is and love visiting family in the country side. Thinking about moving to a small town in Derbyshire near family but worried we will regret it. Budget 900k so can move further out in London but it's still London. I love the buzz and would stay and worried the novelty of a quiet life would wear off for the kids especially in 5 or so years time.

Anyone done it? Any peaceful bits of north London that might suit my outdoorsy kids?

Husband is from the Greater Manchester area but we lived in the SE for his work.

I heard over and over that "The North" was so much better and cheaper and it would be lovely for our children to grow up near their grandparents and extended family.

I gave in and within a very short period of time, I was in "The North" with my two young children and my husband's job moved him to Europe. Sure, we had a comfortable lifestyle in a very inexpensive house with a big garden and an equally lovely school that the children remained immersed in. However, I was left alone with two (and later three) young children with a husband that worked abroad 5 days a week for years. I'm American so I was always going to be far from my family and the husband's family was young and working and couldn't give me as much help as I needed. Plus, I missed living so close to London and I never really enjoyed living in Greater Manchester.

It turned out that my husband's work was centered in Europe and the SE and didn't exist in "The North". The "Telecoms Bust" of 2000 hit us and he could no longer find a job. We could no longer afford to live in the SE and were stuck in the "glorious north". We ended up giving up our life in England and moved back to the US.

We are looking to return back to the UK and neither one of us have any plans to relocate to "The North" ever again despite the extended family still living there. We are looking at the SE and SW because we were happiest there. Sure, it's absurdly expensive but I think I'm happy to take the pollution and the huge amounts of people and all it comes with in order to feel comfortable again.

Basically, in my long-winded way, I am trying to say that if you have any trepidation, don't even do it. It does take a lot to change your life and you have to be really ready to do it, not at all in half-measures or it will bite you in the...

Rickmansworth looks nice but most schools seem to be independent. We dont want this, we want state schools. Unless I'm missing something. That was just a cursory rightmove check.

Southgate looks nice though and the secondary schools seem decent enough.

Is muswell hill too expensive? It's lovely near the woods and heath plus villagey feel and good schools

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/compare-schools?for=secondary&basedon=Overall%20performance&show=All%20pupils&datasetfilter=provisional

Rickmansworth School looks like an excellent comp. But Southgate looks a much more gentle move from a zone 2 flat.

@onetimeonlyy we can't afford Muswell Hill. If money were no object Hampstead or Muswell Hill would be lovely but if we want a 3/4 bed house our budget wont stretch.

Thanks @JoJoSM2 I'll take the family for an exciting day trip to Southgate soon and see if I can interest them!

OP, if you'd prefer 'London villagey', are you dead set on North London? SW London has much bigger green spaces, e.g. Richmond Park is several times bigger than Hampstead Heath, I think Bushey Park and Wimbledon and Putney Commons are also over 1000 acres + you get the river. You get miles and miles of naice areas. Places such as Teddington could be on budget and with very good state schools. And all naice and 'villagey'.

@JoJoSM2 our families are all north of London so makes the most sense and our friends are all north or east London. I do love Richmond park though. Will have a look, though as you never know.

Hi OP I haven't read all the pp but want to give you our story for reference as we were in a very similar situation. We were in a flat in zone 2 nw London quite a few years ago. Dh was working for a company based in London and a city quite near Derbyshire actually. We decided to move up north as we thought it would give us a better quality of life. Only two hours on the train and we can come back all the time we thought.

In our new city we lived in a "naice" neighbourhood. Beautiful house with extension/loft. Good local school etc. Lots of disposable income so comfortable lifestyle. Seemingly "perfect life" but after the novelty worn off I became quite unhappy. Countryside was nice but I was bored with the limited options of activities when it's raining and we couldn't be outdoors. As DCs got older there was increasingly lack of cultural events to take them to. And I missed lots of things in London I would've liked to go to. People were great and we had a lovely circle of friends but I felt like everyone was so similar and I miss the diversity of people I meet in London.
Also we realised that we both wanted something new in our career and the city we were in just didn't give us enough opportunities to grow.

Eventually dh found a job back in London so he started commuting again. A month after he started his job we decided to move back to London, after being away for four years.

The stupid thing we did was that we sold our zone 2 London flat in an area that was fast gentrifying when we moved. We were convinced we'd love the quieter lifestyle! The price has pretty much doubled since we sold it and we could no way afford our old area.
Instead we moved to a modest house in zone 3 north London. Not "naice" but lovely and community oriented. A massive step down in terms of housing, but we all LOVE it. The countryside is still easily accessible. We go to country parks almost every weekend, and lots of variety of things to do.

Been back 2+ years now and so thankful we made the decision to move back.

I think if you want to try moving up North, don't commit to it fully before you try. Rent, don't sell and buy like we did. That was the worst financial decision we've made in our life. If we held on to that flat and swapped for our current house we would've been nearly mortgage free!

Obviously your situation is probably different from ours but just thought you might be interested to hear our experience. I think there are thing you take for granted in London that you won't realise until you move away. Lots of places others have mentioned that you should try exploring before moving out completely!

What can you get in north London that you can't get in Derby/Nottingham?
Anyone suggesting there isn't any culture or anything happening outside London is getting a serious biscuitting!

I’m going to a talk on poltergeists and the history of witchcraft next week. Last year I saw a panel discussion on religion and ethics in Star Wars. I saw a dramatic reading of Judy Blumes “Forever”, I went to see Carrie the Musical, I went to drag queen Bingo and played in an adult ball pit. At the BL I saw hand written sections of JK Rowlings notes and illustrations for HP as well as the Ripley Scrolls which contain the recipe for the Philosphers Stone.

I don’t mean to sound like an arsehole, and I know it’s not high culture, but can you do all that in Derbyshire all within 10 tube stops of your front door? 😂

I know how you feel. We moved out to Zone 4/5 and love it - better schools, less crime, green, far less frenetic (almost never hear a siren) and so much calmer and quieter. We love living in a house with a lovely garden and hearing and seeing all the birds and wildlife. It hasn't got the diversity of Zone 2 but still has diversity and there is a cafe culture/gastropubs etc nearby in a neighbouring Borough. At LB/Charing X in 14-23 minutes.

Explore the outer N London zones as I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and you'll appreciate the space of a house and the calming environment. A friend lives in Whetstone (Totteridge and Whetstone tube stop) and that seems quite pleasant although I don't know outer N London well. St Albans/Herts 'naice' and a well worn path out of N London but I think you'd find it a bit surburban by the sounds of it.

Lakeswimmers post sounds like an idyllic life for kids but I think you'd struggle as a non car driver - you'd end up living in town or on the outskirts of one and dependent on public transport. We love Sheffield and I'd be tempted by that area but whatever you do, don't sell up in London until you know what it's like to live away.

Cockfosters and Southgate too - some enormous gardens that your children would be delighted with!

I’d go in a heartbeat but I hated living in London, the 24/7 ness of it made me anxious.

I think only you and your family can make the decision but don’t lose sight of the fact that depending on jobs etc it might be more difficult to find your way back in a few years if you do decide to leave wrt house prices and the standard of living and space the children will get used to etc. The place we could —barely— afford these days is very different to the house my children live in now.

Upper Leytonstone might suit? On the edge of Epping Forest with Hollow Ponds so lots of open space, and a short bus ride to the Olympic Park if your kids are sporty. Lots going on with film festivals, markets, etc and good coffee shops/cafes/restaurants within walking distance, as well as easy to get into Central London. Your £900k would get you a decent 4-bed.

when it's raining and we couldn't be outdoors

. You are going to have to explain that one? There are these things called waterproof coats......you can even get waterproof trousers, the really good ones are made of gortex. We country folk wear them outside the house when it’s raining, so we CAN be outdoors in all weathers.

Sorry if I offended anyone. I should emphasise we are not outdoorsy people and grew up in cities so much prefer city life.
We got waterproof everything - jacket trousers wellies, but when it's freezing and raining outside for weeks on end, it was not that appealing to be outdoors all the time

@nldnmum glad you ended up doing what was right for you. I think we take a lot for granted in London. I was just doing a cursory check on train prices and a 12 minute train journey from possible small market town to nearest major city would be £14 return so while there is lots going on in that city, the cost may be one prohibitive. No free travel for under 16s either. We are lucky with TfL.

@WineIsMyCarb I know there is lots going on outside London which is why we are torn. Like @Mymycherrypie said though, there is something about the breadth of activities in the capital. So much free stuff too. I go to a lot of free talks and exhibitions. I know other cities have subsidised art but for example there are two great free modern art galleries in Nottingham but once you've seen the exhibition (which last ypically 4 months) you've seen it whereas in the capital there are maybe 30 options a bus or tube ride away.

I am trying to work out whether I need that many options or in fact a simpler life!

You should explore more of London. Lots of very commutable zones 3/4 areas that feel green and quiet! Look around Epping forest for example.

We moved out of a city 4 years ago when dc were 6 and 8.

The now almost 13 year old absolutely loves it here and recently said she didn't know she could feel so calm and safe (her words, I remember as they were quite jarring) in her own home til we lived here.

We're a short bus ride to the city but she chose a longer bus ride to go to a rural secondary school. She very much dislikes the city now, will tolerate it for short shopping trips but that's it. She has lots of friends, is always out seeing them but dislikes it when people generalise about teens and big cities.

The rest of us love it here, but do note we are v close to a city (10 minutes in a car, 20 minutes by bike) and it's not London. It's incredibly friendly and community minded.

The younger one adores it; plays outside every night after school on his bike with mates, they play in fields, woods, pedal to the next village. He has so much more freedom and independence thsn his city mates who only play out to the end of the street. He's a country boy through and through now!

I'm the only one who misses city life (but when I was in the city I missed countryside). And I have asked as we nearly moved back, which everyone else strongly resisted!

Just thought I'd thow an alternative to the London is always best.

That sounds great @MontBlancHonk that does sound like your kids are happy with the move. I know mine will adapt to wherever we decide to go. It is more me! I don't want to feel isolated.

Dear me! You know that northern cities have cool shops and vibrant music scenes, theatres, top class restaurants too right? I live in Leeds and actually think it's harder work in London because everything I'm used to takes longer to get to! Live on the outskirts of Manchester. Your kids won't be bored! You need to get about more!

@minesagin37 not sure you have read the thread but we have all expressed that there is a lot going on in other cities. We wouldn't be moving to a city though but a small town / suburb if we were tomive out of London as my DC commenting on not liking city life is precisely the problem.

*to move

Come to North Chingford! 10 minutes walk from the forest, 10 minutes train from Walthamstow or 25 from Liverpool St, 15 mins drive from the m25.
High St, lots to do, perfect blend of country and city. 900k would buy beautiful Victorian detached with garden.