Londoners looking to buy/move: has lockdown made you reconsider area of choice

[Justaboutnotmanaging]

We are looking to move house, and have always been inner city type people. However, this lockdown has made me crave green, nature, space and pretty views. So much so, that we are considering moving to areas in the suburbs that we previously would not have considered.

I am concerned that when everything is back to normal, we will come to regret this choice. Although, this pandemic may change the way people live/work in the long term so that living centrally is not a necessity.

For those that are planning moves within the next 18 months, do you think this pandemic has/will change the type of areas you look at?

No, if anything it has strengthened my decision to stay in London. It has been ridiculously easy to get hold of food here without going to the shops - so many of our local independent places have switched to delivery and most of our favourite local restaurants are still open and doing delivery.

But I'm an optimist on this front and think the world will go back to normal, so.

I did it a few years ago and actually enjoyed London far more because of moving out; I found that I would make more of what was going on in London, whilst I had some time there, before needing to get the train back home etc. It made me realise that when I lived in London I maybe took it for granted that everything was on my doorstep. So, for me it is the best of both worlds.

IMO, the Evening Standard's 'Homes and Property' section is quite useful. Here are two suggested articles, but there are loads more:

More Bang for your Buck: the best commuter towns and villages for Londoners searching for bigger homes on smaller budgets.

Where to Buy a Home in 2020: 10 towns with good-value houses, fast train links and good schools for London commuters.

There are quite a few hidden gems that have a lot to offer. It also depends how often you (and family) can work from home and/or need to travel into London for work.

I suspect home-working may become more commonplace than before the lockdown and that will open up a lot of people's options for where to live/work etc.

I moved in Autumn 2019 and lockdown has affirmed we made good choices- prioritized having a decent park nearby and chose a cheaper postcode so we could have a garden.

We used to live in Herts but downsized and moved to z2 north London. I would have hated to be in Herts in lockdown as there's no small local fruit and veg shops like here, and no park within walking distance.

Yes I've surprised myself in that I'm really enjoying the lack of people, the quietness and less traffic. It's made me rethink and I'm going to move to the coast.

Lived in london for 25 years but may be its time. I wouldn't do suburbia though. I'm know already that's not for me.