London to Newcastle - is this just post pandemic panic?

[Rawrsome13]

We bought our first house in London almost 2 years ago with not a thought to the idea of living anywhere else. Fast forward (or not) through the pandemic when I became a first time mum on the first day of the first lockdown. All of our family live in the North East, though none actually in Newcastle. I've had very minimal practical support over the past year due to lockdown and our house, which seemed huge when we moved in, now feels much less suited to our needs with working from home (our bedroom to be precise) and we have an almost walking 13 month old.

For the past few weeks we've talked about nothing but the potential of moving from London to Newcastle but wonder if we're being a bit hasty? We'd both need to find new jobs - I'm in an NHS clinical role and DH is in the private sector currently working from home but has discussed with his firm who have said long distance remote working won't be an option. If we left London we'd never get back on the property ladder here. We don't actually really know anyone in Newcastle itself but have loads of friends/family within an hour's drive. Our reasons for moving are both to be closer to family and potentially a much bigger property for our money. Has anyone made a similar Big Move with a young child and then really regretted it?

Also, does anyone know what the market in Newcastle is like at the moment? We'd be looking for a minimum of 3 bedrooms but likely 4 as would like to plan for another baby once the trauma of the pandemic first born has fully worn off... Gosforth is the area that most appeals but would love other suggestions of similar-ish places to look, but definitely family friendly with good access to shops, culture, leisure and okay for a non-driver (me).

I’ve not done the move but I’m from Newcastle!

Love Gosforth and this would be my top pick too!
Whitley bay down the coast is amazing, lots going on.

Are you wanting to be close to the city centre?

Some houses are getting snapped up the day they go for sale, depending on your budget there are still some very decents ones out there.

We did similar, Reading to Northumberland last summer. We don't have family up here, but it suited us better for a few reasons. With the pandemic I've not been down to Newcastle too much so no advice about areas. The market for 4 beds is starting to improve, until recently everything half decent sold super fast and not much came up to replace it. But it's getting less crazy. For somewhere good you will need to move reasonably quick though I'd imagine.

I moved during the pandemic to co. Durham, although my family are originally from Newcastle ( none there now). It's been quite a big adjustment, the only thing I would say is the north east is big and the public transport is patchy. You could be up there and still quite far from family. We did look into Newcastle but realised we'd actually be no more convenient for family support and it would have been neither one thing (London too far) or the other (family just around the corner). It might be worth looking into job opportunities before deciding. I can do long distance remote (eventually I'll be doing two days a week in London) and H works fully remote and that is mostly what had made this possible, beyond the pandemic homeworking

Just to add, DD was two when we made the move. Being close to family (We're in a ten minutes down the road type situation) has been key for us.

What's your budget?
The coastal areas of Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay are well worth looking at.

I'm a Londoner and if I was you I probably would move back up North. It's nice to have family around once you have DC. And it's nice for the DC too.
Newcastle seems like a great city, plenty going on and as you say you can get so much more house for your money! And potentially a more relaxed lifestyle. As we know, London isn't always a nice place to be. Work wise it sounds like you could find work up there.
Having a young child is a great time to move because you're already going to be interested in putting yourself out there and making new friends with DC the same age.

I met most of my friends in my first child's first 4 years.

@Level75

What's your budget? The coastal areas of Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay are well worth looking at.

Absolute max of £350 but would prefer around £300k to account for likely downgrade in DH's salary outside London.

Not really sure what we'd get for our house and what the market is like in London either, we bought for £400k (against a lot of interest) but it was vacant and freshly painted which we wouldn't be able to replicate when selling. We do have a garden though.

I did similar, moved from large city back to my hometown a couple of years ago and commute/WFH now and am so glad we did. I did have a wobble last year wondering if we did the right thing but think it was lockdown talking! The cost of living is less, our home is much nicer and has a big garden, DC have more freedom, and the relationship my DC have with our families is priceless.

Thanks for all the advice. Yes I think we really want to be close to a more urban/diverse environment but would definitely consider the coast with metro access.

I think we're realistic about the fact we still wouldn't see family every week, but it would certainly be more frequently than twice in a year . At the moment we can't really accommodate visitors due to space even when permitted.

I am tied to London (or a business park in southern scotland) for my - very specialised - role. In your shoes I would absolutely be rethinking being in London. It may be pandemic triggered but as long as you drawup a realistic why stay / why move leave list I dont think you need to spend all your time second guessing yourself.

Hi, similar situation, we are from North East, lived in London for few years and then moved up to Newcastle though most of our family are around 40 miles away so not on doorstep. We did this pre kids but had them since and feels like best of both worlds as were still perfectly accessible when needed without us being wholly dependant. We live in gosforth too, area brilliant for families but expensive largely due to schools/location. Market has been insane, desirable properties few and far between and selling straight away only to those in strong position. Probably will calm down post stamp duty I think. For your budget you are looking at a decent 3-4 30’s onwards semi with garden or Victorian terrace which are the main property types for that money in this area. The other option is great park which is a sprawling new build estate where you will get more for your money eg detached but it’s on the very outskirts. Building fab new schools there at moment though.

Ponteland is another possible area.

We did a big move from big city to small town though wasn't as far as you, we got to visit maybe a couple of times a year thanks to work - Manchester to Lancashire. I regretted it massively for the first few years as I felt so homesick. But once school started everything just fell into place, and I missed the city less and less.

Fast forward a few more years and we can't imagine being anywhere else now. There's no way we would be able to afford everything we have now if we'd stayed where we were, and everything we have is what makes us happy. Our children have a good bond with all their cousins and grandparents, we otherwise wouldn't have.

We don't call on family very much for help with childcare - maybe once or twice a year - but if my partner wasn't a teacher we would need to a hell of a lot more. Something to consider for future years.

We've both lived in London too before we knew each other - I still cannot believe how little you get for your money there. We loved it but neither of us would ever move back!

I’m from the ne but live in London but I’ll never go back. I’m a great believer in ‘tired of London, tired of life’ and my quality of life wouldn’t be as good but horses for courses.

We live at the coast near Newcastle and it is fantastic. Lovely houses, great schools. Tynemouth and Whitley Bay are good for independent shops. There are nice places to eat and socialise but more than anything it is the lovely coast and lifestyle we have. House prices have really increased but you would get a 3 or 4 bedroomed terrace or semi in some parts of Whitley Bay for £350,000, not in Tynemouth. Don't think you'd get anything decent in Gosforth for that.

I think with young children you will slot in to wherever you move to. I had my children in london with no family support, it was hard but I made great friends.
We moved out of london about 8 years ago, to a small village, we had an amazing house but no real connecting to where we lived. I liked bits of our life, but was very lonely and bored.
I’m now trying (in this crazy market) to move back to london again, my fiends are still here and I’ve had enough of country walks and gardening, but it’s a very different life stage for us (almost empty nesters).
I think if you can build a life in a new city near family it would be great. Good luck.

Maybe you would in Gosforth . I am surprised. www.onthemarket.com/details/10405046/

North Shields? www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/99556148

Whitley Bay- right near the sea front in a decent street www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106663130#/

Can’t give any advice on the area but wouldn’t you be better to actually move closer to your family?
It seems a bit silly to make a big move to be closer but still not that close (unless they live in the middle of nowhere & you couldn’t get jobs of course)

Honestly, I think give it a year or at least six months. You've become a FTM in the middle of a pandemic, you've almost started a new life without really starting it, if you see what I mean.

I also think the market is really hot right now with people moving out of London and that this will stabilise or reverse - which will benefit you.

Central Gosforth market is way overheated right now. You'd not get anything decent for 300-350, if you could even find anything. Nothing is coming on the market between flats and 800k+. Anything that is is snapped up before it hits Rightmove. The coast is probably similarly overheated, but you'd get more for your money.

I don’t have kids so my priorities and lifestyle are obviously different from yours, but I’m going to be a lone voice saying no, don’t do it. I’ve lived in London 7 years but over lockdown I was in the Midlands near Leicester with family. I had the chance to look at relocating there and getting a much bigger property than I would in London, close to countryside, more space etc - and I chose to move back to London and buy a shoebox flat. I’m so glad I did, with things opening up now there’s so much more going on than there would be in Leicester. My parents used to live in London before they had me and I always used to berate them for moving out! I’d have loved to have grown up in London. Maybe your kids would too? Plus, if you’re still not that close to family if you were in Newcastle, will it actually make much difference? Having to find new jobs as well as a house is a big upheaval and private sector wages can be much, much lower outside London depending on the industry

For that budget you won’t get much decent in Gosforth in the size you want. There are lots of areas that get badged as Gosforth on right move etc but they’re really not.

Whitley Bay market has been hotting up for the last few years but you might still get something. Wouldn’t have thought you would in Tynemouth.

As a non-driver your best bet is probably somewhere near a Metro station but there are parts of the city without metro links but served well by frequent bus routes, e.g. High Heaton - fewer shops/restaurants/cafes/pubs than Gosforth but good schools and family friendly in the areas near Freeman Hospital. Lots of stock of 30s semis which tend to go for £250-£350k depending on size/condition/extensions.

Since you mention urban/diverse - Fenham can be hit and miss but parts of it are lovely. Also v good schools.

Newcastle is amazing, in fact all the NE is!

Don’t rule out Whitburn/Seaburn coastal in Sunderland. Fab areas/communities, good schools, beach on doorstep, 30min metro into central Newcastle, 30 min drive into Durham City...

Much more bang for your buck property wise...