Anyone regret moving out of London

[Mollyeyes]

Hello

Feeling very sad as we sold our flat in nice part of London and now in rental outside in Hertfordshire for meantime.
Feeling a lot of regret and depressed and now lost my job so we cannot buy another flat in that area of London based on my partners salary only.

Anyone else went through something similar and regret leaving London and what did you do?

Thank you

Yes absolutely, stupidest thing I ever did and can't afford to go back there.
It might simply be coincidence or bad luck but I've had more difficulty with buyers when moving within the provinces than In London. Also neighbour issues...nothing like the appalling stories of harassment you can read on MN, kept themselves to themselves, but think noisy. unfriendly teenagers, barking dogs, parking issues.

I moved to London from rural Somerset in my 20s and I love it so much.
I've just turned 60 and the free Oyster card is an amazing thing. Not have to drive everywhere (or anywhere) is a huge advantage too.
We live in Zone 3 and could have a much bigger house somewhere else but I'm never leaving.

You couldn't pay me to move back. Crowded, polluted, unfriendly. I love that where I live people say good morning to each other and have a friendly chat in a shop. I love how we have open space on our doorstep. I love that we have a much bigger house for the money with a huge garden. And I love that my teens feel happy and safe and I'm not worrying about them getting stabbed.
We did pick our area carefully though - we live in a town, not a village, so we can walk to a host of shops and restaurants. Our local station also has fast trains (55 mins) into London so I don't feel that I have cut our children off from the opportunities of careers there. Embrace the change OP, it can be fantastic away from London

It might simply be coincidence or bad luck but I've had more difficulty with buyers when moving within the provinces than In London. Also neighbour issues...nothing like the appalling stories of harassment you can read on MN, kept themselves to themselves, but think noisy. unfriendly teenagers, barking dogs, parking issues.

Yes, it is coincidence or bad luck. I live in the "provinces" and have lovely neighbours, no parking issues, no problems with noisy dogs or teenagers, and people in our village are pretty sociable. Whenever we pass anyone while out on a walk everyone always says hello.

I can be in Sheffield or Leeds in half an hour, and Wakefield in less than half an hour.

No. I like to visit London but the cost of living and rent being literally a third up North is enough for me. I like working less and concentrating on family, and I like where I live there is hustle and bustle should you want it but our life is pretty suburban and we live a life that would cost an unaffordable amount in London. Everyone is friendlier and it's greener. Basically I have a life here I could not have in London.

Hi there. I can relate to you. I moved to Stourbridge and couldn't settle. Nice affluent area near Birmingham but not London. We faced some racism and homophobia. We moved back to Loughton, Essex/London border. It has a tube station, forest, great schools and a lovely High St. It's a good compromise with the London access and feel but safer & leafy. Perhaps Hertfordshire was just too big a change.

@Irishterrier

I love London and thrive on the buzz. I'm also lucky to live in a really nice peaceful, safe and picturesque corner of it.

When I look at my friends, the more interesting ones have stayed - the ones I find a bit more boring have moved out, mostly to the Home Counties/within an hour or two's drive.

So I'm very glad we chose to stay. And the longer I'm here, the less I feel inclined to move eg to a county full of white middle classes who drive Volvos, send their children to private school but think they're revolutionary for voting Labour. Yawn.

Very vocal Labour voters using private schools are intriguing, how do they square that particular one

Op try and move back if you can? What about another job

Nope. Was glad to leave. I never really understood the big deal about London. So many other cities with so much going on. Not just in the UK.

rampantivy
Very glad for you, I was simply relating my experience. No need for an arsey reply

@romatheroamer

rampantivy Very glad for you, I was simply relating my experience. No need for an arsey reply

I missed London so much do that I moved back. Thankfully I still had the option too. The Home Counties are so boring in my experience with very cookie cutter vibes.

No I don't, it's overcrowded and stressful to live in. Of course if you're comfortably off, have relatively secure work and live in a 'mums-netty' area (read: crazy expensive) then it's different.

Wishing you all the best.

rampantivy

I hope your lovely neighbours continue to get on with you because you seem a very silly and immature person, unable to contribute to a serious discussion. Troll off!

Yes, every day! We moved out to the country, a small village, ten years ago but plan to move back when the kids have finished their schooling in a couple of years – I can't wait!

ZOMBIE-Ish thread. OP Long gone.

I’m in exactly the same situation and feel the same. I take it that you can’t move back to London due to not being able to get your kids into a school there? That’s the situation for me although a different city, not London. It sounds like you’re existing rather than living and it’s not right to feel that unhappy. It sounds as though your mum totally gets it and would support a move.

This was actually a reply to vacarc but landed at the end of the thread instead!

The best people live in London. The sparky ones.

I can't remember where I read this, but a prison governor was once asked why there were so few diagnosed psychopaths in Scottish prisons, and replied 'Because they're all in London prisons.' Apparently because of a greater need for stimulation and excitement, psychopaths are really drawn to London

Same undoubtedly applies for sparky people, but I thought it was interesting.

Choose carefully

We moved out of central London (Stockwell/Brixton) just before Covid to Southsea in Hampshire. So far we have found it to be great - the beach is 5 mins walk away, there are restaurants, bars etc to go to and a reasonable cultural scene + being part of Portsmouth there are lots of students + university staff in our area so its lively. And for the sale price of our 1 bed flat we have bought a 6 bed terraced house.

Obviously we regret not being able to walk into central London, get the tube/bus or go to the theatre/ museums etc and the general buzz but realistically we werent making full use of them once we became parents. And nights out in London are a bit more of a chore - a train journey rather than a quick cab home.

We deliberately chose Southsea because it is far enough away from London not to be a commuter place (although some do - 90 minute journey into Waterloo) and it is definitely different being a seaside place but with enough of a liberal/progressive vibe and 'people like us' around. It is compact so we have continued to walk/ cycle to places and not had to drive everywhere.

(and we are thinking of possibly moving back to London when we retire and dont need a sprawlingf house - London is great for old people!)

I don’t regret it for an instance. Moved away 25 years ago and would never go back. I don’t miss the morning commute across the city, the general feeling of grubbiness in central London, the lack of community spirit. I could go on and on!

I grew up VERY near where you are - and I can see what you mean about This Country. I do hanker over ‘home’ but you’ve just helped me!

If you've only recently just sold, then presumably you have the funds sitting in a bank account, whilst you only just starting renting?

and when you do get another job you'll be able to make a new mortgage application and get back onto the housing market, back in the area of London that you want to be?

It's not that you've sold years ago and now been priced out of the market?

I moved to the very edge of London , we border bucks and Herts , it’s semi rural village but with pretty easy access to central London , just need to drive to the tube statio . I think I have the best of both worlds and I managed to buy a 4 bed (terrace ) house for less £400k

I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to challenge the trope that "London is great for old people". Both my grand mother's grew old and died in London and were increasingly isolated and marginalised. London is an amazing place if you have energy, money and a purpose to your day. It's not so good if you have limited funds and no reason to be anywhere. There is a reason why people die alone and undiscovered so often there.