Is it normal to dream of moving away?

[Cloud16]

...and where do you dream of moving to?

DH and I are close to family in our hometown. The problem is its a deprived area with bad schools and the weather is dire (Scotland). Not any buzz about it either.

But we are ttc and our families are a good support to us (through everything really). So, we stay put. It's not all bad, the transport links are good and we have made decent money from staying here.

I find myself thinking of living elsewhere a lot though. Dreaming about parts of England (we go on weekend breaks to London, Brighton, Devon). The weather is so much better, we could transfer our offices, better for our career, nicer areas, better schools blah blah. But no support system!

I also think I have love goggles on when I'm away from home because I'm on my holidays too.

Anyway, do you dream of living elsewhere, if so, where?

You are not alone, I think we all hunger for something new.

Having said that we did bite the bullet and move away last year and love it (SE to West Mids). A change is as good as a rest as they say.

Your post reminded me of Hometown by Bruce Springsteen

Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
Talking about getting out
Packing up our bags, maybe heading south

I'm thirty-five, we got a boy of our own now
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel
And said, "son, take a good look around
This is your hometown'

It's a big world out there, absolutely fine and natural to want to look for something better. But family support when you have kids is a biggie. So I can see the conundrum!

What about moving to a different part of Scotland? Won't be warmer, but plenty areas with good schools, things to do, lovely scenery etc

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches I love that song! Forgot all about it until your post. Thanks for reminding me of it!

@Bluecheck679 thanks for your reply. The weather is a big reason why I fancy further South. The winters here are grim, and I'm South Scotland. My family in Edinburgh seem to get less rain. Love the fairytale look of Edinburgh, can't see myself living there though!

I went to London a couple months ago, and it makes me all goggly-eyed and excited lol. London prices are no joke though and I imagine the reality of London life would be very different to a week visiting.

Hi @Cloud16 another dreamer here! More than normal, I think it's really good to dream because it's the first step to making a plan and that's how you make positive conscious choices to make the most of life.

I dreamed of moving to London when I was younger and that helped me to decide which uni to go to and Dh and I are now in the final planning stages of a move to York from Surrey which is about making the most of the next phase of our lives.

While I'm talking from my own experience I really believe that the key thing is knowing what you want out of each stage of your life and working out how and where you can best get that. Everything comes with some compromise but even if you don't want to move when dc are little, what about when they're older or when you are? If you want to feel like you're on holiday every day that sounds like a great ambition and I'd consider all these visits as research for how you can make your life what you want it to be.

Thanks @SollaSollew - well done on finalising your move! That sounds really exciting. York is beautiful.

Yes, we've spoken about moving when our kids are about 4 (gets the baby years out the way but before they'd settle in school). I think that's the most realistic dream so far haha.

Yeah, I'd love to be near a beach, nicer weather, nearer London. I like the connectivity of the South too, I remember gawping at the flight list for Heathrow and all the places you can go from there!

Like that idea, I'll need to book some future tips, strictly for research of course 😉

*trips!!

Currently living in England but dream of moving to Scotland one day! I think it's great to follow your dream and move somewhere else, as long as practical matters are considered as well, area is chosen carefully etc :D Currently in the process of moving 60 miles away because we fancy a change and want to move further into the countryside. I think sometimes we all outgrow the places we live and change can do us good!

@Kyrae yeah, I think so too. It doesn't make sense for me to move now, but the idea of it being a possibility in future gives me something to work toward and look forward to!

Wow, that sounds exciting! I think lockdown had a lot of people reevaluation and looking for more outdoor space.

We are always moving, just go. You can always go back. I don’t live near family particularly and it’s not an issue for us.

I’ve lived in Bristol, London, various parts of the South East, East Midlands.

I think we are settled for now area wise but if the urge took us we’d just go. About to do our 5th house move in 9 years. Itchy feet lol.

You regret what you don’t do, not what you do.

Definitely!! We'd been thinking of moving for around 3 years now, and it was covid that finally convinced us as we wished we had more countryside to walk to from the house. That and hubby has been told he can permanently work from home now so we're not tied to the same location :)

At least no rush means you can spend plenty of time researching areas you like, visiting on holiday etc, and narrowing down where you want to move to one day :D

@Thursday37 oh sounds fab, what move/location did you enjoy the most?

@Kyrae outdoor space and nice walks are so important to me too. DH and I both work from home too, it gives you so many more options location-wise! That's brilliant that your long-awaited move is finally happening. How exciting for you!

Yip, exactly. I'll end up near the sea or the city one day lol.

@Cloud16 my favourite one was the relocation from the hectic South East to where we are now, quiet and rural East Mids. it's where I feel most settled definitely. We will be on our 3rd house in this area soon, but the area suits us best.

London life was great as a student and in my early 20's but I'd hate it now.

We might do the Lake District, rural Wales or Norfolk one day when we are retired. I like hills and fells. I don't like cities and not that fussed about the sea.

I love my home town, good weather for UK, good schools and lots to do so quite the opposite of what you describe.

Yet I still watch Place In The Sun all the time & daydream about living somewhere warm all year round 😎

Yes I always knew I would move away from my hometown. And I did. I then moved several more times before settling.

”a deprived area with bad schools and the weather is dire (Scotland). Not any buzz about it either” - I’m not surprised you want to leave! There are better lives out there OP

I am desperate to move but three kids are mid way through their education (two are in specialist schools) but I feel a desperate ache to move. We are in the South East but I’m so bored living in the town we’re in I could cry. I would like to move up to Newcastle/Northumberland or North Yorkshire.

We dreamed for years of moving abroad...we bit the bullet just over 2 years ago. The best thing we ever did, the weather is amazing, its so safe for my DS13 to have a normal carefree childhood with his school friends, very little traffic, space to breath and everyone is happy that we meet because they moved away too. Luckily as our business is all online so work was sorted.
Do it, you can always go back if it doesn't work out.

I want to move away as well but have my ds here and dps in area

Love watching place in the country

@bert3400 can I ask where you went? Did you know the area well beforehand ?

Yeah, I think I'll give myself a time limit and work towards moving. It can be my 5 year goal. On paper, it really does sound depressing, but I'm not actively unhappy iykwim.

Oh wow, curious to know where you moved to @bert3400 👀 it sounds wonderful!

@Cloud16 @ilkleymoorbartat
We moved to Spain, Northern Costa Blanca. Its a lovely mix of nationalities and not like some expat enclaves . We lived here 10 years ago for a year, but came back to the uk for our business, but we always knew we would move back. So when the time was right, we came back. We knew exactly what we wanted and needed and what area to live in. It's been fantastic even in a Pandemic. IF you have a itch to move you should definitely go for it.

Oh I have a terrible rightmove habit. I moved last summer and I love my new house, but I'd like to be further in (London). But I just can't afford it. But that doesn't stop me dreaming about it and regularly browsing the property portals.

We live in the south west. I can do my job from anywhere. DH has just retired. He’s from Edinburgh originally. I went to university in Scotland.

for years we’ve always said we want to move up north - and by that I mean Inverness/fort William.

we have no kids. No ties to where we live and can literally move where we want. We could easily sell ours and end up living mortgage free, with an extra 200k in the bank and a disposable income over 5k.

we are seriously thinking of just putting the house on the market and maybe renting a park home until we find somewhere to buy.

im shit scared at the thought. He’d do it tomorrow.

We probably will sooner than later

We always dreamt of moving to Italy but Brexit put paid to that.
Aside from that we always thought we'd move from SW to Shropshire, which is actually closer to family. We still might but our most recent move has found us a village we really love so definitely put that on the back burner. Going to be starting a family with nearest family over an hour away however.

I moved abroad. Zero regrets