Escape from the country (lighthearted support thread!)

[Onebigmistake]

We moved from London 10 years ago to the countryside. We're surrounded by small towns, rural life and beaches - which was idyllic until the children became preteens.

Now it's just deprivation, dreary, nothing to do, jobless, no buses, empty highstreets and even the schooling has gone down hill. (SW England)

We would LOVE to move back to London but we've priced ourselves out. We can never afford to move back.

Has anyone else made this mistake?

I really need to reframe it. We were all happy until the children reached 10 / 11 ish. I was also made redundant and cant find a similar role in the entire county. It sucks..... (obviously lots of work in London with decent salaries too! But none offer remote working)

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else had regrets about moving from city to rural? And how do you cope? What did you do? 😊

(We're from rural SW but seem to prefer city life)

Time Out, 7th most under rated holiday destination in the world!

I second Gloucester, or the surrounds. It gets a bad rep compared to Cheltdnham but it has a lot going for it, and loads of employers. The hospital (I employ finance related staff and would jump at the chance to recruit someone with experience), there's also lots of engineering companies and GCHQ in Cheltenham.
I commute in from a town with a train line to Bristol and Gloucester. Quick change at Bristol Parkway, and that's my route back to London.

The town I live in I'm very happy in. The surrounding countryside is glorious, and within 3 mins walk I'm in the forest, yet there's a good leisure centre, restaurants, cafes, Am dram theatre, arts centre and lots of groups in town. My ds is involved in the running club, rugby, football, cricket, Scouts, swimming lessons as well as after school clubs.

Primary schools all good, secondary school has an amazing building and good ofsted. I wasn't that impressed for my dd with mild SEN, however the head has just retired so am hoping it will improve fir those pupils soon.

Here's a house on a street with lovely community (they have street parties) for under your budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129650495#/?channel=RES_BUY

On the job hunt. You could find something and weekly commute for a few months while you sort the move. Not much fun but doable for a few months?

Plymouth - no jobs for me to apply for 😔

We're quite taken with the Gloucestershire area so will investigate further. Thanks for all the suggestions!

In the meantime I'm going to get some new wellies for everyone and embrace the mud and hopefully dodge all the dog poo on the beach 👍

I quite often apply for fully remote roles or even hybrid (happy to travel weekly!) but the feedback tends to be "even Cornwall is a bit far away for us!"

I'll keep trying. But it hasn't worked so far!

Topsham nr Exeter or how about Bath or as others have suggested Gloucestershire. Cornwall is beautiful but sadly has very little in the way of opportunities for careers unless you can work remotely.

Have you looked at Taunton? County town of Somerset, direct train line to Paddington in under 2hrs; lines to Bristol & Exeter. M5, A303 etc for road. Lots of clubs etc for preteens & teens; buses are good around the town.
Easy access to coasts, moors, woodlands, attractions etc.
should be able to get something decent for your budget.
We're in the next town over & our life isn't anything like you describe - lots to do etc.

An off topic thought: Google "older person CVs" for tips on formatting your resumé without giving your age. Good luck with the job hunt 👍

Feel free to PM me OP on the Gloucestershire front 👍

Hi @Onebigmistake

Another alternative for you might be Salisbury. It's 1.5 hoursish to Waterloo and property prices are reasonable.

Something like this would be in your budget.

Some amazing ideas here!! Thank you xxx

I feel SO down today. Like I'll never get another job again 😭 then I see jobs up country and wish we could move immediately.

This GIF seems apt 😆

@Onebigmistake I read an article about remote working yesterday. I hadn't actually considered it before but I'm going to investigate further.

My work coach wants to put me on a week long course next week to help me land a civil service job but I can't say I'm brimming with enthusiasm.

Same experience in Plymouth for me too but I do like it for nights out,shopping and loads to do with the kids.

I like that house in Salisbury.

Hope the situation gets better for you soon.

To be fair, my husband is Scottish and I went to university in Stirling and lived there several years afterwards.

Was always the plan to retire North.

I've camped on Rannoch moor - I have a phd in midgies

Sorry you feel so down, OP. But you've taken a brave first step by acknowledging the problems and thinking about a change of location.

I absolutely recommend Gloucester and the Forest of Dean. In the Forest it's absolutely beautiful and there's lots to do if you like the great outdoors. Foresters are a sociable, friendly bunch and there's lovely pubs, clubs, sports activities etc. A big plus is that you can get to Gloucester easily by buy within 30 minutes.

Gloucester itself is very up-and-coming now. There will be a new University and lots of investment in regeneration of the city centre. Also Gloucester Quays outlet village has some good shops. In my opinion, and I know it gets a bad rap on Mumsnet, it's very under-rated. Lots and lots of employment opportunities too - both my daughter and son-in-law live about two miles outside Gloucester and have both changed jobs easily since they've been there. My daughter was actually headhunted for her new role and just commutes a couple of days a week into Bristol. These are both very well paid jobs.

I think many people who are priced out of Cheltenham are now choosing Gloucester too.

From personal experience, I would also recommend Taunton in Somerset - a nice county town but with easy links to Bristol, Exeter, London. Good schools there too.

I'm a country girl at heart, but have always lived somewhere where a big town or city is accessible within thirty minutes - I think that's important, so you can get the best of both worlds. Good luck on your search, OP.

Sorry you are having such a demoralising time with the job hunt OP. It’s so soul destroying. I’m in London & have often romanticised about living in the countryside- the grass is always greener isn’t it? Pros & cons to everything. But also parts of the country have changed a lot in the last few years with Covid & Brexit & lots that couldn’t have been anticipated. I really hope you manage to find the right fit for your family. Incidentally we have family friends in Gloucestershire and I love the feel of the area- beautiful countryside & lots going on in some of the towns like Upton that has a thriving music scene.

@DaphneduM thank you for those suggestions. I'm in love with Somerset (more jobs than expected!)

I'm a country girl at heart, but have always lived somewhere where a big town or city is accessible within thirty minutes This is my new rule from now on and I'll take it to the grave. You're absolutely bang on. Xx

There are a few big public sector employers in Somerset like the Environment Agency & UK Hydrographic Office - they offer hybrid roles. Check out the civil service job site:

www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi

Oh & the Met Office in Exeter too.

@APurpleSquirrel if you had to choose between taunton and exeter which would you choose?

I'm going around in circles!!

We're coastal West country. The kids were fine until 11ish, then they got bored of relying on us. The first time we left them alone for the night one replied crossly "who wants to come to xxxx". They're older now, pretty independent and love the outdoors, coasteering, walking, wild swimming, wild camping, mountain biking etc.

I believe there are dedicated sites and agencies for those of us just coming into our prime.

Exeter!

I live in bridgwater so Taunton is my local town. Exeter all the way.

but then I’ve grown to loath this area - within a decade I can see Highbridge to wellington being one urban corridor and losing its rural charm.

hence why I’m leaving

Dh got a job a few hours from London and we moved for his work.

I didn’t like my job but I really didn’t want to move.
I wasn’t happy about it all for the 12 years we lived there

On moving back to London I told Dh that if he ever got the bright idea of moving outside the M25 he was on his own.

When we moved back we didn’t have dh’s commute costs but even taking that away we saved so much money each month.

It is very expensive for living costs outside London.

Tricky - personally I'm more of a country girl so city living doesn't appeal to me, so I'd go for Taunton. But that's me. I've never lived in a city, you have.
I'd say you really need to work out what sort of lifestyle you want go forward - their are pros & cons to both places.
Exeter will most likely give you facilities within walking distance or an easy commute (either by car or public transport) but the traffic can be bad. Living in Taunton you'd need a car to access anything much outside of the town unless it's on the train lines, so you may be ferrying your DC about more but there's less traffic, pollution etc.
you're budget May stretch further in Taunton - at least in terms of a nicer area/larger property. There are a lot new builds going up in both places.
Ignore the PP above - Wellington to Highbridge will not be one huge sprawling town! Yes there are developments going on in Wellington, Taunton, Bridgwater & Highbridge but they're far from joining up.
I live in Wellington & really like it here. It's a bit more rural than Taunton; obviously less to do locally but we're happy to travel when needed. Primary schools are good, though the local secondary is getting better.
I think sit down & work out what life you want; what's important to you - everything in walking distance? The environment you're in (city/town/rural); are you happy to use your car regularly? What schools do you need? Where are the jobs? Etc

@Onebigmistake kmk accounting recently advertised for an accountant. One day a week initially but may be worth a look. Based in Truro and a recent start up. Could help you get a foot back in the door for future applications.