When is too early to move out of London?

[paxos]

DD and her boyfriend have lived together for two years in South Ken. They live in a friend’s flat who moved overseas for work, but has now decided to sell it. They got to live there at a reduced rate (£1,500 a month). And anything similar would be closer to £2,000.

They are in their mid twenties. Dd works in consulting and her boyfriend is in finance. Over the next few years it’s a realistic possibility that both their salaries will increase a lot, or even just her boyfriend’s salary (to well over 6 figs).

They’ve been looking at the idea of moving out of London and commuting in from a commuter town in Kent or Surrey. They want more space and they want to get a dog.

My thoughts (and it’s just my opinion!) is that 25 is too young to think about a move to commuter land. I think they’d miss being able to see friends quickly, or the quick commute to work

Agree with other replies that yes I do think it’s too young.
One glaringly obvious reason is that I think it’s a bad move career wise (in addition to everything already mentioned).
You’re 20’s are when your career can really take off, and from my experience post-covid, that involves being in the office, being visible and not working from home that much.
I’m 35 and me and my close friends are all in finance/consulting/law etc, and in finance in particular they are in the office at least 4 days a week. Other professions have more flex, but also a lot has been earned through seniority. I certainly wouldn’t work from home as I currently do when I was 25!
I honestly think commuting out of London when you’re in the office 4 days a week working late is making life harder than it needs to be!

Going to go against almost everyone here (and I’m talking as someone way older than your DD who still lives in London) and say - they can and should move out whenever they want! I have lots of friends who simply valued space and rural access more than museums and nights out. If that’s their preference, and it’s way more achievable to do with some WFH days, then it’s absolutely none of your business what they decide to do. Let them make their own minds up, and make their own mistakes/ paths.

Better to go to e.g. Ealing on the Elizabeth Line.

I wonder how your Dd's boyfriend will approach the cleaning of a big house, given his childhood experience of staff! Your dd could usefully give this some thought before taking the plunge.

I do think that it is true that young people at the start of their careers can benefit a lot from the kind of networking and professional development that takes place by being present in the office and by socialising afterwards. Much of this has been lost due to Zoom Life, and sometimes forgotten by MNers who are older, already established and have retreated to suburban areas to bring up a family.

I really enjoyed having small children in London, so easy to get around and so much to do. Primary is a great time to move out.