If you left London, where did you go and why?

[TheBeesKnee]

Currently living in a 2.5 bed starter terrace watching interest rates rise with horror. We've been here 4 years and when we bought the house I thought we'd stay for c.5 years and then move somewhere bigger.

The location is decent (south London), I love how accessible everything is from where we live, but I'd like another child eventually and I don't want one to end up sleeping in a glorified closet. I've looked into going into the loft but realistically we'd either end up with one okay sized bedroom up there or a small bedroom with a tiny shower/toilet - and I'm not sure if it's worth the cost and hassle.

DP and I always discuss leaving London and moving somewhere nice, but the problem is that anywhere nice seems to be just as expensive but less well-connected with less going on.

So I'd like to hear from others who took the plunge: where did you move to, how did you adapt, do you have any regrets or advice?

Tia!

Reigate.
It's close enough to commute in. It's got a lovely towncentre with castle grounds and indie shops and an Everyman cinema , a huge park and lake, and excellent schools.

Lived in London all my life and now looking at moving to the coast. We’re in our 50s so we’ve done most of the partying years and fancy something a bit quieter and less stressful (currently south london). To be honest for the amount we actually use central London we may as well just come up from the coast a couple of times a month for a day out.

We still want to be in a town centre with bars and restaurants, but are less bothered about being seen in all the fancy new places. We”re both creatives and want space to do our thing and also be among like minded people so are looking in West and East Sussex. Proximity to Brighton would be fun but don’t actually want to live there due to the dreadful Hen and Stag parties which have completely fucked up the character of the seafront and town. Even the previously chill Kemptown isn’t exempt from the shrieking, puking horrors every weekend. Currently looking at Hastings.

Glasgow.
DH had friends there and housing was much cheaper.
I also liked that we were moving to another city. Because I like city life.
We've been here 12 years now and I love it.

We’ve moved to Lewes, to be nearer family and afford a house. No regrets so far!

We moved to Cornwall from South London 35 years ago. Never regretted it. Our children were babies/toddlers so they grew up in Cornwall. My husband applied for a job within the same company as they had a vacancy down here which had not happened in 40 years. We knew no one down here and all our family lived in London area but they have visited regularly and we go up to London. Both our now adult children have stayed in the South West and say they wouldn't move to London or the South East.

We found the schools better down here, the lifestyle nicer and the air cleaner. Housing is more affordable and people in general friendlier. When I go up to visit my mum I hate it although I do occasionally like a day in town for the theatre/museums etc but after a while it feels claustrophobic and I want to come back to Cornwall for the fields, quiet lanes (we are not in a touristy spot) and beaches.

Fylde coast. Would never move back to London.

Following with interest, as am coming to accept we’ve been priced out!

This was 25 years ago, but my mother lived in London all her life and move me and her (when I was 6) to North Yorkshire.

She wanted a change and had a job offer in her field, but I must say she made a really good decision I love it here.

Sussex. Easy commute to London, close to the coast, close to Gatwick, lovely villages and lots of similar people who also worked and lived in London.

Also following with interest. Ideally I'd like to move out to Suffolk but I think that's too far for my DH. He would rather move to Sussex, he particularly likes Chichester. I'm not sure if we will ever move as we are nervous of moving somewhere where we don't know anyone.

Bucks. Farms and fields but 45 minutes into Marylebone on the Chiltern Line.

Can you work elsewhere? If so it's a no brainier, leave for somewhere where you buy more, have more space and don't have to live in such a crowded polluted place (my commute is a gentle drive past sheep and cows!)

If you have to commute to london you have limited options

We actually drive to Reigate Hill quite often too watch the planes at night 😅

Looking in Rightmove houses are nice but ours is only worth about £400k so doesn't feel like we'd get much of an upgrade :(

I work for three families who all moved from central London to south Northants. They all love the village life and beautiful countryside with easy access to Marylebone on the Chiltern line from Banbury.

That would be lovely

West Yorkshire. Met DH at a party when visiting a friend in Leeds. Love blossomed and I moved north about 18 months later. Now in South Yorkshire.

I was in London last week. It was great to visit, but wild horses wouldn't drag me back there to live and work. The tightly packed public transport even outside of rush hour made me appreciate my slow commute (due to roadworks) on the M1 in West Yorkshire.

To a farm in Ireland

Fled with a small baby after my partner attacked us both

Lucky to have so much space here and fresh air
Miss London every single day
Sadly I will never be able to live there again
Best city In the world

(Don't miss being broke all the time though ) xxxx

Folkestone. Love it. I commute once a week and door to door my journey to the office from my little village takes the same amount of time as it used to from zone 3.

Moved to North Yorkshire
Now 25 years later have a flat in Central London and a house in North Yorkshire and move between- which is perfect

I love Central London living.

I was burgled twice within 6 months, and someone cut my cats head off and threw it into my garden. I made plans to leave. That was 30 years ago, and I would never go back there to live. I moved to Hastings and now I'm in Wales.

We actually looked at Folkestone before we bought in London. This was pre Covid and the thought I'd doing that commute every day put me off. Six months later we were in lockdown working from home. Oh, if only I'd known 🤣

Oh so you're rich rich 👀

Hopeful daytime bump

Abroad. We moved to Central Europe. We love it.
We bought a 6 bed detached for the price of 1 bed London flat. Have land.
Its rural but only 30 mins to town and 60mins to a city. It’s a 2hr flight back to Uk.