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!

@MoonlightMuse - how funny - I lived on the Fylde Coast as a teenager and would never move back. BTW - I think it is a lovely place - just not for me . That just amused me and I can see why you would like it.

All best to you 💐

@overdalexx Too much overt drug dealing, our street was short and had no cameras.

I feel like everyone has CCTV/a Ring doorbell these days!

A village outside Canterbury, which I see you’re already familiar with! It suits us with two small kids. I’ve made good friends but in truth we spend most of our time in the coastal towns; Whitstable, Folkestone, Deal. Faversham is cute. Much cheaper than West Kent and Surrey etc and you have the sea, which for me you just can't beat, whilst being close to London. There’s a lot going on in these places. I like the buzz.

Sheffield. City fun. Gorgeous Peak District National Park. M1 access all areas. House prices very reasonable. Schools excellent.

I'm going in the opposite direction. I moved to a quieter area outside London (almost rural town ) with hubby, thinking this is what we "wanted", but now we are making the move back to London... south London. I don't think I want to be anywhere else now. There's been the issue of meeting quite Conservative people, not as open-minded and I just miss the open-mindedness of Londoners. London is full of life too and yes, it's congested, pricey and annoying at times, but we find the quiet too dull and miss being able to explore more. Eg I love theatre and creative writing and i find meeting groups and like minded people for this is really important to me (i didn't realise until I left London!). I have a writing group out in the quiet where we are - they are lovely, talented, but it's more writing for "fun" for them, whereas the London group I had, some were published and really pushed each other to make the writing work. It depends on what you're looking for I guess. I also think housing is pricey in london, but i'd rather go into the loft for that extra bedroom since kids will become adults one day and fly the nest anyway. good luck!

Zone 3.