Moving out of London aged 25?

[natalianatinski]

Dd has been dating her current boyfriend for two years. She’s 25 and he’s 29. She’s obviously an adult and can do what she likes but I still worry!

Her and her boyfriend have decided to buy a house (with out help). They could get a 1-2 bed flat in an ok area of London and be close to work. They have decided instead to buy a 4 bed house in a very MEH commuter town in the south east. It will take over an hour door to door for work. Would not be our choice let’s say.

Has anyone else moved out of London relatively early? We moved out mid 30s. I worry that she will limit her social life and her career prospects. She is in “nice” finance and thinks she might like to move to a more cut throat bank for more £££. Her current job says 2 days a week in the office but most banks now require 4 days.

Oi! It’s not that bad 😉 she’d get a mansion round here for the price of a 4 bed in Tonbridge

Also OP two of my trainees move to Orpington, a few years ago some moved to Penge. I was surprised… but Gen Z they are different. I was told they need extra room to work from home. Moreover, we did not have this huge stamp duty burden that they have now. So moving up the ladder is much harder with so much stamp duty and it is a sunk cost.

Central London is just too expensive! It's not really possible to work your way up via property ladder any more because the market is too heavy with foreign (richer) investors. Unless you have an unbelievable salary and significant progress to match you cannot do it.

Moving out is good. The life is actually now in the outer regions of London and in the burbs because of the above. London reminds me more of Paris now because the centre is so gentrified; and there are whole areas now where no one actually lives. It used to be the other way around, young and vibrant. Now it is rather old!

Well I wouldn't, but I love London. My stepson moved at age 30 with his fiancé to a very meh part of Essex, decent size house but they were expecting and his work is almost entirely from home and hers three days a week wfh.
But you can only advise them to think long and hard about their choice, and then accept whatever decision they make with grace.

I’m 27 and moved out of London with my partner at 26 to Wiltshire! Granted I grew up in the south west so the countryside is my preference — but we visit london all the time. Totally doable and hasn’t impeded our social life. Partner is in his mid 30s and had never lived outside of London (born and bred there) and he is sooooo happy he left!

I think what you're forgetting is WFH.

It's a different lifestyle. They seem to want a separate room each for WFH which is a good idea. Who wants to have to wfh in their bedroom/living room/kitchen if they don't have to?

It's not YOUR choice though.

Not everyone wants to live in a flat in a city. What is some people's idea of fun might seem noisy and chaotic to others - even aged 20 odd I could see the appeal of a house with a garden and a quieter life.

The thought of a 60+ min commute would be a nightmare for me but plenty of people do it, even 5 days a week.

As for social life - that's down to the individual but even a small town has more than enough socialising going on than I would ever want to do