Moving from London to Glasgow, will we regret it?

[spalo]

DH and I are currently early 30s. Live in London and both work very very long hours in our jobs.

Dh can transfer to Glasgow office with a slightly lower salary. I will take a big salary cut but work hours will be more 9am-5pm rather than 9am-9:30pm.

I’m from Belfast so grew up in a small-er city. We love the buzz in London and how easy reaching the rest of the world is. What we don’t like is that even on very high salaries we don’t have much to show due to cost of living/rent/mortgage costs.

We love Glasgow and its west end, every time we visit we say how much we can see ourselves there.

No one will really be able to tell you if you’ll regret it or not, that’s such a personal thing.

Glasgow is a great city, weather will be worse than London but being from Belfast you’ll be used to it!

you are only early 30s, why not give it a go and you may be able to move back in a few years if you don’t like it?

I've done this move (originally from Scotland so moved back home after 15 years in London). I love Glasgow, especially the West End, but it's more expensive here and financially we are worse off than we were in London. Obviously you can buy a nice house for less (though you're still talking well over £1M for a nice house in the West End) but you pay more tax on your salary, a lot more council tax (our monthly council tax is 3 X what we paid in London) and a lot more on gas/energy bills. A car is essential, unlike in London, so there's those costs too. And food/eating out etc is no cheaper - in fact I find it more expensive in that area too!

I love being back in Scotland, but we made the move for family/personal reasons.

We’ve run the figures and even with those factors, our total cost of living would be significantly lower in Glasgow. A nice family home where we live is £3-4m and honestly, we don’t live anywhere particularly wow. Completely get it depends what two lifestyles and areas you are comparing though!

I honestly think the only downside is the lack of real summer. I still pine after the long hot summers in London compared to where I am now in Scotland.
Everything else is better in my experience - and when I moved up the shock of the work/life balance was amazing! Even in my relatively hard-working new office, people just had more of a life and went home after work and didn't just work half the evening as a matter of course (only when absolutely necessary).

It is a bit cheaper living in scotland

I’d say watch out for the taxes and compare carefully. We moved to Scotland about 18 months ago. DH and I pay more income tax and considerably more council tax than London. In addition we recently bought a house and the property tax was double what it would have been on the same priced house in London. I wish I could say you see what you get for it but not really - children are in same class sizes as they were in London and still hell to get an appointment at the local doctors. Despite all that we love it and it’s been the right move for us long term.

Might also be worth posting on scotsnet.

I've lived in London and Glasgow and much prefer living in Glasgow. It's much smaller, so easier to get about, see friends etc. People are much friendlier in Glasgow. It's also very easy to get out of the city... within an hour you can be in the highlands, on the coast or in Edinburgh. For me there is enough going on, good restaurants, theatre, museums etc. And i totally disagree with PP about affordability... sure if you want to live in a huge mansion in the best part of town it's still expensive, but there are plenty of good areas with reasonable prices.

Down sides... it rains a lot more, and the public transport is not great.

nobody can really tell you if you will regret it or not. it seems you can only "enjoy" London at the weekends because you are working into the evening . you can get to the rest of the world from Scotland just logistically it might be slightly more awkward depending where you are going.

Some posters will tell you London is the be all but realistically you can have a good life wherever you live.

I live in Glasgow and work in London just now.
My colleagues are paying a fortune for small houses in the suburbs around London and are envious when they see what they could get up here.

Do you have kids or planning kids? The West End is lovely but very much students and professionals. I love it but you definitely pay a premium. For longer term planning you could consider other areas. Unlike London, commuting in and out of the city centre is quick so even moving 10 to 15 mins away will get you a lot more house for your money and you could be close to good schools etc.
West End could be lovely for a few years though definitely .

Yes higher tax is a pain. However, day to day costs are often cheaper esp eating out etc. NHS although slow there are a lot more benefits in Scotland v England . University is currently still free for Scottish school leavers .

Weather is as you would expect . However in the milder months the ability to be on the beach, at a loch or up a mountain within 40 mins of Glasgow is fabulous.
City centre is compact compared to London but this makes a lot of activities v accessible and lots of cultural events, gigs, restaurants to keep you busy .

I think it would be worth trying for a few years. I dont think you would regret