To leave or not to leave London?

[Applesandpears24]

I keep going back and forth on this and cannot make a decision.

DH is from London and I am from the north. Long story short is that it’s a financial struggle to live here and life feels very hard because of it. Personally I am over London - I loved it when I came down as a young 20-something, but this is no longer the case. DH on the other hand feels happy here but is equally not adverse to moving.

However, I keep on thinking how much better our quality of life could be if we were to move out of London and back to where I grew up. Our 10-year-old would be so upset to leave and I worry it would be a terrible idea to uproot her. The younger children would be okay with the move…What to do? Stay put and move out once the kids or older or roll the dice and see what a move brings? Help!

If you are going to move, I'd time it so that you have the right address to make a secondary application in time (end of October in Year 6). You don't want to move across the country and be stuck going to an unpopular school miles away, because you've missed the application deadline. It took us a year of househunting and conveyancing to get to get to completion in our current house, so if your eldest is 10 then you should make a decision soon.

I'm a born and bred Londoner, and I'd never consider moving except to go abroad. We're very central though, and we make the most of all the culture - lots of things that aren't available elsewhere. DCs are involved in some activities which are only on offer here (at least to a high level) so it would affect them a lot if we moved). I think if you spend your free time doing things that are on offer in any town, amd your jobs don't tie you to London, it makes less sense to stay here.

I and some extended family moved North a few years ago. No regrets. It's a lovely safe environment for tweens compared to London. People are friendly and look out for each other. Renting and buying are far cheaper. It will be hard for your older child but it won't take long to settle in, and just before secondary school is the perfect time.

There are a lot of 'London is a terrible place' threads being started or resurrected just now!