Buying a London flat and moving back there in my mid 50s after separation...thoughts/experience?

[JandLandG]

I'm an empty nester and separated - mid 50s.

This time next year, we're selling the family house, going our separate ways and splitting the loot - no mortgage on it anymore.

I moved out a couple of years ago into a nice flat - bliss! (Wasting money on rent, sadly, but...that's coming through my wages and am happy to do so for 2/3 years).

Anyway, for a long time I've thought of moving back to London. Haven't lived there since the 90s, but often there, tbh.

75 per cent of my work is there these days, a couple of our bigger kids live there after Uni - not sure where the youngest one will go to uni yet.

Have always been a regular visitor to London and always enjoyed it. Friends there/near.

So, I'm gonna go back there while I have still have the energy...hopefully.

Even if it's just for 2/3 years maybe.

No chance of retirement for me - freelance for 25 yrs and not much of a pension really.

Budget: 400k -ish.

Area: Zone 1 preferably. Bloomsbury would be my dream...but I may change that.

Any thoughts?

I hear flats are very difficult to sell atm...good for prices going down/cheeky offers, but that may prove a problem down the line for me.

It'd be 2k a month on rent if I took that option; I think I'm gonna buy, tbh. Big deposit, small-ish mortgage - maybe 10k moving costs inc legal and stamp duty.

Pros?

Cons?

Thoughts/experiences?

I imagine myself gadding around town from galleries to coffee shops to theatres and bars - the reality would be quite different, I'm sure, but...maybe a bit of that, come on - I can dream!

Anyway...let me know if you think I'm mad, or am onto something.

Also, buying ex local authority housing looks the best bet for space/value; my kids have lived in those flats as students for a while...any thoughts on that as a potential option?

Thanking you in advance - and apologies for the lengthy ramble.

But could you really live in a flat of 500 square feet?

Well, there's only me.

I'd get a nice sofa bed for any guests that might fancy staying.

We lived in nice 4 bed places when there were 5 of us...a 1 bed place with one of me ups the ratio in my favour!

If one child is still to go to uni, where would they have a room? Or are they sorted?

The market for flats in London is tanking:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/aug/08/flats-in-england-not-selling-slashed-prices-buyer

I just wouldn’t buy one because of all the charges which you’re not in control of, more concerning if you’re in an ex-LA flat, as other have pointed out. Also the increasing likelihood of selling at a loss.

Southwark area?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173916764#/?channel=RES_BUY

Just chipping in. Stamp duty on £400 k is £10k on its own. Might need to account for greater upfront costs.

Well, yeah - obviously the children are always our first concern. I've encouraged him otherwise, but I'd love him to follow his siblings to London, tbh...but we'll see.

ALL of this is dependent on everyone being ok with everything, ofc.

My other half is moving back to home city; we're very well aware that our first priority is to the children...even when they're 19, 23 and 26.

I think you would find it difficult after a while having no storage space and no outdoor space.
Imagine living permanently in a hotel room.
I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that it would be very difficult.
What would happen in a heat wave?

A flat is not comparable to a hotel room! The examples on here all have a separate bedroom, and most have clearly defined areas for the kitchen and living/dining room. Some have balconies too.

I love this plan but I would definitely encourage you to go and view the kinds of places you are thinking about- even if you are not in a position to move at the moment. I think Rightmove can be a bit misleading in that it can make it appear that there are reasonable places available at a price point but then when you actually view them you realise there is something very wrong with them and the kind of place you had in mind is actually another £300k on top.

With that in mind I'd also think about areas which have their own vibe and a short journey into central London but which aren't actually in z1. For example, Highbury- nice area, lots going on, you could get a reasonable one bed in a period conversion with SoF for your budget which will hold value better than a crappy modern flat in z1, and it takes literally 7 minutes on the tube to Oxford Circus. I know your aim is to live centrally but there is central and central, and you may find that the trade-offs are better very slightly further out.

I appreciate what your'e saying here, ofc.

Why I would add is that I don't really want to live in an area that feels like the suburbs; you know, with rows of terraced houses etc.

Highbury is very nice ofc - but it's a residential zone away from the centre if you know what I mean.

I'd like to tumble out of a flat and within a few mins walk be in a place where people are working/socialising etc. Nice n busy.

I'll deffo have to make compromises ofc, but as much as I've enjoyed walking the streets of Highbury, Highgate, Hampstead, Wimbledon etc, I fancy living a bit less suburban iykwim.

Having said that, parts of Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove/Bermondsey/hackney might fit the bill. All very different obviously...just things for me to ponder.

Thanks so much for the input, btw - v much appreciated.

Omg I often want to live in Bloomsbury or Soho, and its UCLs fault!
I went there in the 80s and lived in Fitzroy square for a year, ruined me really for everywhere else. Me and partner and cat live in Forest Hill now in a lovely detached property with gorgeous gardens but a bit of me is living an alternative life just off Russell Square, sometimes in actual Soho.
I reckon you could do it for your budget, just be aware as Kirstie and Phil would say, there will be compromises. Probably not much natural light, studio instead of 1 bedroom, noisy neighbours or very odd layout. However think of the advantages!
And those people who have mentioned the free transport at 60 are not kidding, its amazing. I couldn't believe it but it is real.
The only thing I would add is that there is a great area next to Victoria that is as cool, its got a great vibe, I stumbled on it as my swimming pool since I retired is there. Its near Warwick Way/Tatchbrook estate. Good luck, live for both of us!

I'd like to tumble out of a flat and within a few mins walk be in a place where people are working/socialising etc. Nice n busy. I'll deffo have to make compromises ofc, but as much as I've enjoyed walking the streets of Highbury, Highgate, Hampstead, Wimbledon etc, I fancy living a bit less suburban iykwim.

This is why I picked Highbury in particular- I think Highbury is quite different from the other places on your no list (I'm thinking of the area around H&I station). Lots of people commute to H&I for work, lots of people go out on Upper Street or to the Almeida or Sadlers Wells for a show- it feels much more central than eg Highgate (or Wimbledon which is miles away!) - much more urban with its own centre and definitely nice and busy. Camden I would also put in this category- I mean Camden Town not the borough- there must also be places like this SOTR as well but I don't know that area so well. There is definitely something in between the absolute centre of town and being in suburbia so in your shoes I would go exploring and also get viewing flats.

Also don't rule out renting for a bit to get a proper idea. Good luck!

Thanks so much - don't know this area at all, but I always associate Pimlico with finance bros, bankers, old ladies in twinsets and pearls too, maybe...but...am open to suggestions, as I say.

I live in London, love it and appreciate it more each day. I know if I'm 85 with limited mobility I can shuffle to the shops, post office, GP, pharmacy at the top of my road, even if it takes me an hour there and back.

But to make the most of your 400K, look slightly further out of the centre. The benefits of city living includes frequent, cost effective transport. A 20 min central walk home vs a 20 min tube ride can open up more choice. One beds that are big enough for your youngest to stay over.

If you do go down the ex LA route, do not ever buy a flat with a lift. Lifts breakdown and need regular servicing. They push the service charge amount up horribly.

Absolutely...and you know what, literally in the last hour I've realised that I deffo should rent there for a few months just to be available and get the vibes etc etc.

As I say, London's nothing new to me, but I need to be present and sample everything that's on offer before buying.

I don't want to rent for ages - I've been paying 1700 quid a month for the past couple of years, but 6 months would be fine. 2k a month gets you something livable, if not loveable.

And you're right about Sadler's Wells - that's getting into Finsbury/Clerkenwell territory...

Thanks so much again.

Good info re lifts...unless I'm on the 12th floor, obvs!

I can feel myself getting older now, but hopefully I've got a good decade left in me yet, to enjoy things in a recognisable manner before it all goes downhill.

I'm pretty healthy, but you never know.

I need to do yoga/pilates..flexibility decreasing, fitness on the wain even though I still do a bit of sport.

There's still fun to be had - if I could make a London life work for me, it might be the "third act" I need in my life, tbh.

I've been lucky with my childhood, youth, early adulthood and family life, but a couple of my friends have made moves to improve/develop themselves even more in their 50s...this could be part of that for me.

I wanna get back into playing music, maybe volunteering again when I have time, some other new things tba....

Perhaps not your cup of tea but I love the idea of retiring in Richmond. You’ve got the river and park, great restaurants, theatre and cinema. Then it’s only 20 minutes on a fast train into Waterloo. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90764538

Check out Bethnal Green. 10 mins by tube to the West End. Buzzy but still up and coming and lots and lots of ex-local housing available. Recommend ground floor for future-proofing. The area known as Globe Town is pretty nice and you’re spitting distance from hospitals, the biggest park in London and a tube station. Good luck!

Some hotels have some of these things.
It wasn’t supposed to be to be an exact equivalent, more an illustration of how it would feel - only able to have exactly what you need, no hobbies etc.

I'd like to tumble out of a flat and within a few mins walk be in a place where people are working/socialising etc. Nice n busy.
Highbury/Islington definitely fits that bill!

I find Pimlico a bit dead at weekends.

I think this is a good post.

i’d add the area between Exmouth Market and Angel might be worth a look. There’s been loads of redevelopment around Kings Cross, behind Coal Drop Yard etc so perhaps worth checking out. Also Limehouse might be worth considering or further out into Docklands. None are uber central, but not at all suburban. I don’t know that you’d get a huge amount for your budget in any of those places but you might strike it lucky.

You make it sound like she'll be living in a shoebox, but that's not necessarily the case. Flats aren't all tiny-feeling.
I don't know why living in a flat means no hobbies either.

Why would living in a flat mean no hobbies? The number of hobbies that you do in your home but need lots of space for is tiny, surely?

Honestly, millions of people live in flats of 500 sq ft and smaller. It's really not that strange and perfectly possible to have a lovely full life if you don't fill your flat with crap!