Moving from done south to up north - experiences

[Peckahminn11]

Me and my partner recently visited Newcastle and we fell in love with the people, the town, culture everything. We currently live down south and was wondering if any has any experiences moving far away from home and what your reason was for moving?

We moved to the North West from the South due to DH work - we were there for 10 years. We had a bigger house, people were great - leisure time improved as so many more things to see and do. We loved it. However BIG negative for me was the weather. It’s cold and it rains a lot. Also house prices - took us another 10 years to get back the equity we lost when we moved back as prices down here had gone up so much more. Now we’re retired DH often says he wants us to move back but I wouldn’t just because of the weather. There’s a reason that so many people move to Spain from up north 😂

You loved Newcastle , I went once and was so pleased to return home. Amazing how people have such differing experiences.

We live in the North west but both grew up in the South East. Ended up this way for university for both me and DH, we then met and made our lives here and have moved between various towns / cities.

When I first moved the weather was a shock, as it is definitely rainier but that might not be so noticeable on the east coast.

The other big shock is how much earlier it gets dark in the winter - it can be getting dark from about 3 here in December which makes the night feel really long.

But, we can afford a much nicer house and got on the property ladder much earlier than our friends who live down south.

We work remote jobs so can afford a much nicer lifestyle than we could in a higher cost area.

The landscapes and nature are just stunning. I love hills and lakes and wild coasts.

The people are truly friendlier I’ve found. We have lived in strong communities who look out for each other.

We wouldn’t ever move south now.

We live in London and in Newcastle. DH is originally from Northumberland, so it’s “home” for him.

We drive up and down each month, it’s about 4 1/2 hours each way, so not a big trip, and I think life overall in Newcastle is nicer for us.

Nowadays there are plenty of high-end bars, restaurants and shops, if that’s your thing, but we also like how easy it is to get around, helped by it being so much smaller than London.

Winters can be harder up there, but it doesn’t rain any more than in London, and the near-constant daylight in high summer makes up for it.

It's OK as long as you don't mind people saying 'you're not from round here, are you' as a frequent conversational gambit! The weather is worse but the cost of living is better. I moved for work reasons.

I'm originally from the North but I lived in London for nearly 40 years. My wife's from London, and our son (now early teens) was born there.

We moved to the Eden Valley in Cumbria about 2 years ago.

Our reasons were varied - we love London (and always will) but mainly got jaded with the very visible and serious ASB and drug dealing in our otherwise perfectly nice area. The most worrying thing for us was knife crime among teens. Don't believe the myth that if you're not involved in gangs you're not at risk.

We were also very fortunate to have had a lot of equity in our property which we decided to make use of. Another factor was fancying a change in the latter half of our lives. We'd lived abroad before but Brexit put the kybosh on that.

Took a LOT of planning - and not a few second thoughts - but we did it. It's turned out to be the best thing we ever did.

The Eden Valley is beautiful, peaceful, full of pleasant towns and villages. Good transport links. The people here are just great. Friendly, helpful and welcoming. Total silence at night. Sky full of stars. Very little serious crime. Amazon boxes left on doorsteps remain unstolen.

Lake Ullswater (and the actual Lake District) are a short, easy drive away. We often take our kayak down to the lake after school for a paddle and a picnic.

We are exceptionally fortunate to now be mortgage-free in a home we'd never be able to afford (or even dream of) in London.

Downsides: It rains. A lot. Way more than the South East. You get used to it. Winters can be brutal in some parts. If you like clothes shopping, you'll need to travel - probably right out of the county unless your thing is Gore Tex or Barbour.

There's not much for teenagers (unless they're outdoorsy), although there are a lot of part time jobs for extra pocket money.

We miss our London life sometimes. But not not very often. It's 3 hours on the train for a 'fix'.

FWIW we often visit Newcastle and Northumberland. It's a great city and a lovely part of the county.

One of my close friends and her DH moved to Sheffield basically for quality of life/cost reasons. They don't regret it overall because they own a nice house that they could not have afforded down South and they like the city a lot.

But they do say that almost everyone they meet has lived there a long time/all their life and have lots of existing friends from school etc and family commitments so despite being very outgoing people, they have really struggled to make friends. I think there is a lot more migration into and out of the south of England, especially London which makes it easier to make friends

I moved from Home Counties to West Yorkshire. Purely as I have horses and I wanted to buy a house with land.

We moved 6 months ago and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Everyone is so much friendlier, I’ve already made some great friends, the scenery is beautiful and we have a beautiful big house and loads of land for 70k more than our 3 bed semi townhouse sold for.

Go for it - Newcastle is a great place and it doesn't rain that much (it is protected by Pennines and Cheviots. Does get quite cold in winter (although gets colder in land). It has great transport and fab theatres / galleries / super restaurants / good schools etc. Stays light until 11pm in summer, but gets dark earlier in winter.

I know it seems very far North to you, but we have an office in The City and I am regularly there on the train for the day. Just under 3 hours to KGX on East Coast Main Line. It has an international airport. I think it's a well connected city.

Newcastle is small enough that commuting in and out is pretty easy. This means both that there isn’t the same premium on city-centre living to some other cities and that you have the choice of quite a few nice towns and villages around while still working in the centre.

You can even live as far out as Hexham and still commute in.

I smiled at your comment. I live in Hexham it takes me 45 mins from door to door (Quayside in Newcastle).

Any place along the Tyne Valley is a good shout for commuting trains & buses run regularly and A69 into Town is great.

DH’s uncle used to do exactly that commute; he was in the river police and did Hexham to the Swing Bridge for years.