To move or not to Move???............ Out of London

Anon113

I currently live in West London, close to borders of Harrow, Greenford and Sudbury. I am 38 years old and have lived in this part of London my whole life, and don’t mind moving as far away as possible. We moved into our current home back in 2001 for £160,000, with a mortgage of £140,000. I have 3 children, 2 are at high school in yrs 12, 9 and youngest is in yr 6. I have been a SAHM for the most part. Husband was main earner and pays the mortgage. I recently went back to college, after I separated from my husband and completed a short course to qualify as an ESOL teacher for Adults. I work freelance at a private college for £10 an hour part time.

We still have a mortgage debt of £95,000, with about 12 years left as we remortgaged 5 yrs ago. I feel after being separated from husband for some time now, its time now to make a fresh start for the kids and I. I have spoken to kids and they don’t mind moving out of London as long as its not the countryside.
Have also spoken to ex about sorting out what happens to the house amicably, at the mo he says he wants to give his share of the house to the kids. I cant afford to pay the mortgage on my wages.

Which is why I have been looking into selling up and moving as house prices have rocketed. Currently propertuy is valued around 350-360k, it’s a 3 bed end terrace, with a big garden but no off-street parking, which can be a right pain at times. If house sells for around that much after paying mortgage off we will be left with about 250-260k cash, (if ex sticks to his word). I do have some savings put away as well for a rainy day.

I have been researching online as to what we could afford close to where we are at the moment and also by moving out of London. I would be looking at buying outright without taking on a mortgage.
I would like a 3/ 4 bed semi-detached or maybe space to convert a downstairs room into a 4th bedroom, off-street parking, good size garden, on a nice quiet road in a decent safe area, and it must be multicultural.

I have looked into High-Wycombe, Reading, Hertfordhsire, Luton and even as far afield as Oxfordshire. I have also considered Birmingham (Harborne, Hall Green) which is a lot further and probably not commutable distance but it’s a city so maybe the prospects of kids finding good jobs locally will be better, and less chance of them getting bored.

I am confused as to whether I should sacrifice on the type of house and street in order to stay within reasonable commuting distance of Central London just in case the kids at some point in the future need to work there, due to lack of decent jobs locally. Or should I up sticks and move as far as Birmingham into a nice big house in a decent area, which is also very multi-cultural and with no mortgage to pay.

Would it be possible to move out of London, live mortgage free and then in the future, sell up, take out a mortgage and then move back to London if we need to? Or is that it, once we’re gone, we’re gone?

Am I crazy for even considering moving out of London?
I am planning on spending time in some of the areas I have mentioned above at some point to get a feel of what they are like and would appreciate anyone who knows them well to share their experiences/ views of what they are like?
Has anyone moved out of London? Where did you go? Whats it like? Please share…
I appreciate other Moneysavers pointing out the pros and cons as they see them as its all very muddled up for me, the more I think about it the more confusing it gets.

Is there some sort of agreement that can be drawn up to say that ex agrees to not taking proceeds of sale of house and that he wishes to give it to the kids?

Thanks for reading and apologies if this has already been asked. I have searched for previous threads but not come across many.

System

You are not crazy at all. I spent most of my life not far from where you are (Ealing/Acton/Uxbridge) and moved out just further along the FGW train line to Burnham.


You have some options for the kind of budget you have. Firstly, I would not consider Luton! If you want to stay on this side of London then your options for commuting are Slough (not very nice in general but certainly some parts are decent - probably Langley or Cippenham would work for your budget), Maidenhead (probably a huge stretch on your budget) or places like Bracknell that are very reasonably priced and can be used for commuting.


On the other side of London you could look at places in Essex and Kent which are commutable into London. Surrey would also have some reasonably priced areas that are on commuter belts.


If you are happy to make a clean break, want reasonably priced housing and don't care for country then you could always consider Milton Keynes or Northampton which are commutable but probably not very practical for long term commuting.

ruggedtoast

If you want to be in a good strategic location you are better off looking at the Midlands. Its cheaper, puts you with access to London and a number of other major cities as well where there are lots of jobs in the kind of things you do.

I escaped London to the SE which is lovely, but expensive. As far as jobs go I have the job I have, a few job opportunities that come up each of which is contested by about 7000 other people from in and around London locally. I have sea behind me and a national park ahead of me or a horrifyingly expensive 2 hour commute each way to get back to the city.

We moved back here for family so it made sense for us but if jobs are important for you I would think twice.

The SE isnt renowned for being especially friendly either, which I would agree with if you are starting out afresh.

Worry_Wart

I grew up in London and then moved to Manchester for uni. The north is way better, I've been here nearly half my life now and never looked back! Cheap, friendly, loads more space and an abundance of countryside. The weather is definitely worse but you get used to that. My family think I'm mad though - they'd never leave London.

movilogo

If you sell your house in London, remember that in your lifetime you are very unlikely to ever be able to afford a house in London again.

Dazedandconfused

movilogo wrote: »

If you sell your house in London, remember that in your lifetime you are very unlikely to ever be able to afford a house in London again.

My friend lives in basingstoke - lovely 3 bed terrace for under 200k and her partner commutes to london each day without difficulty however the train isn't cheap.

They regularly go to london for day trips and although basingstoke isn't the nicest it's very well placed.

Anon113

Thanks everyone for your replies.....:)

Movilogo that is what I am worried about, that if sell up and leave London then it would be impossible for me to get back here again.
On the other hand, I can't afford to stay in this house or this area on my wages, so I will most likely have to move away but how far? Is what I need to work out.
I have lived here my whole life and at the moment feel that I wouldn't really miss it, as long as I was in a nice, friendly area. And the possibility of NOT having a mortgage is Very Tempting indeed!!!!!

akuma

I would suggest Hall Green, I have just moved there and its a lovely area, multicultural, people are nice, safe area and the schools are very good. With your price range, you could find a very nice 3/4 bedroom semi-detached house. Most of the houses in Hall Green have driveways and big gardens. Check out Rightmove.

Anon113

Hi Akuma I have looked on Right move for houses in Hall Green and I was astounded!!!! I also checked on Streetview to get an idea of the area, and I think I fell in love. That is pretty much my idea of an ideal location. If I could afford the same here in London then I probably would stay.

Jenniefour

Anon113 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies.....:)

Movilogo that is what I am worried about, that if sell up and leave London then it would be impossible for me to get back here again.
On the other hand, I can't afford to stay in this house or this area on my wages, so I will most likely have to move away but how far? Is what I need to work out.
I have lived here my whole life and at the moment feel that I wouldn't really miss it, as long as I was in a nice, friendly area. And the possibility of NOT having a mortgage is Very Tempting indeed!!!!!

Are there other possibilities if you decide to stay in London to take the financial pressure off a bit? Getting a lodger, for example. And are you thinking of increasing your work hours? If so, would this be easier in London. After the next General Election another massive round of spending cuts will start and this will, as last time, hit a lot of places outside London very hard. So consider your own work situation going forwards as well as your childrens.

You're doing the right thing by researching properly so you can make a decision. Lots of people have left London, loved it and wouldn't come back. Others have left, wanted to move back and either found they can't get back in at all or have had to downsize dramatically to make moving back affordable.

akuma

Anon113 wrote: »

Hi Akuma I have looked on Right move for houses in Hall Green and I was astounded!!!! I also checked on Streetview to get an idea of the area, and I think I fell in love. That is pretty much my idea of an ideal location. If I could afford the same here in London then I probably would stay.

Thats what sold it for us really, its about 10 minutes drive or 30 minutes on the bike in to city centre, has its own local shopping area and is about 10 minutes from Solihull.