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

blues

Torbay doesn't really fit the 'multicultural' criteria though, although a lot of Eastern Europeans now reside there. Moving from London to Devon would be a big culture change (I've lived in both) especially for your children.

peachyprice

blues wrote: »

Torbay doesn't really fit the 'multicultural' criteria though, although a lot of Eastern Europeans now reside there. Moving from London to Devon would be a big culture change (I've lived in both) especially for your children.

I would think moving from London to Devon would be reason enough for Dad to renege on his agreement to give his share of the house to the children, children that he would never see because it's a 10 hour round trip, on a good day.

lostinrates

Anon113 wrote: »

Cheeswright personally I Love the sea, countryside is a no-no as it would be too much of a culture shock which is why I would prefer to stick to being close enough to a busy area whilst being able to come back to the tranquillity of a peaceful home.
The place has to be multicultural, so the kids can fit right in..,.

Bristol?

Fwiw, I live in the country side in an area specifically where there IS a lot of turn over and that does by its nature mean there is not a white only community. and while I wouldn't go so far as to push a multicultural line its not bad at all. We have in my nearest very small town an afrocarribean hairdressers for example , proving demand for it, can get appropriate hair products, And a Jamaican takeaway, which excited me as I hadn't lived near any where like that outside a metropolitan area before. There are a few black or mixed race couples households in local villages, more in the local town. Had I not seen it here its not something I would have thought of in relation to the area before having a closer look. There must be other pockets outside big city uk and the south east like this?

Anon113

Renting before buying seems like a safer option. Just in case it doesn't work out.
I appreciate everyones help.

bagpussbear

You aren't crazy for wanting to move out of London. I did the move from London in summer 2012 with my husband and son. It was the right time as my son was finishing up his GCSEs and wanting to go to college, so a bit of a natural gap.

I'm a born and bred Londoner and had wanted to move for quite a few years, although I have never lived anywhere else.

We moved to West Yorkshire (would that be too far for you to consider?).

If you walk away with roughly £250K cash, you could indeed buy a house outright up here. I sold my small 2 bed flat in London for £170,00 and paid £175K for a 4 bedroom house here, with large garden, and double driveway. I have crap neighbours, but that's our own fault for not properly checking out this particular area!

You could have so much more space and property up here for you and your children. Pick the right area, and near to a station and you shouldn't have to worry about commuting later on etc.

I would think it would be difficult to move back to London - in my humble opinion - as prices shoot up so much higher, and quickly than elsewhere. That's just my perception, perhaps others will disagree, but I have figure that for ourselves, a move back wouldn't be on the cards.

I would, in your shoes, rent for a while in an area you think you like, just to make sure you are keen on that area and not looking through rose tinted spectacles.

I'm glad we did it. I pop down every so often to see friends, and I miss them but so far have not pined for London, despite it being the place I was born and brought up.

I don't miss the traffic, smog, endless waiting for trains that are too crowded to get on when they do arrive, the cost of socialising, entertainment, parking problems, cost of housing, the general pace of how London moves.

I do miss my friends.

Obviously you are in a bit of a different situation than me given what your husband wants to do re. share of house. And you need to think about what he plans to do re. seeing the kiddies etc. so you must take some professional advice before doing anything.

Shout if you want to know any more.

contestcat

Anon113 wrote: »

Am I crazy for even considering moving out of London?

We made the break to Tonbridge about 6 weeks ago and are really pleased with the decision. There are fast trains to London Bridge and Charing Cross (rail fares are pretty pricy though).
There really is life outside London (Kent is beautiful), it can be scary I’ll admit, but if you choose the right place you won’t look back:o)

Buzzybee90

contestcat wrote: »

We made the break to Tonbridge about 6 weeks ago and are really pleased with the decision. There are fast trains to London Bridge and Charing Cross (rail fares are pretty pricy though).
There really is life outside London (Kent is beautiful), it can be scary I’ll admit, but if you choose the right place you won’t look back:o)

A multitude of places are in reach of London, if you wanted to still experience the vibe. But there are other nice cities not too far, as said above, Reading, Cambridge? You're probably right about avoiding the country if you're a London lover, it's not for everyone.

Gavin83

bagpussbear wrote: »

I don't miss the traffic, smog, endless waiting for trains that are too crowded to get on when they do arrive, the cost of socialising, entertainment, parking problems, cost of housing, the general pace of how London moves.

Surely the cost of socialising and entertainment is the same anywhere? I've been around the country a fair bit and the price of a restaurant and a pint in a pub doesn't vary greatly and the cost of gigs and festivals are roughly the same wherever you are.

I'm lucky in that I have a parking space with my flat but parking is an issue in London. I don't really like driving here either. Commuting seems to be most peoples biggest problem but I don't really have to commute and I'm lucky in that all my travel in London is free so I avoid the expensive season ticket.

I don't find people unfriendly here, I think it's what you make of it. People do certainly keep to themselves more than they do in the country but I like that. You only have to see the topic on nosy neighbours to see how much of a pain non city life can be.

I'll probably do as you did, move out once I'm older but it won't be until a point I have enough equity in my property that I can sell and buy a nice house outright. By then the salary decrease won't matter.

London is certainly a young persons city.

donglemouse

my 2p as someone was has lived in north west england, london, birmingham, bristol, canada & now northern ireland

boring as it is, part of the consideration is probably your employment

if you can get employment anywhere the world's your oyster, if your job prospects (and potentially salary) become more limited outslide london you need to factor this into your thinking i.e.

- could you easily get work outside london? if not, you need to stay within commutable distance

- if you could work elsewhere would it entail a drop in salary/a less inetresting job role etc? if so are you prepared to accept that as a trade off for the stuff a non-london lifestyle brings

i'm not suggesting by any means your employment prospects are your sole decision criteria but's a consideration, no point in deciding you have a burning ambition to live in place X unless you have a plan to give you enough income to afford to pay the bills

angelil

claire16c wrote: »

I was born in Harrow but my parents moved to Berkshire a few miles away from Reading, when I was a baby.

Housing here is very expensive but with your budget you could just about get a 3 bed semi or terrace that needed some work, or something a bit better if you had a small mortgage.

The schools where I live are excellent. And Reading and surrounding areas with all the train stations mean you can work in London easily or still go in for the theatre, shopping etc if you want. Low unemployment, parks, plenty of stuff to do. Its not the countryside but you can go somewhere quiet if you like like Henley for the day and go for a walk by the river for somewhere quiet!

However, if your child is in year 12, I presume you wouldnt move until they had finished year 13 or it could really mess up their A levels?

But at the same time youd need to time it so that the one in yr 9 hadnt started their GCSEs yet.

Was just about to say all this! I grew up a few miles away from Reading too clare16c; whereabouts are you if you don't mind my asking?