Anyone leave London for better and if so where?

csgohan4

Moved to Ashford, Kent from Canary Wharf.

Never regretted it, pays less, but much happier and plenty to do. Can go London in 50 mins door to door. We have a designer outlet for shopping and farmers markets.

I don't miss the tube, but the DLR was more pleasant.

t0rt0ise

clint_S wrote: »

What sort of Job isn't available in any other part of the country? What do you do in London that can't be done anywhere else? Apart from an MP, I really can't think of any occupation or hobby that can be done in London and not in Manchester or Birmingham.

I work on the Tube. Can't do that in Manchester or Birmingham. :rotfl:

Gigervamp

t0rt0ise wrote: »

I work on the Tube. Can't do that in Manchester or Birmingham. :rotfl:

Not those cities, but London isn't the only place in the UK that has tube systems.
According to this website, Glasgow, Liverpool and Tyne and Wear also have them.

Also, there's one planned for Cardiff in the next few years.

AlexMac

SamMitchell wrote: »

Hi we left London and moved to Birmingham, we used Henleycharles.com and they were great. We were able to find a property we needed quickly through them and everything was handled professionally.

Wow, thanks, Sam, fancy that? A recommendation for an on-line estate agency. and from someone in Eastenders! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mitchell_(EastEnders)

They must be really good for you to have set up a new account on MSE just to praise them?

suki1964

We moved from London to NI 10 years ago

I never thought I'd leave London completely, even though we were priced out years before to Morden. But then needing a bigger house and the 7 mile journey to work taking up to two hours, it was a no brainer


However that was just before the crash and DH couldn't find work here, so spent the next 7 years commuting to London monthly

We are slap bang in the middle of no where, in a tiny hamlet of just 8 houses, surrounded my farmland. Nearest shop is an 8 mile round trip

We have no cinema, theatre, clubs, takeaways,24 hr shops

What we do have is a decent life/work balance. DH has taken a pay cut of around 40%, I work zero hour contracts on NMW

We are mortgage free, own our cars, have no debt so we are comfortable if not rich

But we are rich in other ways, we have time for our family, we have strong ties in the community, we are never without something to do or someone to see

We have some of the best beaches in the world just 10 mins away, and seeing as the working day finishes at 4, we have plenty of time to enjoy them

When we first moved here I was terribly homesick for the 24hr life that London allows. I stopped going back regularly about five years ago and now only go maybe once a year for a couple of days

We were just into our 40's when we moved. I don't think I would have done it any younger. Country life is challenging, it can be very lonely if you pick the wrong area. We have been very lucky that we have been so welcomed and accepted in the local community, it's that that has made it work for us

beauthebeagle

Left Canary Wharf in 2014 for West Lancashire, half way between Manchester and Liverpool where we both now work. I do miss being able to leave home/work any time because the DLR is every 4 minute, where I live now trains only run once every hour but overall life is a lot better up here.

Dan-Dan

HiToAll wrote: »

moved to Grimsby from London where noone cares what I wear

I think just wearing clothes is enough in Grimbsy

SailorSam

Hands up everyone who thinks SamMitchell is trying to promote his own buisiness.
Why would a Newie come here just to tell us how good an estate agent is.
Sam the question was..... Has anyone moved ? Not how good was your EA.

Malmo

I don't understand the appeal or attraction of living in London. I studied and worked there for about 14 years and although there are many plus points, there are plenty of minus points, which for me far outweigh the positives.

Take a simple activity, like a shopping trip to Costco or Ikea in a London location. This becomes a busy, crowded nightmare compared to their other branches.

Property prices are outrageously high and you get so little for your money compared to other places.

The attitude of people on the roads is generally less patient and less friendly. I passed my driving test in East London many years ago, but whenever I visit & drive in London these days, I will be honked for literally taking a couple of seconds longer than other drivers to make a decision or to move off! This simply does not happen to the same extent elsewhere.

The availability & size of stores in London is actually not as great as I've experienced outside of the city. For example, if I want one of the larger format supermarkets in London, I need to venture out to find one - not the case with places I've lived in elsewhere.

London is a destination, not a home.

Crashy_Time

Malmo wrote: »

I don't understand the appeal or attraction of living in London. I studied and worked there for about 14 years and although there are many plus points, there are plenty of minus points, which for me far outweigh the positives.

Take a simple activity, like a shopping trip to Costco or Ikea in a London location. This becomes a busy, crowded nightmare compared to their other branches.

Property prices are outrageously high and you get so little for your money compared to other places.

The attitude of people on the roads is generally less patient and less friendly. I passed my driving test in East London many years ago, but whenever I visit & drive in London these days, I will be honked for literally taking a couple of seconds longer than other drivers to make a decision or to move off! This simply does not happen to the same extent elsewhere.

The availability & size of stores in London is actually not as great as I've experienced outside of the city. For example, if I want one of the larger format supermarkets in London, I need to venture out to find one - not the case with places I've lived in elsewhere.

London is a destination, not a home.

Really? Have you driven in Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow lately? I just need to step out my front door here in Edinburgh to see people going into violent rage meltdowns over the most minor traffic delays/mistakes, that`s every day, not special occasions. Most city dwellers in the UK are stressed and angry for most of their commute IME, cost of living and demands on time are part of the problem, but the Me Me Me culture that seems to have crept up on us doesn`t help, plus the fact that the roads are now rammed to capacity everywhere that there is any sort of functioning economy.


IMO London ceased to be very different from the rest of the UK about 20, even 25 years ago, any major city in the UK has the same shop chains, the same pub chains, the same hotel chains etc. etc. and the internet means you don`t even need to be there to get your acting/music/art whatever seen by a wide audience anymore. I have known people from London over the years who never left their postcode, they did everything in the small area they lived in, so maybe that explains some of the fear about moving a few miles up a motorway in some people?