Moving to a new city? Is it a bad idea?

LuluTheMuggle

We are considering moving from Watford to Leighton Buzzard (LB) or even Milton Keynes (MK). I work in Watford and DH works in London. DD’s school is in Watford. DH is unlikely to change job as he is very invested in his current job.

DH and I got married just under 10 years ago and set up home in Watford. I had a child from a previous relationship and she is now 13. We have been renting 2/3 bed properties the whole time we have been here and we have finally scraped together a deposit. In April (touch wood) DH is due to get a pay rise and hopefully we will be able to afford a property valued at around £320,000 (we have spoken to mortgage providers). Part of the reason I would like to buy instead of just continuing to rent is that three times now we have had to move due to LL selling/moving back in and the uprooting and uncertainty of renting is quite stressful. I would like a place we can call our own and paint and decorate as we wish, put up a shelf without having to ask someone else first, etc.

In Watford we can afford a 2 bed flat/maisonette. Further down the train line away from London 320 can get a 3 or 4 bed house for that amount. We have been TTC but I’m running out of time and we realise that we may never need a nursery/second child’s bedroom.

One reason we are considering LB is that with the middle school system, in year (which DD will be going into) 8 many other children will be starting a new school so she won’t stand out as ‘the new girl’. Another is that we already know a few people there. DD is very outgoing fortunately. We have discussed a possible move with her and she says she can still keep in touch with Watford people and make new friends where we move.

My mother and sister are in Birmingham, however they never make much effort to see us anyway, even to call, so I am not putting too much weight on the fact that we will be living closer to them.
We live in Watford and door to door it takes DH about 45 mins to get to work in London (about 30 mins on the train and tube each way) It will be an extra 20 minutes on the train each way if we move to LB. And an additional 10 in MK. These are commutes we have done in the past, and do not consider it to be totally unreasonable. Hopefully the train time could be used to read, or possibly study.

It takes me 15 mins to walk to work and DD takes the bus to school. If we move for me the commute will be LB to Watford about half an hour. From MK to Watford 40 min commute. This is just on the train not figuring in the time to get to the station.



I’m worried about schools. DD had to write an entrance exam to get into her current school school (11 plus). I don’t think it’s amazing, but I know there are worse. I really have no idea which school she will be accepted into and the quality of the school if we move. When we moved to Watford we were practically sitting on the school we had wanted to get into but she still did not get a place there, so I understand there are no guarantees and she could end up in a bad school.

Many of DD’s friends have nice houses and she has said she is not so happy that we live in a three bed terrace and has said she would be even less happy about moving into a 2 bed flat. I know a teenager’s logic is not something to base life decisions on, but we are taking her feelings into account.


Staying here - Cons: Less bang for our buck, possibly no room for a baby if it comes.
Staying here: Pros: Settled in the area; shorter commute; established in school, social circle.

Moving to LB Pros: Better house
Cons: Uprooting and upheaval, new school, longer commute.

Moving to MK: Pros, same as LB, even better house.
Cons: Same as LB, don’t know anyone, no middle school system.

I have created a new username for this as there are identifiable details in my question.

Artytarty

Looks like a move with a slightly longer commute makes sense to me.
The upheaval and uprooting is easily outweighed by the benefit of knowing you have security in your own house.
Children adapt, you said a school move is on the cards anyhow.
Go further, get a better house, be happy.
I!!!8217;m not commenting on any of those places specifically because I!!!8217;m from !!!8220;here, not there!!!8221; .
My daughter bought mainly because she too had several landlords who wanted to sell, flats thta thye were happy and settled inane they got fed up of not being sure it wouldn!!!8217;t happen again.

LuluTheMuggle

Thanks for the reply Arty. I think I was not clear. If she stayed in Watford DD would stay at the same school. If we moved to MK she would start at a new school and be The New Girl. If we moved to LB I understand that in year 8 many children start a new school as they have a 'middle school' system so it would be 'all change' in the area. Obviously a good deal of them would know each other and be coming from the same lower school but it would be a bit 'better' if you see what I mean.

LuluTheMuggle

Also just to add, there are some houses or 3 bed properties in Watford for less than £320 but they tend to be 'fixer-uppers'. Neither of us are handy and feel renovation/refurbishment could end up to be quite stressful and expensive if we have to pay people to do it. So we just want to move into somewhere ready to live, maybe paint some walls a colour we like but not having to do anything major.

enthusiasticsaver

You seem to have thought through all the pros and cons and personally I would always opt to buy our own house rather than rent so that would be a big pro. Personally I would prefer to live in a house rather than a flat too so only being able to afford a flat in Watford would be a big con for me.

We moved from the South East to the South West so not just cities but different parts of the country and for much the same reason as you is that house prices were much cheaper then in the South West and my DH was offered a job move. A 2 bed terraced house in south east London bought us a 4 bed detached in Cornwall. We were also moving away from family but that won't be an issue for you but that was a big con for us but we did it anyway and have adjusted as have our families although they didn't like it at the time.

You have looked into schools and I would research that a bit more if I were you particularly if you know people in the new area. Your DD is on board and sounds like she is easily adaptable. 10 or 20 minutes extra on the commute is nothing.

If I were in your position I think I would go for it.

barbarawright

Watford as a commute gives loads of options. If the line to Leighton Buzzard is closed for some reason, how long would the journey take then? Do your kids want to move further away from London just when they are getting to the age where they will soon be able to go into town on their own? And you'll soon have more freedom to leave the kids. Won't you want to go into town in the evenings occasionally? What if your husband has to change jobs and be further away from his London station? Just a few ideas... (from someone who would *never* leave London)

LuluTheMuggle

Thanks for the feedback Enthusiasticsaver. Indeed, we need to finalise the schools research but as I was saying, we could find the perfect school, move three hundred yards away and be told there is no place and be sent across town.

@Barbarawright
With rail replacement it can take an hour and a half. DD is more interested in going into Watford atm, and if we are commuting into London daily I feel we could probably manage a night out there as long as we catch the train by around midnight.

The company he is with has only a London office, but if he had to leave that job, the industry he is part of is very London based, so a new job would also be likely to be in London too.

Kim_kim

I moved from London years ago. I LOVE it. I live in a small village, it!!!8217;s in Surrey, but on the Sussex border, so pretty far out.

Today I worked in Kingston London. I had an hour and a half drive in, it was quicker coming back.

I love driving out and putting miles between the rat race and me :-)

cyantist

How much extra is the commute in terms of money?
I live in Watford (but on the tube line) and travelling to LB or MK were ruled out when we were looking to buy mainly due to the additional cost (though there's two of us commuting the same route into London so it's more expensive due to that). But if you move there's the additional cost of your commute.

I'd rather pay that extra off a mortgage than spend it all on trains.

Although your OHs career is London centric, if he was the other side of London it could add another half hour or more compared to if he worked relatively near Euston.

LuluTheMuggle

Cyantist.

I can't remember the exact figures but the extra commute cost balanced up in terms of lower rent/mtg.

I'd rather pay that extra off a mortgage than spend it all on trains.

The thing is, it would be the same mortgage but for a 2 bed flat/4 bed semi detatched. You can see why it's tempting.

neneromanova

what price range have you been looking at on rightmove? I've typed £350k into there and a few lovely houses have come up. Remember that you can always come down on the pricing if they're finding it hard to sell.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?searchType=SALE&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1408&insId=1&radius=0.0&minPrice=&maxPrice=350000&minBedrooms=3&maxBedrooms=&displayPropertyType=&maxDaysSinceAdded=&_includeSSTC=on&sortByPriceDescending=&primaryDisplayPropertyType=&secondaryDisplayPropertyType=&oldDisplayPropertyType=&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=&newHome=&auction=false