First time buyer, deciding where to move

rationaldresssociety

I'm in my mid 30s, no dependents, looking to buy a first property and trying to decide between two options:

1. Buy a house somewhere quiet & affordable and stay there (there are a couple of areas I'm considering)

2. Buy a flat in a big city with good employment prospects (e.g. London) and live & work there for a few years before selling and moving to somewhere quieter and cheaper

While either sounds nice, I could really use some advice as to which is the better longterm plan financially. In the shorter term, option #1 is less hassle (certainly if I don't move again) while option #2 may lead to a better salary.

Tabieth

Where do you currently live? Where do you work? Where are your friends / family? What’s your budget? How many bedrooms do you need? (More than one bed in London is very expensive). 

I see owning a property as first and foremost as owning a safe and comfortable home. Yes of course I want it to increase in value. But I’d pick where and how I want to live before I thought about best area to buy to make a profit. 

lincroft1710

A place only has better employment prospects if you have the skills to fill the available vacancies. Being in your mid 30s suggests you would be on some sort of career path, or is this not the case?

housebuyer143

Anyone I know who is single and 30 lives in the city because it's incredibly hard being remote from friends and family and having to drive to all the things you want to do all the time. 

I would think about your life, what you like doing, who you like doing it with, where you work etc and n buy something that fits into what you want and how you want to live now, not in the future. 

If you are living in the city now, don't underestimate how hard it can be to adjust to living remote.

elsien

What job do you have now, and how easy would it be to find a job in the different areas? Can you afford London?

Albermarle

London is not the only city in the U.K. with good employment prospects and a good place to live as well.

SarahB16

rationaldresssociety said:

I'm in my mid 30s, no dependents, looking to buy a first property and trying to decide between two options:

1. Buy a house somewhere quiet & affordable and stay there (there are a couple of areas I'm considering)

2. Buy a flat in a big city with good employment prospects (e.g. London) and live & work there for a few years before selling and moving to somewhere quieter and cheaper

While either sounds nice, I could really use some advice as to which is the better longterm plan financially. In the shorter term, option #1 is less hassle (certainly if I don't move again) while option #2 may lead to a better salary.

Now is the time in your life to increase your salary.  You could live in a relatively affordable area but that is within easy commuting distance of a city where you feel you can progress your career.  

Buy a house rather than a flat as you pay so much in service charges with flats and they do not increase in value at the same rate as houses (usual caveats apply)!

I definitely would not live in London but if you want a large city like London then look at the other large cities in the England.  

Do you have family and friends in a particular location?  Would you like to live nearby?  

newsgroupmonkey_

I know this is going to make me sound like Debbie Downer, but you need to look at a healthy work-life balance.

My father died the year after he retired. He was one of those who worked really hard to ensure he had a lovely house needing no maintenance once he got to retirement. He took few holidays and often started early and worked late, running a part-time business at weekends.

I've learned that life is far too short (I also lost my best friend at 36 and my ex-wife at 40).

I would consider.... where can I get a lovely work-life balance? We decided that the rat-race needed managing. We've moved to a wonderful part of the country in one of the national forests, where we can enjoy the outdoors and rural life, because our interests and hobbies are based around this.

If you're into all the things that urban living offers in terms of hobbies and interests, then go for it!

One life. Live it.

rationaldresssociety

Thank you for all the advice. If I knew how to do multiple quotes in a comment I'd do that; instead I'll try to cover the questions that have come up.

I could afford London, but not centrally; it would almost certainly be a one-bed flat in Zone 2 or 3. My employer has a big office on the edge of London, so that's an area I'm keeping in mind. (I'm also considering other large cities, but I keep thinking maybe London life is an experience I'd like to have, just for a few years.)

I've lived in big cities and tiny villages and everything in between (I'm currently in between), so I'm really not worried about acclimatisation. I don't have much family now, although I would make sure to be within visiting range, and there aren't any friends who'd impact on my decision. The fact that I love city and country life makes it a harder decision, to be honest!

I have a desk job in the engineering industry, and I'm looking at increasing my salary. I probably won't move this year, for various reasons; looking at either 2026 or early 2027.

bouicca21

I’d echo what everyone else has said. But I’d add that OP needs to consider the length of the current commute and possible future commutes plus the nature of transport links. How far would it be to the start of the journey if travelling by public transport?  That can easily wipe out an hour of your day. No point in e.g. living on a route that terminates at London Victoria if the job market is most likely to need getting to the  City.  If driving what’s the traffic like?

Also how much space is needed to feel comfortable? I’d love to live in zone 2 or 3, but there’s no way I could survive in a one bed or studio flat, because I’d feel positively claustrophobic. 

Country v city?  What sort of ‘country’? One bus a week type village or thriving local community with a church, school(s) and pub(s)?

RAS

I'd also add into the mix, how easy is it to get out of a city? I chose my current city because it is easy to get out of it without a car. There are two major routes that take me to places where I can get to rural locations I've known for years. One of these passes the end of the road. They've changed a bit so I'm less into camping as that little riverside basic site is still pretty basic but chocka all season. I'd rather a quieter pod somewhere. There's limited local transport but I'm happy to walk some distance between stays.

And another route takes me to the coast although accommodation is more difficult. 

If I hit the trains, There are more options for small towns and interesting small cities.