Moving away from the South East

[okgo]

Kermit power said:

How old are you, out of interest?

I'm questioning whether London will be worth living in/near even for another 8-10 years before I can retire. Much beyond that and I can see it becoming ever more of a ghost town. Why would you keep living here if you don't have to for work? More to the point, why would the people on low wages in shops, restaurants and bars keep working there?

36 - I think its a highly personal decision, I still like London, though perhaps will move again within it to get something closer to what I think I want now having got a family.

It isn't really a ghost town though, potentially quieter on Fridays but northern line is back to exactly as it used to be from my experience. Remote only work is quite uncommon, and if you have to do 3-4 days at the office, living in and around London still makes sense. And of course for some industries they still only really happen in any meaningful form within London. Tech roles are pretty unusual I think, but I'm hearing of mates at Salesforce/AWS/Google that are all back in a few days a week now, so I don't think people being mostly remote is all that common now.

That all said, I could easily see why people do want to get out, and given we are remote our plan when my son starts school will be to rent properties for long periods over holidays etc to get away from it all for a while.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

okgo said:

36 - I think its a highly personal decision, I still like London, though perhaps will move again within it to get something closer to what I think I want now having got a family.

It isn't really a ghost town though, potentially quieter on Fridays but northern line is back to exactly as it used to be from my experience. Remote only work is quite uncommon, and if you have to do 3-4 days at the office, living in and around London still makes sense. And of course for some industries they still only really happen in any meaningful form within London. Tech roles are pretty unusual I think, but I'm hearing of mates at Salesforce/AWS/Google that are all back in a few days a week now, so I don't think people being mostly remote is all that common now.

That all said, I could easily see why people do want to get out, and given we are remote our plan when my son starts school will be to rent properties for long periods over holidays etc to get away from it all for a while.

Seems to be a lot of the US owned companies who are forcing people back into the office after Covid (still think its weird - unless productivity dropped through the floor when everyone was at home, why go back? Save on office costs etc and employees save on travel cost plus you have a MASSIVE pool of people to choose from when recruiting too as they don't need to be within an hour of commuting into an office).

Anyway, in response to the OP, I can see why you'd want to escape paying £2k p/m for a rented house but not sure South Wales would be first on my places to relocate to. Yes it'll be cheap but for various reasons... Loads of nice parts of the UK where living doesn't need to cost the earth, many in striking distance of the South East for keeping in touch with friends/family.

[VeeReihenmotor6]

Your kids will be fine with the move, I've moved my kids schools 3 times and they are 10 & 8. It takes them about a few days to settle and they've then made their friends and all is good, my eldest isn't outgoing and is a character to more likely to stuggle with moving as she like routines but no problems and no regrets.

I'm not sure about South Wales. My wife is from Pembrokeshire and I've spent a lot of time over there over the past 15 years. My own wife's family are pretty small minded and the majority have never left Wales, in fact her own parents would have preferred her to stay at home and work at Tesco over the professional nursing career she has built for herself. This doesn't create for a diverse cultural view and I for one would soon tire of it.

Instead find somewhere "professionally active" or a place where professional type people visit.

[Nemophilist]

okgo said:

Shaoxter said:

Contrary to most people's opinions on here, I can't imagine anything worse than living out in the sticks. We've done plenty of holidays to Wales, Scotland, SW England etc. and while it's great for a bit of detoxing from London life, I could never imagine actually living there.

Things like driving 30 mins to a supermarket, most shops/restaurants closed on a Sunday, slow internet and general lack of things to do wouldn't be tolerable for me personally.

It depends on the people doesn't it. Most living in inner London think that way about the suburbs let alone the sticks!

I have debated moving out of London, but have come to realise that most of the places I'd actually consider living that still have good access to town, decent links and places to eat/drink etc are still expensive and mostly are a compromise if you still need to semi regularly need to be in London for work, hence at that point in life suburbs begin to work for people.

For me, I think we're going to stay London based until we retire, obviously at that point we can live wherever we want as all parents will be dead and kids can travel - but I say that as someone not particularly affected by the things that OP mentioned as detractors. In the OP position I'd not be living in the SE, it is expensive and the instant upgrade in life you can get for £2k a month elsewhere and for your children in terms of space is going to be transformative.

That all said, it really depends where OP is specifically today, as that same type of place may well easily be in reach elsewhere for less.

Edited by okgo on Tuesday 23 January 12:36

Our plan is stay in SE commuter belt during working life and whilst kids are in school so they have good transport links and job choices when the time comes and when we retire well spent a few years central city (Barbican) to enjoy all of central London without the work element and then move out when we want to slow down to somewhere a bit more rural

[James6112]

119 said:

We lived by the sea for 30+ years and couldn't wait to get away from it, and all the lower ends of society that used to rain down on it in the summer.

But, horses for courses and all that

Well you rained down on it for 30 years

[Pitre]

You might want to consider Norfolk or Suffolk. Some hidden gems, lots of countryside and not far from London.

[Ynox]

I moved the other way, from Cardiff to the SE (mainly as my now wife was working in London and I got a job down here when we moved in).

I often think about moving back, especially given I'd get a 4 bed detached in a nice part of Cardiff for what my 3 bed semi was here.

That said, I'm reluctant to (and my wife really doesn't want to). As other people have said, Cardiff house prices aren't cheap in areas where you'd want to live. Average salaries aren't that high down there and for me there are a limited set of companies who I could work for (although getting bigger). This means if you get laid off, you'll find it harder to find a job. It's great when you WFH and earn a SE / London salary, but you might be in for a shock if you end up working locally. I also quite like being able to fly in to LHR and being home within an hour or so - Cardiff airport is ste so you'll find yourself going to Bristol or Heathrow to fly to places.

Cardiff is a great city though and punches well above its weight. The valleys aren't great, I'd probably avoid these unless you're a local. Some of the nicer parts of Newport are worth considering.

[Kermit power]

Pitre said:

You might want to consider Norfolk or Suffolk. Some hidden gems, lots of countryside and not far from London.

I thought about that, but isn't it pretty cold, wet and windy throughout the winter months?

[croyde]

Alickadoo said:

croyde said:

I've just spent 5 weeks 'living' in Tenerife and you can rent a 2 bed for £400 outside one of the Spanish non tourist towns.

I'm 61 and seriously thinking of moving there as I think it may well be survivable on the UK pension alone.

Could you give the names of some of those towns?

I was in Icod de los Vinos, did see a place in Los Realejos, a 2 bed with garage and workshop for €400.

Plenty of studios and one beds in the cities of La Laguna and Santa Cruz for a minimum of €600.

Seems if you look north of Teide and stay away from the tourist resorts of the South, you can find a cheap way of life.

I was paying €1.10 for a beer in a bar, €8 for a decent bottle of red in a restaurant, even found a nice Rosado in Lidl for €1.99.

Eating out was very cheap, although food in supermarkets could be as pricey as London but petrol could be had for €1.11 a litre.

Had a full blowout in a Chinese restaurant with a mate, tons of food and a bottle of wine. The bill was €28.

[covmutley]

Been in Cardiff and now vale of glamorgan for 16 years and enjoy it. I wouldn't go west of bridgend. Border area chepstow/usk/raglan/Abergavenny look ok?

As others said, the areas you'd want to live in are not that cheap, but they are cheaper. But there will be places closer to the south east thst are as cheap.

Things you might like- generally traffic not too bad, beaches, mountains, Cardiff is a good city that punches above its weight, a bit cheaper. If those appeal, then take a proper look.

[bennno]

Kermit power said:

Pitre said:

You might want to consider Norfolk or Suffolk. Some hidden gems, lots of countryside and not far from London.

I thought about that, but isn't it pretty cold, wet and windy throughout the winter months?

Supposedly driest part of the uk

[Pitre]

Kermit power said:

Pitre said:

You might want to consider Norfolk or Suffolk. Some hidden gems, lots of countryside and not far from London.

I thought about that, but isn't it pretty cold, wet and windy throughout the winter months?

Don't know where you got that from, but we're generally sheltered from the prevailing SW wind so I'd be surprised.

http://www.essentialtravelguide.com/regional-guide...