Moving out of London

Raz

Raz

Raz

Soldato
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My wife and I are thinking of moving out of London in the next couple of months and are considering Solihull. It’ll be a big move and it’s likely that for at least 8 months I’ll need to travel into London for work, although it’s likely that I’ll be able to work from home a few days a week. The biggest concern for me is the travelling and costs – depending on how far we live from the main station it could be up to 2 ½ hours each way, and almost £8k per annum for the ticket. We like the area (we’ve been up a few times) and it seems to have a good mix of communities, good schools and job opportunities.

Not sure if anyone from here lives up there (or nearby) but I’d be interested in views on whether it would be a good move, areas to look into, etc. We’re not completely set on Solihull but the main reason for moving out of London (we’re in Croydon at the moment) is affordability – wife doesn’t work at the moment so we could probably afford something for around 180-190 max, and I’ve got little two boys too, and with a health problem that’s progressively getting worse I’d rather get something in a decent area now and settle.

IF we move that far the travel will be a real headache but as I’m in the Civil Service I’d be looking to transfer somewhere closer but would work in London depending on working from home options.

Any thoughts on other areas that we could look into? We’ve looked at Basildon, Luton and a few other places as well but other than the travelling distance and costs, we can’t find any faults with Solihull. There’s a few articles on commuter towns as well, but some are quite expensive.
 
Why not move once you've transferred You mention affordability but are you factoring in not only the £8,000 per annum for tickets but the cost of your time while traveling which could be upto 5 hours each day.
 
As above, Solihull is in a really nice part of the world, and Birmingham itself is underrated as a big centre nearby. I lived in Brum/Solihull for 5 years, and am pretty sure that I'll be back one day.
 
Bad idea imo to give yourself that sort of commute for a long time - I'd start looking for a job in Birmingham too. If want to stay employed in London then start looking in the Home Counties+ - a season ticket from Brighton to London is less than £4k and the actual train journey alone is less than an hour each way. Cambridgeshire is nice, Essex/Suffolk borders are another option
 
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ThaReaperGuy said:
Solihull is lovely, it's the "you've done well" side of Birmingham.

I assume you mean £180-190 a week?
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Sorry I should have been clear, it’s £180k-190k for mortgage. Looks like you can pick up a decent 3 bed house for about £175k.

sanaxe1 said:
Why not move once you've transferred You mention affordability but are you factoring in not only the £8,000 per annum for tickets but the cost of your time while travelling which could be upto 5 hours each day.
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scorza said:
Bad idea imo to give yourself that sort of commute for a long time - I'd start looking for a job in Birmingham too. If want to stay employed in London then start looking in the Home Counties+ - a season ticket from Brighton to London is less than £4k and the actual train journey alone is less than an hour each way. Cambridgeshire is nice, Essex/Suffolk borders are another option
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[FnG]magnolia;28426446 said:
You probably want to have a really good think about how a 5 hour commute will affect you on top of a full day's work.
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Indeed, the travel and costs are the major factor in our decision, but as we’re in the process of selling our house here it’s really something we need to think about by the end of the year. I’ve had a few people suggest that we rent in Solihull (since renting costs are somewhat reasonable) and ‘try out’ travelling etc for 6 months or so – and it’ll also give me a chance to look for a job locally.

We’ve got a couple of options, including buying a flat locally but it wouldn’t be long term and with possible long term health issues I wonder if it’s worth settling in Solihull now for the long term i.e. we’d have a 3 bed house big enough for another addition to the family . We’ve both looked at jobs in Solihull and Birmingham and I’d say my wife has better prospects than me but I should be able to find something close by in one of the departments.

In terms of for/against the move, there’s a lot going for the move than against. Costs aside, the travel would also give me time to focus on my studies (Open Uni).

One of the other factors is that Solihull seems to have a reasonable mix of diversity which is important for us – we’ve been to some places where we’ve been given funny looks or comments have been made, and I’d prefer to avoid that! As far as I know, Solihull doesn’t appear to be a hotbed of problems that, say, Luton is. Another ‘for’ was a comment by the West Midlands Chief Constable – I work with the Police and he mentioned as part of another conversation that Solihull was a good area…

Any particular places in Cambridgeshire or Suffolk?
 
Raz said:
Sorry I should have been clear, it’s £180k-190k for mortgage. Looks like you can pick up a decent 3 bed house for about £175k.







Indeed, the travel and costs are the major factor in our decision, but as we’re in the process of selling our house here it’s really something we need to think about by the end of the year. I’ve had a few people suggest that we rent in Solihull (since renting costs are somewhat reasonable) and ‘try out’ travelling etc for 6 months or so – and it’ll also give me a chance to look for a job locally.

We’ve got a couple of options, including buying a flat locally but it wouldn’t be long term and with possible long term health issues I wonder if it’s worth settling in Solihull now for the long term i.e. we’d have a 3 bed house big enough for another addition to the family . We’ve both looked at jobs in Solihull and Birmingham and I’d say my wife has better prospects than me but I should be able to find something close by in one of the departments.

In terms of for/against the move, there’s a lot going for the move than against. Costs aside, the travel would also give me time to focus on my studies (Open Uni).

One of the other factors is that Solihull seems to have a reasonable mix of diversity which is important for us – we’ve been to some places where we’ve been given funny looks or comments have been made, and I’d prefer to avoid that! As far as I know, Solihull doesn’t appear to be a hotbed of problems that, say, Luton is. Another ‘for’ was a comment by the West Midlands Chief Constable – I work with the Police and he mentioned as part of another conversation that Solihull was a good area…

Any particular places in Cambridgeshire or Suffolk?
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Err Cambridge is nice :p There's loads of decent towns in that part of the world, then again it ain't a particularly multi-cultural part of the world. All I can really suggest is to find a station on the mainline into London and look around that area. I would also suggest Crawley in West Sussex, which is definitely diverse but may be over your budget I dunno. It does sound like your heart is set on Solihull though.
 
scorza said:
Err Cambridge is nice :p There's loads of decent towns in that part of the world, then again it ain't a particularly multi-cultural part of the world. All I can really suggest is to find a station on the mainline into London and look around that area. I would also suggest Crawley in West Sussex, which is definitely diverse but may be over your budget I dunno. It does sound like your heart is set on Solihull though.
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Can’t say I liked Crawley much, although perhaps I’m being snobbish. Horley seems ok but again it’s expensive – why move out that far for a 2 bed flat when we can get something similar locally? Also looked into East Grinstead where I’ve got a few friends and again, prices have gone up and it’s not exactly diverse.

To be honest I think it is set on Solihull but am trying to look at other areas which might be a better option in terms of travel. A major issue is that I’d rather deal with the issue of travel if it puts my family in a good position in the long run. Aside from the travel and costs which I mentioned there doesn’t seem to be any other downside to Solihull although it would also mean we’d be away from family (but at least we’ve a couple of hours drive away). My wife likes Solihull and has left the decision to me, as I’ll be the one travelling on a near daily basis.
 
What part of London will you be working in. Makes a massive difference if you can get on the direct line in rather than changing a few times if you commute in.
 
Would not move within spitting distance of Birmingham again. Dull, lifeless city saved only by the relatively agreeable nature of the people. Couldn't comment on Solihull but passed through enough times and was never never struck by it
 
I regularly do the commute from the Dudley side, i get the express from New street (Euston only) and well its a pain in the ... :)

As above, where in London do you work? You would need early starts to avoid tube traffic.
 
I've commuted to London for over 15 years from 40 miles north of Solihull. The big issue is cost if you have to fund it yourself, which I don't thankfully, but that to one side I get superb train services from Stafford, Lichfield, Tamworth or Birmingham International that vary from 1 hour 15 and 1 hour with Virgin from all those stations. Cheaper but slower options exist but if you get on a train from International, the best for Solihull you have 4 and hour, both ways and about 1 hour often without a stop in between. Compare that to slow trains from 30 miles from London and bar cost of chose my train every single time.

Depends where you work and I work in the city maybe 2-3 times a week so have to commute from Euston to the city but that is a 20 minute cab or tube. I have a home office but tend to have to spend time in London as that's where my business happens.
 
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