Move down south - would you do it?

Chives said:
Oh dear. I'm graduating from uni and them moving straight to London to start a fairly well paid grad job - sounds like I'm going to have an awful time :p
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Hope it is well paid. I just about managed when I lived in London from 1989 to 1990 and I was earning £25 to £30k then. I wouldnt have wanted to have lived there on any less
 
It amuses me how people on here comment on something they have no experience of...

Having lived in London for nearly 10 years, I am glad I have experienced it for its highs and lows.

We've just rented out our property in Greenwich and although it is expensive in the South East, it isn't as expensive as other areas e.g. south west, north etc

It depends on your situation and like others have said - your goals. If you're young, free and single - London is a great place. If you're looking to settle down and have kids, then maybe not so great. Although, having said that, people have and have survived. There is so much to do in London, but part of our move is that we had had enough of London and didn't want to raise kids in the smoke.

If you're going to be based in St Paul's then Greenwich/Blackheath although costly is a good shout... there are a few good places on Central Line too - Bethnal Green maybe? Central Line or any train to Cannon Street and St Paul's is a short walk - you could even cycle to work! Also, anywhere that has access to the Thameslink (is it still called that?!) calls at Blackfriars which also isn't far.

I really liked Spinningfields and see where you are making the comparison. The Oast House hanging kebabs are great!

One thing I agree on that others have mentioned is that you may struggle with moving back as you will get used to the income and lifestyle.

BB x
 
Couldn't think of anyone worse than living in London, typical big city and unfriendly place. If you have a social circle then go for it but I would never go down there even for a hefty payrise.
 
Greebo said:
Hope it is well paid. I just about managed when I lived in London from 1989 to 1990 and I was earning £25 to £30k then. I wouldnt have wanted to have lived there on any less
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Will be on 27k. I hope it will be okay.. I'm excited anyway as I've never spent much time in London!
 
Chives said:
Will be on 27k. I hope it will be okay.. I'm excited anyway as I've never spent much time in London!
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Should be OK imo - given that you're just starting out, you can get a decent shared house or apartment and that'll see you get a foot in the door. Only upwards from there :)
 
Six6siX said:
Depends what you mean by interesting!

For example, I've been in St. Albans for about 6 years and whilst it's not a busy city life like London would be, there are plenty of restaurants, bars, a few clubs so a reasonable nightlife and it's got a lot of history (old Roman town, first martyr etc) - quite interesting if that's your thing. Not to mention the architecture and location wise it's close to open countryside - it's not a 'typical' commuter town. There are weekly markets, Christmas markets, it's the home of CAMRA, there's beer/cider festivals.

Thameslink runs 24hrs to and from London in 20mins and goes through the city (except for Saturdays when the last train is around 2.30am or something). So you've got quick access to the city for more entertainment and it's not exactly a 10pm finish which is inconvenient!

See also somewhere like Welwyn Garden City (similar commute times but not quite as much to do as StA - it's not quite as mature and a different style town altogether).
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WGC is as boring as sin. St Albans not so much, but then that is why it's probably one of, if not the most expensive commuter town/city. I have family that live in both.

The issue with all of them is they are just surrounded by farmers fields and a few woody areas. Surrey actually has a lot of woodland, which is one major positive, and one of the reasons it's so much more expensive. None have any kind of mood/mountain/seaside however.

As you say, depends on what you want, which is why I argue that they are pretty much all as boring as sin! :p
 
Amp34 said:
WGC is as boring as sin.
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Oi, I'm moving there soon! :p It's not so bad - I actually go to WGC more than StA town center for anything useful like shopping - there's more happening recently and I think it's on the up. The Thameslink extension link for X-London trains will do a lot for it too I reckon. StA is definitely better for a social life/drinking though :D

If we're in a competition for boring as sin, I see WGC and raise you Hatfield!

Amp34 said:
St Albans not so much, but then that is why it's probably one of, if not the most expensive commuter town/city. I have family that live in both.

The issue with all of them is they are just surrounded by farmers fields and a few woody areas. Surrey actually has a lot of woodland, which is one major positive, and one of the reasons it's so much more expensive. None have any kind of mood/mountain/seaside however.
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There are a lot of woodland walks and trails etc around the area especially south of the town towards Radlett - I go on quite a few walks interspersed with pubs and you're a short drive from the Dunstable Downs or Chilterns if you want to get out a little. I spent a little bit of time in Guildford and that part of Surrey - and it's a very nice part of the world - as you say though, same as StA, it comes at a price! I think the trade off is always going to be in cost/quality of living vs travel time/cost of travel.

Amp34 said:
As you say, depends on what you want, which is why I argue that they are pretty much all as boring as sin! :p
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Well, at least you're close enough to the city to escape the tedium :p
 
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I'm from London and will likely move north with my girlfriend (who is from Manchester) when we're looking to buy. Definitely won't miss the extreme pace of life here or costs.
 
Cheers for the feedback guys, my wage is around ~50k around here. Would be more like 70k in London.

The cost of houses ( like 400k+++ for a poor terrace house ) is obviously rather eye watering.
 
rIcK said:
Cheers for the feedback guys, my wage is around ~50k around here. Would be more like 70k in London.

The cost of houses ( like 400k+++ for a poor terrace house ) is obviously rather eye watering.
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Sounds like a relative pay cut for a similar style of living (especially as you're in 40% tax band). Depends what you're after though really!
 
I lived in London for a couple of years in my 20's I also lived in Reading and did the commuter thing for a year. If you are young and single living in town is cool. That said I was working stoopid long hours so I didn't see much of the City outside Ealing.

Now I live in Auckland, it is way more awesome - but then I am also in my 30's with kids.
 
I don't think I'd want to go from 50k in Manchester to 70k in London personally. Talking as someone that hasn't lived in London and only Manchester, of course...
 
Chives said:
Oh dear. I'm graduating from uni and them moving straight to London to start a fairly well paid grad job - sounds like I'm going to have an awful time :p
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Nah, get a flat share and live like a student for a few years, then hopefully you'll be making double the average salary and you may be able to rent a place of your own on the outskirts (or have a reasonable deposit for a house when you move away from London/abroad). :)
 
London is a fantastic place to live and work. I'm from south Wales but have been in London and the burbs for almost 20 years. Yes property is expensive but just do better and then it doesn't matter. I have a lot of green space around me, beautiful parks, the river, good roads and rail and I'm 25 mins into Waterloo.
 
Maundie said:
I moved out of a 2 bedroomed flat in North Greenwich (brand new we were the 1st tenants in December) and that was £1600 a month, this was just a 5 minute walk from the O2 at the side of the Pilot Inn.

I lived there for 6 months and it was great, the money more than covered my rent and also my morgage back up North
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And that's another thing, if you can keep a property up north you always have some thing to fall back on. And it makes paying silly rent a little more comfortable knowing you have a mortgage and own something.

I live around the Cutty Sark area which we love.
 
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