Moving out of London

Bollocks. That is precisely one of my concerns, not hopes.

I shall be cashing in my chips and moving away at some point. Not sure when. I like London but where I live (a few doors down from Amey), I feel like I'm not near enough to enjoy it. I work central but Mrs Sparky works out in zone 4 near home, so we rarely do the fun stuff in central mid-week. I'm near to Peckham/Brixton/New Cross but don't enjoy the bars/restaurants there because Mrs Sparky doesn't cycle and public transport is a nightmare. If I lived in Norwich I'd be far, far nearer to theatres/pubs/gigs/restaurants/shopping than I am now. And my 2-bed flat would get me a 3-bed house there.

Apart from 16 months in Cardiff back in the 90s ive spent all of my life in London. I used the love to flash brash fuck you young attitude, was raised on council estates and childrens homes. 95 started a family, mortgage in 96 outlaws lived in the Cotswolds and brother in law lived North Yorkshire so we had good alternatives to London. Times are very different now. I always reckoned that to appreciate all I've had, that I move away, somewhere poor even third world, so that what modest savings I have would be a little more substantial and living costs lower. Set up a small business where cycling is an essential way of life.. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Colombia.

Somewhere without Westfield Shopping Malls or cnuts in Canada Goose jackets.

free time = boredom

Why do you think old people and people in the country do so much gardening? There's nothing else to do. :)

I fucking hate gardening. Tarmac or concrete ftmfw

Bar t.b. how many people in this thread are under 27?

I don't want to lump everyone together, but aren't lot of these "London isn't what it used to be" comments based on people's changes in age and lifestyle?

London is amazing, and yes for lots of it you need money. I don't think it has ever been cheap. If you want to have a family and the trappings that come along with that like safe outdoor space, good schools, etc. then the housing situation makes it prohibitive for most.

But there are still tonnes of amazing things going on for free if you're motivated. I'm sure there must still be a great music scene, wicked house parties, etc. it's just (like me) you're probably a bit old and don't get invited to any.

free time = boredom

free time = no children

The first child takes up 90% of your time.
The second child takes up another 70% of your time on top of that.
...etc...

I'm under 27, and for me it's not got anything to do with schools or kids or gardens. It's more commute and travel distance and cost of living. And as others have said, being pushed further and further out until the exciting stuff in London is annoyingly far away.

But for me personally thoughts of leaving London aren't primarily based on feeling 'London's shit now, I can't bear it, it used to be loads better'. But more just thinking, 'Hang on a minute, there are loads of cities that are wicked and loads cheaper and maybe I would be able to live a more fun life in one of them'.

A lot of the complaints aren't unique to London. This is one of the numerous articles on the phenomenon of livable cities.

http://www.city-journal.org/html/childless-city-13577.html

I do like London but, as a furriner, the really interesting bits in the centre of town are no longer lived in. They are now ghost towns of mega luxury, unoccupied properties that are money laundering exercises for unbelievably dodgy government officials from the former soviet republics. It's killing the place.

Great read, thanks for posting.
The thing that gets me most is that cities like Paris, NYC, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Madrid still feel more like cities. As in, the fact there's people popping outside to pick up milk rather than some c*unt with a clipboard blocking off the road for a whatever reason. The parts of London that I love are now largely office or retail space.

I think people are surprised by how many people do live in central London. Look up from places like Covent Garden and there are loads of flats, many of them LA/ex-LA ones.

My girlfriend was born and bred in Central London, she's still there and many of her mates and family are still in the same area as well but it's not so obvious until you're exposed to it.

I am enjoying this thread. London is fun and all but I like hearing about people who get to hang out with cows and stuff.

A somewhat grim aside to this: I grew up in Gloucester, on Weston Road, just across the park from Fred & Rose & Co. Their kids (well, most of them) went to my primary school, with Stephen in my sister's year. Heather also attended, was a couple of years above my sister. Heather didn't make it past the age of 16 alas. St Paul's Primary was on the corner of my street so we used to see Fred piloting a pushchair most mornings past our house with a range of kids in tow. We'd moved away by the time the awful revelations came out, which is a round-about way of recommending Edinburgh, where I subsequently went to uni and have lived for the past 22 years.

I believe @bazschmaz is here too, so has already outlined some of the great reasons for relocating here, but I'll fire in my tuppence-worth. Having lived in about 10 different areas from the New Town to the Southside, from Stockbridge to Broughton, we finally pitched up in Leith a few years back and love it. It used to have a bad rep back in the 90s - Trainspotting was usually the standard point of reference, and some of it still applies - but it's easily the most multicultural part of the city. Leith Walk is the main thoroughfare from Princes St down to the Shore and has largely avoided a lot of the gentrification that's hit other parts of the city, so expect Chinese/Mediterranean/Polish supermarkets, a whole slew of pubs from vaguely-hipsterish joints through to your total spit-and-sawdust places which are probably the most fun – certainly the cheapest – way of spending a night out. Loads of parks, The Shore is full of decent places to eat, there's a local market every Saturday for your vittals. We've a slew of local breweries, independent coffee places etc. Glasgow tops Central Edinburgh for nights out for the most part, principally due to Edinburgh Council being fuds when it comes to live music venues and there are far fewer tourists or stag/hen parties, and the Festival can be a bit of a false representation of the more permanent cultural scene here.

I'm not sure what line of work you're in, but I've worked in the creative industries for 16-odd years, and faced the opposite dilemma: move to London where most of the work is, or stay here and build up a client list from a significantly-smaller pool. I'm glad I did, principally because, despite competition from down South, there's a wealth of talent up here that manages to do pretty well.

In terms of riding, you can pretty much do a version of Paris-Roubaix on most streets, there's a very good cycle network that cris-crosses most of the city. Inevitably, riding through town will often destroy your faith in mankind due to a fair amount of knuckle-draggers driving about, but it's hilly and I've managed on 48x18 fixed for the last 6 years with no bother.

.

Good article that. This bit resonated with me:

... residents “... experience their own urban location as if tourists, emphasizing aesthetic concerns.” Schools, ... and neighborhood associations no longer form the city’s foundation. Instead, the city revolves around recreation, arts, culture, and restaurants

I grew up on the council estates of Pimlico, by the time I'd left school all of my classmates had already left the area because they couldn't get their own council flat/afford to stay in the area...

I left Pimlico Comprehensive School in 1985! #pluscachange

Did lol. 9/10 for intro.

I lived in London briefly when we got married in the late 90s. I loved working with kiwis and Australians, life was good fun mixing with folk from the Antipodes, where my wifes from. Having been raised in Surrey and going to church back there we decided to move there and have stayed. Our town, where Im 5th generation has become a place where people move to from London for the easy trains, m25 access and Ofstead outstanding schools. Its whacked up prices hard and its become like a mini Fulham. I had a girlfriend who was renting a place here in 92 and the house was worth 70 grand then, 650 grand now, just silly. 2 up 2 down semi. Yes its nice and green, Surrey hills are great and the country pubs are plenty and pleasent but its getting silly. The school i went to as a kid had 1000 kids , now 1700. The catchment areas are controlling house prices and if you are in the wrong road thats it bad school! People are rude on the roads, no courtesy or thanks when you give way. Just glad we bought when we did, Id like to move to the country but the traffic coming back into the town is now buisy in the mornings and wife likes biking the kids to school in 5 mins so we will stay put for a few more years. London has a novelty factor for me and I will always remember my 3 years commuting by van into Little Venice and working in some of the most exclusive areas and houses.

would be a little more substantial and living costs lower. Set up a small business where cycling is an essential way of life.. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Colombia.

Somewhere without Westfield Shopping Malls or cnuts in Canada Goose jackets.

http://canadadouche.tumblr.com/

hugo7
Bar t.b. how many people in this thread are under 27?

I don't want to lump everyone together, but aren't lot of these "London isn't what it used to be" comments based on people's changes in age and lifestyle?

It is not that. Everyone accepts the only constant is change itself but the change has been a very deliberate one that is tantamount to social cleansing.

you could always buy my mums house in glasgow its 20 minutes to the city centre yet in a conservation village , 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms,huge diner kitchen , 2 bathrooms, utility room , 1/4 acre land , garage , garden shed great local pub and the three best schools in scotland right on your doorstep ! i would buy it myself if i could :( 375K ono .....great cycling area too .

Birkenhead FTW.

I'll get my coat.

Sub £1000 a month to rent and we have a deal :-)

FWIW, I was talking to colleagues today about being a posh Geordie. I grew up in a lovely middle class bit of Newcastle. Big gardens, clean streets, local coffee shops and 10 minutes into town on the bus. Now I live in Tottenham, which is .. not like that. But I wouldn't swap back.

Do not underestimate the nasty conformity of the denizens of regional cities and small towns. I went out in the toon on a Saturday night recently for the first time in years, and I saw more fights in one night in Newcastle than I have in a decade in London. Really weird, I was thinking "God, I had forgotten but it really is like this"