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I live in Romford on this road which I really like.
I had a lot of the same concerns as you re. not knowing anyone and concerns about being further out of town.
I have lived here for just under two years now and for the most part these have been unfounded. Of course, there are occasions where I'd like to pop in to town, which would have been far easier from E3, where I lived before...
You're really not that far away - 20mins to Liverpool St on the fast train is a breeze and the cycle is fine too - I'm really missing it during WFH. You just have to accept that you're a bit further away. I certainly doesn't (or didn't before lockdown) stop me doing London things and socialising.
I would say that I haven't found much to do in Romford socially aside from eating/drinking but I've been busy sorting out the house, so haven't needed a 'hobby'. We also move there with the intention of having a baby sometime fairly soon, so confident that we'll make friends through NCT classes etc. That's the plan anyway...
In short, we have a 2/3 bed house, 100ft garden and back on to a nice park and it cost a third of the equivalent house in E3, which we will never be able to afford.
Feel free to PM me to discuss more and if you head out this way, I'll be free for a hang!
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Quincy
Moving out of London has started becoming a real option in my life. My other half part owns a flat in NW10, not exactly central but near the tube, but now we want something a bit bigger, a real second bedroom for a potential sprog, ideally a garden too. We both earn alright but that doesn't get you that far in London. The difficulty is that if she does squeeze one out she won't be able to work for a while, and doing something remote or part time will make child care easier too, this means if we get a mortgage at the max we can afford now we may be screwed when the monster appears.
So we're now looking at what we could afford on my salary alone if it comes to it and for the kind of place we want that's meaning we're now looking at Dagenham, Romford etc. Essex rather than London. First question, anyone do this commute? What's it like on public transport as well as cycling?
I grew up in the North so when we realised we'd have to downgrade our expectations a lot I thought of Leeds. You can get something literally twice the size for 2/3 the price. My work has a small office up there and I know some other tech company have opened offices there recently, but there's a chance I could work remotely too. Second question, what kind of things should I sort out if I am serious about moving to a new city? How do people get a feeling for an area or neighbourhood?
The main thing that scares me about leaving London is not knowing anyone in the new area, especially if I do end up working remotely, I don't want to become a hermit. I guess I could join a cycle club up there but Third question, how have other people dealt with this?
Am I mad to think Dagenham is so far out of London I may as well be in Leeds? For example these are the kinds of places we're looking at:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96576704.html
for nearly half the price:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96084623.html