Moving away from ED

[Shankley]

We went north and moved to Hitchin

Train time is approx 30 mins although 2 fast trains and hour during the rush take just 22 mins

We sold our 2 bed vic Terrace and bought a 4 bed detached with garage and large garden less than 5 mins walk from pretty town centre and train station for only ?50k more.

3 outstanding primary schools within a 10 mins walk and a really good all girls secondary school within 1/2 mile.

We thought we would miss The Lane but in reality with 2 young kids we spent less and less time down there.

Now we spend our time with the kids in the garden (swings, trampoline etc) and enjoying having so much space.

Oh, and we have a Waitrose ;-)

[Dulwich chef]

Having nagged my poor husband for 5 years to let us move back to Oxfordshire where we grew up, he has finally accepted a job offer there and we are moving in a few weeks time. Only trouble is, having had my 1st baby here a few weeks ago, I'm now beginning to panic slightly about what on earth I'm going to do without the cafes and shops of Lordship Lane on my doorstep! We're moving to a house just outside a village that is so remote you can't even drink the tap water - talk about going from one extreme to another!

[tor]

We recently moved from ED to West Sussex and have no regrets. We swapped a small (but lovely) 3 bed terrace with a tiny patio garden for 4 bed semi detached cottage with over 1/3 of an acre. The local train station is a 5 minute drive away and trains to LB or Victoria are 40 minutes. We always get a seat and the trains are clean and quiet. Result!

[dulwichgirl2]

Where do people (Tor maybe?) recommend in Sussex? My cousin is thinking of moving there from W london but is not sure as it seems vast.

[MrsLL2b]

We moved 5 months ago to Cheshire. Swopped our top floor conversion flat for a 5 bedroom Victorian semi with huge garden in very nice large village.

I was nervous to leave London despite knowing it just wasn't right for us anymore. We have an 18 month old and another on the way (and hopefully more after that!) so a top floor flat just wasn't an option anymore.

It was really starting to bother me that to live in the catchment area for a half decent state school in ED you would need to buy a ridiculously overpriced and probably too small house, and would need to be a two income family to afford it. The crime levels and general stress of even mundane things like battling the DKH sainos were just taking their toll.

We literally have not looked back since making the move. Like someone else said we still feel like we are on holiday all the time. I have found it really easy to make new friends as everyone is very friendly. Everything is easy (Ikea in 10mins and always empty!), life is simply more enjoyable and there is more time to appreciate it.

I think the keys to a successful move are to choose your new area carefully, be gaining more than your losing (in our case big house, being near my parents and friends, and massively increased quality of life) and being ready to leave London/ED rather than being forced out.

Shocker as it may be.....there is life outside ED!

[Ruth_Baldock]

I think we maye have to move in the next 5 years or so, and unfortunately, that will involve leaving London. I'm not from ED, I live in Camberwell and I LOVE IT. However, we have a 2bdr flat and two babies; 11mo and 2.5y and no garden. We have outgrown the flat but can't buy anywhere at the moment for various personal reasons, one of them being we are on one income and are likely to be for the next 5 years at least.

[dulwichgirl2]

Well exactly, RB.

When people move to eg Cheshire or somewhere else non commutable, they must be doing very easily changed jobs like doctors, teachers etc. We are based here largely because we need to live in London. Someone needs to find cheap square footage and gardens but in london for it to work for me.

[simonethebeaver]

I would love to buy a five bedroom house in Cheshire but both of us need to work in Central London. Our only option if moving away from ED is a cheaper part of London, and the kids are too settled in school to do that for a bit more room. So we stay.

[ClareC]

There are places outside of London with easy commutes. My commute is 10 mins longer door to door than when I lived in ED. It's pleasant too, always get a seat and read books again, something I've barely had a chance to do post children!

[viking]

Nice to see we are not alone contemplating this stuff. Anyone got a top tip or insider info on cool villages in suffolk or essex?

[Carbonara]

oimissus - yes, you have to look ebyond the headlines, but a school which gets 50% A-C GCSEs may well be a very good school. You can't say anything about the standard of education unless you look properley at the stats. Which may show that the school has pushed low ability pupils to a higher standard than predicted - whilst in another school with a better showing of results the actual progress of high ability pupils may be less impressive.

I can't talk about Peckham Academy specifically, but yes, a school with those results can be doing an outstanding job.

[Strawbs]

We went and checked out chiselhurst today and from what we saw we really liked it. Going to do some research!

[El Pibe]

If you're willing to go sliiiightly further afield.....

We're heading off to SE Ireland and building our own, but this gives you an idea of what you can get if you love your property porn.

This house costs less than our 3 bed flat in camberwell!!

http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=615188

[Susie1791]

I'd love to do that El Pibe as I'm originally from there but the dilemma is what to do for work as the economy is so dire but it's a great time to buy property over there!

[El Pibe]

*ahem* yes, we'll cross that bridge........

although to be fair, IT is pretty bouyant there at the mo as everyone with the right skills have buggered off in the other direction, so my fingers are crossed.

Barring that we have a couple of acres so vegetables, chickens and flax should keep us all clothed and fed :-/

[david_carnell]

El Pibe Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If you're willing to go sliiiightly further

> afield.....

>

> We're heading off to SE Ireland and building our

> own, but this gives you an idea of what you can

> get if you love your property porn.

>

> This house costs less than our 3 bed flat in

> camberwell!!

> http://www.daft.ie/searchsale.daft?id=615188

Although you would end up living in something Tony Soprano would be proud of! ;-)

[Susie1791]

Well good luck, I'm very envious! :-)

[El Pibe]

> Although you would end up living in something Tony

> Soprano would be proud of! ;-)

Ha so true, i've ranted about the terrible legacy of the celtic tiger more times than I care to mention!!!

The stunning countryside dotted with an aesthetic that appeals to premiership footballers.

You'll be glad to know we're restoring(ish) a one hundred year old farmhouse and outhouses a good two centuries old!

Hopefully it'll be a little more in-keeping with the architectural vernacular.

[scareyt]

VSG the commute from Canterbury to Victoria is pretty knackering - slow trains and not all that frequent. My sister used to do it every day and was very glad when she stopped! I think it's doable for 2 or 3 days a week but would be tough going up and down on that line every day.

[ClareC]

Canterbury is on the high speed link now.... Not sure how long it takes but suspect @ 45 mins as its the stop after Ashford International.

[helena handbasket]

I think it's about an hour, as the Ashford to Canterbury portion is back on a regular train but there are only a couple of stops in between. I do know the Wye to Canterbury portion is under 15 minutes... Clare would you believe we went from ED to central Kent as well? My husband took the tube from St Pancras to the City. Not bad by UK standards but long compared to the commute from ED station to London bridge.

If you really want some property porn have a look at West Folkestone in the half ?500,000 range; the houses are big and lovely, five minute walk to the station and a good local school. I would (and did) have a hard time deciding between Canterbury and Folkestone as they both had a lot going for them but very different. Also some lovely villages around Ashford.

*edit* just got curious and did a little search, and nothing good for sale in West Folkestone right now, wouldn't you know! But usually some great houses, really.

[reren]

Ooh someone who knows about folkestone ! Im really interested in folkestone - do you live there now helena? Whats it like? Is there lots to do? Does it feel reasonably cosmopolitan?

[Salsie]

Strawbs

We're also looking at Chislehurst. Only 18 mins to Charing Cross and nice villagey feel to it!

[StraferJack]

Many reasons people move out of London but worth noting that if crime is a major driver, further out or villagey doesn't equal safer

Chislehurst for example comes off worse than Central Lewisham or Shooters Hill

http://www.ukcrimestats.com/Neighbourhood/Metropolitan_Police/Chislehurst#League

and significantly worse off than East Dulwich

http://www.ukcrimestats.com/Neighbourhood/Metropolitan_Police/East_Dulwich#League

[little h]

hello

We're going to move to somewhere around Guildford... Possibly Godalming depending on what we can find, does anyone know any ED folks there? We wouldn't choose to go there as although its lovely its still v expensive. But we're moving to be close to my job, and so I can work around school hours. My husband will commute into london still.

We live on the nunhead side of peckham rye park, up near ivydale and will really miss our house and the community here. Just about to put our house on the market. :-(

H