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Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Old Dec 15th 2014, 10:24 am
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by LondonSquirrel
Not really, Steveage is just as close. It's because St Albans is desirable I guess, because of its oldness, being Roman etc. It's just one of those really popular places to live.
That makes sense. My understanding was that anywhere that is easily commutable to London would be very expensive.

Hopefully the population isn't as old as the town.

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Old Dec 15th 2014, 11:34 am
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by rtillsley
Looking at that area. Seems that Luton would be good for easy access to London via rail. Is Luton nice?
No.

Originally Posted by rtillsley
Thanks. I'm guessing it's expensive because of its closeness to London. Importantly, there seem to be cafes!
*Everywhere* has cafes! We've got around 6 just in Wokingham centre, with another few on the outskirts. They're everywhere, you won't find a town without several of them, and a lot of villages have at least one.
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 12:08 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Going back to the OP's original query, his initial choice of towns is expensive.

There have been articles in the newspapers about how people in London with young families are choosing to move to Birmingham and Manchester for lower house prices but good job opportunities.

Personally, I prefer Manchester to Birmingham, but Birmingham has some very nice satellite towns such as Stone or Lichfield. Alternatively, consider Hebden Bridge which has been described as the centre of England's 'second city' for its ease of commuting to northern employment centres.
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 12:10 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by Editha
Going back to the OP's original query, his initial choice of towns is expensive.
Absolutely, but for a lot of people, the salary increase in London makes towns within commuting distance worthwhile despite the higher rent/house price. My husband's salary would be halved if he worked in Birmingham!
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 12:11 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by christmasoompa
Absolutely, but for a lot of people, the salary increase in London makes towns within commuting distance worthwhile despite the higher rent/house price. My husband's salary would be halved if he worked in Birmingham!
But is he a primary school teacher?
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 2:10 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by rtillsley
I find that easy to believe. If it wasn't for the weather, I would have loved to consider Scotland.

Cheers
Depending where you are in Scotland, you can have a much better quality of life despite the weather. I don't want to start another weather thread but Edinburgh has more sunshine than Birmingham. It just depends what you want in life. I've lived in Kent and moved to the West of Ireland and everybody always talks about the Irish weather. Yes it does rain, but it clears up quickly and overall I've noticed that when the summer is crap here, it's the same in the UK. This summer was great and I've actually spent more time outside here, because I can afford a bigger place with a garden that gets sun. We also got our terrace covered and even a small shower doesn't stop the bbq + a lot more daylight in summer. I'm even sitting outside at this time of the year thanks to the fire pit.
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 9:48 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by christmasoompa
No.



*Everywhere* has cafes! We've got around 6 just in Wokingham centre, with another few on the outskirts. They're everywhere, you won't find a town without several of them, and a lot of villages have at least one.
That's great to know. I'd heard from people who used to live in the UK that there isn't the same cafe culture as in Australia.

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Old Dec 15th 2014, 9:50 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by Editha
Going back to the OP's original query, his initial choice of towns is expensive.

There have been articles in the newspapers about how people in London with young families are choosing to move to Birmingham and Manchester for lower house prices but good job opportunities.

Personally, I prefer Manchester to Birmingham, but Birmingham has some very nice satellite towns such as Stone or Lichfield. Alternatively, consider Hebden Bridge which has been described as the centre of England's 'second city' for its ease of commuting to northern employment centres.
My situation may be different from many other primary teachers. My partner earns more than I ever will and needs access to large work centres. So we are able to afford more than I would otherwise.

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Old Dec 15th 2014, 9:51 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by Moses2013
Depending where you are in Scotland, you can have a much better quality of life despite the weather. I don't want to start another weather thread but Edinburgh has more sunshine than Birmingham. It just depends what you want in life. I've lived in Kent and moved to the West of Ireland and everybody always talks about the Irish weather. Yes it does rain, but it clears up quickly and overall I've noticed that when the summer is crap here, it's the same in the UK. This summer was great and I've actually spent more time outside here, because I can afford a bigger place with a garden that gets sun. We also got our terrace covered and even a small shower doesn't stop the bbq + a lot more daylight in summer. I'm even sitting outside at this time of the year thanks to the fire pit.
In Australia we use BBQs as a type of rain dance.

Thanks for the info. I have friends that spent time in Dublin and they couldn't handle the lack of sunlight.

Cheers
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 10:35 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by rtillsley
My situation may be different from many other primary teachers. My partner earns more than I ever will and needs access to large work centres. So we are able to afford more than I would otherwise.

Cheers
What I meant was that outside London, your earnings as a primary school teacher will not be greater in one city as opposed to another, and the extra pay that teachers get in London isn't usually enough to compensate for the higher cost of living (I don't think so anyway).

But it could be different for your partner, depending on her line of work.
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Old Dec 15th 2014, 11:11 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by Editha
What I meant was that outside London, your earnings as a primary school teacher will not be greater in one city as opposed to another, and the extra pay that teachers get in London isn't usually enough to compensate for the higher cost of living (I don't think so anyway).

But it could be different for your partner, depending on her line of work.
Ok, I see what you mean. Teachers' pay in the UK does seem pretty poor. And for London, given rental costs, it would have to be much higher to compensate.

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Old Dec 16th 2014, 12:02 am
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by rtillsley
Let me know how you go.

Sounds like you have a better grasp on it than I do! Cambridge seems to be much harder to travel to London via public transport (for tourism rather than work). Is that right?

Apart from rental price, is there any reason to prefer Oxford or Cambridge?

Cheers

Robert
Cambridge is very commutable. If I remember correctly, there were 2 trains at quarter past and quarter to, that were fast trains (45 minutes to London) and then 2 trains at o'clock and half past that stopped everywhere. I worked in London for a good year after I moved to Cambridge. There were a lot of people commuting then including my banker neighbor who always looked like death warmed up.... Stressful job! I don't have any experience with Oxford besides shopping but a few on this forum that have lived in both cities prefer Cambridge.
For me it depends on where I get a job. I will keep you posted.

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Old Dec 16th 2014, 7:25 am
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Originally Posted by rtillsley
In Australia we use BBQs as a type of rain dance.

Thanks for the info. I have friends that spent time in Dublin and they couldn't handle the lack of sunlight.

Cheers
Well, I reckon they didn't move to the UK either if they couldn't handle the weather, because there isn't a huge difference. Maybe they just didn't like Dublin in general. I'm luckily in the West around Galway, because Dublin would be too big for me. I really wouldn't focus too much on weather for the choice of your location, because nearly every location in the UK will have a temperate maritime climate just like Ireland, so will never match Sydney. I just think that many people focus too much on the weather in this country, but forget one thing. You could be in a location like London that gets a week more sun over the year, but because you have no garden and it's so built up, you might have been better off in another location where you could afford outside space (Just an example).
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Old Dec 16th 2014, 9:11 am
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Loads of cafes in Crystal Palace, can't take more than a few paces before you come across one!
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Old Dec 16th 2014, 10:14 pm
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Default Re: Seeking Advice on where to move to in England

Hi All

Thanks heaps for your advice. I've just gotten work in St Albans, so I guess I'm going to be looking for a place in that area!

You've all been wonderful.
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