Pulaski

Must be a different London from the one where Iived. Either that, or congestion in Greater London has declined markedly in the past 18 years.

GeniB

So pleased they ended up in my home city UkWInds. In the the UK of today it has risen from the 'also ran' position of the 80's , when we left the UK .The poorer, neglected city ,to Londons metropolitan might ( not to mention tight grip on the national purse ) To going its own way ,with two outstanding civil leaders ,One amazing Mayor, and some far thinking citizens who have put it firmly back on the map in it's own right. It no longer looks towards London for handouts ( actually its own tax money ) It always was a proud forward thinking city. The first Industrial city in the world. Never lost it's independent thinking ,or spirit. Love it, I wish them every happiness there . I will be travelling back in July to visit it and the Lake District.. my spiritual homes

christmasoompa

I agree with this, lots of lovely areas within a half hour train ride of central London, so you can easily reach it when needed, but not have to actually live in a city if that's not your thing.

Novocastrian

Ahem. A History of Newcastle Upon Tyne

UkWinds5353

Thank you again GeniB

They are very pleased and happy about their good fortune in finding a dream home they can settle into for many years to come. It has plenty of living space not only indoors but the property's outdoor space is amazing. And the design of the structure is a blend between old and new with the outside having real curb appeal. The family living there wanted to downside to a smaller and easier place to manage because their kids are out of the house with their own lives.

Personally speaking I am very impressed because it's a very British home that makes me want to have a similar home in the UK. But we'll see how things work out for me and mine. We're processing options at the moment.

UkWinds5353

My darling wife will be able to perform her job from home, and half of my business interest is going to be put on the sales block, while the other will continue back home in the States with me in tele-communication and directing traffic. And for that reason we don't need to be in any one particular location. For us the main focus is the kids and them having a soft landing into the next place we call home so this transition goes well for them. It's great for a family to make lateral moves based on lifestyle, career or life options. We just want to make sure the kids don't pay a price for our decisions. We have only one left to start and finish college which begins next year and London is being used as a incentive for the middle kid because he loves it there. But a nearby commuter town could work perfectly. We're going over in august to have a long family trip and that should help us to narrow options down.

My friends told us that going through various regions of the UK made their decision process so much easier. I just hope Boris Johnson doesn't become PM, because my wife isn't moving to the UK if Donald Trump's friend is in power.

GeniB

Many claim it Novocastrian ...

UkWinds5353

A very simple home search is turning out to be an adventure in property hunting. First the good points. Properties that are detached are more affordable in London than New York city and by a considerable amount. And there are a lot of options in London which are proper homes, and not Brownstones or Semi detached properties that are imo a good option. But with a full house with young people running around we're going to need space and elbow room outside and indoors. Another major point is that London has more character of style than most of the five boroughs of NYC, and outer London has the normalcy of a neighborhood life that I enjoy so much when living in a large city and not a huge city. When we stayed on the outskirts of Manchester it was pleasant having a slower pace while being near city activities. But my wife say that is the country boy in me. Truth be told I enjoy a three dimensional area to call home because they offer multiple options for sports and various interest. And London will offer my kids a lot of interesting sporting activities and cultural options.

Now the bad points.
A detached property in London is going to start near 1.3-1.5 M which is very expensive, and surprisingly there are a lot of properties available which is shocking because that buys nothing detached in NYC.
Outer London will be quieter than much of London but it still doesn't offer the peacefulness of living in a suburb away on the outskirts of a major city. And outer London may be better but a huge city has a intense presence that can be felt from miles away. Attitudes, behavior, people becoming desensitized, loud sirens, the city buzz will still be there. Not sure double glazing can shutter all that out.

Pulaski

Very poetic. What you mean in your descriptions and distinctions might be clear to you, but aren't at all clear to me.

NYC and London are very different places geographically, with London spreading out more or less equally in all directions, with the obvious exception of the Thames estuary, which is a small slice of a pie centered on London. New York is built on three islands on the coast, which greatly limits its ability to spread and complicates roads and transport.

If you take the M25 as the outer limit of London, then that gives you a rough circle of about 20 miles radius and if you apply that measure to a circle centered on Manhattan then you would include parts of Westchester County and a big chunk of New Jersey, but inside that circle you also have Upper and Lower New York Bay, the western end of Long Island sound, and to the south the Atlantic ocean, so New York is necessarily much more compact, and has therefore, in Manhattan at least, spread upwards.

Another way of saying that is that when you take about detached homes in London and New York you are not comparing like with like. Detached homes within 10 miles of central London are like hens teeth and extremely expensive. And outer London is more like/ equivalent to Westchester County, Long Island, and Northern NJ, and maybe even Western CT.

I do agree that house prices in NY are insane though, and property taxes more so, which is one of the prime reasons that we didn't settle in in New York, despite starting out there.

UkWinds5353

You know, I agree with everything you said about the comparisons between the five boroughs versus all of London. And you were far more descriptive in your assessment while I simply abbreviated the fine points. Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens are structured for height and built on a lot less land while much of outer London is completely different where there are actual two-story homes built on lots. You don't see that in NYC except maybe in some areas of Queens like Kew Gardens for example. I spent a lot of formative years in New York including my University time. So what stands out is how London does have multiple districts offering a traditional neighborhood setting with tree lined houses compared to New York which is known for people living on top of one another in high rises. Although London is much more expensive than a buyer would find in a city like Brighton or Manchester. As a family we will have to see if the tradeoffs are worth everything that comes with huge city life.

We're going over in August and will visit some of the bedroom neighboring towns near London and that should give us a stronger idea for what makes the family feel most at home. When you're busy living your life including career and family then you shift from that focus to changing up everything in a 90 degree turn, it does take a minute to figure out the new reality and that is what we'll have to do.

UkWinds5353

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property...67709743.html#

The above is an example of a home in London but at a premium.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property...67959325.html#

This property is 25% less and is far more house and land but it's in Oxford. That's going to be the difficult factors in deciding where to move. More property and peace and quiet versus my family wanting a big city.

christmasoompa

Most people would consider Oxford to be a good sized city. Could be a happy medium, if you don't want city life but they do? Also easily commutable to London if they need that.

UkWinds5353

I'm open to several options including a few that haven't yet crossed my path. As long as the family settles in well. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to influence the ultimate outcome of where we move to. I have found the major key in somewhat getting my way with my amazing family is to make them feel that they won even when it's a mutual victory. All is fair in negotiating tactics especially when the kids usually side with their mom. Oxford looks nice on paper and we will include a lot of possible cities in our August vacation. Truth is this has only gotten complicated because my Mrs is not going to leave the kids in America if she has anything to say about that. Otherwise we could live like we're young again. But apparently parenthood has a lot to say about that thinking.

christmasoompa

Damn parenthood eh?!

Oxford is a lovely city, and much more chilled than London so could suit you well, but also very youthful with a good student vibe thanks to the universities there, so could suit the kids too. Are you specifically looking for somewhere south?

Novocastrian

It's also VERY congested, both with traffic and tourists. It was bad enough in the late 60s/ early 70s when I studied there but it's 10x worse these days.