Hi all,

A short survey please....

When moving back to England, do you think it's best to a) move somewhere totally new and start again or b) move back to the town you came from?

I am torn beacuse I think moving back to where you came from would not be good in some ways. You left for a reason in the first place and if you went back there, would you want to leave again?
On the plus side, all of my friends are there or around there and so I wouldn't have the worry of meeting new people and really I want to move back to see my friends more. Also the kids would settle easier having friends they could just pick up with as they have been in contact and seen them on visits back.
The place we left wasn't too bad but it is very built up and there is alot of traffic.

My dream is to live further out of London, but still commuteable for work, in the Countryside with lovely walks for my dog. Again though, this means more expensive house so you really have to weigh it up.

Has anyone gone back to where they left? How did you feel?
Or, has anyone started new again and found it hard to make new friends all over?

I'm confused...can you tell? lol

I think that it totally depends on the reason that you left.

If you left the area and country as you wanted to simply try something different then there is nothing to say that the area you left wouldn't still suit.

If you left though as you fundamentally didn't like aspects about it, then they will come back when you are there.
I guess the question is more, what are you more prepared to compromise on. You can't leave an area or country and try and make a new life without having changed or grown yourself. So it may be that the thing that used to annoy you every day is actually something that you can now put up with and live with.

Sorry - that is a bit of a confusing ramble.


In our case, we left UK as we are a mixed marriage. Time to try the other side of the world for a period of time. There was nothing specifically in the UK that we wanted to escape. Love the area that we lived in, but an opportunity came up to come back to NZ for a while, since then of course there has been the GFC and we have become a little bit stuck here.

Thanks for your reply Ble.
We didn't hate where we came from, it was just a bit overcrowded, but quite community spirited at the same time.

I just see these pictures on Rightmove etc with houses backing onto open countryside and it looks so lovely

I think that will be a dream to fulfill later on in life though. The main thing is to have the kids settled back quick with people they know and love and for us also.

We ended up in a new area because I'm used to big corps now and pretty much knew we'd end up in the sth east. If were just me and I could swing it job wise, I'd like to live in Somerset again. But where we are suits us more as a couple.

With the job situation, not sure if you can make any hard and fast rules to be honest.

You're right, you have to go where the work is or within am easy commute to.

Well we live about 15mins from Guildford and can see the canal and meadows and cows from the window. We don't commute to London but plenty do, it's about 45mins. So it's do-able but thrain pretty expensive I think. But the area is very family friendly.

We wanted a totally new place, so we are going home to Dorset.

Originally having been from SW london.

My family are helping us get on our feet there.

Lorry1 if I ever moved back I would not choose to live in my hometown of Preston. Alot of my friends live there but I want something different.

We originally moved back to where we had come from (Lincolnshire), but have since moved down to the South Coast. Much better public transport here, and also the weather is a lot better.

Thanks everyone. My inital thoughts from way back were to move to a brand new place and start over.
Hubby recently came round to the idea and agreed we could move back. (He did this very begrudgingly as he really doesn't want to go, he loves it here!).
He originally said he would never move back to Berkshire as it's so overcrowded and he hated that. But, now he has agreed to return, he said Berkshire may be the easier option for commuting to London...so now I'm all confused
Now I am thinking we should go back there for easier transition for us and the kids and am too scared to start again elsewhere as I won't know anyone.

Hope that all makes sense. I feel like I'm not as my confusion is coming through lol

Hi Lorry1 unless you absolutely hated the place you moved from then going back there would probably be the best option initially to aide settling back in. We came to Canada to try something different, we prefer the UK, still love our place back home and shall be going back within 12 months. Same village, same area as its our home and where we belong as a family. No regrets.

Unless you have a good reason for moving to a new place, I would stay where you are.

Amongst the reasons to move I would include:
-You hated the place which you left
-You don't have a network of friends there/you have friends or relatives elsewhere
-There is somewhere else specific you know you would prefer and be able to settle into well
-There is somewhere else where you know your chances of getting a job or the lifestyle you want are greater than where you left
-You thrive on/enjoy moving to new areas and are adaptable enough for it not to be stressful or cause you unhappiness

I am in a similar situation - I have lived in NW since '82, moved overseas in 2001 and want to return to UK soon. I want to move back to the Midlands where I was raised, but think this may provide problems of isolation and I may regret it.

Good luck with your choice

It entirely depends on your individual circumstances doesn't it? We moved back to the same area as the kids had friends here and we also had a good network of friends here to lean on for support. We knew the schools were good and I suppose the kids were our initial concern.

However some adopt the adage of 'never look back' and would see moving back to the same place as a 'backward' step.

I would go with your gut instinct and what your heart tells you, in my experience it's never normally wrong. Good luck

If I move back it will be for part of the year in retirement. I wouldn't move back to an area I lived in before I left England (and there were several) because I think your expectations would never be met. Places change as do you. I would much rather reevaluate my priorities - for me two biggies are reasonable access to most of the country and an area where there are many hiking opportunities. And I would like the "challenge" of doing something new rather than returning to something "old". Of course, in my scenario I am not going to be constrained by the need for being where I can work.

Thank you everyone I think I know what I want to do...go back to where I came from. I am going back to be with my friends after all and I already know alot of people there.

I will move into my lovely home with a countryside view when hubby retires