moving away from Leicester

[PAULCFC]

A biIt of context first.....My dad died last year,so we(mrs,2 kids) have a bit of money from the sale of the house and are thinking of going to live up in Northuberland.I've allways wanted to live near the sea and with the sale of our house we can afford it.I'm mid 50's and wife is late 40's.Wife can easily get a job whithin the NHS and i would like a driving job,of course i'd miss going down the City!Has anyone else done the same?

[South Shire Fox]

14 minutes ago, PAULCFC said:

A biIt of context first.....My dad died last year,so we(mrs,2 kids) have a bit of money from the sale of the house and are thinking of going to live up in Northuberland.I've allways wanted to live near the sea and with the sale of our house we can afford it.I'm mid 50's and wife is late 40's.Wife can easily get a job whithin the NHS and i would like a driving job,of course i'd miss going down the City!Has anyone else done the same?

Didnt you fancy moving somewhere closer? Norfolk is 2 hours away and by the sea.. probably alot warmer aswell 😂

[Matt_Lcfc]

I cannot help you with Northumberland (although I know it's a lovely place). However, I live up in Newcastle so if you have any questions about it as a city or the region, then feel free to message me.

[Scotch]

Mon up to Scotland! I'll look you out a kilt. Although, with the money you'd save on buying a house, you could buy a nice one yourself. 

[Nick]

5 hours ago, PAULCFC said:

A biIt of context first.....My dad died last year,so we(mrs,2 kids) have a bit of money from the sale of the house and are thinking of going to live up in Northuberland.I've allways wanted to live near the sea and with the sale of our house we can afford it.I'm mid 50's and wife is late 40's.Wife can easily get a job whithin the NHS and i would like a driving job,of course i'd miss going down the City!Has anyone else done the same?

Moved to rural North Yorkshire into the Dales 16 months ago.

 

Doubt I'll ever go back to live in the midlands. 

 

The thing you'll find across just about all trades based up here is that the wages are significantly lower - it can be harder than you might think to find the right job - its taken us both 12 months to get settled in roles we want to stay in.

 

 

[SkidsFox]

2 hours ago, Nick said:

Moved to rural North Yorkshire into the Dales 16 months ago.

 

Doubt I'll ever go back to live in the midlands. 

 

The thing you'll find across just about all trades based up here is that the wages are significantly lower - it can be harder than you might think to find the right job - its taken us both 12 months to get settled in roles we want to stay in.

 

 

If the OP wants to be near the coast, maybe they should consider the south coast? Choose a place a few miles inland to avoid the excessive mark-up on properties. Generally a better, sunnier climate, plus there will still be job opportunities. NHS and care worker vacancies are very much in evidence down there, given that many people choose to retire there. 

[fox_up_north]

Moved around a lot as a child and adult. If you've never done it before, my advice is you HAVE to make the effort to find friends. You can't just sit around expecting to meet people in the pub - go to local non league games, join a gym class, get involved in volunteering. It's really important you do that. 

[Free Falling Foxes]

8 hours ago, PAULCFC said:

A biIt of context first.....My dad died last year,so we(mrs,2 kids) have a bit of money from the sale of the house and are thinking of going to live up in Northuberland.I've allways wanted to live near the sea and with the sale of our house we can afford it.I'm mid 50's and wife is late 40's.Wife can easily get a job whithin the NHS and i would like a driving job,of course i'd miss going down the City!Has anyone else done the same?

Your post really caught my eye. I was looking at house prices in Northumberland only last week.

I have known a couple of people from there and knowing me as they do, would say to me I would love it as a place to live.

I'm older than you however, in fact, way close to retirement, meaning we'll never do it. Wife's father is very old and she essentially cares for him. Also, most of our grown up children and grandkids live in Leicester and again Mrs. FFF isn't keen on moving away from them.

There are other aging related reasons too that I won't go into here.

 

I guess my point is; do it whilst you're youngish. If not, you may forever be wondering 'what if' otherwise.

 

One thing I would add is the grass isn't always greener. When looking at those houses I mentioned, I also clicked on some links to local news. Sadly familiar tales of drugs, joy riding, closures, poor public transport.

 

Make sure you have your eyes wide open when looking into it.

Edited 27 February 2023 by Free Falling Foxes

[Spudulike]

You don't have to miss going down the City. Not sure how far it is to where you want to live but I'm 140 odd miles away and still manage most home Premier League matches. It's a full day out and will still do for as long as possible (or until I get fed up of VAR and time wasting!). 

 

Good luck with whatever you decide or wherever you go. 

[Sampson]

52 minutes ago, fox_up_north said:

Moved around a lot as a child and adult. If you've never done it before, my advice is you HAVE to make the effort to find friends. You can't just sit around expecting to meet people in the pub - go to local non league games, join a gym class, get involved in volunteering. It's really important you do that. 

Agree. I've moved about a bit and this is the hardest thing as an adult really. You have to be proactive in finding new friends and meeting new people, definitely find a hobby and google for a local meetup group or some evening classes or something. It is daunting the first time you go, even though logically it shouldn't be as you just don't go again if you don't enjoy it and it's easy to be put off going on your own, but it's worth it. There's an app/website called meetup.com which I've used for a few years now to try different social groups.

As for going to Leicester games. I found I didn't miss it as much as I thought, yeah, it would've been good to be able to go to games during the title winning season, but in a way it gives me more time to do other things on weekends when I don't have the commute.

Edited 27 February 2023 by Sampson

[Wymsey]

Good luck with it.

 

Bear in mind that you're not on your own, and sound financially stable; am sure finding suitable employment will come fairly soon to you both and everything else will come into place too.

 

I personally moved to London in September to be with my girlfriend/found a new job and have never looked back; go back to Leicester every few weeks.

Edited 27 February 2023 by Wymsey

[weller54]

8 hours ago, Scotch said:

Mon up to Scotland! I'll look you out a kilt. Although, with the money you'd save on buying a house, you could buy a nice one yourself. 

Throw in a set of Bagpipes and it may sway him.

[weller54]

1 hour ago, SkidsFox said:

If the OP wants to be near the coast, maybe they should consider the south coast? Choose a place a few miles inland to avoid the excessive mark-up on properties. Generally a better, sunnier climate, plus there will still be job opportunities. NHS and care worker vacancies are very much in evidence down there, given that many people choose to retire there. 

Have you seen the property prices in that part of the Country??...

They won't be on par with Northumberland!!

[Voll Blau]

One thing I will say, having moved to a northern coastal community before for work, is to be aware of just how seasonal it can be. My experience may have been skewed because it was a particularly tourist-reliant town (Blackpool), but even the neighbouring towns and villages often felt like quite eerie places to be during the winter months when no-one's around.

 

Being able to see the sea every day was nice though.

[Scotch]

13 minutes ago, weller54 said:

Throw in a set of Bagpipes and it may sway him.

Mate, I'm Scottish and even I hat bagpipes. 

[Lako42]

British coastal communities are weird

 

 

Hope that helps

[grobyfox1990]

1 hour ago, Spudulike said:

You don't have to miss going down the City. Not sure how far it is to where you want to live but I'm 140 odd miles away and still manage most home Premier League matches. It's a full day out and will still do for as long as possible (or until I get fed up of VAR and time wasting!). 

 

Good luck with whatever you decide or wherever you go. 

Yeh agreed. As a male it's very easy, if you like beer and the local sport, you are pretty much guaranteed to make friends if you get out there. I've moved to London (doesn't count as much given it's only 100 miles down the road), Washington DC and the Channel Islands and the formula is foolproof.

[nnfox]

My in laws took early retirement and moved to the Scottish west coast.  It was beautiful up there but 450 miles is quite a treck to see them.  They were also a good 20-30 minute drive to the nearest supermarket.  They stayed there for about 10 years and then moved to Northumberland and now live in a small village near Berwick upon Tweed.

 

Again, it's lovely.  Not so far to the shops and a bit more generally going on around them.  They prefer it to their time in Scotland and only 230 miles from us (takes around 4.5 - 5 hours, and you could probably knock the best part of an hour off that journey time if we were in Leicester).

 

On balance, I preferred our Scottish trips but they're happy and that's the main thing.

[Spudulike]

2 minutes ago, nnfox said:

My in laws took early retirement and moved to the Scottish west coast.  It was beautiful up there but 450 miles is quite a treck to see them.  They were also a good 20-30 minute drive to the nearest supermarket.  They stayed there for about 10 years and then moved to Northumberland and now live in a small village near Berwick upon Tweed.

 

Again, it's lovely.  Not so far to the shops and a bit more generally going on around them.  They prefer it to their time in Scotland and only 230 miles from us (takes around 4.5 - 5 hours, and you could probably knock the best part of an hour off that journey time if we were in Leicester).

 

On balance, I preferred our Scottish trips but they're happy and that's the main thing.

It's all very well parents moving away in retirement but then expect the kids to visit them every 5 mins when they need the inivitable care. My in-laws moved to Bournemouth and now the surviving one has Parkinsons/dementia and wants my Mrs on permanent oncall when she wants something. I try not to be bitter about it but if they'd stayed closer then we could be around whenever. 

[nnfox]

1 minute ago, Spudulike said:

It's all very well parents moving away in retirement but then expect the kids to visit them every 5 mins when they need the inivitable care. My in-laws moved to Bournemouth and now the surviving one has Parkinsons/dementia and wants my Mrs on permanent oncall when she wants something. I try not to be bitter about it but if they'd stayed closer then we could be around whenever. 

Well, there is that.  We'll have to cross that bridge if and when we get there.

 

For the time being, there's nothing wrong with them enjoying peace and tranquillity up there (which also gives us peace and tranquillity down here ).

[Daggers]

If I could get the wife to agree, I’d move back to Colombia in a heartbeat. Or anywhere not England come to that. Unfortunately, we had to come back to this shithole because she missed her family. Any location that offers a better quality of life is a winner in my book, especially if it has a laissez faire approach to laws, cheap alcohol, and sun.

 

Not sure I’d like to move back to the North East mind. It was fun and stuff, but it’s too cold for me and my fingers hurt in the cold these days.

[FoyleFox]

We went to Northern Ireland, initially a 2-year work move, and stayed for 12 years. Loved the scenery, being near to the sea, a slower pace and less crowded. Hated the weather and the biggest issue was being away from family and friends. Although that was made more difficult due to the cancellation of the Derry - B'ham flight, 6 years in. Visits became a more time-consuming and far more expensive operation. A 3-hour trip back became 8 hours and treble the price. Alongside that and ageing parents being a concern, we came back to Leicestershire in 2021.

I'd say the greatest issue I found was making friends, acquired a few casual friends and acquaintances, but missed my proper mates. New friends always seem easier if you have a family, and you meet up with other parents from schools and clubs etc. Plus, from Northumberland, you can just jump in the car.

 

It's better to try it and regret what you did do, not what you didn't. Just research the area and think carefully about your house location. We were quite remote, which was lovely but did make a good few things less practical - nights out, shopping etc. Someone who viewed our old house loved it, but decided it would be too difficult for the kids to meet up with their friends. Another consideration for a family.

 

I don't regret going at all. Am back off to NI this week for work and really looking forward to it.

Edited 27 February 2023 by FoyleFox

[FoxesDeb]

I've said here before that the only thing I miss about the UK is my season ticket, and that has become less over time, we moved abroad just over 2 years ago now.

 

I watch every City game on the TV, and get down to the local team for my 'live' fix. If you can find a better quality of life elsewhere it will be worth the missed trips to the KP. We were very lucky to be able to move at the ages we did, and honestly we've never looked back, if it's what you want do it while you can!

[broughtonblue]

Mrs and myself are mid 50's and moved to Norfolk, near cromer 3 years ago, best thing we ever did. Also kept our season tickets on, so although it's a 6 hr round trip, it also helps us keep in touch with family and friends. If you can afford it, do it. We both gave up jobs with nothing in the pipeline. Decided to buy a holiday chalet that we now rent out, so work probably 10 hrs a week. 

Edited 2 March 2023 by broughtonblue
1

[bovril]

Everybody should move to Norfolk - clean air, great beaches, nice pubs, loads of history, wonderful people 👍