Wanted to get some advice from lifers on here. I potentially have a job down in Dorset pending a medical and a couple other bits. Would mean relocating my life and starting a fresh... Would be a slight pay cut but very similar roles.
Does anyone live down that way that can share some knowledge on what it's like?
Anyone recently moved further out of London that can share anything?
Any stories, words of wisdom would be much appreciated.
Comments
Seriously, have a friend who lived in Welling and worked in a Solicitor's in Westminster. Moved to Poole and commuted up for a year or two until it got too much. So found himself a job in Dorchester, obviously less money, but has never regretted it.
We moved from Erith to East Sussex over two years ago and have never regretted it for even one second. I could never live near london again.
I'd say go for it. He who dares and all that !!
Very interesting. How long was his commute everyday?
How did you find your move from Erith?
So much cheaper than London!!
In all seriousness there's cross roads for us all and sometimes you have to grasp.the moment and opportunities
I would without a doubt move lock stock to an opportunity in Dorset
But that's my own opinion, nothing ventured nothing gained
Moving to the South Coast was the best thing we've ever done. Like living in a different world.
As others have said West and North Dorset are very different in feel to around here but they all have their pros and cons. I moved down in '99 and took a significant drop in salary to do so as well but I don't regret it and wild horses wouldn't get me back to London, (short of a Euromillions win if I'm honest and even then not full time). It is a fab place to bring up kids if you have them (my nephews and nieces take it all for granted though!) but it is not as cheap as people think and the jobs market is pretty shot except for minimum wage telesales, carers and tourism related jobs if any kids are of that age. There's a bit of a financial sector in Bournemouth itself but from what I'm told wages are significantly less than the comparable job in London.
I saw something recently that average house prices are 13 to 14 times the average salary down here but that may not be a factor if you have a place to cash in on up there but for most people it tends to be a one way move.
It is a great place and we are very happy here overall but it is not without it's problems and inconveniences...not least of all the round trip to The Valley!
Feel free to pm me if you don't want to put it on here.
Do it - you wont regret it.
It's like saying I'm moving to Kent, what do you think ? You could be talking Erith or Canterbury.
If you want a sensible answer, you need to be more specific.
As BA said whether it will be a good move for your depends on you and your personal circumstances. However, I think that it's more of a mixed bag that some posts suggest. Kids, your partner, work security, family (e.g. elderly parents), how easily you make friends, your age, your health etc. are all factors.
For me although I'm not sure we did the right thing moving to Hampshire, I don't regret trying to improve the life chances of my kids. However I'm in a relatively secure occupation that is reasonably well paid.
Good luck!
To be honest I haven't got a specific area of dorset I'm looking at. Ideally it needs to have links back to London as my partner will be looking at commuting.
The options for work will be around the Dorchester area I think though that is still up for discussion.
I've read that Lyme Regis is supposed to be really nice. I want peace and quiet and the good old fashioned country (As much as I love living 5 minutes from Crays newest iconic site "The land fill").
Driving down there of a weekend would take me 2.5 hours from Bromley & I crack on.
Driving in rush hour, I should imagine would be a lot more (I couldn't commute every day personally).
Not sure about trains from there, but should imagine it would be pretty slow.
If I was going I wouldn't want to commute.
I have a lot of relatives down there & they all love it.
They have no dress sense & don't know what football is. It's a lot different :-)
However "Dorch" as it's own locally is a nice area to live as is Lyme Regis if you were looking there. As others have said, the house prices are not as cheap as you'd expect compared to salaries, however apart from an area called Boscombe and a couple of places near Poole, you can't really go wrong.
If it's affordable, do it. You will not regret it. Lived here half of my live now and unless it was a luxury place abroad, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
How have you found life down there compared to London/Greater London?