Moving up North for better house prices?
Discussion
Hopefully this is the correct subforum for such a topic.
Long story short. I moved to north Oxfordshire Q3 last year for work and for my relationship at the time. Unfortunately that relationship came to an end. The plan was to buy a house in this area. However I've been house hunting for almost a year now and suitable houses are very few and far between. I can count on one hand how many ticked most boxes in that time. My budget is £310k as a FTBer, house must have a garage (which limits options massively around here).
That's when I randomly started browsing on Rightmove further up North. Primarily Lincoln, a city I have visited a few times albeit 10 years ago, but I remember back then really liking the place. Couldn't believe the house prices there though. I could get an equivalent 3 bed end of terrace or even a 3 or 4 bed semi detached for up to £100k less than anything in Banbury/Bicester/Witney/Middleton Cheney etc.
I don't really have any meaningful connections in Oxfordshire anyway. Family is in the midlands (Leicestershire), and I have friends dotted around the country albeit primarily south/southwest, so nothing serious is keeping me here.
Career wise I can get the same job I do now on similar/better pay practically anywhere in the country outside of major metropolitan cities where demand for my profession is lower (think London, Manc, Bham etc).
Has anyone done the same? Changed job, packed up and headed up north primarily for better bang for your buck? As far as I can tell, you pay a massive premium living down south purely for the transport network to London, but if you have no ties to London and don't particularly like the place, why bother?
Long story short. I moved to north Oxfordshire Q3 last year for work and for my relationship at the time. Unfortunately that relationship came to an end. The plan was to buy a house in this area. However I've been house hunting for almost a year now and suitable houses are very few and far between. I can count on one hand how many ticked most boxes in that time. My budget is £310k as a FTBer, house must have a garage (which limits options massively around here).
That's when I randomly started browsing on Rightmove further up North. Primarily Lincoln, a city I have visited a few times albeit 10 years ago, but I remember back then really liking the place. Couldn't believe the house prices there though. I could get an equivalent 3 bed end of terrace or even a 3 or 4 bed semi detached for up to £100k less than anything in Banbury/Bicester/Witney/Middleton Cheney etc.
I don't really have any meaningful connections in Oxfordshire anyway. Family is in the midlands (Leicestershire), and I have friends dotted around the country albeit primarily south/southwest, so nothing serious is keeping me here.
Career wise I can get the same job I do now on similar/better pay practically anywhere in the country outside of major metropolitan cities where demand for my profession is lower (think London, Manc, Bham etc).
Has anyone done the same? Changed job, packed up and headed up north primarily for better bang for your buck? As far as I can tell, you pay a massive premium living down south purely for the transport network to London, but if you have no ties to London and don't particularly like the place, why bother?
Good summary. If you have no ties to London/SE then you might as well move further north. House prices are far more sensible and towns/villages are generally more pleasant. You say that you have connections with Leics so could easily look at Market Hatborough or Melton Mowbray - or, as you say, Lincoln or, my favourite, Derbyshire villages.
Vasco said:
Good summary. If you have no ties to London/SE then you might as well move further north. House prices are far more sensible and towns/villages are generally more pleasant. You say that you have connections with Leics so could easily look at Market Hatborough or Melton Mowbray - or, as you say, Lincoln or, my favourite, Derbyshire villages.
I like Mkt Harborough and Melton however they're both a bit too familiar if that makes sense, since I grew up near those areas. I will likely transition to locum work once a house is sorted and work for myself, so good road networks and access to practices is required. I have a friend who locums and lives in St Neots and he gets regular work quite easily in Cambridge, Biggleswade etc.
If I stay in this general location, realistically the most affordable and geographically suitable areas are Banbury and Milton Keynes. Bedford is a dive from what I've experienced. I've heard Huntingdon is nice, Evesham was beautiful when I did a motorbike route through it and Leamington is nice too.
It's hard to decide really. Up north is certainly more alien to me, but financially if it cuts 10+ years off my mortgage, it seems silly not to.
My sister in law and her husband have done this move, from Purley on Thames (Reading suburbs) to Woodhall Spa, outskirts of Lincoln.
They were able to do a sideways move property-wise, very similar house, but live mortgage free.
On the plus side they have a lot more disposable cash, but on the negative side it is - certainly to her husband - 'miles from anywhere'.
She loves it, he feels a bit cut off. They are approaching retirement though, so he was happy to go along with it.
The reason house prices are higher in N.Oxon is that the M40 corridor gives you reach of a lot of commutable places. Depends on what line of work you are in, but you could be limiting your career options by moving out that way, unless you want to spend a lot of time in the car.
They were able to do a sideways move property-wise, very similar house, but live mortgage free.
On the plus side they have a lot more disposable cash, but on the negative side it is - certainly to her husband - 'miles from anywhere'.
She loves it, he feels a bit cut off. They are approaching retirement though, so he was happy to go along with it.
The reason house prices are higher in N.Oxon is that the M40 corridor gives you reach of a lot of commutable places. Depends on what line of work you are in, but you could be limiting your career options by moving out that way, unless you want to spend a lot of time in the car.
Guy I used to live next door to did this, He was in the bridge building game so was all over the country, he showed me houses he could buy for half of what he was living in and as he was only at home at weekends he thought it was a no brainer to buy a big house in Lincolnshire.
Saw him about 2 years later, he'd come back saying Lincolnshire was crap
Saw him about 2 years later, he'd come back saying Lincolnshire was crap
Sheets Tabuer said:
Guy I used to live next door to did this, He was in the bridge building game so was all over the country, he showed me houses he could buy for half of what he was living in and as he was only at home at weekends he thought it was a no brainer to buy a big house in Lincolnshire.
Saw him about 2 years later, he'd come back saying Lincolnshire was crap
Yes, I wouldn't find Lincs very appealing. There's some great towns and villages in Derbys, Notts, Leics and (a bit nearer London) Northants.Saw him about 2 years later, he'd come back saying Lincolnshire was crap
.
I was watching some program on house renovation, two very contrasting prices.
One small 3 bedroom house in Brockley for £800,000, renovated to become £1.3m+ and a similar house in Huddersfield for £97,000 renovated at £30,000.
Massive difference and ok I would rather live in Brockley but I couldnt not afford the priced, even mortgaged.
One small 3 bedroom house in Brockley for £800,000, renovated to become £1.3m+ and a similar house in Huddersfield for £97,000 renovated at £30,000.
Massive difference and ok I would rather live in Brockley but I couldnt not afford the priced, even mortgaged.
K87 said:
I was watching some program on house renovation, two very contrasting prices.
One small 3 bedroom house in Brockley for £800,000, renovated to become £1.3m+ and a similar house in Huddersfield for £97,000 renovated at £30,000.
Massive difference and ok I would rather live in Brockley but I couldnt not afford the priced, even mortgaged.
The price differences are staggering. When people would tell me 'the norf is cheaper', I assumed it would be a 10-20k difference. Having actually looked into it, it's over 100k difference in some cases. Amazing the amount of pull London has, for whatever reason I don't know. One small 3 bedroom house in Brockley for £800,000, renovated to become £1.3m+ and a similar house in Huddersfield for £97,000 renovated at £30,000.
Massive difference and ok I would rather live in Brockley but I couldnt not afford the priced, even mortgaged.
I moved from a 1.5 bed semi detached bungalow on the Hampshire Surrey border to a 4 bed detached bungalow in 3 times the grounds, on the Shropshire north Wales border, for £10k less 13 years ago. Best move I ever made. I found work easy enough, when I first moved, didn't earn as much, but certainly not enough of a drop to be a concern. Since retired, and don't miss the south east at all.
I have done it and would suggest caution. I made the move in 2008 and since then property prices in the SE have far exceeded any growth further North so the disparity is now even greater. Even applying the same % rises, of course by virtue of the house prices being that much higher in the SE, the ££ gap in cash terms increases.
Very easy to trade "down" from the SE at any stage but if you ever wanted to go back the other direction....
Occasionally I browse rightmove looking at old areas I owned property in the SE and its clear financially I would have been far better off staying down there.
The other thing I have found is that many of the truly desirable areas of the North are just as expensive as nicer parts of the SE, its just there are less of the former and that there aren't really any "bargain" areas of the SE even if they are a s
t hole. Whereas North the st holes are cheap as chips, but the pearls found in small quantity (Ilkley/Harrogate local examples to me) aren't dissimilar in price to what I would have paid in Hampshire.
The other point to mention is do you actually "need" a larger house? I convinced myself the move North was a great one as for less money I could swap a smaller semi-detached house for a large 4 bed with garage and an office etc....but there was only 2 of us and most of the time the spare bedrooms remained unused. In reality, buying a larger house for the money didn't really provide any benefit.
I don't really have any regrets in many ways, and moving area several times has taken my life in an interesting direction that would otherwise not have transpired. When I return to the South and visit pals who have never left the village I appreciate juts how relocating to a very different part of the UK has given me so many experiences I wouldn't have had if I had just stayed living within a few miles of where I grew up. However, on a purely financial perspective, I am not sure its as simple as thinking a cheaper area will set you up better - in my case quite the opposite.
Very easy to trade "down" from the SE at any stage but if you ever wanted to go back the other direction....
Occasionally I browse rightmove looking at old areas I owned property in the SE and its clear financially I would have been far better off staying down there.
The other thing I have found is that many of the truly desirable areas of the North are just as expensive as nicer parts of the SE, its just there are less of the former and that there aren't really any "bargain" areas of the SE even if they are a s
t hole. Whereas North the st holes are cheap as chips, but the pearls found in small quantity (Ilkley/Harrogate local examples to me) aren't dissimilar in price to what I would have paid in Hampshire.The other point to mention is do you actually "need" a larger house? I convinced myself the move North was a great one as for less money I could swap a smaller semi-detached house for a large 4 bed with garage and an office etc....but there was only 2 of us and most of the time the spare bedrooms remained unused. In reality, buying a larger house for the money didn't really provide any benefit.
I don't really have any regrets in many ways, and moving area several times has taken my life in an interesting direction that would otherwise not have transpired. When I return to the South and visit pals who have never left the village I appreciate juts how relocating to a very different part of the UK has given me so many experiences I wouldn't have had if I had just stayed living within a few miles of where I grew up. However, on a purely financial perspective, I am not sure its as simple as thinking a cheaper area will set you up better - in my case quite the opposite.
Have you considered South Warwickshire or slight more west into Gloucestershire or Worcestershire
House prices are a bit cheaper in these areas compared to North Oxfordshire
Or buying a house without a garage but with a plot that has potential for building a garage when your finances allow
I live in North Oxfordshire, at the cheap endvof the Cotswolds, our plan was to downsize to somewhere cheaper when we stop working eg Herefordshire or up north but we've decided we like where we live, it's rural but not too remote, not crowded with tourists like other parts of the Cotswolds, convienent for my work, close enough to interesting cities, airports, London etc
If you can work from up north, could be a good option but be wary if you do have to or decide to move back down then you're back to square one on affording a house with a garage
House prices are a bit cheaper in these areas compared to North Oxfordshire
Or buying a house without a garage but with a plot that has potential for building a garage when your finances allow
I live in North Oxfordshire, at the cheap endvof the Cotswolds, our plan was to downsize to somewhere cheaper when we stop working eg Herefordshire or up north but we've decided we like where we live, it's rural but not too remote, not crowded with tourists like other parts of the Cotswolds, convienent for my work, close enough to interesting cities, airports, London etc
If you can work from up north, could be a good option but be wary if you do have to or decide to move back down then you're back to square one on affording a house with a garage
Recently moved about 150 miles up to North Yorkshire, about 30 minutes north of York and not far from Ripon/Knaresborough.
All I can say is do it. Yet to find a single downside to the move, and even ignoring house prices for a minute the difference in quality of life has been huge for us.
All I can say is do it. Yet to find a single downside to the move, and even ignoring house prices for a minute the difference in quality of life has been huge for us.
marine boy said:
Have you considered South Warwickshire or slight more west into Gloucestershire or Worcestershire
House prices are a bit cheaper in these areas compared to North Oxfordshire
Or buying a house without a garage but with a plot that has potential for building a garage when your finances allow
I live in North Oxfordshire, at the cheap endvof the Cotswolds, our plan was to downsize to somewhere cheaper when we stop working eg Herefordshire or up north but we've decided we like where we live, it's rural but not too remote, not crowded with tourists like other parts of the Cotswolds, convienent for my work, close enough to interesting cities, airports, London etc
If you can work from up north, could be a good option but be wary if you do have to or decide to move back down then you're back to square one on affording a house with a garage
Gloucester no, Cheltenham is quite expensive for what it is, as with Bristol.House prices are a bit cheaper in these areas compared to North Oxfordshire
Or buying a house without a garage but with a plot that has potential for building a garage when your finances allow
I live in North Oxfordshire, at the cheap endvof the Cotswolds, our plan was to downsize to somewhere cheaper when we stop working eg Herefordshire or up north but we've decided we like where we live, it's rural but not too remote, not crowded with tourists like other parts of the Cotswolds, convienent for my work, close enough to interesting cities, airports, London etc
If you can work from up north, could be a good option but be wary if you do have to or decide to move back down then you're back to square one on affording a house with a garage
Evesham/worcester is possible though I've never even been to Worcester in my life.
Milton Keynes is a touch cheaper than north Oxfordshire but I hear it's a bit rough, though every time I've been there it seemed OK to me. Brackley is quite nice too. Not a fan of Buckingham at all, no idea why it gets so much praise. I don't think house prices in any of these areas differs all that much though
Acuity30 said:
I like Mkt Harborough and Melton however they're both a bit too familiar if that makes sense, since I grew up near those areas.
I will likely transition to locum work once a house is sorted and work for myself, so good road networks and access to practices is required. I have a friend who locums and lives in St Neots and he gets regular work quite easily in Cambridge, Biggleswade etc.
If I stay in this general location, realistically the most affordable and geographically suitable areas are Banbury and Milton Keynes. Bedford is a dive from what I've experienced. I've heard Huntingdon is nice, Evesham was beautiful when I did a motorbike route through it and Leamington is nice too.
It's hard to decide really. Up north is certainly more alien to me, but financially if it cuts 10+ years off my mortgage, it seems silly not to.
Have you looked around where your pal lives? I first moved to East Northants - anywhere to the East of the M1 in Northants seemed very cheap, or certainly compared to the South.I will likely transition to locum work once a house is sorted and work for myself, so good road networks and access to practices is required. I have a friend who locums and lives in St Neots and he gets regular work quite easily in Cambridge, Biggleswade etc.
If I stay in this general location, realistically the most affordable and geographically suitable areas are Banbury and Milton Keynes. Bedford is a dive from what I've experienced. I've heard Huntingdon is nice, Evesham was beautiful when I did a motorbike route through it and Leamington is nice too.
It's hard to decide really. Up north is certainly more alien to me, but financially if it cuts 10+ years off my mortgage, it seems silly not to.
We moved from living in Kent, working in the city, up to Worcestershire. Very rural on a small holding and love it. South east was so overcrowded and was always rip off with everything being so expensive. Have been back and cannot believe how much green land has now been built on, so glad we escaped when we did.
Acuity30 said:
The price differences are staggering. When people would tell me 'the norf is cheaper', I assumed it would be a 10-20k difference. Having actually looked into it, it's over 100k difference in some cases. Amazing the amount of pull London has, for whatever reason I don't know.
Of course. There's little well paid work outside of the major cities and the vast majority of that is London/Thames Valley based, couple that with most of the best schools, transport, weather, things to do generally, it all adds up to a fairly compelling package for millions of people. The only thing that’s better out of the south east is the great outdoors and empty space/lack of people - but that isn’t for everyone all of the time.
The U.K. is relatively simple in terms of property market - places aren’t cheap or expensive without reason. As schnoz said, nice bits of other major cities are more expensive than likely where you live now. A mate just sold his place in Surbiton and bought in one of those footballer villages in South Manchester and it was still underwhelming what you got for £750k.
Moved north to Aberdeenshire from Surrey, to be back where I grew up and beside family. But love this area so it wasn’t hard to make the move, despite risking the job / career, but so far making it work.
The house price difference is staggering, I never thought we’d live in a place and area like we do now and we feel extremely fortunate and we say this every day. There are still flats / houses to be had for 100k, and rarely do you see anything above 800k.
I can’t comprend any reason why you’d stay in the south east or close to the cities. Actually I do know, because of the promise of jobs and better pay. Fair. But for me, that comes at a cost of time commuting, spending more of your hard earned on more expensive properties or rent etc it’s a vicious circle. Equally I know there are many people who oppose this view and it works for them.
Sounds like you’re in a great position to choose where ever you want.
The house price difference is staggering, I never thought we’d live in a place and area like we do now and we feel extremely fortunate and we say this every day. There are still flats / houses to be had for 100k, and rarely do you see anything above 800k.
I can’t comprend any reason why you’d stay in the south east or close to the cities. Actually I do know, because of the promise of jobs and better pay. Fair. But for me, that comes at a cost of time commuting, spending more of your hard earned on more expensive properties or rent etc it’s a vicious circle. Equally I know there are many people who oppose this view and it works for them.
Sounds like you’re in a great position to choose where ever you want.
SWoll said:
Recently moved about 150 miles up to North Yorkshire, about 30 minutes north of York and not far from Ripon/Knaresborough.
All I can say is do it. Yet to find a single downside to the move, and even ignoring house prices for a minute the difference in quality of life has been huge for us.
Plus you have some lovely scenery and I'm guessing not far from some nice pubs (Star / Pheasant at Harome or Durham Ox at Crayke, etc...) All I can say is do it. Yet to find a single downside to the move, and even ignoring house prices for a minute the difference in quality of life has been huge for us.
I've thought of it a few times, not to the North of England, but just from where I am now, to where houses can cost 30%-50% less like-for-like.
The problem as always been they're cheaper for a reason. The money I'd save would be eaten up either by a much lower salary to work locally, or on some hellish commute. Maybe WFH would negate that, or it would be a very different picture if I was either trying to get my first house or had so much equity I could be mortgage free.
There are the intangibles too, the reduced opportunities for career progression. Isolation of leaving friends and family behind. Standard of schools for the kids etc.
The problem as always been they're cheaper for a reason. The money I'd save would be eaten up either by a much lower salary to work locally, or on some hellish commute. Maybe WFH would negate that, or it would be a very different picture if I was either trying to get my first house or had so much equity I could be mortgage free.
There are the intangibles too, the reduced opportunities for career progression. Isolation of leaving friends and family behind. Standard of schools for the kids etc.
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