Moving north to get on the ladder?

Is it worth it?

Fallen into the renting trap and as we live in a very affluent area house prices are bordering on the ridiculous. The 2 bed upstairs maisonette we rent at the moment is valued at over £200,000.

With a new baby we want to buy a 3 bed house, but being a single income family it is all but impossible to get a mortgage big enough to dtay in the area.

If we move north we can get a decent size property for a lot less money.

The question is, is it worth it?

Work is not a problem as I can work from home neither is family or friends. Southport is on my radar as my family are originally from there.

What are your thoughts?

I would say - without hesitation - go for it. With modern rail links (and even the roads if you pick your moments), you can be in most parts of the UK pretty swiftly.
Cambridge may be a pretty town with lots of high-tech and history, but it is so ridiculously expensive, we feel relieved every time we go back there that we no longer live there.
Even over here in Gloucestershire, prices are a lot more reasonable and I think most places further north will allow you to get a house you actually like and care about, rather than a hutch you can (almost) afford.
If you have family and friends in Southport, then look there, but if your other half isn't from that neck of the woods, maybe think about somewhere else so that you make new friends together, instead of one of you already having connections.
Have a look on RightMove and see what your money can buy you...

Wow. 200k could buy a 4 bed semi with garage in parts in the west Midlands. My 3bed was half that again.

I would consider it for sure. I moved not that far but 20ish miles from where I was brought up to get the above house. Typically a 3 bed terraced in Birmingham is 50-60k more.

I remember when I first moved to Inverness. I did a search on properties at the price we were selling our 3-bed place for in South Cambridge. The search returned nothing! I started to get really worried until is discovered that there was nothing that expensive in the area! Currently my 5-bed double garage, two living rooms, hallway-bigger-than-some-flats (etc) place in Inverness is about the same price as the 2.5 bed semi I own in Cambridge.

Head north, young man!

If there's nothing keeping you where you currently are then it seems like a no brainer.

Hey MRS,

We have thought about moving to Fife also as my OH extended family live bear St Andrews.

Although work is not an issue for me, i have to think of the Mrs and the eldest who would be 18ish by the time we move.

WHat is the work situation like north of the border?

You can do far worse than southport

Oh yes, spent many a happy years on the pier and amusement park. I even learnt to drive on the beach

Is the sea road still really bumpy?

Afraid I don't really know as I work in NL

AH yes, forgot about that. There are some lovely properties in scotland and the fife area for not much more than 100k.

Yes but Kibera is South

How far north are you looking to go?

Gloucester as Jim mentioned and Lincoln area is cheaper than chips and still only and hour and a half from the capital.

My wife's best friend has just moved to Inverness; she has family in Dornoch.

She transferred with Southern Electric but her husband has found it difficult to find suitable employment.

He was an electrician working for Rolls Royce in Chichester. He wanted to ideally work on the wind turbines but found it very difficult (either through lack of wualification/experience or unavailability).

He's now got himself a job as caretaker in a hotel. It doesn't pay what he was used to taking home but it's employment.

Ha, yes the sea wall is still very,very bumpy. One or two of them are almost to bumpy, speed limit is 50 but I don't go above 40 lol.

The north-east of England has a really modest standard of living, we're always amazed by how cheap things are. Compared to Edinburgh mind where properties command silly money quite a lot of places are reasonable.

Fife is lovely, a really fertile and friendly county (Kingdom ) with beautiful coastal villages which will tend to slightly higher, touristy, prices, but it's handy for Edinburgh, Perth, even Stirling for example by rail, bus and soon-to-be two bridges.

We also need more coupes

If I could move all my friends and family and guarantee myself a job at my current level I would move to Scotland in a heartbeat.

The bits I've been to have all been spectacular.

Conversely, I’d move south in a heartbeat if only the money weren’t such an issue.

There’s no way I could live in a more expensive area on the same money I get now … and that seems to be all I’m offered when looking around.

So staying north of the border it is!

NO! its Grim up north!...


seriously, If you are thinking of doing this for certain best start looking asap! and perhaps go to a town not on a trainline or not too close to London!

I live in Kettering Northants and the House prices are now getting silly here, as we seem to be attracting a lot of commuters being on the Midland Mainline and no more than an hour from London

My neighbours house has increased by almost £40k in 2 years (assuming his sale goes through)

The big question really is, Is this another bubble thats going to burst? a whole new topic possibly!

Teachers, doctors and nurses are in really short supply in the Highlands. Aberdeen used to be a dead cert for work (many people from my village still commute there) but obviously oil prices have made a mess of that.

The reason i moved to Manchester was exactly the same reason.

I was bought up in Poole/Bournemouth The house prices there are insane. So myself and my soon to ge wife moved up 5 years ago. We bought a 2 bed house, close to Bury, around 7 miles outside Manchester. It has fieds out the back tree lined street a good size garden, and a garage.

I say go for it. If it dont work out move somewhere else.

8 house moves in 7 years: I can give you some tips on this...!

Just remember that property differentials are likely to remain, so moving back down sarf may result in the need to downsize.

Yes that was the comment I was going to make.

Also you need to factor in travel/commute costs. There little point saving on house prices only to pay out on travel costs.

When we were looking the cheaper towns locally were attractive but when we looked at the figures they just didn't add up.

Ultimately depends on your reasons for moving and what you want to get out of the move.