Life After London: Looking to Winchester
For a more detailed guide on Living In Winchester
Leaving London for many people seems to be a right of passage. Despite both growing up in and loving London, my husband and I realised we would have to make the move in at the beginning of 2018.
But the question is where to go, many people will have considerations such as:
- What is the commute to London like?
- Where would I fit in?
- What are the schools like?
- What is it like for children?
- What is the community like?
- Where can I get lots of house for our money?
- Are their good childcare options
- Are their other families?
- Are their things to do for Mums on maternity leave?
- Are the locals friendly?
- What is public transport like?
- What is the housing market like?
- Will I be ruining my child’s life by moving out of London?
These were all the things we were wondering about. Plus as a self employed newborn and family photographer in London, I was wondering if I would be able to move my business to Hampshire successfully.
In 2018 we realised we really needed to move to improve our quality of life. We were looking for cleaner air, a simpler life and smaller community, bigger house and garden, to be closer to nature.
Initially we considered Winchester, Surrey and Bristol but focused our sights on Winchester for these reasons.
1. Historic & Pretty Town Centre: I’m a creative, a photographer and love pretty buildings - I could imagine that I’d be walking through town a lot and wanted to come to a pretty place. It has always been a dream to live in a pretty city with pretty buildings, just to be able to walk about to activities and to feel the history and beauty of my surroundings. Winchester is perfect really, with beautiful parks and the cathedral, as well as nice old buildings on the High Street.
2. Commutable to Waterloo, London: The London - Winchester commute is 1 hr station to station. My husband was initially working in Teddington which added a significant amount of time on to his journey. 9 Months after we moved, he changed jobs to Southampton. I know many people who work in the Waterloo area and they are fine with the commute, although be prepared that there could be delays or cancellations so being able to be flexible is a bonus.
3. Near Nature, Near the Seaside: Winchester is a short drive from the South Downs, pretty places like Mottisfort House, Hillier Gardens and not that much further to drive to the beach. We often visit Bournemouth Beach on the Cross Country Train.
4. Affordable. I know, I know. Winchester is still expensive, however - when we are used to London prices - it is all relative and we hope we can manage to find something we love within our budget in this area. The further out you go, the more house you get for your money.
5. Space: There is just so much space, you can see the sky, the stars, the hills.
We have more space in our house, to eat together, for the children to play and room to invite friends over for Sunday Lunch. And we have a garden as well as a park opposite (there are over 20 well maintained playgrounds in Winchester)
6. Community: Whilst we were part of a community in London which was fabulous, it was a very spread out one. Since we moved to Winchester, we have got to know the neighbours, almost everyone I have met is really friendly. Our girls talk about London but they love all the good things about being in Winchester, we would definitely recommend it.
Have you moved house? Thinking of moving house? Did you have different reasons? What are your helpful tips? I'd love to hear, please comment below!
Evie Winter is a local Mother and Lifestyle photographer specialising in newborn, family and children’s portraits based in Winchester, Hampshire. To see more of her work, please visit Hampshire Family Photography