The Student Room Group

Anyone moved away from London for a quieter lifestyle?

So I currently live and work in London in a DCM/advisory role at a boutique IB, before that did some time at a Big Four. Although I like my job and the career prospects are great here, then for multiple lifestyle reasons I'm not sure I want to stay in London forever. I'm originally from a smaller European country and would like to move back home one day, maybe sooner, maybe later. Currently I'm 27. The recent Brexit doesn't help things either, not sure how long I'll have a job in London for after this.

Yes the job is pretty much what I had hoped for, however the London lifestyle is not quite for me in the long run. During weekdays all I do is work and sleep a little and sometimes don't even have time to go to the gym in the evenings. Not sure I want to look back on my life and realize the only thing I ever did was just work.
It's so overcrowded and just a big concrete jungle with almost no nature left. I want to live in a house with a garden, not an apartment or one of those cramped red brick Victorian terraced houses (my ideal home is close to an American suburbia style house, not England suburbia) which are the only options available in London/SE England.

I know this will be a big step down in terms of career and the scale of the projects I work on. Salary and bonus would drop significantly though these would at least partially be balanced out by a much lower cost of living (especially housing: in London I'd be paying about 10x my current annual base salary for a place that I'd pay just c.5x annual base salary for back home for example). This would be a conscious step towards limiting the the highest my career could go (at least within the confines of my country, could still go back to being international later), however when I look at the lifestyle I'd be having, then even if I had a lot more money in London I think I'd still prefer what I can get for far less money back home.


I know this post is somewhat counter to what most people discuss on these boards (i.e how to get into Canary Wharf/the City). I however am here and have found that the grass isn't as green as I hoped it would be.

Has anyone been through such life decisions in their career before? What did you choose/what would you choose?
A lot of people move outside of London and commute in to try and get best of both worlds.
Reply 2
Original post by Zerforax
A lot of people move outside of London and commute in to try and get best of both worlds.


Yeah that is an option, but spending 2h a day on an overcrowded train is my vision of hell.
Reply 3
Original post by snakesnake
So I currently live and work in London in a DCM/advisory role at a boutique IB, before that did some time at a Big Four. Although I like my job and the career prospects are great here, then for multiple lifestyle reasons I'm not sure I want to stay in London forever. I'm originally from a smaller European country and would like to move back home one day, maybe sooner, maybe later. Currently I'm 27. The recent Brexit doesn't help things either, not sure how long I'll have a job in London for after this.

Yes the job is pretty much what I had hoped for, however the London lifestyle is not quite for me in the long run. During weekdays all I do is work and sleep a little and sometimes don't even have time to go to the gym in the evenings. Not sure I want to look back on my life and realize the only thing I ever did was just work.
It's so overcrowded and just a big concrete jungle with almost no nature left. I want to live in a house with a garden, not an apartment or one of those cramped red brick Victorian terraced houses (my ideal home is close to an American suburbia style house, not England suburbia) which are the only options available in London/SE England.

I know this will be a big step down in terms of career and the scale of the projects I work on. Salary and bonus would drop significantly though these would at least partially be balanced out by a much lower cost of living (especially housing: in London I'd be paying about 10x my current annual base salary for a place that I'd pay just c.5x annual base salary for back home for example). This would be a conscious step towards limiting the the highest my career could go (at least within the confines of my country, could still go back to being international later), however when I look at the lifestyle I'd be having, then even if I had a lot more money in London I think I'd still prefer what I can get for far less money back home.


I know this post is somewhat counter to what most people discuss on these boards (i.e how to get into Canary Wharf/the City). I however am here and have found that the grass isn't as green as I hoped it would be.

Has anyone been through such life decisions in their career before? What did you choose/what would you choose?


I know several people who come from small eu countries. They worked several years in london and then moved back home. The difference is that their new employer is a western firm and pays very high salary compared to local market so they are now better off financially and happier around family etc. My advise is research the finance sector in your country. There are boutiques hidden which are a very good deal, just dont go for local employer. I think the formula is foreign employer + work tied up to foreign clients = higher pay in lower cost environment. Just my opinion based on the experience of few acquaintances. Good luck.


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Reply 4
Original post by souman
I know several people who come from small eu countries. They worked several years in london and then moved back home. The difference is that their new employer is a western firm and pays very high salary compared to local market so they are now better off financially and happier around family etc. My advise is research the finance sector in your country. There are boutiques hidden which are a very good deal, just dont go for local employer. I think the formula is foreign employer + work tied up to foreign clients = higher pay in lower cost environment. Just my opinion based on the experience of few acquaintances. Good luck.


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Yeah that is what I want to do as well and what a lot of people have recommended: to work for an international firm (such as a Big Four or an international bank) who usually pay more and are involved in larger projects.

Yeah the low cost thing is quite a strong point. I think what a lot of people don't realise is how much it really costs to live in London. I am earning a good salary but the cost of everything (especially real estate) is eating it up and the lifestyle I'm living isn't what I want- Hate having to just rent a small room.

I'm thinking even if I had a lot more money in London, I'd still be stuck in a crowded city with so little free space.
Reply 5
Been thinking along similar lines myself. I quite liked some areas in Kingston, Richmond, Wimbeldon, etc. where you can get nice European style houses of decent size. They're on the pricey side though. Add to that having to send kids to prviate school and getting a nanny, it makes you wonder if its not best to pack up and go home to have a family.
Reply 6
Original post by KLL
Been thinking along similar lines myself. I quite liked some areas in Kingston, Richmond, Wimbeldon, etc. where you can get nice European style houses of decent size. They're on the pricey side though. Add to that having to send kids to prviate school and getting a nanny, it makes you wonder if its not best to pack up and go home to have a family.


Yeah that too, can't imagine having a family in London. Where abouts are you from?

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