Even though both my wife and I grew up in The Northern Home Counties, when we decided to make the move back with our young son it wasn’t as easy as we had imagined. With family in both Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire we knew we wanted to focus our search on those areas. We finally settled on The Chilterns to be close to my wife’s family and to live in the area where I worked.
Convenience
Having been based in Fulham, we were used to the convenience of everything being on our doorstep- friends, work, shops, pubs and restaurants, all a stone’s throw away. It quickly dawned on us when we moved to a small hamlet that we could no longer ‘pop’ to get anything, our organisational skills were going to have to improve! It is amazing how quickly you adapt as a 5 minute drive to pick up a pint of milk now seems no more of a hassle than a 2 minute walk to the local corner shop in London. Having enjoyed the benefits of companies such as Deliveroo in London, we still miss being able to order anything we want on those nights when you just don’t feel like cooking. However, as we got to know the area, we discovered great local pubs and restaurants as well as a fantastic sushi delivery van which is as good as any we tasted in London.
Making friends
Despite both my wife and I having grown up in the Home Counties, many of our friends were still in London or had moved to other areas. This meant having to make new friends. It wasn’t easy to know where to start but having a young family helped as it got us out in the local area, meeting other families at a similar stage to us. It’s not easy but being proactive by joining local sports clubs and getting involved in local activities helped us enormously and we soon found like-minded people who quickly became firm friends.
Community
Something we hadn’t really thought about was how special and important the sense of community is in the hamlet we moved to. When living in London, we didn’t even know the name of our neighbours. In contrast we now know our neighbours well, benefiting from the ready-made support network on our doorstep.
Countryside
Having more outside space and access to countryside was always a large driving force behind our move. We now have two sons, who are extremely energetic and need outdoor space to blow off stream. The Chilterns provide so many opportunities for us to get out into the countryside as a family and we have many favorite spots we visit regularly. I would definitely advise getting a National Trust Membership and get exploring.
Having made the move with my family and experienced some of the challenges a move can throw at you, I am always very happy to guide my clients through the whole process. With first hand experience and extensive knowledge of the area I cover, I can help eliminate some of the stresses and challenges caused by a move.
