moving tp be closer to the wilds

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Mike M
13/12/2006 at 19:00
I currently live just north of London, was born here and raised here so it's all I've known. As anyone who lives here or has even visited here will attest, it is monumentally crowded and there aren't that many wild places (i.e. none at all). Even the fields and woods are all "stick to the footpath" and "private property, stay out". For us to get to anywhere remotely wild is at least a 3 hour drive away.
It seems likely to me that the mountains are unlikely, any time soon, to come closer to me so it seems the best idea is to move me to closer to the mountains.
Has anyone done this? Is it a pipe dream? What sort of job opportunities exist in the various parts of the country where wild places abound? By training, if not inclination, I'm an accountant.
TIA.
Ben Bloggs
13/12/2006 at 19:05
Well, anywhere other than London and East Anglia seems to be a good move! Im from Cambridge, so I know what its like- it's a big effort to drive to anywhere where I can walk. Im currently at uni in York and I can feel the difference already. It's flat all around but at least it's only 90mins drive into the Dales, and only 2hrs 30 or so into the Lake District, which makes it so much easier to get away at the weekend.
druidh
13/12/2006 at 19:48
Accountancy? Nah - you'll never get a job with that sort of specialism anywhere except London mate.


But seriously, there are loads of large towns/cities much better placed. Personally, I'd opt for somewhere like Perth or Stirling - even Inverness. However, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow are going to offer loads more job opportunities. I suggest you look at somewhere like www.s1jobs.com.

For info, I live just outside Edinburgh, at the foot of the Pentland Hills. I can go walking or biking from my door - no need to drive. And in three hours?? Most of Scotland, Lakes, Northumberland.
rewrite
13/12/2006 at 22:22
i moved from London to Glasgow, i earn marginally less, but my cash goes three times as far.

Lakes in two hours, Trossachs in one, Galloway in one and a half, Glencoe in two and a half, Cairngorm in the same.

the world does exist beyond the M25, i even heard tell they were going to put black stuff on the cobbles...
tdave@walkeryri.org.uk
13/12/2006 at 22:49
Accountant?

http://www.outlookexpeditions.com/index4.asp?cat=18&d=5&pageid=807522

Looking for an accountant.

I was going to say something about them needing a driving licence for everything (as i've looked for a couple of jobs with them before), but their freelance leader scheme seems quite appealing, so i'd better not!
Barking Mad
13/12/2006 at 22:51
Manchester / North West? Not far to both the Peak District or Lake District!
druidh
14/12/2006 at 01:07
Two and a half hours from Glasgow to Glencoe?? I take it that's on a bicycle :-)
Paddy Dillon
14/12/2006 at 07:53
Mike - as an accountant you should be able to do the sums on this one. If you have a property you can cash in, then you'll have no problem buying a property outside of London, with a wad of cash left over. Even if you're renting, you'll get better deals in other parts of the country. When it comes to earning, you might get less outside London, but the cost of living is so much less.

That's the spin on the financial side, but the real benefits are the extra time you'll have to enjoy the outdoors. The hours you spend driving at the moment will be considerably reduced, which means you can spend more time outdoors, in more places.

I think you already know it makes sense. It's no pipe dream. I know people who have done it and they've no intention of returning to their previous existance.
Lorraine
14/12/2006 at 08:44
Mike - I made the big move from Reading, to Cockermouth about 6 years ago (although I'm originally from the north).

I work as an IT Systems Administrator, and as there aren't many large companies, there aren't many IT Sys Admins jobs around.

However, I was so determined to escape out of the over-crowded south that I even took a job working at Sellfield, just to get me up here. Once here, I started looking around for something else and was lucky enough to find a really good job a couple of miles from where I live in Cockermouth.

So it is possible, but you have to be prepared to possibly accept a huge drop in salary (mine reduced overnight by 50%) - but it's definately been worth it.




Edited: 14/12/2006 at 08:46
Mike M
14/12/2006 at 08:58
"So it is possible, but you have to be prepared to possibly accept a huge drop in salary (mine reduced overnight by 50%) - but it's definately been worth it."

thanks for that. The salary drop wouldn't be a problem, I don't even spend the money I earn now, and we both are good at living cheaply.
We're definately gonna do this, neither of us is getting any younger and I'd hate for the only thing I have to show for this life to be a pile cash and a load of unfulfulled dreams.
15/12/2006 at 10:59
I returned to the north west from north London two years ago. Although originally from Cumbria, I'd spent a few years down south, and had been living in Enfield for about 5 years. My girlfriend and I just got fed up of London, so we upped and left. We moved to Lancaster (well, a village just outside). I had been working in medical research in London, but I got a totally different job up here. And, funnily enough, I actually earn more up here than I did in London.

Lancaster is a good base. You can easily commute to Preston, Manchester or Liverpool, and it's a great base for both the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales (and the Forest of Bowland is literally on your doorstep). I can be in the heart of the dales or in the Lake District in 20-30 minutes. No more long-term planning of trips: if I wake up and the weather looks good, I just throw my kit in the car and half an hour later I'm walking the fells.

We have absolutely *no* regrets about leaving London, and I don't miss it at all. The only regret we have was that we could have (and should have) left London a lot sooner.
Mike M
15/12/2006 at 11:35
yeah, Lancaster was one of the locations we were considering. As you say, good links and nicely located for the hills.
Never been to the forest of bowland, but read an article about it in TGO a while ago and it sounds positively mouthwatering.
Barking Mad
15/12/2006 at 12:39
South Manchester to the Lake District (Windermere) is 1 hour 10 minutes - even less to the Peak District! ;)
15/12/2006 at 12:54
"South Manchester to the Lake District (Windermere) is 1 hour 10 minutes"

Do you go by helicopter??? ;-) It takes me around 1hr 10 minutes to drive from Lancaster to my sister's house in Altrincham.

I'd say south Manchester to Windermere was more like 1hr 40 mins... by car, anyway!
Mark Hammonds
15/12/2006 at 13:12
Sale to J36 on the M6 in 1 hour on most Saturday/Sunday mornings. Would like to live closer to The Lake District, though.
15/12/2006 at 13:53
Aye, but let's not forget that Windermere is a further 25 miles from J36 ;-)
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