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London has once again become the most searched-for location on the property website Rightmove, with more than half of the people living there (58%) looking to stay rather than leave.
This comes five years after the start of the Covid pandemic, which prompted many people to seek an escape from city life in favour of more outdoor space to accommodate working remotely. This trend has since reversed with more employers asking workers to return to office working.
Here, three people in the UK tell us about their decisions to relocate, and whether city or rural life suits them better.
‘What we gained didn’t match where we were in life’
Jasmin Perry and her husband, Tom, both 28, knew very quickly after moving into their new house in a small village near Bath that they had made a mistake. “We didn’t quite think through how it would change our lives – I think we might’ve been a bit naive,” said Jasmin who works as a product marketing manager.
Before moving to Somerset in 2022, they rented a flat in north London for a year. Wanting to buy their first property and finding the city unaffordable, they were swayed by a three-bedroom house on a new-build development. “We thought it would be peaceful, quaint and idyllic – but it wasn’t,” she added.
The couple thought living rurally would mean they could run and cycle easily but Jasmin found they had to “drive everywhere” and she was “scared of getting hit” while cycling on country roads. They rarely sat in their garden due to noise from a nearby dual carriageway, and they had no local amenities close by. “The small village didn’t even have a shop,” she said. “We gave it a shot, but the longer we lived there we realised we didn’t feel happy.”
In July 2023, they put their house on the market and six months later moved to a two-bedroom flat in a converted pub in Twickenham, south west London. Desperate to move back, the couple sold their house for £20,000 less than they bought it.
“Our house just didn’t feel like home,” said Jasmin. “We felt like we’d lost so much and what we gained didn’t match where we were in life.
“Every day since moving back to London I’m grateful as our mental health is better and we’re much happier. London just has everything for me. There’s so much vitality and it’s a melting pot. We have access to beautiful parks, a rich cultural life and I feel connected to life again. If we move, it will only be a few streets over. We don’t have that itchy feet feeling any more.”
‘We have a wonderful home but it’s made every part of our lives more difficult’
For Alison, living in Greater Manchester was “pretty stressful” with a young family and no relatives on hand to help. She and her husband moved to their four-bedroom semi-detached house in Ramsbottom just months before the Covid pandemic. “We didn’t see much of the area for two years and when our first child was born in 2021, it felt like three years of lockdown as no one would visit,” said the 42-year-old solicitor.
Though the couple discovered a “thriving” community, in 2024 Alison was made redundant after returning from maternity leave and the family felt it was a good time to relocate nearer to their relatives in Pendle, Lancashire. Both Alison and her husband grew up in the area and thought returning would be a good move. “We have a beautiful, old, converted farmhouse in a tiny hamlet,” she said.
Despite having a “wonderful family home”, the move, Alison said, has made “every part of our lives more difficult”. Previously a 20-minute drive down the motorway to visit family, they now have a 10-minute journey on single track roads “over hills and dales where traffic is a pain”. Travelling to nursery and for medical appointments takes longer and they can’t just “pop to the shops”.
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Their previous home had many local amenities such as independent shops and a library. They also lived near the East Lancashire Railway which was “dead handy” for her toddler who loved to watch heritage steam trains pass by. “I think we really took it for granted where we were,” she added.
“I’ve lived in other cities and, looking back, I had rose-tinted spectacles on when thinking of my time growing up in Pendle. I think I have a more metropolitan outlook now and if we found the right place, we might move back nearer to the city in a year or two.”
‘At this point in my life I need to see more trees and less concrete’
On the other hand, after living both in cities and more rural locations, Jane, 71, has settled on somewhere in between. The author, who is originally from Canada and moved to the UK when she married her husband nearly 30 years ago, has lived in various places.
“We lived near the coast in Devon after hearing all about how lovely it would be – but the seaside doesn’t always deliver,” she said. “I did join the community (or tried to) – the local church was welcoming.”
They now live in Bristol but after eight years they’re moving to a town in Norfolk. “The cars banked up on both sides of narrow residential streets, the graffiti and living so close to your neighbours but not really knowing them – I’ve had it.
“Long ago I would have totally said I’m a city person because I gobble up culture, but I don’t know if it’s my age but I get fed up with people and like my privacy. At this point in my life I need to see more trees and less concrete.”
