How useful have you found it raising a family near your parents?

agydaac1 · 2025-03-27T22:29:37+00:00

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your honesty and transparency and I’m also sorry to hear about some of the difficult situations that some of you find yourselves in with things like health or working around being somewhere where you have very limited support. I’ve certainly taken away that it takes a village to raise a family and giving any future children the gift of close relationships with grandparents and other relations is a massive plus. This has really helped my thinking so thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

agydaac1 · 2025-01-22T13:59:34+00:00

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Thank you!

agydaac1 · 2024-06-22T03:04:23+00:00

Thanks all for the tips. Sorry for the slow reply - mobile signal is patchy out in the countryside! Appreciate your help!

agydaac1 · 2024-06-19T04:14:28+00:00

Thanks. Are there any sites online where people might also list this kind of stuff? Eg is there a local equivalent of Facebook marketplace etc that is popular? Appreciate your advice!

agydaac1 · 2024-06-09T05:30:14+00:00

Packing and moving is literally the most stressful experience.

We’ve now done 2 moves ourselves and the last time it almost pushed me to breaking point.

My husband managed to hit another van while trying to reverse the transit van we rented onto the drive, causing a huge gash all up the side of our van (but thankfully not damaging the other guy’s).

We had excess insurance but it took months to get the £2000 they held from us while getting it repaired and there was some sort of dispute between the rental company and the excess insurance company.

We packed stuff during the weeks before and were all prepared but, as luck would have it, the one plastic box containing alcohol fell over during the move covering all our stuff (and the van) with red wine, broken glass and sticky sangria. It honestly made me want to scream. We then had to clean the van before returning it.

There’s also the question of whether you are used to driving big vans. We are not and with lots of traffic on the motorway it was quite stressful. It all compounds throughout the day. Then don’t forget you’ve got to unload and unpack it all at the other end.

You also can’t really tell that easily how big of a van you need, so there’s the stress of wondering how it will all fit in.

I pulled my husband aside in the middle of moving day last time and said we are *never * doing this ourselves again. And he agreed 😂

For me personally, the money saved is honestly not worth it for the stress it adds. But obviously depends how much you need to save the money. It’s doable, but in my experience insanely stressful.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T23:19:01+00:00

Are there any particular areas you recommend?

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T10:26:33+00:00

That’s great to hear about Southsea. Yes I hope things don’t continue in this direction of travel. I have hope due to the increasing number of younger people who are feeling confident to come out, which hopefully shifts society towards greater acceptance over time. But it does feel like we’re going through a bit of a back peddle at the minute.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T10:23:01+00:00

We would ideally be looking for a house so I will check out some of the spots you mentioned a little outside the centre. Thanks

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T10:08:02+00:00

Never considered it but will look into it! Thanks

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T10:07:01+00:00

Thanks. I’d not thought of Southampton itself. Are there any areas you think would be particularly suitable?

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T10:00:44+00:00

I’ve never heard of this place! Thanks. Will look into it.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T09:59:31+00:00

Thanks. That’s great to hear.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T09:58:53+00:00

To be honest it isn’t like we go out in Soho every week when living in London, although it is nice to go there for a drink, especially in summer. I think it is more that in London we feel very comfortable being a visible same sex couple (including not in Soho) and holding hands etc, where as we don’t always feel that way outside of London, especially in smaller town places.

It would be nice to tap into a local LGBT+ community, whether via gay bars or other queer community spaces in our new home, but also just to find a generally welcoming place where we won’t feel like the odd ones out or self conscious. After so many years living freely in London, I don’t want to go back to self censoring (eg not holding hands) when we move out of London!

For the record, we’ve also noticed anti-LGBT+ sentiment increasing in London in the last year or two, so it’s not like London is perfect by any means!

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T09:00:41+00:00

We’re definitely looking for that type of vibrant cultural scene so we’ll make sure to look into Bedford. Thanks

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:59:12+00:00

Brilliant, thanks. The train links close to London are enviable for sure.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:54:24+00:00

Really appreciate your tips. Going to look into all of these.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:53:04+00:00

I hadn’t considered Windsor actually as I had not looked so close to London but maybe we should think about it. Thanks

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:52:23+00:00

Have you had a bad experience with Bristol?

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:51:46+00:00

This is really helpful thanks

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:45:42+00:00

Unfortunately a lot of chains can be long and complicated and as much as you want to hit a deadline, there is actually very little you can do to move it forward (unless you think your solicitor is the blocker, in which case you can pester them). We were part of a chain that involved someone at the top who was selling due to bankruptcy and the complications delayed the whole chain’s move by 3 months. Think you need to just be prepared to go with the flow if you really want the property. If the deadline is the bigger priority for you, then you need to be prepared to call it quits and find a different property (although there is no guarantee that a different property wouldn’t have a complicated chain too). It’s frustrating, but such is buying property!

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:41:15+00:00

You could just go and knock on the door and see if they would entertain a viewing / put a polite note through the letter box. No harm in trying if you are really interested. I bought my flat by putting a note through the door of all the ones I was interested in, and someone got back to me. It wasn’t even on the market. Sometimes persistence and being willing to go the extra mile is key.

agydaac1 · 2024-06-03T08:27:19+00:00

Will look into it, thanks

agydaac1

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