The family were shocked by the price of homes in north Oxford, the most expensive part of the city.
(Picture: Getty Images)If you had told Allana Clear that she would voluntarily leave London, sell her ‘forever home’ in east London and decamp to a university city with a reputation for sleepiness, she would have laughed in your face.
But the pandemic presented an opportunity to make a radical life change, and in 2020, Allana and her husband Mike said goodbye to Mile End and hello to Jericho in north Oxford, where they now live with their two sons Sam, eight, and Charlie, ten.
“I had lived in London since my twenties, and I loved it, and to be honest I was scared to leave,” said Allana, “But I have discovered that there is a world beyond London.”
Pre-Covid, Allana, 42, and Mike, 43, had been happily settled in a four-bedroom late Georgian terraced house. Mike works for a start-up company, Wondr Medical, while Alanna worked for a psychotherapy charity.
Mike had been brought up in Oxford. After his grandparents had died, his parents moved into their old house and began renting out the family home.
They had long been keen for one of their children to take it on, but Mike and Allana had never been interested in relocating.
“It was Covid that did it,” said Allana. “We were working from home, there was this house there waiting for us, and we made the decision and moved all in about six weeks.
“We loved our house in Mile End. We called it our forever house, and then suddenly it wasn’t anymore. An opportunity came up and we just thought we’d give it a go. We are quite impulsive people.”
Although having a house ready and waiting for them to buy was a major practical advantage, Allana was shocked by the price of homes in north Oxford, the most expensive part of the city.
They sold their house in London for £1.3 million, and sunk £1.1 million of it straight back into buying the Oxford house, a four-bedroom townhouse.
She has also been a little shocked by how easily she has adapted to the change of pace in Oxford – population just over 150,000 – compared to London – population around nine million.
“It has been amazing,” she said. “I love how green it is. The pace of life definitely feels less mad, and when I go back, London feels a bit too hectic.
“Oxford has its own vibe though, quite academic and with more of a sense of community. Whatever it is, it suits me very well.
“And it is such an amazing place to have young children. Living so close to their grandparents has been really magical for them.”
Since the move, Allana has got a new job in the city as head of marketing for a medical start-up, AddedHealth.com, set up by primary care expert Professor Chris Butler, and has built up a new friendship group.
“There are so many people here who have moved out of London, we call ourselves The Oxodus,” she said. “Every term there are new people arriving and that has made making friends really easy and joyous.
“I am not missing London at all, and I can’t believe I’m saying that because I loved it so much. But this just feels like exactly where I need to be.”
