Both Becca and James Grey commute back into London regularly for work
(Picture: Handout)A couple of days after they had left London James Grey’s wife asked him how he was doing.
“The answer was: “Totally lost”,” said James, who had spent around 15 years living and working in London.
Saying goodbye to Beckenham, in south east London, and relocating 50 miles away in the mediaeval market town of Saffron Walden, Essex, was certainly a culture shock — but luckily one which wore off after a week or two.
James, 38, and his wife Becca, 35, had decided to get out of London because they were keen to start a family. Becca, a physiotherapist, wasn’t keen on the idea of raising children in a big city and wanted to be closer to her family, who live about half an hour’s drive away in Bury St Edmunds.
It also meant they could upsize from a two bedroom end of terrace to a detached family house.
The couple began house hunting in 2020. They started out looking in the Hertfordshire commuter towns of Harpenden and Hitchin, but it wasn’t until they extended their search area and looked at Saffron Walden, with its beautiful historic town centre, excellent schools, and lovely surrounding countryside that they felt they had found their match.
“When you go to the market square you get the feeling of a really bustling little town, with enough going on to keep you occupied,” said James, a financial planner. “I felt like if I was going to leave London it would be a reasonable halfway house.”
In April 2021, by which time Becca was expecting their son, Woody, now 18 months, the couple sold their London house for circa £380,000 and paid £555,000 for a 1970s four bedroom home around five minutes’ walk from the town centre.
The couple commute back into London regularly for work. Trains from Audley End, which is around two miles out of town, to Liverpool Street take just over an hour.
After his initial shock James has settled rapidly into small town life, making friends by joining a football team and squash club, while Becca has found plenty of kids’ clubs and a netball team for herself.
“Saffron Walden is a vibrant place to live,” said James. “They have lots of events like the eight-day weekend music festival and having Becca’s parents nearby is great for childcare. I do still feel slightly nostalgic for London, but Cambridge is only 15 minutes’ drive away, and in terms of our house there is just no comparison.”
