George Wakeley has many happy memories of bucket and spade family holidays in Scarborough as a child.
When he began thinking of moving out of London, he decided that the Yorkshire seaside resort would be his new home.
The 25-year-old traded in his Woolwich rented flat for his own two bedroom fixer upper, has become a dab hand at DIY, made a new circle of friends, and now spends his days working from home with his rescue collie Bruce and his newly-acquired group of friends as company.
“I couldn’t have made a better decision,” he said. “The quality of life is so much better here.”
Like so many other Londoners, Bruce's exit was triggered by the pandemic. At the time he had a job in communications and was sharing a flat with a friend, paying £600 a month each for the two bedroom property.
“When I looked on Rightmove I was just shocked at what I could get up in Yorkshire.”
“During Covid my friend went back home to look after his parents, and I was on my own with no outside space,” said George. “It drove me a bit crazy.”
Even before the pandemic he had been saving in the hopes of buying a property and added to his deposit fund during the long periods of lockdown.
“I started looking in London but I was really disappointed by what I could get — basically a studio shared ownership flat in a not very nice area on a busy road,” said George. “When I looked on Rightmove I was just shocked at what I could get up in Yorkshire and I started to think about moving out of London.”
Once travel restrictions were staying George and his dad headed north to have a recce and look at some properties. “I walked into my flat and thought: ‘This is just what I want’,” said George.
The property he chose is a ground floor flat with a courtyard garden in a converted Victorian house. The property was run down, but it had generously sized rooms and high ceilings and George, a fan of interior design, loved the idea of putting his own stamp on it.
“I walked into my flat and thought: ‘This is just what I want’.”
In October 2021 he paid £118,000 for the two bedroom flat and began splitting his time between London and Scarborough, doing as much of the work as he could himself to save money.
He has stripped back floorboards, removed false ceilings, installed iron radiators, added a cast iron fireplace (salvaged from a London skip), redecorated, and replaced the “1990s pine kitchen” with classic Shaker style cabinets.
He estimates he has spent around £20,000 on the work, and now has his eye on a new bathroom.
By July 2022 George was ready to quit his job and move to Scarborough.
Since then he has adopted Bruce, got a new, remote working job for a Spanish public relations company, and built a new circle of friends.
“In London I was always scrimping to get by.”
“I joined the local am dram society and the local Pride charity committee, and I have made a load of friends through that,” he said. “People are friendlier up here. They will chat to strangers and I am lucky to have very lovely, welcoming neighbours.
“In London the only reason I knew my neighbour’s names was by seeing their post coming through the door.”
George has also noticed how much cheaper life is in Scarborough.
“I am on the same pay that I was down south and I can afford to do pretty much what I want,” he said. “In London I was always scrimping to get by, and that was quite mentally draining.”
