It took Marie Salem years of prevaricating and worrying before she decided to leave London.
Now she has made the move she only has one regret: she should have done it sooner.
Marie, 43, and her husband Martin, 42, were both Londoners to the core, born and raised in Shepherd’s Bush. “We had lived in west London all our lives and although we had dreamed of living by the sea we never thought that it would really happen,” said Marie.
Like so many other diehard Londoners it took the step change of the pandemic to persuade the couple that there might be life beyond the M25.
Pre-Covid-19 the couple had already moved out to the suburbs and bought a flat in South Harrow which they shared with their two sons, Cassian, now ten, and Arlo, eight.
“We did lockdown in a flat with no garden which was just awful,” said Marie. “But at the same time we were not sure if we could leave London — we didn’t know how remote working was going to pan out.”
In 2021 the couple decided to sell their flat and rent a larger property, in Sudbury, to at least give them some more space while they discussed a more radical relocation. “We did a lot of umming and aahing,” said Marie.
Some locations – like Broadstairs in Kent – were considered but rejected for being too far away for a daily commute if they were called back to their respective offices. Martin works in talent acquisition for a civil engineering company, while Marie worked in marketing for a hotel chain.
Then they decided to have a look at Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, partly because its fast trains to the City take around 45 minutes, and found a house they both loved.
“We decided we wanted to rent just in case it was awful,” said Marie.
Just before Christmas 2022 the family moved into the four-bedroom house with a garden and sea views. It costs around £2,000 a month, which is slightly more than the £1,800 a month they were paying in Sudbury.
The boys settled easily into their new schools and the new friends Marie made at the school gates taught her a lesson or two. “Down here I have met so many people who are freelance creatives, that it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me,” said Marie. “I thought: “I could do that”.”
Inspired, she quit her job and now works as a freelance marketing consultant. “I love being able to pick and choose the work I do, and there is no more office politics,” said Marie. “It is so freeing.”
Marie loves living a short walk from the cafes and boutique shops of Leigh and relishes the fact that she can pop out for a coffee with friends whenever she wants to.
“Everything is on the doorstep here, I don’t have to drive all the time like I did in London, and I walk every day by the sea,” she said.
“It has changed my outlook and my mental health completely.”
