Helena Nicklin’s move out of London began on a disastrous family camping trip.
Desperate for a break she and her husband Hamish had decided to take their daughters, Ivy, 12, and Cara, ten, for a wholesome trip to the Hampshire coast.
“It was meant to be glamping, but we were right by a power station, sewage trucks would turn up while we were eating, it was muddy, and the tent looked like a field hospital,” said Helena.
So, when some friends who were holidaying just on the other side of The Solent on the Isle of Wight got in touch the couple jumped at the chance to give up on the great outdoors, book and Airbnb and hop on a ferry to join them.
They fell quickly in love with the 147-square mile island with its sandy beaches, old fashioned vibe, and fantastic sailing.
In 2020 the couple, whose family home was in Dulwich, south east London, bought a flat in Cowes and began making regular weekend escapes.
“Every time it got harder and harder to leave,” said Helena.
Meanwhile, headwinds were growing stronger for the family in London. Hamish, 48, works in advertising and Helena, 45, is a drinks writer and broadcaster (@HelenaSips), and their professional lives were getting more and more stressful.
"You can make a massive change in your life and it doesn’t have to be that hard"
They were worried about all sorts of things, from air pollution to crime, and although they were superficially getting along fine Helena felt that her girls simply weren’t thriving as city kids.
Then Helena listened to a podcast about interesting Isle of Wight residents which featured a woman who had moved over from Streatham.
“It was a real game changer, it showed us that you can make a massive change in your life and it doesn’t have to be that hard,” she said. “It really got us thinking.”
The nail in the London coffin was Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022, which triggered an instant hike in mortgage interest rates.
“We did the maths on the mortgage and the change was potentially massive,” said Helena. “We didn’t move because we had to, but it was quite useful for sharpening our minds.”
“We did the maths on the mortgage and the change was potentially massive”
Helena and Hamish, who had bought their five bedroom Dulwich in 2013 thinking it would be their forever home, put the property on the market.
It sold for close to £2m.
The property market on the coast was red hot at the time, but prices on the Isle of Wight are still around a third less than in London, and they traded their beloved Victorian pile for something completely different.
Their new home is modern and open plan, five minutes from the beach, and within walking distance of the centre of Cowes. Helena is coming to terms with its comparative lack of character.
The family moved in full time over the summer and while Helena can work from anywhere Hamish decided to quit his high pressure job and is now considering his options.
“He wants to find something to do that is good for the soul,” said Helena.
News of the move didn’t go down at all well with Ivy and Cora, who didn’t want to leave the only home they had ever known, or their friends, but six months in they are warming to the idea of island life.
“They were very, very cross but they have stopped complaining which is big,” said Helena.
“They have made friends and they spend a lot of time outside and a lot less time on their iPads and I know that they will be happy. We made this move very much with them in mind.”
