London Leaver: "My mental health has improved since moving to Harrogate"

If you’d person asked her a fewer years backmost if she’d ever permission her location municipality of London to move up North, giving up her friends and her occupation and saying goodbye to the buzz of large metropolis life, Vicky Chandler would astir apt person laughed successful your face.

But the pandemic turned her into an accidental London leaver, implicit with a husband, a dog, and a house, and though the modulation to beingness successful North Yorkshire hasn’t been easy, contiguous Vicky wouldn’t spell backmost if you paid her.

“I was calved and brought up successful London, it was each I had ever known, and I was – and americium – a truly arrogant Londoner,” she said. “But present that I conscionable spell backmost and sojourn I deliberation that I spot much of it than erstwhile I utilized to unrecorded determination and I took it for granted.”

When Vicky, 31, a freelance writer and editor, met her now-husband Matt Lockwood, 45, she was moving for a London mag company, hanging retired successful Soho aft work, and spending her weekends with her adjacent knit radical of friends astir Penge, wherever she owned her ain 1 chamber flat.

Things changed erstwhile she met edifice proprietor Matt astatine an awards ceremonial successful 2019. He lived successful Harrogate and they began agelong region dating. When the pandemic started Vicky was sent location from enactment and decided to caput to Harrogate to enactment with Matt successful his 2 chamber terrace. “I thought it would beryllium for a mates of weeks,” she said. “But I ne'er left.”

When lockdown restrictions were lifted Vicky was recalled to the bureau 2 days a week. She gritted her teeth and began an epic commute – each travel took 3 and a fractional hours each mode and outgo her astir £120.

“Then they started to privation america backmost successful the bureau 4 days a week,” said Vicky. “I couldn’t bash it, and truthful I gave up to spell freelance. I ne'er wanted to beryllium freelance, but it was a sacrifice that I had to make.”

Another situation was leaving her friends down astatine location – speechmaking astir their plans and conscionable ups connected the radical WhatsApp but incapable to articulation in. “I didn’t cognize anyone erstwhile I moved up and we couldn’t spell retired and socialise anyway,” said Vicky. “I don’t person children, which I deliberation is an casual mode to marque friends astatine the schoolhouse gates, and it was a existent conflict until I started going to the gym and met radical done that. I dilatory physique friends up.”

Things got pugnacious capable that Vicky started to uncertainty her Yorkshire staying powerfulness but a burgeoning radical of section friends helped. Then her parents decided to determination up northbound to articulation her and her champion person from location moved to Leeds, and abruptly beingness started getting better.

Last twelvemonth Vicky and Matt sold their respective homes and clubbed unneurotic to bargain a 3 chamber stone-built semi successful Knaresborough, 4 miles eastbound of Harrogate, which they stock with Pickle, their sprocker spaniel.  Vicky’s 1 chamber level fetched £285,000, and the caller location outgo £465,000.

She has besides discovered that determination is plentifulness to bash successful Yorkshire, with the galleries, theatres, and restaurants of York, Manchester, and Leeds wrong casual reach. “And erstwhile determination is thing similar a truly large accumulation we marque the effort to spell and spot it due to the fact that we are not truthful spoiled for choice,” she said.

Vicky has besides seen the benefits of a quieter life. “My mental health has improved significantly,” she said. “In London I was moving connected afloat steam – I conscionable ne'er stopped. Now I americium a batch calmer and I precise overmuch bask being astatine home. I consciousness similar I person got a home. My level was precise overmuch conscionable a basal to devour and sleep.”

And surviving successful a tiny municipality has compensations. “My friends inactive deliberation that London is the beryllium each and the extremity all, but the assemblage present is truthful overmuch better,” she said. “In London I didn’t cognize my neighbours, present everyone stops to chat and they are truthful helpful. I truly similar getting to cognize each the café owners’ names and seeing the aforesaid radical successful the pub.”