A London mum who cried when she left the capital, having built a life and started a family there, has spoken of her family's decision to move to "vibrant" Bristol in search of more space.
Aletheia Conway-Hughes shed some tears during the drive from Nunhead, in south east London, to her £525,000 house in Brislington. The mum met her husband Owen, both 38, in London and had their son Caspar, now 22 months, while living in the city.
Ms Conway-Hughes said they decided to move to Bristol as their priorities changed when their child was born, adding they hadn't changed so much as to move to to the countryside. Having spent the pandemic in their three-bedroom flat without a garden, the mum said they initially wanted to buy a house in south east London.
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However, she told the Evening Standard that they realised they wouldn't be able to afford what they needed in London.
She said: “Bristol felt like another city which would suit our needs. It is vibrant, there is lots going on, but it is a bit calmer than London."
And added: "We don’t have fancy coffee on the doorstep, but we do have more space."
Ms Conway-Hughes said that, as they left London, the sense of the ending a happy era was strong as living in the city was a formative time for them. The mum said they chose to move to Bristol as her husband's company has offices in the city while she runs a corporate wellness business, Founded Wellness, which allows her to work from anywhere.
The couple sold their London flat for £430,000 and then opted to buy a newly-built four-bed semi-detached house on a small private development in Brislington for £525,000. The family moved to their new home at the end of March and the mum said that, so far, the transition had been easier than she had hoped.
Despite being surrounded by boxes still needing to be unpacked, Caspar has settled at a new nursery and the couple has started to explore Bristol. However, they have gone up to London since moving, saying they found the train journey "painless" and will be exploring areas such as Wales, Cornwall and the Cotswolds in the summer.
