[Closed] So, major life changes and making decisions...

Do it. I worked in MK for 7 years. It's not that bad. The surrounding area is nice. Rail links to London are very good indeed, Cambridge is not far away.

Sounds like you need a change.

[quote=brooess ]I'm wondering if I could ask for a 12 month contract but the point of the job being available is they're trying to put together a perm team so this may not be that helpful for them

If you change your mind or find you don't like it, then you always have the option of leaving and getting a different job - in 6 months rather than 12 if you want - so I don't see what a 12 month contract gains you. If anything such a thing is more beneficial to the employer, as they can simply choose not to renew it if they want rid, whereas you can just leave at 12 months either way.

brooess - Member

5. Another option is to go and work for the Compliance team in a bank - essentially keeping an eye on the naughty kids at the back and stopping them from disrupting everyone else from getting on. I like the sound of that - it feels like being part of the solution rather than the problem.

My experience was that they're very much part of the problem.

As someone who has spent 30 years in banking I am bit worried that a compliance department is going to hire a marketing person to check for bad practice. 😯

As for the change, why not ? If you moved to MK or between London and MK and the MK job doesn't work out you have the London option again. Not sure why you'd ask for a 12 month contract unless it pays better. Take the job full time and just quit if you don't like it

If I was 42 and still renting with only modest pension, I'd have left London a long time ago.
I'd also echo Northwind's comments, the compliance department will not be enjoyable, it is an admin job in every sense of the word, even at senior levels.

You’re thinking of changing your job, that’s all. Seriously, these are not “major” life changes.

Rachel

Do it - I would never regret the changes I made. You can always go back to what you were doing and where you were living later if it doesn't work out.

I'm terrified of NOT making a change - I want to live abroad and have done for just about all my adult life. My wife doesn't and it's eating me up - I know a few more years of this, and I'll have huge regrets from NOT trying out something new.

Can't comment on the job side of it but Milton Keynes really isn't that bad.I arrived here from Devon 19 years ago!
I live in one of the villages on the edge and it's really nice, yes it's nearly all cookie cutter housing but you're bound to get more for your money that that London.
While some say the shopping centre is soulless, you'd have to ask what people want from a shopping centre... If it's anything like this weekend just gone, having every conceivable shop you can think of under one roof has a lot going for it.
The villages have plenty of choice for the more traditional high street.
Getting around is easy due to the grid as I'm sure you will already know.
Cycling clubs all over the place to cater for every need.
Some great mountain biking to be had too. I've recently rediscovered my love for mountain biking and love the fact I'm about 2 mins ride from the woods!
Any other questions, I'd be happy to help and if you want a taste of the riding I'll point you the right way!

You’re thinking of changing your job, that’s all. Seriously, these are not “major” life changes.

Rachel

Well... moving house, leaving the place which has been home for 15 years which was my dream place to be growing up, and the friends I have here... (not being rude, but these feel like big things to leave behind)

Keep it coming - some useful insights as always 🙂

I walked away from a 'Marketing' job. Been a lot happier since.

I'm afraid (well certainly in Agency land) most marketing is complete and utter Bjorklets, so everybody creates an artificial sense of urgency and importance which means working late because of a media deadline which in reality if it didn't happen nobody would actually care.

Agencies rely on young and ambitious people. Almost everyone bails out in their early 30's when they realise they're being screwed just for the sake of some 'glamour'. Shame. I worked in a small agency of 25 people 15 years ago and we had so much fun and were such a strong team... I've never enjoyed work that much since.

new job is still a marketing job but for something I believe in and a team of people who come across as also believing in something socially positive. Being out of 'London' marketing culture helps I suspect

You’re thinking of changing your job, that’s all. Seriously, these are not “major” life changes.

Rachel

Have a heart. It's all relative, for the OP, this is a major life change. For someone else with a different set of life experiences, emigrating, or coming out maybe be their major changes.

As for the OP, it sounds like you are ready for change and moving out of London yet staying in the same business sector may be a good way for you to start initiating your as yet, slightly hazy new direction.

Sometimes, holding one's nose and leaping, in a figurative sense, is all we need to do 😀

move even more north and be even more loaded, house prices are a lot cheaper past brum and the salaries aren't much lower, if at all (obvs they are compared to landan) Also we have more hills in the north 🙂

new job is still a marketing job but for something I believe in and a team of people who come across as also believing in something socially positive. Being out of 'London' marketing culture helps I suspect

Sounds like you've made your mind up.

What are you going to lose if it doesn't work out.

Seems like a no brainer, + you could always contract into London it's not that far.

Yeah, sorry brooess - maybe I was being a little simplistic there. I guess it’s all relative.

I guess it seems from the outside that the changes you are talking about are manageable and also reversible - try it - if you don’t like it, go back.

Rachel

Spend a weekend in MK and see what it's like?

Evening life will be very different to living in London no doubt. Rent will be oh, so much cheaper though and MK really isn't the worst place in the world, prepare to burn through fuel and brakes in the car though, roundabout to 60, to roundabout, to 60, to roundabout!

Rent will be oh, so much cheaper though

Well one of the benefits would be that the amount i've had to save as a deposit, which would still leave me paying £1k/month for a small 2-bed flat in the outer reaches of London, would allow me to buy a nicer/bigger place in MK and be mortgage free in around 10 years... and that's a massive saving over the long term.

Yeah, sorry brooess

No worries. tbh I overthink things so your challenge was actually quite useful!

It's only 30 mins away from London and if the work's enjoyable and I can ride my bike in sunshine then I've got all the basics of what I want anyway.

London's changed a lot in the last 5 years - it's not what it was. Overrun by foreign money which is tearing communities apart.

Bank jobs? Leeds and Edinburgh are ace places to live, cheaper and have more than a few banking jobs going...

After living in Bedford for a couple of years, I struggle to think of any good reason to live in or close to MK. Especially for a mountain biker!

Do it. But once you're convinced you are leaving London, have a think about the other alternatives. Only visited MK a couple of times, but seems to me a bit of a dormitory commuter town relying on London. Jump a bit further and consider Bristol, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Manc, Brum, Glasgow or Edinburgh. All have their own feel, all have big Unis so culture and nightlife are active. Or pick somewhere unfashionable where houses can be had for well under £100k, find a steady job and not worry about the ratrace too much. Good luck whichever way you jump, though.

4. One avenue I'm exploring is to be an executive coach - I'm already working on a formal qualification and feedback from practice clients is good. I also love it - it feels right. But income is not reliable and not necessarily that great.

If you don't mind me asking, which company have you chosen to provide your training/qualification?

I pursued a similar journey 10 yrs ago and learned a lot about not only how different companies operated, eg the excellent CTI / Coach U etc vs the dubious 'acadamies' that marketed themselves on the number of 'qualified' coaches they produced blah blah. I also worked with a lot of excellent coaches (corporate, career, personal, entrepreneurial, education etc) and there were patterns regarding what made them great, what motivated them and where/how they were trained.

Those that take on the corporate sector often succeed early on by working their [b]trusted[/b] network. If people you work with (or have worked with) believe in you and your authenticity then they will be more open to your intentions.

The money [b]is[/b] great provided you get on the ladder and move up. If you struggle to market yourself then you may be lucky to hit £5k, let alone £10k or £20k. However, if you turn out to be bloody good and market yourself effectively (also off the back of WOM), then you could either supplement your income very well or replace it with £50k full time in year 2 ... and move upwards from there.

If you don't mind me asking, which company have you chosen to provide your training/qualification?

AoEC - academy of executive coaching. Recommended to me by a friend who's an HR Director and trained with them himself. he said they're well recognised.

Everything you say below re the ££ is what my research with current coaches (I have quite a few friends working in that area) is also telling me. If you're great and working at corporate level the ££ is very good, but generally it can be very uncertain.

I'm also conscious that UK economy isn't really that strong (whatever the headline figures say) and the chance of corporates or individuals having money to spend on coaching may not be that high for quite a few years yet. Doing it on the side in addition to a secure perm income is therefore attractive as a way to exploring the financial reality

The Practitioner Diploma has this level of accreditation:

EMCC Qualification
Practitioner level
Equivalent to UG degree / NVQ5

ICF Qualification
Represents 60 Accredited Coach Specific Training Hours (ACSTH). The ICF requires 60 Coach Specific Training Hours when applying by Portfolio Method for individual coach accreditation for ACC (Associate Certified Coach).

Middlesex University / Professional Development Foundation
20 level 6 credits through Middlesex University

Association for Coaching
AC Recognised course

I've lived in MK for 15 years and I think it's brilliant. You can live a totally bike focussed life here. Great MTB in the Brickhills, great road stuff out just to the west of the town, great club if you like competition and, crucially, you can cycle to work / shop/ whatever/ wherever traffic free. You can live car free.

London's 30 mins away. I can finish a beer at the Euston tap and be back at home in 50 mins (I live very close to the station).

Do it. We moved here from London, from a tiny flat to a detached house. Never regretted it. My wife works with a woman who lives in Ealing. From central London, my wife will often get home first !

If you'd moved location or jobs a couple of times in your twenties you'd probaly know that actully, it's not all that hard, and theres not too much upheval - especially if you're renting. I wouldn't dash into a purchase in MK straight away - I'd find a short term lease (sometimes tricky - but ask around at work) or maybe even become a lodger or house share for 4-6 months - you'll get to know the area better, and decide if the job is going to work for you long term. You might have to spend the first fortnight in a Travelodge, Alan Partridge sytle.

There are a lot of costs associated with buying the wrong house - even outside of London so renting for a bit isn't wasted money

Yeah - Flap Jack's last point is strong.

I moved back to a job in London about 13 years ago after a stint down in Poole. I didn't want to live in 'town' again, so got a place in Dorking, pretty close to where I grew up. People I worked with thought this was hilarious. Until I compared notes with someone who lived in Leyton (at the time a bit of a war zone), and found my typical commute was shorter than his.

Move the hell out. If you can work local, or work remotely, the quality of your life will be a ton better.

You can live a totally bike focussed life here. You can live car free.

This is appealing. Whilst the 'sport' aspect of cycle commuting in London can be fun, and certainly the cycling culture which has grown massively in the last few years, riding in the peace and quiet would be very welcome...

😆

So true

I think you may have had a pop at me once before when I said I worked in marketing? It's gets a bit boring after a while, especially when the thread is about asking for some help...

Just moved to MK from London, but we've got young kids so it's been brilliant for them

Don't worry about driving, the entire place is linked by amazing segregated cycle routes, we've got a trailer to tow the kids and use it loads, after 15+ years of weaving thru traffic in lobdon, my pootle round the local lake and over the cycle bridge to the station is a bit of a revelation, I now have to dodge a family of ducks or maybe a jogger as opposed to black cabs doing u turns or artics turning left

Lots to do, watersports, Snow dome, mtbing, cinemas, shopping !!??

Pubs and clubs are absolutely awful compared to what's on offer in lobdon tho

I moved to London aged 18 full of ambition and energy

And here you've just described pretty much the root of your problem; everyone and his dog wants to come and live in London, seduced by the bright lights of the big city. People think the answer to their dreams lies in London. And then they realise it isn't quite like that. Dick Whittington was a mythical character. The reality is, that unless you are very lucky, have real saleable talent/ability, or have a sound economic backing, it is extremely difficult to climb the ladder. It's you against millions of others; the odds certainly aren't in your favour. If you weren't fortunate/far-sighted enough to get on the property ladder before it went properly crazy, then you're on a loser, as you've said yourself, you'll need to earn way above the London average even, just to be able to get one foot on the rung. And I'd say such income opportunities are actually decreasing.

Perhaps it's time for you (and many others) to actually start looking elsewhere for future opportunities and adventures. The foreign money buying up all the properties will dry up once they realise no-one can actually buy anything, and the market will drop once more. That could be quite a while off yet though. But there's loads of other places in Britain that could do with that ambition and energy; it's about time people tried their luck in other parts of the country, instead of expecting the streets of London to be paved with gold.

Move to Scotland. Or... to the countryside. It's really a much nicer life.

But there's loads of other places in Britain that could do with that ambition and energy; it's about time people tried their luck in other parts of the country

I have a theory that pumping the London market is a gambit designed to do exactly that - get loads of taxes in from stamp duty and capital gains whilst giving businesses and people the incentive to move out - a rebalancing of the UK economy without having to spend anything. HSBC have already announced they're moving the retail bank to Birmingham on account of commercial rents being so high and employees needing to be paid so much to afford to live...

Meanwhile all the European youth who can't get jobs at home are pouring into London, willing to work for low wages (even in the professional jobs) and live in shared accommodation which replaces the more established indigenous who're leaving. In time London will be a hollowed out shell of superrich and badly paid middle classes and the all the working class who keep the city running being bussed in from outside (Police, Ambulance, even Doctors at this rate).

So it used to be a city for the ambitious and you could succeed - many have. But now the outlook is lousy IMO... you still work all hours under massive pressure but for very little reward.

Move to Scotland. Or... to the countryside. It's really a much nicer life.

He might need a job, in order to pay the bills. I doubt someone who's worked in Marketing for so long would be best placed to make an economically successful transition to a rural area.

So it used to be a city for the ambitious and you could succeed - many have. But now the outlook is lousy IMO... you still work all hours under massive pressure but for very little reward.

It depends on what you want to do, what skills/talents/abilities you have, and what you want from life. I grew up in relative hardship, yet have been lucky enough to end up in an extremely comfortable and privileged situation, compared to what I experienced when I was younger. I appreciate not everyone is this lucky, and do not take anything for granted. But even now, we live well within our means, and aren't chasing rainbows like many others seem to be doing. Why 'upgrade' to a bigger house in a more fashionable neighbourhood, and give yourself that extra stress and pressure? Even in London, many people are able to live at a comfortably sustainable level. I think many people are deluded, and want gold for the price of brass.

Quote: prepare to burn through fuel and brakes in the car though, roundabout to 60, to roundabout, to 60, to roundabout!

You do no it's not a prerequisite to drive like an arsehat don't you?
I know it may not seem that way when you've had to cycle the mean streets of MK but really it is possible to drive properly...

Really people ? Is nobody going to comment on the irony of a trainee Life Coach asking on an internet cycling forum about a mid-level life decision ?? What happened to this place.

I say do it - it sounds like you know you want to.

London is just a train ride away if you miss the restaurants, shows, galleries, crowded trains, rude people, terrifying drivers and third world toilets in Chinese restaurants.

trainee Life Coach

[i]Executive coaching[/i], not life coaching. Not the same thing at all.

What I'm doing has a formal, assessed qualification and is focussed on helping people resolve work problems, whether it's career choice or specific problems in being effective at work. Often hired and employed by the employer to support a team member, or once I'm more experienced, coaching a whole team to work together more effectively.

And being able to coach other people does not mean you can coach yourself... but i do know STW is normally a pretty good place for helping me to consider alternatives I hadn't considered myself.

And I think you're right as it happens, I can't afford to live in London anymore and it's not the place I fell in love with aged 18. The massive paycut (c30%) will still leave me better off overall. I never expected to see living in MK as more attractive than London! That's how much things have changed... 🙂

My chosen career (marketing) has been crap. I'm too motivated by doing things well and being honest and nice to people. As an industry it's not as nasty as its popular perception but the overall culture is about selling stuff to people in whatever way it can - forget means or the consequences.

Not necessarily so. Its about getting an idea across - that could be 'buy this' but there are lots of messages that don't just try and empty someones pockets:

Arts marketing and audience development is often promoting cultural events that are free to access, theres also stuff like health promotion either within the NHS or the myriad health charities , a big part of many charities work is getting messages across - lobbying government and campaigning for change, reaching out to the vulnerable or needy who can benefit from their services as well as raising funding or sponsorship and so on.

So rather than forgetting the consequences why not just make 'consequences' the point of what you do?

Will the buzz of London keep you happy in your rented property when you are 70?

Move

Milton Keynes is a great place to live.
Like all big cities it does have a few areas that aren't too nice.
But it has excellent communication links, Train to Euston, MK coachway is a major stop for all national express from the North. M1 and A5.

You could survive without a car in MK and just have a bicycle, not many places outside of London you could say that of.

Moving is a big wrench, but moving to MK is not a hurdle.
Loads to do and see, pubs that feel like your local.
Theatre, art gallery, very lively young night scene, young family friendly, it even has an IKEA!!

I can't afford to live in London anymore and it's not the place I fell in love with aged 18.

Whilst it is of course true that the cost of accommodation has risen very steeply in the last 10-15 years, London hasn't changed that much. The same things you fell in love with are still there. I'd say it's you that has changed, in 24 years, and your hopes, dreams and aspirations have adjusted in line with reality. Maybe things haven't gone the way you expected them to, but then, you will admit you were perhaps a little naive at 18. But have you taken every opportunity that has come your way? I've heard a lot of people moan about their lot, but who have been complacent and expected the world to revolve around them.

If you are going to move, then maybe look at what the new place has to offer, that is unique. If you go expecting things to be the same but better, they probably won't. MK is full of people who want to live more cheaply than in London, but still need to commute in every day. Are you certain you will be able to find all the work you need in MK? Or will you still need to commute into London? After suffering an early morning train in from Luton one day last year, I vowed never to end up having to do that. I truly question the sanity of those who do that every weekday, for years on end.

This could be the start of a brand new direction and adventure for you. Are you single? No kids? Then you could be in a prime position to do something totally different. Loads of opportunities if you are intelligent and dynamic.

Try it. MK is ok. I work there, live outside it. Only 35mins into Euston, so London's easy to get to.
You have to make changes or nothing will change. If it doesn't work out, change again. Most of the best things that have worked out for me in life are from choices I have made flippently and not spent much time getting bogged down thinking about them. Just do it.

I work in MK and not sure if I'd wanna move here but I suppose it's a lot better than some places to live mostly because of what's been said above wrt cycling etc. Woburn is just down the road and still my favourite place to ride! I just hate how soulless it feels, and it's a bit crap for a night out.

I live about 35 miles away in a nice (well nice ish) market town and at the minute don't mind the drive but after 3 years it is wearing a bit thin. The main thing keeping me there is all my mates I guess. Would love to commute by bike!

As you can see, it's a real marmite place. Those who like it really like it, those who don't really don't. For sure it's absolutely nothing like anywhere else in the UK.

This 'soulless' thing is all about the fact that when you drive around you don't see anybody. But that's the point ! Cars have been separated from people and that's brilliant. It's safe to cycle and walk anywhere. We have street parties on our road and there's no need to apply to get it closed for the day. You have to live [i]in[/i] MK to benefit from this though, pointless living outside.

Depends what you want from a night out, plenty of top comedy at the Stables, good local bands, great folk music, all sorts of pubs. Can't tell you about the night clubs, not my thing, but I'm told there's a thriving singles scene for all tastes...

Can't comment on the work side of your dilemma as I know nothing of marketing but I have lived in MK all my life. If you stay away from the estates and move to one of the towns (not Bletchley) then you might find it ok. It's no London and it has no university vibe but you really get used to the space and ease of mobility around the city. Cycle ways around the city are second to none.. Before I changed jobs to Northampton I basically cycled everywhere for about 15 years almost never needing to touch a road.

It's a small consolation but we do have a cracking little pub/music venue in town (wolverton) the craufurd arms which has bands on 2 or 3 times a week ... The wedding present are playing next month. We go all the time to check out different bands and have a good time.

Got a good climbing wall as well with a good bunch of folk... It's an easy way to meet people and get out of the house for an evening.

Stay clear of central MK though it's just plain ghastly.

Also pretty decent riding at Woburn plus Phil Corley has a roady cycle club... Apparently. There seem to be shed loads of blokes in Lycra rock up in stony Stratford on a Sunday morning if that's your scene... So all in all I reckon you could do worse than MK.

I grew up about 10 miles north of MK and after about 15 years elsewhere I'm working there again for most of the week. I can't comment with any direct experience on living in the city itself except to say that I can certainly understand the fairly widely held view that it is a very well designed place to live. I also agree that there are quite a few decent villages around.

However

sturdylad - Member
...Some great mountain biking to be had too...

Whoa there! This I (and maybe others on this thread) would love to know a bit more about. North of MK I was aware of pretty much nothing at all and if there's anything even vaguely this way I'd love to try it out. The flat fields are getting me down a bit. Sorry for hijack but I figure a mountain biker thinking of moving to the area might see it as addition rather than hijack!

Typed a big reply about this and it seems to have disappeared...
In summary

Woburn Bike Trails [url= http://www.woburnbiketrails.co.uk/ ]Link[/url]
Hours of fun to be had up there, shout if you want to try and sort a ride (I have no connection to WBT btw)
[url= http://http://corleycycles.com ]Phil Corley Cycles[/url] have a growing club, very friendly look after new folk.
[url= http://teammk.com ]Team Milton Keynes[/url] biggest club locally
[url= http://northbucksroadclub.org.uk/ ]North Bucks Road Club[/url]

Cyclone MTB ride in the woods too, know a few guys and gals that ride with them but don't know anything about the club!

Also Reservoir Goats MTB club, plus some lunatics on fat bikes that are v friendly.

Oh, come off it. Great mountain biking is one thing you most certainly won't find there.

(Lived in Bedford for a couple of years BTW - pleasant enough in some ways but bloody boring if you like hills)

Brooess, have you ever considered taking some time out, travelling a bit maybe, or doing some voluntary work and looking at your focus on life? I say that because you seem, from posts on here at least, to be fixated on economic and financial trends which in truth you have no real control over - you do seem, for example, to overanalyse the London property market to an alarming extent and one that doesn't really help you.

What I mean is that even if it's all being orchestrated by an alien life force, the consequences are simply that you can't afford to live there in the manner you wish to. But you don't seem to get past that. Similarly you appear to dislike your job and pretty much every company you work for, but don't seem to be open to doing something else in an area which might suit you better - sorry, massive generalisation based solely on forum postings.

You moved up north for a bit, right? But your problems mostly moved with you, so you moved back down south. Anyway, I don't mean that in a critical way, but one of the pluses of not owning somewhere is that you may have the potential to step back a little and so something completely different. Stop worrying about your retirement - how old are you? - and property prices and mortgage rates and see what else might matter and make you happy.

Have you, I wonder, ever considered seeing a life coach? Because what you're doing doesn't seem to be making you happy, but you seem reluctant to really change it.

ps: all written from the point of view of a native Londoner, who was alienated by the concrete and the prices - this was years ago, nothing's entirely new - moved up north, felt stuck in a rut, binned it all and went off to South America for a year, and went from there,

All of those talking about there not being amazing biking near MK, you do realise he lives in London at the moment?

Depends on your expectations I guess, if you see mountain biking as only throwing yourself up, down, or off the side of a mountain then no, MK and the surrounding area isn't for you.
If you're are one of the majority of mountain bikers who aren't super heroes and like some good solid trails, tricky single track, easily accessible then seriously take a good look at Woburn.

It's not far off Cannock I would say, not as long, not as well marked out possibly but in terms of the terrain very similar.

Let's not forget the OP is thinking of moving out of London, not the Alps...

Do it. I worked in MK for 7 years. It's not that bad. The surrounding area is nice. Rail links to London are very good indeed, Cambridge is not far away.

This.

The Chilterns are a stones throw and Woburn is literally just down the road. It's also a very bike-friendly town (city?) with everything you need, and is surprisingly easy to get around once you get a few landmarks sorted out.

View it as a short-term experiment. Plenty commute into London from there in the worst case scenario.

Seriously?
You are worried about working in marketing because you have just realised after 20 years that it is "selling shit to people that they don't want"?
Second option in then going into banking ... erm, oh the irony ...

However , re MK. I lived there on and off for 20 so years. Forget the shit you hear about it, that is generally from people who have never been there / lived there.

Pros
Housing is cheap for the SE
Facilities are good - shopping/ sports centres/ getting about
London in 35 mins away by train
Easy access to the Chilterns and Cotswolds
Nice villages, with good schools
Loads to do
Not a bad nightlife etc
Restaurant culture - based around chains but suits most tastes
The Brickhills / Woburn Woods
Roundabout surfing on a motorbike

Cons
No real heart/cultural centre
It's not London - but having driven through Wembley on Monday, given me MK anyday
Some of the original estates are becoming run down.
The well manicured road ways are no longer so ... I guess the council is running out of money...
It's getting much bigger than it was
Bletchley has nice areas - but I never liked it. Too much far right East London over-spill genes still around.

Thanks BadlyWiredDog - some useful observations there... I'm aware of all of it, but still very useful to see it in writing... amazing what you can pick up about people from STW over time!
I'm in a bit of a trap in terms of being very good at what I do, when the circumstances are right, but they're rarely right. I've been contracting for 4 years which was much better, but I'm struggling to find another contract.

I've kind of been being coached by a friend of mine for 12 years now. He points out as per Mr Moofo that if I was expecting to find fulfilment in financial services marketing then I was probably mistaken 🙂 If I get the job in MK it'll be a new sector and one which is much more meaningful, which will be a big change for me.

I love my coaching work, it comes naturally to want to help people and my clients' feedback is positive. The financials are uncertain on that though. My plan is to continue coaching at evenings and weekends to get a better feel for the ££ and then hopefully go 100%

Some useful insights though - thank you

Can't really comment on the MK thing as I don't know the area….but as you're looking to make a move, I'd echo some of the comments above and say why not look even further afield….property prices/lifestyle/jobs are all much better further north and if you've got the flexibility, then why not?

Anyway, much more my bag is Coaching, so I will comment on that!

I'm 50 this year (where did it go?!) and made a huge life changing decision in my late thirties to give up a successful blue-chip career (I was a Director of a division of a global co) and work for myself. My children were small, my mortgage was big but…..my career, although seemingly glittering had actually caused me some damage - I had been involved in some major restructuring/redundancy programmes and a lot of of pressure, leading to a long period of illness…quite serious depression (which I've talked about on here before). Re-invention was born out of necessity and I managed to get a grip of myself enough to realise that and start again…..

I positioned myself as an independent consultant specialising in sales & marketing in tech, which is where I had come from, and won some work pretty much straight away through my existing contacts. Over the next few years, being open minded about the work I took on and stretching myself by getting involved in things I initially know little about (but was prepared to learn and feel a bit uncomfortable at times!) I put myself about a bit and started to build much more extensive networks, eventually doing work for Universities, Govt departments, volunteering with the Princes Trust, etc, etc….now finding myself "specialising" in working with coaching networks and service providers in a programme management capacity.

Coaching is an interesting market - at one end you have practical advice, based on your direct experience, to help guide your clients to a better place…at the other end you have "generic" coaching approaches that don't rely on your experience but rely on the deployment of tools and techniques to help the client. The latter approach is where the accreditation and training mentioned above fit in but in my experience clients (usually business owner/managers) get much more from working with someone who has "been there and done it" - so has experienced something of what they themselves are going through - this could be something to do with market, functional or other business experience, maybe from another sector or business type, but that at least give a platform for some empathy and connection.

So, if you are serious about coaching, look for clients that have the fit above and where you have some specific experience that "fits"….this is against the wisdom put out there by the coaching accreditation people (why would they say otherwise) but is definitely where happy client relationships lie!!

In my (limited) experience, it is possible to make big changes to your life that work for the better…..in my case, the move away from corporate life gave me a better lifestyle, more time, has seen me doing things that I enjoy much more, working with people I enjoy being with and has given me enough income to still find myself mortgage free and even owning some buy to let properties, probably because I live "ooop north"!!!

Embrace the change and be open to new possibilities, and go live somewhere cheap….. 😕

Bloody hell, now I've pressed 'enter" I realise how long that post is….sorry! 😳

Woburn, Chicksands and Aston Hill are all within 30 min of MK. The Cotswolds and Chilterns are nearby. Also the M1 is on your doorstep. You can be in the South Peak district in less than 2 hours. Compared to London it's a fantastic place for a mountain biker.

I should point out I'm no longer a mountain biker - 3 broken bones since 2007, two needing pins and plates (1x scapula, 1x clavicle and 1x wrist), with about 4 of those years mainly riding road that's not a great record!... I've now gone full stiffback roadie. The savings in time and money are immense! The fitness is also a lot better.

MK looks pretty good, although I may have to head down to the Chilterns to get some hills in. I like hills 🙂 I'll join one of the clubs...

Totally top roadie stuff here.

North Bucks Road club: traditional
Team MK: modern
Phil Corley: blimmin fast !

Cambridge is not far away.

Yep. that hotbed of extreme enduro MTB riding 😉

I may have to head down to the Chilterns to get some hills in. I like hills I'll join one of the clubs...

Move to the Chilterns. It's minutes by car from the southern edge of MK, or a decent commute by bike.

Aylesbury isn't too expensive, or if you base yourself in somewhere like Aston Clinton you can be on the hills without paying the excess required for Tring, Wendover or Berkhamstead because of their rail links.

Dunstable is a bit of a hole, but it's on the M1 and surrounded by lovely countryside.

Or move to Chesham, which while being less 'pleasant' then other smaller local towns, is zone 9 (seriously) of the tube.

It sounds like you should go for the job in MK from what you say, it's already been said there's no point in going for 12 month contract, just move on if you don't like it.

MK is OK to live in, I've got 2 cousins that were brought up there and continued to live there despite the parents now moving away to Lincolnshire. I visited for a while as a kid and have popped by once or twice since. There are clearly things to do and the cycle facilities really are good for families/transport cycling.

You can still visit London from there quite easily, as you've said.

Move to the Chilterns

If you've the money, Berkhamsted is the place. About 4 MTB clubs I believe !