People on the move in search of a better life

Around a third of people in the UK (18.8 million) have chosen to move house in the last five years in order to find a better quality of life for their families, according to new research from mortgage giant Abbey.

Nearly 5.3 million people said the main reason for the move was that there was too much crime in the area and they wanted to move to somewhere their family could be safer.

The survey also found that 4.5 million people moved home to avoid unruly ’neighbours from hell’ while a further 2.6 million people moved to fit into a better school catchment area.

No matter what the reason for moving, it can be a stressful experience and the costs soon add up. Abbey offers a range of products to help people move home that include mortgages that can help to save upfront costs and lower monthly payments. Existing Abbey mortgage customers moving home can also save money with a better rate on certain products.

Nici Audhlam Gardiner, Head of Mortgages at Abbey, said: “When buying a home people have more to consider than just the building itself. People spend a lot of time looking not only for what they want in a home, but for what they need in the area they live in, and more often than not, these requirements are for the greater good of the family.

“Crime and family safety is clearly a top priority for most buyers, but moving to get the right school for your children or to avoid unruly neighbours also have an important impact on the selection of a home.”

Regionally, the research revealed that the Welsh were most likely to move in order to seek a better quality of life in or out of the city, while people in Northern Ireland were most likely to move home because of their nightmare neighbours.

The survey also revealed that when asked where people would prefer to live if their job and family were not an issue the South West and Scotland proved most popular, with the North East and Northern Ireland coming bottom of preferred living locations.

Assuming job is not an issue where would people choose to live:

Move to the South West 30.3%
Move to Scotland 14%
Move to the South East 13.3%
Move to London 9%
Move to Yorkshire 8.3%
Move to the North West 6.3%
Move to the Midlands 5.7%
Move to Wales 5.5%
Move to the East 4.2%
Move to the North East 2.7%
Move to Northern Ireland 0.7%

Abbey offers mortgages that give customers 5 per cent money back, which can then help towards covering the additional costs of moving home like stamp duty, legal fees and new furniture.

Abbey also have mortgages where customers can get free valuations, defer part of the amount they borrow until the end of the mortgage or even extend the length of their mortgage with as little as just 5 per cent deposit.