‘We were stuck in a field – now we can get an Uber!’

Emma Dougall, 55

‘We moved back to London last year from Suffolk. The kids had finished their education, so we thought “why not?” My husband, Rupert, had been commuting to his job in the city for the best part of 25 years. He was already fed up with it, then he moved to a new job in west London, which was the final nail in the coffin for him. (Ironically, thanks to the pandemic, he’s not stepped foot inside the office for over a year.)

“I was born and grew up in central London, and when we were first married we lived in Hammersmith. We moved to Suffolk when our eldest son was two – for all the usual reasons, such as a bigger garden, property prices, better schools etc – and bought an enormous Georgian house on the Suffolk/Essex borders, which we renovated.

“Truthfully, I had probably always wanted to come back. So once the kids had left, we talked about it and decided it would be nice to have things on our doorstep again.

“My only prerequisite was that it had to be on a Tube line. We had no association to Walthamstow, but wanted to stay east to be within easy reach of our friends back in Suffolk, and near London friends who live in Victoria Park and Leyton. By chance we landed in Walthamstow Village and completely fell in love with it.

“It’s quite small – like a little village with a city on its doorstep. We’ve got to know the butcher and the people in the local stores, and the restaurant and café owners are so friendly – my dog’s allowed in the supermarket and gets treats at the till! Definitely not what people expect of London.

“We had planned to buy straightaway, but our chain collapsed so we decided to sell up and rent in the meantime. It also meant we were chain-free and we’re in the process of buying now. Property prices are mad though, so we’ve had to sacrifice a lot of space, but we’re on the Victoria line and I can be at Oxford Circus in 18 minutes. Plus we have overground and good bus routes. I used to have to drive everywhere. Since we’ve been in London, we’ve driven our car twice.

We go out a lot – we can walk there or get the Tube, or get an Uber! And we can order on Deliveroo! Before, we were literally stuck out in the middle of a field.

“Ironically our eldest got made redundant last year due to Covid-19, so he moved

‘We decided it’d be nice to have things on our doorstep again’

back home with us. The other two graduated last summer and both decided to do a Masters at a London uni and live with us. So having gone from living in a large house in the country with a swimming pool and a tennis court and no kids (virtually), we are now in a four-bedroom terraced house in East 17.

“We’d obviously reckoned without lockdown, but even if we had known we’d still have done it because it’s been a really great way to discover a new area.

“I did love being in the country, but we were always the youngest in the room; now we’re in London we’re the oldest. That keeps you young. Although it can be a bit “yummy mummy” – everyone’s got a buggy – but better that than a mobility scooter!”