When they lived in the capital Harriet and Jack Leaf had found themselves gravitating towards a suburban-village lifestyle. Then, just over three years ago, the couple decided to do village life for real and relocated 200 miles north.
Their decision meant uprooting themselves from their London friends and rethinking their careers, but it allowed them to buy their first home. They have also acquired a dog and some pretty impressive DIY skills.
“I loved living in London, it’s a brilliant city, but for the 10 years I lived there I think I moved pretty much every year,” said Harriet, 32. “It was great, and I have such fond memories, but I was looking for some stability.”
Before the move Jack and Harriet were paying £1,300pcm for a two-bedroom flat in Pinner, north London. And they were painfully aware that their combined salaries would probably only stretch to a studio or one-bedroom flat in London.
Jack is originally from York and the couple made regular trips to visit his family. Gradually the idea of moving there began to take shape. “We could either buy a small flat in a not great part of London or we could buy a three-bedroom semi in a sought after part of York,” said Jack.
During their visits to York the couple began viewing the odd property to get a feel for the local market and then they began hunting for local jobs — this was, after all, in the pre-pandemic days when nobody had heard of WFH. By early 2019 they had found new roles, Harriet as a university administrator and Jack as a product manager at a building society, and were able to make the big move.
They initially stayed with Jack’s parents before buying their first home – a three-bedroom 1930s semi in a village about three miles out of the city centre. The property cost £315,000, and they intend to stay long term.
The house was a fixer-upper and the couple’s first step was to have a kitchen extension built. Then, to save money, they rolled up their sleeves and began renovating the rest of the property themselves, learning from YouTube tutorials and with advice from Jack’s dad.
Their projects have ranged from repainting and making built in furniture, to saving £4,000 by fitting a kitchen themselves, sanding down floorboards, tiling, and laying a patio, and they have charted their journey on Instagram (@project_number_nine)
They also found time to get themselves a dog, Basil, a cocker spaniel, and to get married in October 2021.
Harriet admits to occasional pangs of homesickness for London but she also feels leaving was the right choice. “It is the best move that we have ever made,” she said.
