London leaver

'We'd never heard of St Neots but we jumped straight in to buy a home there'

February 02, 2025 07:23 AM
Urban&Civic_Wintringham case study_Will and Zoshia

Gracias a su traslado 60 miles north, Zoshia Lowndes y Will Plant han conseguido reemplazar a acogedor y oscuro one-bedroom alquiler por una casa de tres dormitorios propia.

Además, los dos, 28, han descubierto que las ventajas de tener un hogar en a pequeña ciudad de mercado con excelentes conexiones ferroviarias con la capital superan más que el torbellino de abandonar.

Previo al cambio, Zoshia, a compradora de productos cosméticos, junto a Will, a agente municipal experto en digital inclusion, estaban abonando £1,350pcm para alquiler a apartamento contemporáneo en Turnpike Lane.

Although their budget might have allowed them to buy a flat right out in the deepest London suburbs they didn’t fancy the idea of a compact home miles from anywhere.

“We both come from Staffordshire with lots of green space and so outside space was really important to us,” says Will.

The couple also wanted a home that was commutable to London and they favoured new build. “Neither of us are well versed in home renovations,” says Will.

Beyond that the southern counties were their oyster and they began their research on Google, eventually spotting the Wintringham development just over a mile east of St Neots town centre in Cambridgeshire.

Despite never having heard of St Neots before the couple decided to go and take a look.

They were impressed by the houses being built by Urban&Civic, the value for money, and St Neots itself.

“We jumped in head first,” says Will. In February 2023 they reserved a house, and they said goodbye to London in May 2023.

Their property cost ÂŁ360,000 and their monthly mortgage payments come in at ÂŁ1,600pcm.

“After we left we heard that the rent on our old flat had been put up to £1,650pcm, so this actually costs less,” says Zoshia.

Zoshia now works from home two or three days per week, and spends the rest of the time in her London office.

The train journey from St Neots takes 50 minutes. Will, who formerly worked for a London council, has found a new job locally.

The move has opened up a new lifestyle to the couple, thanks in part to the arrival of Mabel, their labradoodle, who they bought a couple of months after moving. She gets them out walking every day, and Zoshia also loves running.