Why I moved from the Black Country to London - and then came straight back six months later

At the time I was excited - I was looking at areas to live in and the best options for a place to crash, while aggressively researching the best things to do when when I had time off.

But a couple of months after arriving I started to notice the reasons why I hadn't made the leap before, and why I wanted to book a single ticket straight back to the West Midlands.

Accommodation, travel, the lifestyle and the busy go-go-go vibe was a lot to take in, so here is how I realised that for me, the West Midlands is the place to be.

MONEY

When I lived in Birmingham, I was paying £750 a month all-in for a two-bedroom flat that I shared with my housemate. It was located super central, close to everything you could need, and was a two-minute tram ride away from the city centre.

When accepting a new job in London, the office was based in London Bridge (as central London as central London gets) so I needed a decent commute, somewhere around 30 - 45 minutes via public transport.

I ended up looking at Putney, which was a 30-minute Underground trip to the office, but the prices were wild.

In the end I had to take up a bedroom in a houseshare for £1,000 a month, and was already starting to question my move.

On top of that, the commute was £8.90 a day, so just to have a place to sleep and a reasonable journey to work was going to cost me £1,178 a month.

In comparison, I'm paying £900 a month for my own place - not a houseshare - and commutes cost me £20 a week. So I'm already saving around £200 a month, which in the current cost of living crisis is no small figure.

THE VIBE

If you have been to London before then you’ll know how busy it can get. I had been on weekends myself before, day-drinking with mates or seeing a show and it was always packed with people - tables in bars were usually all taken.

One of the things I always loved about Midlanders was everyone (in my experience) was pretty friendly. It’s not unusual to spark up a conversation and end up standing there for ten minutes talking to a total stranger.

I didn't realise how rare that was until I boxed it off and moved elsewhere. My take on it was that most people are in tunnel-vision mode and I never really felt part of the place, more like a visitor - which, to be fair, I was - but it seemed the same for people I would watch while I was trotting around the city.

I find in the West Mids it's really easy to feel part of the place - Birmingham, for example, has everything a city needs but it feels more close-knit, and because of that I often find myself meeting new people, trying new things and feeling more like a resident than a visitor.

SACKING IT OFF

After six months my plan to escape the capital and get back to the West Mids was nailed on - I could not wait to be back where I felt I should be.

My family and my social life are in the West Midlands. If I wanted to see any of them it was a £60 train and a five-hour round trip, but now it's less than a tenner and at the most a 30-minute commute.

As soon as I got back I realised what I had left behind. Even little things like seeing a sandwich shop selling baguettes for £1.50, and jackets for 99p, were welcoming moments. Lunch for less than a pound in London (unless I'm mistaken) is unheard of.

THE SUM-UP

Don’t get me wrong, London is a brilliant city - and if the vibe there fits you then it is what you make of it, you’re never far away from something to do.

But, I (personally) don’t think it's the most homely place, and because feeling like I'm part of a city is important to me, Birmingham and the Black Country take the cake.

Having said that, six months is not a lot of time to settle into a new city and perhaps I'm just an idiot who didn't give it long enough. But in my opinion there's no place like the Black Country, and the wider West Midlands region.