Franki Dammone, six years ago, would have answered that she wanted to live in Hackney forever if you had asked her. Living in London was less fun after Mally, aged five, and Sunny, who were two years old, arrived. They needed babysitters if they wanted to go out on a night, and they needed a bigger home. The four-bedroom house in De Beauvoir Town, which they rented, was a hefty GBP4,000 per month. Franki, 31 and her husband, were both born in West Yorkshire, and when they visited at Christmas, it was a eureka moment. Franki, a former primary school teacher, said that they loved London and still do. “It was an amazing place to live. But when we had children it became a little more difficult. “Then, as we were getting on a train from York, my husband, a property professional, said that the commute from here was only 40 minutes longer than if we moved further from London. We would also be closer to our families and rents would be lower. So why not move here? Eight weeks later, they moved into a house that they had never seen in person. This was February 2020. Franki, now a content creator (@franki.dammone), has never looked back. She said, “There is so many things going on.” “There are many independent cafes, restaurants, and the community feels wonderful. It is idyllic because all the children play together in the alley behind the houses. READ MORELeaving London: “After 27 years Brexit, I made the decision to leave London for a French chestnut plant.” Buying a Crossrail home: “We beat the stamp duty holiday deadline of an hour and bought a modular townhouse in Cambridge. We can walk to the city center in 15 minutes and get to the country in ten minutes. It is vibrant and becoming more cosmopolitan than I expected. It is a joy. The move has also been financially rewarding. Their three-bedroom home in the trendy Bishopthorpe Road district costs them GBP1,400pcm. Franki said, “I feel like we spend less and do a lot more here, but it makes us happier.” “You realize how tiring it can be to live in London when you get out of the city. We really enjoy going down to London, but it is exhausting when we return to York. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
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