I left London for a home by the sea during lockdown and I still have no regrets

I left London for a home by the sea during lockdown and I still have no regrets (Image: EXPRESS) During Christmas 2020 me and my partner decided to leave London for good . We’d just been plunged into another lockdown and were certain this wouldn’t be the last. We were also both working from home and spending the majority of our wages on a tiny, damp one-bedroom flat in South East London that backed onto a very busy railway. Before coronavirus, it would have been the perfect location – it was close to work and within walking distance to several shops and cafes – but as we spent more time confined to our homes and the surrounding area, it felt claustrophobic. After a miserable Christmas, we decided to start looking for a new rental property by the sea. It’s a slower pace of life that’s perfect for anyone trying to escape the rat race (Image: EXPRESS) Deal Timeball Tower and a pretty street in the centre of town (Image: EXPRESS) The obvious choice was Brighton but a day spent viewing houses in the city quickly revealed a bigger problem – rental prices were skyrocketing outside of London and the market was moving quickly. Weeks of disappointment and tears later, we decided to look elsewhere and focussed our search on the Kent coast. I had only visited Deal in Kent once before as a child on a family holiday but remembered the pretty seafront promenade, the picturesque colourful buildings and the thriving arts scene. I was also surprised at how affordable it was compared to Brighton and other areas considering it was only an hour and 20 minutes away from London by train. In the end, we settled on a two-bedroom flat just a few minutes’ walk from the sea and the train station for £250 less per calendar month than our one-bedroom flat in London. Almost three years on, and with the world slowly returning to ‘normal’, I don’t regret moving out of London to the seaside. Almost three years on, I don’t regret moving out of London to the seaside (Image: EXPRESS) My overall health has improved, I exercise more and I eat better. People are also friendlier here and less abrasive – they’re enjoying the scenery rather than rushing to be where they need to be. It’s a slower pace of life that’s perfect for anyone trying to escape the rat race. I was worried I’d miss the bustle of London but whenever I go back, I can’t wait to return home – and it’s easy to see why.  Deal is a delightful place to live with plenty of delicious eateries, a friendly community, a pebble beach, an iconic pier and plenty of beautiful architecture. Keen house buyers can bag themselves a fisherman’s cottage or a Georgian townhouse just a stone’s throw from the sea for less than the price of a London flat. With brilliant high-speed rail links and ferries to France just down the road in Dover, it’s the perfect place for Londoners to escape the city – either permanently or for a weekend away. Buildings along Deal seafront (Image: EXPRESS) Some of the town’s highlights include The Rose, a brilliant pub/hotel in the centre of town, Frog And Scot, a lively English tapas bar and restaurant, and Taphouse Beer Cafe, a family-run craft beer and pizza bar. While house prices have increased since 2020, they’re still reasonable when compared with London. Properties in Deal had an overall average price of £373,823 over the last year, according to Rightmove, with the majority of sales in Deal during the last year being terraced homes which sold for an average price of £389,471. Sold prices in Deal were 18 percent up on the 2020 peak of £317,351, according to the UK’s largest property portal. Comparatively, London has an overall average price of £724,509.