Essentially I think it's horses for courses. But after 40 years of living in SE London, I moved to my market town around 15 years ago. Sure, the daily commute to London can be a chore but overall I have no regrets.

Interestingly, there are many similarities between where I used to live and where I live now. I think that probably explains why I was originally attracted to my market town. It reminded me of where I had been living. It's just that nothing here is quite so extreme as it is in SE London, which for me equals a more relaxing lifestyle.

If I were half my age then I would be more than happy to still be living in SE London, but I'm not and as retirement begins to beckon I feel my market town is the place where I prefer to be.