Konnect You Improved Our Personal Moving System
After their retirement, Tim and his wife, Anne, were living in London and supporting their local community through volunteer work. However, as they weren’t native Londoners, they soon grew tired of the hectic city and decided to explore a completely different way of life.
This resulted in a long and continuous moving journey that Konnect You helped with.
Leaving London After Retirement
Once he hit his 62nd birthday, Tim retired from his accounting career, with his wife soon following closely behind.
“I’m retired, I was an accountant working in charities and in further education colleges... My wife and I have been together for 16/17 years, but we got married 5 years ago. My wife was an HR Manager [before retirement].”
The couple had lived happily in Croydon for over 12 years, completing a range of volunteer work for their local community.
“I did a huge amount of voluntary work with Diabetes UK because I’m Type 1 diabetic, and was doing a lot of work with other charities, helping them with their accounts.”
However, after re-evaluating their mortgage and feeling a little out of place in the big city, they decided it was time for a change.
“I come from Deepest Wiltshire, Salisbury and my wife comes from Liverpool... Her mother is now 88 and we knew that she needed more care. Driving [to Liverpool] from Croydon was a nightmare, and we didn’t want to live in London because we’re not Londoners by birth. So we decided to up sticks and move.”
Choosing North Wales
Due to their shared love of walking and breathtaking scenery, Tim and Anne knew where they wanted to move before they even began searching. By March 2020, they were all packed up and on their way.
“So when we sold the house, we moved into a rented house in North Wales for 9 months.”
“We've always loved North Wales and we wanted to be near the sea and just wanted to be out of London... We travel around, we love walking. We did Hadrian's Wall Walk, which is 84 miles and the Isle of Wight which is 75 miles. So we do lots of things like that and up here, it's really nice for that sort of thing.”
However, despite their obvious love for North Wales, narrowing down a more specific location was a little difficult.
“We liked North Wales, but we didn't have a [opinion] for where we’d want to be. So we thought, well, given the problem with lining everything up, it's probably easier to rent first.”
And so, their moving experience began with a long journey from Croydon to Caerwys, where they would temporarily rent a home until they found the perfect property.
“We travelled and looked around a lot. We went to all of the coastal areas Colwyn Bay, Conwy, all around.”
Finding Somewhere Pet-Friendly
Finding a suitable home to rent while caring for 2 cats isn’t easy, meaning Tim and Anne had a tough time negotiating with landlords.
“I would say less than 10% of people/landlords take pets. And so, yes, it was a real, real struggle to find the right place. It gave us very limited choices...”
However, they had always planned to buy a house once they found a suitable area. Renting had always been a temporary plan, so negotiating the terms of the lease wasn’t too worrying.
“They had terms put into the lease that we’d have to have everything cleaned, all the carpets cleaned professionally and replace a carpet if the cats clawed it. It's just one of those things.”
Searching for a Removal Company
Once they found a pet-friendly landlord, it was time for the big move. As it was a fairly long distance, they had to find a removal company as early as possible to make sure everything was organised before moving day in March 2020.
Luckily, they soon found Konnect You.
“It gave us great help in identifying removal firms who were interested in this major move that [had to take] place over 2 days... There were many variations in price and services... Konnect You was super helpful in making the house move simple, successful and happy.”
The website was so helpful that it allowed Tim and his wife to create a new system to help them choose the right removal company.
“We then had a kind of a system where we reviewed the people who came to see us. [We reviewed them] on price, on what we thought of their representative, what we thought of the company by Google reviews and [we looked] at the moving site to see what the reviews said too.”
It was a detailed and thorough system that helped them choose a checked company.
“We then had a list where we [again] rated them on price... And how quickly the replies came... We had a piece of paper which we awarded points individually to those and then came out with who we thought was the best.”
That number one position went to the removal company, City Removals & Storage.
Choosing a Company
City Removals & Storage are a London-based removals company that has been part of the Konnect You network since 2016. They are an accredited member of the British Association of Removers and offer a range of professional moving services.
During their time in our network, they have received an impressive 5-star rating from our customers.
“We came up with City Removals and they just came in, packed everything and did everything on time as planned. It was really good. We were absolute in giving them a 5-star review...everything they said would happen, happened. They were great.”
Moving From Croydon to North Wales
With the date set and the removal company organised, it was finally time to get going. Luckily, Tim and Anne’s house move was booked right before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, meaning their personal moving experience wasn’t massively affected or delayed.
“I left early in the morning with the cats on board, brought them up to a cattery up here. Anne stayed down there and supervised the move and then came up by train, I picked her up from the train station... City Removals did the packing for us but we had to clear the unwanted things first... We simply had too much stuff!”
Due to the journey being over 260 miles long, the move took place over the course of 2 days. But the removal company was incredibly helpful and didn’t mind the distance.
When asked to describe their experience with City Removals, both Tim and his wife stated:
“They were so polite, always on time... They put down flooring to protect the carpets and did everything exactly as planned. They even took down Ikea furniture and re-assembled it. They were simply great!”
Settling Into Life in North Wales
Afterwards, it didn’t take long for Tim and his wife to settle into their new accommodation and lifestyle.
“There's no pressure, no traffic jams. Where we lived before, although we weren’t on the main road you could always hear the police cars and fire engines going up and down the road and it was always busy.”
Tim described how they had both “had enough” of the hectic city when living in Croydon, making this quieter and calmer home feel like a haven.
“It's just quieter and more easygoing. Traffic jams are a thing of the past.”
Finding Their Permanent Home
Since their move in 2020, Tim and Anne have continued their long-term plan, leaving the rented home in Caerwys. They have since bought a beautiful 4-bed house in Prestatyn, much closer to the coast and only a 20-minute journey from their previous location.
You’ll be happy to know that the cats have also settled in well and are now free to claw to their hearts’ content.
“This is much, much bigger than the other house and it's less than half the price. It's just a different way of life. Everybody talks to you and it's friendly and it's got a lovely environment, we can walk to the beach in 20 minutes... We always loved Prestatyn. It's just a nice place to live.”
How Can Konnect You Help You?
Before moving day, it helps to know what needs sorting and when. Our expert articles and guides can help you stay organised, understand the process and feel more prepared for the decisions ahead.
When you are ready to find support, Konnect You can connect you with trusted professionals for conveyancing, surveying and removals in your local area. Share a few simple details and we will match you with relevant options, so you can choose with more confidence.
