Need some advice, thinking about a move to London.

Just need to see what you all think. My husband and I live in Eastbourne. He works in London. It's about 2.5 hours one way for him to get to work and then home. He's been doing this for over 5 years now. All he does is commute, work, sleep. On occasion he can work from home but not all the time.

He is a Financial Director for 2 companies in London. He has to do a lot of client entertainment so that means overnight stays in London. He knows that his employers question his commitment to the work since he's not moved up to London, so he tends to get "left out" of things. Husband thinks that this is hurting his career and he wants it to progress.

Now.. the reason we stay in Eastbourne is for his 2 sons. One is 15 and one is 9. We get them every other weekend and the oldest comes over one night in the week to do homework and have dinner, then he goes home. Younger son will probably start to do this in another 2 years or so.

We moved in February across town to be closer to the boys with the hope that we would have them more. We are an easy 10 min walk from their mum's house. On occasion the older son will come by after school and hang out, but of course I am at work until 5:30 and husband does not usually get home until 7 or so. Older son usually goes back to his mum's by then.

So now husband is wondering (again) if we should just move to London. Keep having the boys on the weekends we have them and the school holidays that we have them since we are not seeing them any more than we were before. Husband is desperate to be a part of their lives but it just doesn't seem to happen.

If we moved to London then I could look for a better and more fulfilling job and husband would get 5 hours a day of his life back. We feel like a dog chasing it's tail on this subject, so I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have.

I'll start my response by saying that I don't have children, but can understand the desire to be close to them, as it is easier on kids to have parents nearby each other.

That being said, London isn't so far away to make it any less possible for him to spend time with his sons. So I think it's an excellent idea, especially as they are old enough to take the train together (the older one being "in charge"). And I bet his boys will likely relish the idea of their old man being in London and may even come to stay more often given the choice as they get older. Also - with those extra hours he could be skyping his kids and helping with homework. Dare I speculate there is the opportunity to see more of them if he is not just down the road?

I wish you two the best of luck!