Quit everything , and start again over 50?

another_casualty
another_casualty Posts: 6,506
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edited 4 April 2017 at 10:29AM in Debt-free wannabe
MSE Insert:

18 months on from another casualty's original post they've done it and started again. Read the next instalment here: I've quit everything, now what?

Back to another casualty's original 2015 post...

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Hello everyone. Haven't been on here for a few years, but this is my second thread tonight:)
My situation: Lovely 2 bedroom maissonette in Twickenham , complete with garden and parking space .
Know virtually nobody here now . (people moving away etc)

Working : permanently employed Salary £24,500 + ot

Debts: inc. mortgage £105,000 approx

Property worth : £400,000 approx.

I have had 7-8 years of hell , and I know I'm not the only one ;)
Haven't had a holiday for years. Been in debt for years, before getting a DMP in 2012.
My friends are moving away / married etc.
The place of employment , was a place I didn't want to be in for many years . Joined as a temp in the recession 2007 , and made perm 2009. Things have improved in one way, but are bad in another. For example, my backstabbing colleague and my self get on now since 2012. My boss retired , and now the Personnel officer
is now my boss.She is rude and incompetent.
My health suffered last year, and I now have Myasthenia Gravis and am slowly getting back on the mend via steroids.Oh, and I put my brother up for 5 years. He paid £400 a month, but not all at once and I was always chasing him. He was a nightmare , but I have my space back now:)
So, with all of the above , I do wonder if I should just quit and start again.BTW, my boss criticised my appointments, I snapped and am now on a final warning for 2 years. I didn't swear/threaten etc. I just shouted as colleague to boss.
My friends say that I cannot afford to live in London and should buy a place somewhere else and put a sum of money away.
They even say that I could sell my flat and go travelling for a couple of months. Am I too old for this now?

I must admit I am getting fed up of London , but I have lived there all of the time , mainly the Borough and Twickenham.
I wouldn't want to move to anywhere else in London . Twickenham is very pricey as you know.

Please feel free with suggestions you may have, and thanks for looking;)




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Comments

  • Kitten868
    Kitten868 Posts: 1,785
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    Maybe it's more what's keeping you there than what you can go to? I think coming on here is you admitting you need a change. Where are your friends mainly based? I would go to Dubai or Australia personally but maybe go for wherever a job appeals to you?
    Loan 1 £5200/£8000
    Loan 2 £300/£5800
    Total £5500/£13800
  • Could you rent your flat and go travelling? Once you sell up in London it might be difficult for your to get back on the property market here
  • Thanks for your replies. The crux of the matter for me , is to get rid of debt ( hence why I'm. Here ;) ) My friends are dotted all over the place. Most of us know each other. The 2 main guys I see work in London also, and we meet up about once everyb2 weeks.
    We go to Poole in Dorset about once a year to meet a friend who lives there. If I were to sell my flat, I could buy a place there and have money in the bank for once, which is advice I've been given . A bit daunting on my own. I was thinking of checking things out by visiting the area in stages next year and if I feel it's right - move to poole. I can't afford to do anything at the moment , as I need to clear overfdraft which was created when my mother passed away 2 weeks ago( see my other thread).
    I don't want to let my flat out TBH . I have too much clutter , and you don't know who you'll get. Because of my weird eating habits( and hatred for humid weather), I would like just to go for a train journey around Europe .
    I am in the process of painting the flat . Halfway there, but because I'm recovering from my sudden illness ( myasthenia) I'm only halfway through.
    It costs money to move also.
    Please keep suggestions coming
  • I think the job market outside London is still pretty tough for anything other than minimum wage jobs. I would be very wary of resigning without something to move to unless you are sure your skills are in demand. Sorry to be boring.
  • London can be a really expensive place to live and to enjoy things. The flipped of this is that it is a money machine. At the moment you have the worst of both worlds, all the cost and not many of the benefits due to your salary.

    I would try to get my salary up if i was you. Your plan only really seems half formed. I find that people who sell up and move away do much better if they have a solid plan and good drivers for doing so.

    Its a big decision, think long and hard about it before you do anything.
    £1000 Emergency fund No90 £1000/1000
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  • LJB290
    LJB290 Posts: 106 Forumite
    Never too old to travel and have new experiences!

    Personally I wouldn't sell up without a darn good plan in place or the money you received for the sale could be fittered away very easily.

    Areas outside of London are much cheaper and still have jobs and very good transport systems to London if necessary (Milton Keynes, Bedford for example are only 35 mins on the train).

    Why not start looking for work outside of the Capital? If there is nothing holding you in London - why stay and pay the premium? With almost £300K from the sale of your property, you could live mortgage free in a very pleasant place, pay off the debts and have lovely holidays - but will also need a job to sustain the lifestyle.

    Good luck
  • duchy
    duchy Posts: 19,511
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    If you are planning on selling the flat you'd need to declutter anyway so whether you are planning to sell or planning to rent it still needs to be done..... and if you ultimately stay the flat will be easier to keep and nicer to be in too.

    Renting the flat out for six months (or shorter - Twickenham is good for holiday lets too) would give you the chance to go off and travel to the places you think you might like to live and get a feel for them. Day trips don't always allow you to get a proper feel for a place often.

    As you appear to have a very narrow criteria of places you'd be prepared to live "Twickenham is the ONLY place you'd live in London" Really ? I know Twickenham pretty well - it wouldn't be my first choice in West London even though it's nice let alone the whole of London. What are your specific criteria that rules out every other area of London .....and how would that translate to finding other areas outside of London ?

    No one is ever too old to go travelling ....but is it what YOU want to do or what your friends think you should do ?

    If the truth is you don't really want to move away but are tired of not having money then you could downsize to release capital. If you declutter you might only need a one bedroom place ;) How much equity do you have in the property -it doesn't matter what a place is worth what matters is how much of it is yours if you want to move to a no mortgage situation

    If you move away would you need a job , do you have a private pension- jobs for 50 somethings can be tricky at the moment. That said if you had much lower outgoings and no debts to pay off life could be much less stressful /

    I think it wouldn't hurt to look for another job at this point. It doesn't sound like a good place to work. Even if you ultimately move away -sorting out a better work life until you decide can't hurt. Maybe if work was different and better you wouldn't want to move anyway though- you wont know unless you try.
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  • Thanks again. I have a 2 bedroom flat. I was looking at 1 bed , and even studios in Twickenham / Richmond . With studios tho', you could heave problems ( students / short term tenants etc),
    Twickenham from Waterloo is not too far to commute ( but expensive)
    If there are nice places to live , let me know where;)
    My job is Postroom / facilities . I've always done this unsklled work . If an agency would put. Me forward for something different I would listen.
    I'm one of those people who bass always been in employment , less than 6 months unemployed Poor qualifications but got this far. I never complain, but now am stuck ;)
  • Btw I have just under £300,000 equity. There are worse people off than me, I know. This new 'affordability ' decision making by the lenders sucks!
    I have a small private pension, but I've always been on poor salaries so I don't think it's worth much.
    Renting would probably eat all of my equity , so I'm confused .com about what to do next;)
  • My job is Postroom / facilities . I've always done this unsklled work . If an agency would put. Me forward for something different I would listen.
    I'm one of those people who bass always been in employment , less than 6 months unemployed Poor qualifications but got this far. I never complain, but now am stuck ;)

    Any chance of retraining or doing some courses to enable you to look for higher paid work?

    In your situation I would sell, pay off debt, buy somewhere tiny up north and get a minimum/part time job for bills and spending money and spend my last decades doing what I loved rather than busting a gut working full time for not much in return (but I get that that doesn't exactly help you and your dilemma!)

    What do you love? What would you do if you didn't have to work? Do you have a passion? If I were you I'd focus on that as my driving force.
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