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skint_chick wrote: »Have you looked at the total additional commute costs of buying a house further out vs the extra cost of a higher mortgage to live in south Manchester? Your post seemed to suggest you could afford it, but didn't want to spend the extra and 'waste' money. I almost bought a much cheaper house in a commuter town but when I added up the cost of the extra petrol it ended up being about £50 a month more expensive to live in the city. Then I thought about taxis home after a night out - which might not be an issue if you live near enough to a train/tram station and the trains run late enough. Then the extra time I gained by not having to sit in rush hour traffic for 40 mins morning and night. My commute is about 10/15mins (5 mins in school holidays) it's walkable in about 45 mins if I didn't have the car and free parking (and wasn't so lazy!) and I'm happy with that. I used to drive 50 miles each way, mostly motorway, and the only thing I miss is that I don't get to listen to audiobooks on my commute anymore.
If you're planning to stay in your current job or most of the jobs in your field are city centre based then you need to think longer term about the commute. If you decide to have children later on and both partners work then one of you has to be able to make their job and commute work around nursery times, so that's something else to think about.
Thank you
We have discussed increasing our budget and staying locally, but it's more that people with properties for sale are having a laugh when it comes to their prices. I know a property is only worth as much as somebody is willing to pay for it, but the only properties around our realistic budget are on a road where somebody was shot, just a few months ago. I don't think I could see myself having children in an area like that, even if it does keep my commute under 40 minutes. The quieter areas are all over £280k, which just isn't doable, and by the time we'd taken into account the higher mortgage payment (probably around £1100 a month), we would probably still be better off living further out. We said we wanted to be reasonable and not go for the biggest mortgage we could afford.
There are other compromises we could make which don't involve a huge commute - move to North Manchester which is far cheaper and has fantastic transport links, but I think it tends to suffer from the same fate as South Manchester, as the desirable areas are "up and coming" and therefore, hugely in demand and expensive.
I don't want to sound judgmental or unreasonable - had it just been for us, I'd probably aim for an apartment closer to the centre, maybe even look at buying where we are now. However, due to our age and life stage, I need to forward plan.
Very good point about the nursery times though - there's no point in saving 20k on a house, then having to spend that on childcare, and also sacrificing time with our (imaginary) child to sit in traffic! :eek:0 -
KatieDee, I have just started a new job this week. with a similar commute to your proposal - 45miles. e/w
Currently taking 1hr 20 ish. As theres a number of road works on the way. but even on a good day (clear roads, halfterm), I reckon it would be 1hr5/ 1hr10mins.
I similarly have had shorter commutes - 35mins max. in the past. So this is defo a step up. I can already feel the difference, but hopefully i get used to it.
Buzz me in a couple wks.. and I can let you know how I'm getting on! But part of it is in the mind i reckon. An hour ish (give or take) should be doable! - (Hopefully!) 365 Day 1p challenge - £371.49 / 667.95
Emergency Fund £1000 / £1000 ( will enlarge once debts are cleared)
DFW - £TBC0 -
I agree with other posters, it's time not distance that's important. We used to live in London and my commute from SE to West took 90 minutes each way. Driving or by public transport. Didn't matter what time.
Do seriously think about areas before deciding finally that you have to be near to the city you work in. We've recently moved 115 miles North of London...but still work there. We've doubled the size of our house meaning that we each have home offices.
We don't go down to London every day but when we do the train journey is only 75 minutes. Home to office in about 2 hours, so only a touch over what I was used to. We take the train so can use that time eating, reading, watching TV or resting.
If children are on the cards then one or both of your current jobs may change too, so I'd be even more inclined to research areas farther out that are potentially more family friendly. I'm not going to be working in London forever and have been pleasantly surprised at how many local opportunities there are.0 -
I agree with other posters, it's time not distance that's important. We used to live in London and my commute from SE to West took 90 minutes each way. Driving or by public transport. Didn't matter what time.
Do seriously think about areas before deciding finally that you have to be near to the city you work in. We've recently moved 115 miles North of London...but still work there. We've doubled the size of our house meaning that we each have home offices.
We don't go down to London every day but when we do the train journey is only 75 minutes. Home to office in about 2 hours, so only a touch over what I was used to. We take the train so can use that time eating, reading, watching TV or resting.
If children are on the cards then one or both of your current jobs may change too, so I'd be even more inclined to research areas farther out that are potentially more family friendly. I'm not going to be working in London forever and have been pleasantly surprised at how many local opportunities there are.
Thank you
London is fantastically good for commuting, and it's great to hear that you've found a beautiful home which suits your families needs. Manchester has decent public transport, but we certainly don't have the same range of commuter (as far as I know!).
The area we're looking at is around the Disley area, which seems absolutely perfect for families. Close to the Peak District, plenty of green areas, good pubs (!), fantastic schools which are not oversubscribed and a nice community feel. It's 40 minutes from the city on a direct train, or probably around an hours drive, depending on how lucky you were.
For me, area is everything. Having lived in an area with severe problems, I wouldn't ever want to feel trapped in such a place again. I feel that by moving further out (although still close enough to take advantage of the city), we will experience a better quality of life, even if that is at the sacrifice of slightly earlier mornings/later evenings midweek.
On our trial run, in which roadworks were on the go, we managed to arrive "home" by 4.45pm, leaving at 4pm. This was midweek, so possibly the busiest time. We may have been lucky, but I could manage that.
Thank you for your reply though - I was expecting everybody to advise me against commuting, but I've got a really good mixture of replies which has definitely given me food for thought!0 -
KatieDee, I have just started a new job this week. with a similar commute to your proposal - 45miles. e/w
Currently taking 1hr 20 ish. As theres a number of road works on the way. but even on a good day (clear roads, halfterm), I reckon it would be 1hr5/ 1hr10mins.
I similarly have had shorter commutes - 35mins max. in the past. So this is defo a step up. I can already feel the difference, but hopefully i get used to it.
Buzz me in a couple wks.. and I can let you know how I'm getting on! But part of it is in the mind i reckon. An hour ish (give or take) should be doable! - (Hopefully!)
It's amazing how well we adapt to new challenges! I honestly never gave a thought to driving 50 miles a day a few years ago, where as driving 15 a day in Manchester has put the fear in me :rotfl:
I remember half term was like winning the lottery when I could just zip to work in about 20 minutes!
Hopefully you'll get used to the commute, then you can come back and tell me how fabulous it is, and how I should go ahead and buy this house :rotfl:0 -
Thanks for your response That's quite a distance! How do you find it when you do have to go into the office?
I too can work from home, although I am expected to be in the office a fair bit. I could make an arrangement with my employer to work from home on certain days of the week to reduce costs, but I would feel a bit cheeky doing this as a result of me choosing to move further away :rotfl:!
It's fine really, its 1 hour 10 minutes each way. I have an Audible subscription and have listened to many books. To be honest it flies by. Employers are generally keen on remote workers where the employee can be trusted, its less site costs for them.0 -
As others have said, think about the time the journey takes and the stress factors involved. If you really like the area you mentioned in your OP, then personally, I would be travelling by train with the option of driving as my backup.
That's assuming you have a decent reliable commuter service of course. If you get a seat, you can read or do bits of admin, online shopping etc on the commute, which you just can't do if driving.
I've daily driven 100 mile cross country round trips in the past and wouldn't recommend it.0 -
I do 110 miles round trip as day (mostly motorway driving against traffic). It's not ideal, but you do get used to it. Where I work is a cheaper town than where I live, so did consider renting out my place and renting somewhere near work for half the price for a while, but I have lots of stuff. Then I got cats, so not an option.0
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Thank you
We have discussed increasing our budget and staying locally, but it's more that people with properties for sale are having a laugh when it comes to their prices. I know a property is only worth as much as somebody is willing to pay for it, but the only properties around our realistic budget are on a road where somebody was shot, just a few months ago. I don't think I could see myself having children in an area like that, even if it does keep my commute under 40 minutes. The quieter areas are all over £280k, which just isn't doable, and by the time we'd taken into account the higher mortgage payment (probably around £1100 a month), we would probably still be better off living further out. We said we wanted to be reasonable and not go for the biggest mortgage we could afford.
There are other compromises we could make which don't involve a huge commute - move to North Manchester which is far cheaper and has fantastic transport links, but I think it tends to suffer from the same fate as South Manchester, as the desirable areas are "up and coming" and therefore, hugely in demand and expensive.
I don't want to sound judgmental or unreasonable - had it just been for us, I'd probably aim for an apartment closer to the centre, maybe even look at buying where we are now. However, due to our age and life stage, I need to forward plan.
Very good point about the nursery times though - there's no point in saving 20k on a house, then having to spend that on childcare, and also sacrificing time with our (imaginary) child to sit in traffic! :eek:
Hi KatieDee, I thought I would just message you as I’ve posted in another thread about the difficulties of finding an affordable home in a nice area in Manchester! We currently live on the border of Rusholme/Moss Side and having lived in the area since being a student (6 years ago!,
), we are desperate to move but feel we are just getting priced out despite only starting our search properly a few months ago. With this in mind we are going to re visit our strategy in a few months if nothing comes up and look at moving further out. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind it and to be in a nice community but it’s such a complicated decision! Whatever you decide, hope it all works out for you and you can find your home soon 0 -
MissMarble wrote: »Hi KatieDee, I thought I would just message you as I’ve posted in another thread about the difficulties of finding an affordable home in a nice area in Manchester! We currently live on the border of Rusholme/Moss Side and having lived in the area since being a student (6 years ago!,
), we are desperate to move but feel we are just getting priced out despite only starting our search properly a few months ago. With this in mind we are going to re visit our strategy in a few months if nothing comes up and look at moving further out. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind it and to be in a nice community but it’s such a complicated decision! Whatever you decide, hope it all works out for you and you can find your home soon
Ooh, I noticed how similar our situations were and actually thought about your thread when starting mine! I didn't want to hijack yours, so thought I'd make a new one
I really hope you manage to find something too. I have only been in Manchester for around 18 months, but I'm completely at home here. I desperately want to purchase a home and settle down, but the market is insane at the moment. I feel like there's a lot to be gained by betting on those "up and coming" areas, but it's such a risk!
You do get used to living close to the city, and my major concern about moving away was losing that proximity and atmosphere. We live very close to Rusholme, so you're probably not far from me at all. It's about 30mins on a bus into the city from where we live now, but I can honestly say I've only been to town a handful of times since moving here! Mostly because the rent is so high that we can't afford all those wonderful bars and restaurants! :rotfl:
If you do manage to find a lovely area with affordable housing in Manchester, please let me know! I promise we won't gazump you...0
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