Want to Move ... Do I Deserve a Spot of Luxury ... Should I Blow 90% Income on It?

Bootski

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

I lived in an apartment for 18 months before I bought the 'for life' bungalow where I now live.

I loved the apartment, it was private, safe and secure, easy to look after, all on one level, and great views. I have very happy memories of it.

But a noisy family (two kids and a dog) moved into our little block (six apartments). The kids used to bring their muddy bikes up and park them on the landing. They had half the kids in the neighbourhood hanging around the common parts because their dad wouldn't let them into the flat. The chap dropped a tin of paint down the carpet on the stairs. They played music till the early hours and swore at anyone who complained....

Anyway, you get the picture. In the end it didn't matter too much to me as the apartment was just a temporary bolthole and it served its purpose. But the point is, people in flats live in close proximity and one unsociable tenant can really spoil things.

That's the way I'm trying to look at it and other tell me the same. I'm emotionally attached as, as a family, we moved in in '76. I've very happy memories of my childhood here and felt very secure, we could leave the doors open etc. Maybe my expectations are quite high now but it saddens me that things have changed so much and so I'm better off with a fresh start. What p**ses me off is that that lousy tenant with her noisy, uncontrollable dog ( BTW its just a matter of time before it rips off some kids face) and her uncontrollable, fowlmouthed messy children, (pregnant again) and the state of her garden is that - having just lost my Mum and selling the house - you'd think I'd be happy and have a more secure future. But no, she'll be there for years with here rent getting paid with her managorie (spelling?? ie.ZOO).and their behaviour. I, however lucky I am to getting a legacy from my late Mum will never afford that luxury. Unless, like Pastures, I rent somewhere nice and spend my capitol which won't be long before it's depleted.

mystic_trev

Go for it PN - you've earned it! :j

misskool

PasturesNew wrote: »

The other issue about being single, of course, is never being taken seriously anywhere. If you go into any buying situation (from a takeaway pizza to a new car) as a couple, you're approached with a smile and enthusiasm... as a single you seem to get overlooked/ignored and then dismissed. "Can't be serious, didn't have a man".

Well, I've never found that a problem. I used to go to restaurants for dinner on my own and the way to get around that is to carry yourself with a titch of confidence. If you tell them you know what you want and don't be put down by them it will be ok.

It helps to dress a bit nicer (I have power dressing mode when I have to go to meetings and I'm TERRIFIED) but wearing something that matches and goes together gives me a bit of confidence. Basically, leave the house like you mean to kick some a$$

keith969

misskool wrote: »

Well, I've never found that a problem. I used to go to restaurants for dinner on my own and the way to get around that is to carry yourself with a titch of confidence. If you tell them you know what you want and don't be put

Agreed, I used to travel a lot round europe for work and got used to going out to eat on my own in strange towns. It terrified me at first, but I ended up thinking 'so what? I might as well try and enjoy it' and after that I did. Chat to the waiter/waitress, chances are they are just as bored as you and they love talking to someone who will listen.... that's the key, people love talking about themselves and what they're interested in. So I just sit back and listen, and get an evening's entertainment for free!

skintlass

GFI - you only live once and everyone deserves a place they feel comfortable to live in. You're frugal elsewhere so why not spoil yourself this once.

beaujolais-nouveau

PasturesNew wrote: »

Well, these are the figures, etc:
Current: £350 for a small studio, can't see if it's sunny outside, nothing to look at outside, not being able to see the sun makes me not open the curtains most days. 2am, fancy a cig, I get reasonably dressed and creep outside and crouch down beside the road pavement, where drunks and weirdos potentially pass.

I agree that you should move out of your studio flat. Human beings are not evolved to be subterranean creatures - I really think that it unbalances one not to be able to see what sort of day it is outside, or what time of day it is - years ago, I temped at Diageo's office in St James's or thereabouts, in a sort of internal hall of desks divided up into cubicles (like those in the Dilbert cartoons), and there was no daylight. It was November time, in fact Maggie Thatcher was deposed while I was working there; it was dark when I went into work and dark when I came out, as if the sun didn't exist.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Potential new: £575 for a 1-bed shiny new flat right on a beach with french doors onto a large balcony overlooking the beach. If I can get the sunny side (bet those beggars are pricier) then it'd mean throwing open the french windows and looking down onto the beach and out to sea, with the sun flooding in. 2am, fancy a cig, I'd step out onto my private balcony in my jim jams and smoke.

Overall, it'd probably cost me £250/month more than where I am now , but quality of life would be better. So £3000/year, which would mean I'd have to up my income by about a further £5k to pay for it.

Isn't there something a bit cheaper around that would suit you. Trouble with spending 90 per cent of your income on rent, and then x per cent on cigarettes, leaves very little for heating and eating and travel and so on.

What about a year renting a river boat, or a gypsy caravan?

PasturesNew

beaujolais-nouveau wrote: »

Isn't there something a bit cheaper around that would suit you. Trouble with spending 90 per cent of your income on rent, and then x per cent on cigarettes, leaves very little for heating and eating and travel and so on.

What about a year renting a river boat, or a gypsy caravan?

To be honest there's not a lot in it. Yes there are cheaper places, but they are dingy/dark with no redeeming features (e.g. outside/balcony even). The prices to be in something that doesn't look like a prison are just a few quid less per month really.

I am moving to a different area - where the bottom starts higher up. Nothing that is cheaper would give me the items I want/need. The cheapest flats don't have balconies or private spaces in the main. I NEED to be able to step outside without feeling it's not my space.

BitterAndTwisted

I'd say "go for it" except for one tiny thing: once you are used to having a separate living room and bedroom plus a bit of outside space to call your own it might be impossible to move back to a studio.

PasturesNew

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'd say "go for it" except for one tiny thing: once you are used to having a separate living room and bedroom plus a bit of outside space to call your own it might be impossible to move back to a studio.

It shouldn't be. The house I sold had 6 bedrooms and yet I opted for a studio.

BitterAndTwisted

Then go for it, pastures new!