MF at last! Now for the £300,000 'Mansion' Fund.

earthgirl

summerday wrote: »

Please, please don't take that as me being critical of your lifestyle choices because I promise I'm not, I'm a real believer in every woman having the right to work part time,

I reiterate- I sincerely hope that none of this post comes across as being judgemental in any way-

Ohh thanks Summer day, and no your point comes accross as thoughtful and sweet, and just common sense and good advice really!Thank you for taking the time to share what you think. You put accross a very good argument, and in the last few days I have definately been coming around to that way of thinking. Instead of searching for houses around the £600,00 - £500,000 mark, I have been halving that - that is about what we could afford now with a tiny mortgage.

earthgirl

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

Was this boy being properly aggressive? Are you an established teacher in this school?

If it's not being followed and you feel threatened can you involve the union?

Is your HOD supporting you?

Lots of love xxx

He was being aggressive but I did not feel threatened - he did not appear angry if that makes sense - just horrible!

HOD is being supporitve now that I am still kicking up a fuss, and I will continue to do so.

I am an established teacher in the school, but that doesn't seem to count for much here at the moment!


I know that I keep banging on about putting our health first and not doing much - thats me firmly pointed in the right direction!!

earthgirl

Another member of staff in the department has applied to go pt today, and it was accepted. Our plans are for me to take mat leave (fingers and toes crossed!!) on full time pay, and then go to part time.

I am really looking forward to the hols tomorrow but I have finished actual teaching now, thank goodness. All organised for the first week back too.

I found £1.50 yesterday and I have made £152.50 tutoring this week, but tonight is my last client before a nice break!!

museumworker

Wishing you luck for TTC, very exciting! I have everything crossed for you. Did it take long to catch with earthlet?

Re: house/life dilemma - I think working FT and being a mum is extremely stressful. I have done it the last 4 years (before I was PT/studying), and the quality of time I get with DD/OH is severely compromised. I shudder to think what working FT would be like with 2. We bought a house - but one we could afford, not one we would be worrying about meeting the payments. I think if you can get a nice house which would meet your needs for the next 10-15 years in terms of community and schooling, that is the ideal. If you can get one which is just 'big enough', with a tiny mortgage even better. You have worked your !!!! off to become MF, so that you can enjoy your life - and that is not 5-10 years in the future, that is now .

Courgette

I've been pondering this recently too, the idea of a 'forever home', and I've come to the conclusion that what you need from a house changes throughout your life so we're now focussing on the 'will work for the next few years' home. What really matters to me at the moment is enough room so DS1 doesn't need to move out before we're already for him to, open space for the babies to run around and a decent sense of community. We'd love to live near the sea too and I'd like to leave the city and one day I hope we will but it's not the most important thing right now.

Schools is a tricky one. I did a PGCE placement at a really good school, the type where people move to get into the catchment area of. One bad headteacher later and it's a very different story, in fact the teachers have recently gone on strike relations are that bad there now! (Not the national public sector strike, one of their very own.) No way would I want my kids in a school where staff relations were so strained and that's only happened in 4 years.

Not sure how that little ramble was supposed to help but there we are! :cool::rotfl:

Courgette

museumworker wrote: »

Re: house/life dilemma - I think working FT and being a mum is extremely stressful. I have done it the last 4 years (before I was PT/studying), and the quality of time I get with DD/OH is severely compromised. I shudder to think what working FT would be like with 2. We bought a house - but one we could afford, not one we would be worrying about meeting the payments. I think if you can get a nice house which would meet your needs for the next 10-15 years in terms of community and schooling, that is the ideal. If you can get one which is just 'big enough', with a tiny mortgage even better. You have worked your !!!! off to become MF, so that you can enjoy your life - and that is not 5-10 years in the future, that is now .

When my DS1 went up the Secondary School we had a really stressful time of it. I was refused all my choices and he was placed in a school with an 11% A*-C pass rate. I appealed all three choices and lost them all and we eventually found him a place in a school that wasn't so bad... except it went into special measures 4 weeks into year 7. As you can imagine I was devastated but as time has gone on I have come to realise that proper guidance and interest from home goes a long way to keeping them on the straight and narrow and when I packed in my FT job in the summer is was as much for DS1 as it was for DS2. DS1's school has really turned a corner and he is thriving.

I'm waffling again The point that I think I'm going to get at is that it's impossible to predict the future or to know how things will change over time. Something may look good on paper, as in a school could be outstandiing, but in reality could be unfriendly or you could move into a brilliant area but have awful neighbours.

Does any of that make any sense at all? :o:o

biglass

I absolutely think you're right to change your focus,Earthgirl ! A "sensible" family home that is in good area with good schools ( even look at your family type "new" estates where your kids will have others to play with in cul-de-sacs/safe streets with a likeminded peer group of families) is a good bet for your needs at the mo I would reckon. You get rotten neighbours anywhere,but careful area choice will minimise that possibility. Also keep in mind a type of easily maintained house that will sell well in future -this will enable you to have choices when your LO's leave home. Huge houses or old ones will only be accessible and affordable to certain buyers in future, so choose with that mindset. Bit bossy aren't I :rotfl:

CathT

Good luck with TTC, look forward to an announcement . I think that even with re-evaluating your budget you could still get a fantastic home. We live in an excellent catchment area from primary schools but imo most of the secondary schools in my town are a bit rubbish and this concerns me even though dd is only 3!

gratefulforhelp_2

earthgirl wrote: »

He was being aggressive but I did not feel threatened - he did not appear angry if that makes sense - just horrible!

HOD is being supporitve now that I am still kicking up a fuss, and I will continue to do so.

I am an established teacher in the school, but that doesn't seem to count for much here at the moment!


I know that I keep banging on about putting our health first and not doing much - thats me firmly pointed in the right direction!!

I don't mean to be bossy - just point out what you know yourself.

I am going back in feb full time with three, and I have no idea how I will cope.

If the kids are doing that and you've been there a while, then sounds like SLT have a problem?

Exciting the possibility of earthlet 2/earthlette/a moon maybe?

twinklie

Awww....I'm so jealous of you all and your mini mes. I'm still just me. That said I'm not jealous of the constant guilt and worry you all seem under particularly as working mums.