A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

Byatt

Bupster, I'm doing a personal survey, so hope you don't mind me asking, what would a one bedroomed place cost rent wise where you are?

maryb

Thank you. I think she knows that she will get the money back in one form or another but I want it to be out of reach until she gets used to budgeting. Otherwise it's too easy to set it aside then dip into it

bupster

Hi Byatt - rents very high here. I'm lucky to have a cheap flat; when I looked at moving it turned out the average one-bedroomed place in the city centre was around £750 or more. A *lot* of young adults houseshare here, it's the only really affordable option - and I know a lot of young couples who have been forced to move out to the villages surrounding us. There are some big new developments planned which might bring down rents a bit, but demand is so high here it's bonkers. No house price crash here!

Byatt

Thanks Bupster.

BitterAndTwisted

There are three of them but the new chap has the smallest room which is a single so pays slightly less than the two gals who have pretty decent-sized rooms.

They take turns to buy essentials and don't run a kitty but one person only ever buys loo rolls in fours from the expensive supermarket when she's pressed. I always found that there's always one who won't buy their fair share and if there is a kitty only usually one or two people who can be @rsed to go out and bring anything useful home. Also, locks on food-cupboard doors came in very handy and I always kept a spare roll of loo-paper in my room for when the inevitable happened. Theft of toiletries in shared accommodation should be a hanging offense.

Gawd, I'm so glad I don't have to live like that any more but I've heard that it's character-building stuff.

BitterAndTwisted

Byatt wrote: »

Bupster, I'm doing a personal survey, so hope you don't mind me asking, what would a one bedroomed place cost rent wise where you are?

Where I am, in one of the least desirable post-codes in this city, rents for a one-bedroomed flat are about £200 a week. I thank God that's not what I'm paying.....

BitterAndTwisted

maryb wrote: »

Thank you, that's helpful. B&T what does your niece do about food? Do they have a kitty (Included in the £600 pm?) or do they pay their own way?

That £600 goes straight to the landlord who lives elsewhere. For food they fend for themselves. It's very unusual for sharers to band together and buy food as there's much too much potential for disagreements, especially in shares where friends visit often. If people do set up a kitty system it's usually only for communal essentials like loo paper, washing-up liquid and maybe tea-bags and milk if they're organised all use them equally.

The most harmonious flat-share I ever has was one where there were three girls and two boys. We used to have a kitty and share the expense of making a proper roast every Sunday. Any of us who had pals over were expected to cover their shares as well. The only reason it was harmonious was because we had a little shop directly opposite which was open very late and the three of us women were always the ones who noticed things were in short supply and popped out for them. There's no end of things men won't shift their lazy bums to get in, even if they're the only ones who are going to suffer. They were the main toiletry-purloining suspects as well.

anguk

When my son first moved to London he flat shared with 3 or 4 other people in Balham and I think he paid about £350 a month, that was with bills included. They bought their own food but had a kitty for things they all used like cleaning stuff and store cupboard basics. They also used to chip in together for Sunday lunch which my son would cook.

Bobbykins

Am finally starting to catch up with the thread. Mardy - Sorry to hear you are suffering and I hope that dratted ME eases off a little for you soon.

I'm afraid I can't contribute anything sensible to the discussion on "board and keep". Other than weekend jobs, my DD only worked for the summer before she went off to uni. At the time, I asked her for 30% of her income (of which I kept a small portion and the rest I gave her back to set herself up at uni). To this day she maintains that I ripped her off!

We had lovely weather over the weekend - OH says we brought it back from Italy with us! I managed to get most of our holiday washing done and dry and also got out into the garden for an hour as well, hurray. Such a pity I got up this morning to find the weather had got scared and run of back whence it came.

Oh well, guess I'll have to put a sweater on again today and just get on with it (sigh). Right, I am going to do a store cupboard and freezer inventory today and see whether we can manage the rest of the month on fresh fruit and fresh air!

maryb

Thanks everyone. Looks like quite a wide range. She does have some friends who studied in London so she can compare notes with them as well.
She already clubs together with the others in her current student accommodation to cook Sunday roast and they all enjoy it. She's lucky that they have a decent kitchen with a big table this year rather than just a sink and a microwave. Someone posted a while back about Mermaid cookware being on special offer at T K Maxx so I stocked up for her for when she sets herself up. But I'm looking forward to having her back for a bit.
DD2 starts GCSEs today and she starts finals next Monday. Hers will be over in a week and a half, DD2's go on for EVER - last exam on 27 June
I thought with 6 years between them I'd escape the classic both-doing-exams-at-the-same-time syndrome - but then DD1 went and did a 4 year degree.

Sooo glad she has a job - it's not a good year to be graduating