working in london, have a child. possible?

Nickynoo1

Hi, not sure where to post this really, and probably thinking aloud, to see what other people think.
I'm a final year student and a single parent and have applied for some graduate schemes. Inititally I was looking at places within my local area as I have a house/ mortgage, friends, family etc here and have a 5 year son. Now have decided that it may be possible to relocate by renting my house out and renting another, to open up my options a bit really.
Now, i have progressesed really well, in one of the graduate schemes, but I fear the placements will be in London. Im not sure renting in London, somewhere suitable for a family anyway, would be possible on initial graduate salary, and commuting seems impossible due to childcare arrangements before and after school. Do any parents actually do this??? Is it possible for a single parent? When would I get time to help with homework, cook meals etc???
I fear the governments continual push to get single parents working has not been completly thought out..
Any views welcome please.
Nickynoo1

lincroft1710

Firstly if you are planning to rent your house out and it is mortgaged, you will need your lender's permission and they may well insist on you switching to a Buy to Let mortgage. Secondly, you have now become a landlord! Just go to the House Buying Renting and Selling section of the Forum and read a few renting problems threads, it will probably put you off!

However, the big question which we can't answer is "Can you afford to rent in London, in a safe area which is within commuting distance of your work and has a good enough school locally?" Because until you know your probable salary and where the work is, it's impossible to say.

Nickynoo1

I'm not too worried about renting my house out as Ive done it before, so I know all that it entails.
The placement would probably be in Westminster but with a starting salary of 25-27k Im not sure i could afford london family accommodation, not too sure where it is either- wandsworth, wimblledon?? I have seen affordable places outside, but with an hour commute.
HHmmmm, any londoners??

tomjonesrules

Are you looking at the Fast Stream? If so, the Central Departments stream does have placements outside London. I was offered Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham.

Nickynoo1

Yes Tom,
Yes, I thought they may have placements outside London, but didn't know if London was the norm. But now also looking at other grad schemes, and wondering if London ones are worth the bother if they pay less.....

tomjonesrules

As a singleton, I found that I was going to have to live a long way out to avoid a house share, and my standard of living would fall considerably. In terms of location, I found that once I spoke to the team that dealt specifically with disabled candidates they were able to offer more options, including working from home for part of the week. I would assume that they would apply the same flexibility to those with children. In the end I joined a scheme outside London, I just couldn't see how the salaries offered would allow me to have any work life balance in the capital.

Nickynoo1

thanks for your input Tom, that is interesting and valuable to know. As a matter of interest, when did you join the faststream and do you have to move for your second placement?
Regards
Nickynoo1

KiKi

I lived very comfortably on £18K and paid £3.5K a year commuting (3 hours a day) in my first graduate job - but without a child. Depends on your ambitions for a 'family' home, too. London housing is very, very expensive, so yes, you would have to commute in.

What I would say is that you seem to think that being in London somehow means you'll be working far more hours that you won't have time to cook! London is like every other city; some companies you have to work long hours, others you won't. It really depends on your job and the company and your manager. I commuted from Brighton to London every day in the first 11 years of my working life, and I was almost always home before 1800 in the evening, although I started early. Plenty of time to cook, see friends, family, go out etc. Currently, I commute to South West London, so a longer journey, and I'm not home until 1900 each night. But please don't think that being in London somehow means you're suddenly expected to work until 2000 each night - that really is more to do with your workplace than London itself!

All the best with whatever you decide to do, though.

KiKi

Nickynoo1

Hi thanks for your input. I guess I'm thinking that breakfast clubs for school generally open at 8am, and after school clubs close at 6pm. I was thinking if I had to work till 5- 5.30 pm with an hour half travel each way I wouldn't get home till 7pm. I'm about an hour half commuting distance now, bt its seems to far to make it an everyday travel experience.....thought I would have to live closer to london. I would like to pick my son up from school at least one day a week, so he can have friends over etc....
its difficult trying to weigh it all up.
Nickynoo1

KiKi

Nickynoo1 wrote: »

Hi thanks for your input. I guess I'm thinking that breakfast clubs for school generally open at 8am, and after school clubs close at 6pm. I was thinking if I had to work till 5- 5.30 pm with an hour half travel each way I wouldn't get home till 7pm. I'm about an hour half commuting distance now, bt its seems to far to make it an everyday travel experience.....thought I would have to live closer to london. I would like to pick my son up from school at least one day a week, so he can have friends over etc....
its difficult trying to weigh it all up.
Nickynoo1

If you're only 90mins door to door then I'd think carefully about moving into London. Depends where you live, and how good your train line is. But you will most likely find that moving into London will not make much difference (although moving closer and remaining outside London might). Most places in London don't have a fast train line. So it's the tube, bus, London Overground, DLR or stopping train service. All of which will, if you live somewhere affordable, in all likelihood take you around 1.5 hours anyway.

For me, door to door I am 1h40m from home in the morning (Brighton to South West London, so I have to go into London and out again, 3 trains). 1h25m in the evening. If I leave at 1655 I'm home by 1820.

A colleague of mine who lives IN London, in Vauxhall, leaves her house only 30mins after me to get in at the same time, and she only has 4 stops to go on the train! She lives right in the centre of London.

Another colleague of mine lives in Claygate and still takes 60 mins to get in or home, despite being 7 stops from the office and living right by the station.

They pay HUGE amounts on their rent for the privilege of having around a 30min shorter journey.

What I'm saying, in a very long winded way, that being in London will not actually cut much off your journey. You are very likely to be better off living near a mainline national train station outside London, with a fast journey into London, from both a cost AND a time perspective. Research journey times first before you make any decisions!

HTH
KiKi

lincroft1710

I agree with Kiki, 90 minute commute into London isn't excessive and you wouldn't have the hassle of renting out and finding somewhere else to rent.