Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Evening all.

jk0, haven't read anything by that lady but will have a look at the link in the next few days (just in from a pal's and too tired atm).

Re where to live, I think a lot of it depends on do you have to earn a living at an outside job, or are you retired/ working at a non-location dependant form of self employment/ living off passive income/whatever.

If you remove yourself (and your nearly-adult children) from realistic prospect of paid employment, or take yourself so far off the beaten track that you become hostage to a car, you may come to regret it. My family have moved from being village residents to townies and city-dwellers in the past few decades and when our seniors die, the links we have with a cluster of villages which are documented for 400 years (and probably undocumented for a lot longer) will be broken.

We moved because the work our menfork did is being done by machines, so it was off to town for factory and shop work. No one under 50 in our immediate family lives in the villages, bar a second cousin's family and they and their young adults are struggling horribly with the logisitics of being poorer working people in villages which have become affluent dormitories.

I live pretty nicely in the centre of a small city and walk or cycle where I need to go, with the occasional use of a Nat Exp coach to get further distances.

If I lived even 5-10 miles out, I'd be reliant on buying in transport and this would take a big chunk of my modest part-time wage and take time and energy each day. Although it would be lovely to have a little place in a quiet nook in a village somewhere, it would cause me to have a much lower standard of living than I have here in the city centre.

It's horses for courses and no two people are going to have exactly the same requirements for life. One of my pals bought the largest south facing garden she could get in the city for her price bracket. This was her prime agenda and the house attached to it was incidental. It's a perfectly sound if unremarkable house, but the garden is key for her. You can shop for a home, rented or private, with ulterior motives like a workshop/ good garden/ easy access to the countryside, whatever floats your boat, really.

Another woman I know bought a house because it is right beside her most favourite hillwalking area.

I have read that in terms of quality of life, the fringes of a decent size market town consistantly offer the best combination of amenities.

elona

GQ

That is basically what we have - a house in a small market town. on the edges with a good size garden and a good bus service to two nearby cities so we do not have to rely on our car all the time.

It is also where dds grew up and have friends so when they come home they can catch up with friends, news etc.

DH came from a small town but it has changed a lot over the last 30 years and does not feel as "safe" especially as we get older. I felt unhappy walking to the shop there at 7p.m. and that was nearly twenty years ago.

I always thought DH would want to retire by the sea - but having grown up there - he knows how cold it is. I considered returning to Scotland but after 30 years in England would feel a a bit out of things ( I also remember how cold it gets )

pineapple

JayneC wrote: »

My point is that as well as having the mortgage you have all of the upkeep and it's not cheap. I sometimes think I'd be better off selling up and renting somewhere, but the mortgage is really cheap at the mo so I'll stick it out... for now! And probably no-one would want to buy it cos it's such a state!

My house is paid for now but the maintenance still stresses my limited income. I sometimes envy the neighbours who rent from the farmer and who just have to pick up the phone when the heating goes off or the roof leaks... There's always something - especially with these older houses.
I'm looking to sell and downtrade though given where I am on the scale, the trade down may have to be a cardboard box! Used to fancy a canal boat till I saw them stuck in the ice in recent winters. :eek: Maybe I'll sell then rent. Not bothered about leaving any money, so as long as I can protect the capital from thieving banksters, I could live the life of Riley into my dotage. :rotfl:

daftmummy

Yes I'm a mortgage owner also and I'm lucky to get on the ladder when we did, we did it at a time when renting seemed to be a dirty word ( still is sometimes ) and having it all on the never never!

Fudle you are right and some people can't see the wood for the tree's so there is no point in showing them the bark so to speak. My and dh was having one of our late night chats in bed last night and he was saying we aren't rich but we have freedom and happness. He was able to see our youngest get a certificate in school this morning ( he works near kids school ) and worked late to make up time. Skylanders :mad: ( can't to tell I hate them ) have new figures out today and a few of the mums had pre-ordered them to pick up! oh no not for xmas but because their kids want them!

A lot of our friends who were married when we were had huge debt when they moved into their first homes buying new stuff that would be old/out of date by the time it was paid off. I believe love makes a house a home not stuff.


We on the other had had no carpet, flushing toilet ( no fun when preggers ) curtains ( windowlean was so fashionable in our day ) or interior doors ( we had to stand out side when my boss popped in for a cup of tea and needed a wee to save her blushes :rotfl:) but we managed it but will never forget how people used to call us tight as we didn't buy everything on the never never when they did. We only have my student loan, mortgage and a small cc debt for a car repair I never want to have debt because it scares me!

I remember the knock on the door and the orange book with my mum's family allowance tucked inside paying off a loan my dad had taken for the bookies or my mum for our new shoes.

This has left me with the sense, that some people don't understand but most do here, that I could shut the front door of my house and walk away as long as I had my hubby and kids, I could start again with nothing.

I want to pass knowelage onto my kids and hope they retain it before the outside world pollutes them with the mainstream

thenanny2die4

pineapple wrote: »

Used to fancy a canal boat till I saw them stuck in the ice in recent winters. :eek:

My FIL and SMIL decided to retire onto a canal boat. They're approaching their fourth winter on the waterways now and, having spent their first iced-in in a marina, have now established a winter routine of booking into a (much cheaper than the first one) marina for 3-4 months, which is essential in order to access basic supplies, then they take themselves off somewhere warm for a month on a dirt cheap all inclusive deal. They reckon they'd have to pay marina fees anyway if they had a holiday in the summer so this way they're getting a very cheap holiday indeed. The rest of the time they spend chugging around and their new life seems to suit them very well indeed.

paidinchickens

The more I understand the more I despair.


http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-owns-the-federal-reserve

[Deleted User]

DAFTMUMMY thank you, you have your priorities totally in the right place my dear and it's a wonderful thing to be reading such common sense and down to earth philosophy before breakfast!!! You are one of lifes success stories, whatever situation you find yourselves in you'll make it the best you can because of your mindset, you should give lessons pet, the world needs you, Lyn xxx.

Memory_Girl

JayneC wrote: »

Thanks jk0

Will be inspecting the immersion tomorrow

I've done it too hon - honestly was so much easier than I ever thought ....... beats not having hot water.

So much "How to" videos on Youtube - I have a "Playlist" of stuff useful to my house that I watch in the winter and "Do" in the warmer months.

I even built a bedroom for my DS2 - the walls, the doors, the skirting - the whole shebang with help from Youtube.

It worth a go - if things are broken they can't get much worse.

MG

fuddle

Renting allows you the flexibility of moving on when opportunities arise. When DH saw that his company were opening up in Dorset back in August we went for it, got it and very quickly realised he needed to be down there by December 1st. We've had only a few months to arrange this opportunity - a one we would have had to let go should we still have the mortgaged house.

Reality is that we won't be getting on the housing ladder as it is, never mind moving to the more expensive south. Our financial plan consists of saving all through our working lives to buy a retirement property at retirement. We are now of the mindset of we work to pave our way through life and to secure our future for when we are not able to earn an income. Of course the same worries apply with funding repairs when owning but I think I'd have more sleepless nights worrying about paying rent on our pensions as I tend to think we will be on our own by then - what will be in the private pensions is what we'll most likely get.

[Deleted User]

FUDS you're another one with her head in the right place, you don't just touch base with reality, you're old aquaintances aren't you? More strength to your collective arms little one, you have entirely the right take on life and where you want it to take you, good girl, Lyn xxx.