Pregnant again - how do I afford a house for my family?

Mini_3

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will definately be doing alot of property and job searches in the coming months. It is quite overwhelming trying to sort it all out but now I have some good ideas to work with.

Dead_Eye_Jones

you are in the right place, this site has plenty of advise on how to manage your money. As you can already see, it will be perfectly doable!

Good luck .

Kimitatsu

pinkshoes wrote: »

A city like Lincoln has very reasonable priced rents (plenty of rented housing as it's got a university!), and wages aren't too bad. Just outside the city centre you can rent a 3 bed house for under £500/month, and there's regular buses, and local trains are also quite cheap.

In fact, anyway further north is fine, and MUCH cheaper than London and the South East of England!!

Have to agree with Pinkshoes here, you can get atwo bed house from £350 upwards BUT wages are lower than they are in London. depends on what DH does for a living?

Having said that we moved up here 10 months ago and I wouldnt change it. We lived in the South East and although our cost of living has not changed dramatically we get far far more for our money. There is a farm shop on every corner, the countryside is a stones throw away out of the town, lots of space for the kids to play and run about in, and not too bad for public transport. Downside is that the locals can be a bit untrusting of outsiders but as long as you are prepared for that then it doesnt take long to win them over!

I know that if I went back down South I have a job waiting for me but not even that would persuade me now!

good luck on your search

moozikgal

I would recomend Lancaster or around there. As it is a student town there are lots of houses around that price, 3 beds or lovely flats in the city centre. Good job oppertunities with the uni, good play things for the kids to get involved with like surestart centres and mother and baby groups. Cheap cost of living and everything very handy.

Make a short list of places you like and see if you can visit them for a nosey around to get a feel for the place. North of england is much cheaper than down south!

floyd

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Wales, every time.

I was recently looking for a rented 2/3 bed house in Newport, safe area close to train station... depending on size of house, they varied from £300-£550 pcm.

You can also buy a two-bed terrace for £100,000, or a flat for £80,000! And Newport's a very up-and-coming area so house prices will boom here (even if they don't in the rest of the UK).

Council tax is pretty low comparatively and as a Welsh citizen you get free NHS prescriptions. There are regular trains that go directly to London Paddington in under 2 hours, if you still have friends / family you'd like to visit.

I am from Newport and although it is relatively cheap and up-and-coming, there is not very much there anymore. The city centre is in ruins after being dug up by wreckless planners and many of the traders (some who I know very well) are really suffering. It would be a pretty big comedown to move from London to Newport in terms of amenities and things to do but I guess it is very close to Cardiff and London anyway so its not all bad.

Savvy_Sue

I do not know ifyou would be eligible for ANY social housing, but it might be worth contacting a few housing associations to ask, in areas where you think jobs might be available. Some will do a part-buy, part-rent scheme as well.

I wouldn't resign until my DH had a job to go to either ...

Is there anything you could set up to do from home, where it wouldn't matter where you were based?

sammy_kaye18

badger lady - i agree Wales.I live in a town called port talbot which is right near the beach, has its own shopping centre. plenty of buses everywhere, train station right in the centre nad although its not a huge town there is everything you need. its liek 30 minutes form swansea and about 40 minutes form cardiff but by train its more like 15 minutes.House prices are from about £350 + but £400 will get you a three bedroomed house with some form of a garden. Its a nice area - ive been here 4 years now and love it.

Bettyboop

Hi, your post sounded like us when we started off in grubby London. Also, from South Africa we lived there for 8 months. Which part are you from? At the time we had no children but could only afford a 1 bedroom studio flat. We knew that there was life outside of London so we found jobs in Peterborough where we moved to and rented for a little while before being able to buy our own house. I really sympathise with you and bringing up such small kids in a cramped space must be hell. Feel free to PM me and I can give you the ins and outs for getting out of there. What work do you both do? Also, my youngest is starting school in September and the second is due in February. There is a lot to my story but I don't want to go into to much detail on the forum. Keep well and please get in touch. There really is a life and affordable housing outside of London and you won't have to share with anyone else to get by. Take care of yourself. x

Mini_3

Been looking at the places you all suggested and there certainly are properties in my price range. Think we will choose a few we like best and visit to see if we like it.

Bettyboop, I have sent you a PM.

Thats why I love MSE - I already feel more positive than yesterday just because of your replies. Thanks everyone.

Idiophreak

Just another vote for wales here...