Bit shocked

cells

LoveLifeAgain wrote: »

I agree with you entirely.
However, as it has been 25 years since Mrs Thatcher left office I wonder why successive governments have not changed anything so clearly Labour and Conservative both have had long enough and done zilch so they must share the burden too.
Where I live the council are selling off as soon as they have anything available, including assisted living properties. This has been going on slowly for years no matter who has been in control but getting worse now, just wonder where it will all end.

more social homes are built than sold and that has been the case for all of this decade

There can never be enough council homes. I used to live in hackney in the 1990s when the council owned about 60% of all the homes there and there were still waiting lists for more even if 100% of the stock was council owned there would be waiting lists

Sellurgranny

Another Plymouth resident here.... my mortgage is £550 p/m for a 3 bed tce with a nice sea view upstairs. My DD3 has just found her 2nd yr accommodation for Uni in East London for £700 per month (for a dble room in a shared flat with 2 other students)

Its just bonkers.

gadgetmind

I don't have anything against That London, and enjoy short visits. However, everything costs too much there, particularly housing, so I can enjoy a massively better standard of living elsewhere. If others choose to live in London because they have different priorities and goals, well that's just fine, assuming of course that they've actually done a bit of fact finding.

Conrad

padington wrote: »

Greater London is changing fast too. In Wood Green, Turkish and polish speakers outnumber the sounds of black London. New benefits claiments are often restricted by caps to living in Enflield and Walthamstow now if they want to remain in North London. Walthamstow is being penetrated by hipsters just as fast. South Tottenham called 'Soto' now and the middle classes buying in to that area in droves.

The demographic sands are shifting fast.

Two of my flats are in Enfield. People keep telling me to invest in SOTO.
Is there a particular part of SOTO you would suggest as being hipster freindly and liable to high growth? For the record I am very much a yield investor, it has to make business sense regardless of HPI

lisyloo

Transport slow ? The tube is the fastest transportation system I've ever come across.

Tuesday morning my 3 mile commute took 2 hrs and 5 mins.
I'm not sure what the issue is with the 243 bus at the moment, but 5 buses drove past me full up at roughly 10 min intervals. I was quite cold at that point so I walked for 10 mins, got 2 tubes and then walked 10 mins again. I could have walked all the way, but by this time I was very cold after waiting at the bus stop for nearly 1 hour so I sought the warmth underground.

Last night it was pouring with rain and my 3 mile commute took 90 mins in heavy traffic.
I could certanily have walked it quicker but it was pouring.
25 mins walking for the tube and I would have been soaked even with an umbrella.

I agree the tube is quick and that is why housing near tube stations is at a premium. I don't live or work neart tube stations so by tube my 3 mile commute would include about 25 mins walking. Not a showstopper but it means it's not a quick route for me and not suitable for times when I can't walk (like when I have luggage).

Perhaps we didn't chose wisely? - well actually it's 5 mins walk for my husband who has very unflexible working hours/location. Not everyone can live on top of a tube station and there's a big premium for those who live near for example £450K for a studio appartment at St Georges Wharf.

So it does vary, but yes it can be very very slow.

CLAPTON

lisyloo wrote: »

Tuesday morning my 3 mile commute took 2 hrs and 5 mins.
I'm not sure what the issue is with the 243 bus at the moment, but 5 buses drove past me full up at roughly 10 min intervals. I was quite cold at that point so I walked for 10 mins, got 2 tubes and then walked 10 mins again. I could have walked all the way, but by this time I was very cold after waiting at the bus stop for nearly 1 hour so I sought the warmth underground.

Last night it was pouring with rain and my 3 mile commute took 90 mins in heavy traffic.
I could certanily have walked it quicker but it was pouring.
25 mins walking for the tube and I would have been soaked even with an umbrella.

I agree the tube is quick and that is why housing near tube stations is at a premium. I don't live or work neart tube stations so by tube my 3 mile commute would include about 25 mins walking. Not a showstopper but it means it's not a quick route for me and not suitable for times when I can't walk (like when I have luggage).

Perhaps we didn't chose wisely? - well actually it's 5 mins walk for my husband who has very unflexible working hours/location. Not everyone can live on top of a tube station and there's a big premium for those who live near for example £450K for a studio appartment at St Georges Wharf.

So it does vary, but yes it can be very very slow.

consider a bike

lisyloo

consider a bike

I do sometimes cycle (I'm not currently equipped for monsoon conditions and wear spectacles).
I do sometimes ride the santander bikes but there are times it's not convenient/suitable so most people would need to have an alternative.

I don't think it's that much quicker considering the changing/shower, but like walking it would be reliable.

Cycle = 40 mins + shower & change
Tube = 25 mins walk, 30 mins for 2 tubes
Bus = 30-60 mins for 2 buses
Walk = 60 mins

I think I've considered all the alternatives.

cells

lisyloo wrote: »

I do sometimes cycle (I'm not currently equipped for monsoon conditions and wear spectacles).
I do sometimes ride the santander bikes but there are times it's not convenient/suitable so most people would need to have an alternative.

I don't think it's that much quicker considering the changing/shower, but like walking it would be reliable.

Cycle = 40 mins + shower & change
Tube = 25 mins walk, 30 mins for 2 tubes
Bus = 30-60 mins for 2 buses
Walk = 60 mins

I think I've considered all the alternatives.

there should be a few underground walkways and cycle streets built into london

Mistermeaner

an hour to walk 3 miles? Seems a bit long

Bike is surely the answer, won't need a shower after 3 miles.

lisyloo

Not sure if you live in London mistermeaner, but many junctions are too busy for you to jump the lights as a pedestrian and have long waits.
My walking speed is average.
i use walkit.com which gives 3 times - fast, medium and slow.
i'm average height and I find the medium which is about 3 miles per hour is about right for central London where there are lots of waits and sometimes foot traffic slowing you down.

I do 4 miles on the bike as I actually go out of London and come back in again. That might sound bit weird but places like charring chross are very very busy and I prefer to cycle on the backstreets.
I certainly feel much nicer in the summer after a shower and I do sweat where my back pack is. I have dainty wet patches compared with my male colleagues but nevertheless I feel a lot better after a shower in the summer.

A lot of time to be honest I really don't feel up to cycling so it's certainly not going to be an option for me every day throughout the winter. This week for example I've had a cold so I've been under the weather. Next Thursday I'm going to the rugby and Friday I'll have luggage. No way can I cycle every day.