Rents soar to (another) record high

ukcarper

Crashy_Time wrote: »

. Most people in London watch the box, commute to work, claim housing benefit and commute to work. Enough said.

Just over 800,000 out of a population of almost 8 million in London claim housing benefit.

westernpromise

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Was in London and down on the South coast this week, it is all just smoke and mirrors, credit driven, government props and emergency rates to stay afloat. Most of the punters kicking about London changing beds and serving sandwiches are on HB, and the people in the big glass buildings next to building sites that will end up being mothballed could lose their job at any time in this economic climate. People with real money are more likely to buy a castle or a big house in Scotland that offers quality of life as opposed to bailing someone out of their massive debt for a small terrace or flat in Wood Green or Finchley or wherever.

You've thought that for 18 years and been wrong all along, have you not?

westernpromise

Crashy_Time wrote: »

Fair enough, hope you didn`t offend any Canadians by miss-spelling their place names? The point I`m making is that most people don`t share your view about London, it might have been a vibrant and creative melting pot 35 years ago, now it is just a corporatized theme park. Yes, you could go out every night to some "cultural" event, but you could do that in Manchester. Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh etc. There is a buzz in the size of the place, but for me that quickly changes to energy draining annoyance after the tenth person has bumped into me and I have paid for the third rip-off meal with drinks. As the world has become more global and internet focussed London has become less important, it used to be one of THE places to be, now people get famous from their bedroom in Huddersfield on YouTube, you can watch London Theatre events from anywhere on the internet, and people apply for jobs and parts in movies on Skype. London just isn`t that big a deal anymore.

That must be why nobody wants to live there.

Oh.

cells

ukcarper wrote: »

Just over 800,000 out of a population of almost 8 million in London claim housing benefit.

~840,000 social homes in London with many retired folk and unemployed folk renting them. Most housing benefit goes to the social stock probably even in London that is true

ukcarper

cells wrote: »

~840,000 social homes in London with many retired folk and unemployed folk renting them. Most housing benefit goes to the social stock probably even in London that is true

About 550,000 claimants are in social housing.

Crashy_Time

westernpromise wrote: »

That must be why nobody wants to live there.

Oh.

I just said it was less important, decades ago if you moved or travelled from Scotland or the North of England to London it was a different planet, now any main street in any city or big town in the UK could just be a slice of London, the shops are the same, the chain pubs are the same, people are all dressed the same and they are all on their phones all the time. Someone in the 70`s or 80`s moving there from other UK areas would have been genuinely escaping to more opportunity, more jobs, more social life, the only chance to get signed in a band or picked up as an actor or model etc. Now AnyKid in AnyTown can jump on a budget flight and be all over Europe and the world in hours, jump on their phone and have access to any information/music they want, put themselves up on the internet and be seen by millions etc. The need to be in London has become diluted by modern culture and technology, and the city just doesn`t justify the cost to live there.

chucknorris

Crashy_Time wrote: »

The need to be in London has become diluted by modern culture and technology, and the city just doesn`t justify the cost to live there.

That is very subjective, but personally I completely agree with you. I can't see myself ever going back there to live, I like being in a rural area much better. I'd hate to settle for walking/jogging/cycling in a London park or field. But other people have different priorities.

CLAPTON

chucknorris wrote: »

That is very subjective, but personally I completely agree with you. I can't see myself ever going back there to live, I like being in a rural area much better. I'd hate to settle for walking/jogging/cycling in a London park or field. But other people have different priorities.

presumably that's why London is so cheap and so empty

Crashy_Time

chucknorris wrote: »

That is very subjective, but personally I completely agree with you. I can't see myself ever going back there to live, I like being in a rural area much better. I'd hate to settle for walking/jogging/cycling in a London park or field. But other people have different priorities.

A funny scene in the film Trainspotting ( I saw it twice when it came out, in Glasgow first then Brighton, which made for an interesting snapshot of how the two different audiences reacted) was when Ewan McGregor`s character had totally run out of options in Edinburgh and there was "Only one option left!" - Cue the national express bus with LONDON on the front - leading to knowing chuckles in Brighton, uncomfortable silence in Glasgow, very telling, but that was the mid 90`s and London was probably having it`s biggest renaissance since the 60`s at that point? Boris, and people posting on here would have us believe that is still the case, but I don`t buy it.

padington

Crashy_Time wrote: »

but I don`t buy it.

Bet you wished you did