The north/south divide

mollycat

We are both NHS employees, and for many years have had a yearning to live in London. We know the city well from numerous visits and love the vitality and diversity.

We could have afforded to make the move say 10 years ago but swithered, partly due to us both having elderly parents here in Dundee.

Now, it's definitely unaffordable.

I appreciate we are not unique; the country must be full of people who would love to live there but do not have the means.

The upside is we have much more disposable income than if we had thrown every penny we had into purchasing a home there, and consequently have a comfortable existence.

Our "workaround" is to spend breaks of 1-2 weeks in the city we wish we would love to live in, 2 or 3 times per year, (May, September and November).

Not the cheapest thing to do, but often enough to stay in touch with the numerous people we have met and grown to know over the decades; whilst retaining the benefits of living in a generally cheaper part of the world.

OP, I realise my ramblings dont help much

Good luck anyway.

westernpromise

mollycat wrote: »

We are both NHS employees, and for many years have had a yearning to live in London. We know the city well from numerous visits and love the vitality and diversity.

We could have afforded to make the move say 10 years ago but swithered, partly due to us both having elderly parents here in Dundee.

Now, it's definitely unaffordable.

I appreciate we are not unique; the country must be full of people who would love to live there but do not have the means.

The upside is we have much more disposable income than if we had thrown every penny we had into purchasing a home there, and consequently have a comfortable existence.

Our "workaround" is to spend breaks of 1-2 weeks in the city we wish we would love to live in, 2 or 3 times per year, (May, September and November).

Not the cheapest thing to do, but often enough to stay in touch with the numerous people we have met and grown to know over the decades; whilst retaining the benefits of living in a generally cheaper part of the world.

OP, I realise my ramblings dont help much

Good luck anyway.

The opportunity cost of that, however, is that had you not had the family ties (which I agree are important enough to trump most else), you could have bought in the SE then later sold up and moved back. Unlike most people you'd then have been able to cash in the inflation and spend it.

Those who stay in the south east and sell up thinking to spend their "gains" find they have to spend it on the next house, or downsize radically. At this point they realise it's actually just inflation, not profit at all. This doesn't stop some people from wanting them taxed on the inflation they've suffered exactly as though it were profit.

Herzlos

GreatApe wrote: »

Materials are not cheaper maybe marginally but not much at all

Yes prices of new builds might come down but not to £70,00
Looking on rightmove for a very wide search area build new build prices just south of £2,000/sqm
Very basic finishes and in the cheapest parts of the country so you are looking at £160,000 for a 80sqm property maybe you can get down to £130,000 if you cit your business operating profit to zero and push down wages of tour staff somewhat. So £70-100k for a terrace is a bargain

80sqm is pretty big. There are 45sqm new builds selling here for £105k, and I'm sure you can get smaller.

If prices drop, then so will size and features,

mollycat

westernpromise wrote: »

The opportunity cost of that, however, is that had you not had the family ties (which I agree are important enough to trump most else), you could have bought in the SE then later sold up and moved back. Unlike most people you'd then have been able to cash in the inflation and spend it.

Those who stay in the south east and sell up thinking to spend their "gains" find they have to spend it on the next house, or downsize radically. At this point they realise it's actually just inflation, not profit at all. This doesn't stop some people from wanting them taxed on the inflation they've suffered exactly as though it were profit.

I think I maybe havent explained very well

Had we moved we would have stayed in London, we wouldnt have moved back.

The "value" to us wouldnt have been money profit to then go and spend on our return north, but would have been the ability to live where we wanted for the rest of our days.

Suppose people who make the type of profit you mention, dont have to accept it as "inflation"; they can, (dependent on circumstances), buy a much bigger property elsewhere and have money left over to spend.

Looking at it that way, they maybe have an option the OP and others dont?

GreatApe

Herzlos wrote: »

80sqm is pretty big. There are 45sqm new builds selling here for £105k, and I'm sure you can get smaller.

If prices drop, then so will size and features,

80sqm is about the average UK property size
45sqm would be a 1 bedroom flat
And your quoted price of £105k for 45sqm is actually more than my quoted £2k/sqm

lookstraightahead

I moved to London from the midlands when I was 22. Earned less than I spent, worked massively long hours, commuted for hours, got into debt. Slowly working my way back !!!8216;north!!!8217; (now 49) for a better lifestyle. 5pm in central London is lunchtime. Not sure what you mean by living outdoors.

zagubov

It's still possible to retire in London if you're moving from outside. There are flats marketed at 60+ /retirees, cheaper than most other properties (London ones that is).

However, this article would give food for thought for those considering a move here.

Cakeguts

mollycat wrote: »

We are both NHS employees, and for many years have had a yearning to live in London. We know the city well from numerous visits and love the vitality and diversity.

We could have afforded to make the move say 10 years ago but swithered, partly due to us both having elderly parents here in Dundee.

Now, it's definitely unaffordable.

I appreciate we are not unique; the country must be full of people who would love to live there but do not have the means.

The upside is we have much more disposable income than if we had thrown every penny we had into purchasing a home there, and consequently have a comfortable existence.

Our "workaround" is to spend breaks of 1-2 weeks in the city we wish we would love to live in, 2 or 3 times per year, (May, September and November).

Not the cheapest thing to do, but often enough to stay in touch with the numerous people we have met and grown to know over the decades; whilst retaining the benefits of living in a generally cheaper part of the world.

OP, I realise my ramblings dont help much

Good luck anyway.

If you live in London you don't get to live in the tourist areas that people love to visit. You get to live in a suburb somewhere and commute into London to work. Depending on how much you earn depends on not only what you can buy but where you can buy it. There are a lot of not very nice areas. Nice areas are very very expensive.

System

I definitely couldnt live in London. Went there last summer for 2 days and spent a fortune just on picnics and drinks!! Was staying in Chelsea and Westminster by Hyde park and there were no aldi; LIDL or even tesco express around there!!

!Not sure what you mean by living outdoors.

An outdoors lifestyle for me/ my family is beach parks cycling mountains, living in a town small enough to get from home to work on your bike!!!

michaels

tessiesmummy wrote: »

I would tend to disagree. Surely with lower house prices we have more disposable income. We go out more we buy more and thus we are spending more on the local economy??

Theres certainly nothing depressing about Liverpool. I love the city.

I'm not saying it's not great, just that in the long term if property values are below replacement costs it is not sustainable as houses do not last forever and if new ones can not be built except at a loss then they won't be built.