Where to live?

Davesnave

For once, I agree with money! :rotfl:



From what you have told us about yourself, you are not suited to being a student landlord.

moneyistooshorttomention

Mygawd Dave - wonders will never cease:rotfl:

I know I certainly found it "challenging" at times when I had lodgers in - in my own home/which I was living in myself - as they were all students. Some were fine - but others :eek:

Sandgrownun

This is so weird as I read your post I was thinking Cleveleys/Anchorsholme would be perfect!! Houses are great value, it's a lovely quiet area and there's fab traffic free cycling all the way to near St Anne's. I would avoid Holmfield Rd. Look in the Cleveleys side of Bispham. Holmfield road is North Shore and although there's some amazing houses for cheap it can be a bit rough. Lots of cheap flats and bedsits. Look on Google maps between Norbreck Castle to Rossall school along the coast. Back to thornton.

Norman_Castle

HollySocks wrote: »

But its quite difficult to find a nice 3 bed within walking distance of the cycle routes in my price range.

I understand avoiding faster roads but slower roads are easier to cycle on. If you use the same route to link to cycle routes you quickly learn any problem areas.


Living near a nature reserve can be good both for cycling and dog walking.

skint_chick

HollySocks wrote: »

With no mortgage, i would possibly only have to work 2-3 days a week to bring my weekly income after any taxes to around £250. Which is perfectly fine for me and no mortgage.

I make about £265 a week 3 days a week and that's an FTE salary of over £26k, so depending on what you used to do when you worked you might want to think about whether that's realistic? You'll need about £12-13 an hour which can be tough to get in admin type jobs if you've been out of the workforce for a while. You might be better to spend slightly less on the house and put aside enough money for the additional bills you'll have for the first few years to give you time to get back into work and get used to the change in outgoings. I would definitely do a budget for any house you're seriously considering to take into account increased council tax, buildings insurance, maintenance, emergency fund for broken boilers, leaks etc

If it was me I would definitely stay for a few days in an area first and explore it to make sure it offers what you want.

tangochick

hi Hollysocks, just wanted to say good luck. I also suffer from depression, anxiety & rarely leave the house or talk to people.
Don't be a landlord.
Buy in a nice quiet place & gradually build up life & friendships again. When you feel better, you'll find a job- that's my vague plan xxx
I'm in the South East & looking to move somewhere much, much cheaper.

Smodlet

tangochick, if you are in the SE, the UK is your oyster. Good luck.

HollySocks_2

Hi Tango.

Sorry to hear of the depression and social anxiety. Its a toxic mix. At the best of times, theres always reasons not to engage in social stuff. When you're depressed and motivation suffers, well, its a vicious circle, you can always find a reason not to go out, things seem pointless etc..

I wish i had some pearls of wisdom to help things. But if things could be sorted by a few words, i guess we would all be cured by reading those quotes on daily calenders.

I think your'e right about the lodgers, looking at letting whole houses to srtudents is possibly a bit much.

But i think renting a couple of rooms under the rent a room scheme would be ok. I know my faults, without people coming round, people to talk to, i will shut myself away. Then the daily tasks start to get missed. And nowadays , its so easy to shut yourself away, all shopping gets delivered.

I worry constantly what people think, does my hair look bad, am i boring people, do i look awful...So why not use it to my advantage...Having a couple of lodgers, will ensure i'm always dressed and washed. I woulld want them to be comfortable, and not have them dreading going home at night to a place where the landlord doesnt speak to them. They're paying me money, and the least i can do is make an effort and do my best to make sure they feel welcome.

So i dont think its too bad a plan really. It would be so easy to just get a nice 1 bed flat overlooking some marina. But i know i'll slip back, shut myself away.

I dont know your circumstances, but if you are in the SE, then that should hopefully let you purchase a nice bigger place up North. With the right property, maybe 2 lounges...ensuites..large bedrooms..i think its possible even for peeps with social anxiety to manage renting rooms. You can have your own space, your own lounge...And i dont know if you claim anything with ESA etc...Any rental income would immediately be taken off your benefits...But Universal Credit changes that, you can keep all the rental income from the rent-a-room scheme. And its £7.5K a year, tax free..I get ESA and PIP, Nationwide do mortgages and take benefits into account if you dont have too much equity built up in your own place. Nationwide have agreed up to £52K. I'm not consdering taking all that, just letting you know if equity is still a problem in buying somewhere else..

I dont want to sound dismissive of mental health issues. I'm not. But if there is one positive, i'd say, well, the problems are only in your head.I know its incredibly complex.But if you can find a way to manage it, then hopefully theres no physical problems which will stop you getting out and about a bit..

The old lady who lives a few doors away, ive seen her go from walking around, to not being able to walk and having stair lifts installed. She desperately wants to go for a walk. I've found suicide notes from my dad saying he is in too much pain from a bad back. I've seen my mum battle lung cancer for 4 years. They all wished they could go out and socialise, but they couldnt.

Theres nothing wrong with being a bit of a hermit ha..I guess we just need to find that right balance to stop it becoming a major problem.

HollySocks_2

I dont want that to sound like i'm dismissive of your advice btw..What you say is a great plan 'find somewhere nice, quiet, build up life and friendships again'. Just for me, in the year since the parents passed away, there is barely any motivation left. I cannt bear to be awake for many parts of the day. Just opening my eyes and being conscious of the world, is too much..


And if i just move to another house, i'll be the same i think..I'm in a nice area now, Didsbury, but i dont go out. Im trying to take this inheritance and look at ways i can address my problems and try and turn things around a little. It's scary though! I've got one chance , a great chance to turn things around a bit.Many people dont get inheritances. If i can do something with it, just a little, to make the parents proud, then it wont be totally wasted. Now i'm sobbing too much ha, time for a lie down again :-)

knightstyle

Well you are getting lots of advice and some good locations but I think you need to concentrate on the type of property as well. We are in a town house, the back garden is a small terrace with metal railings between neighbours. This makes for great interaction and we often end up in each others gardens chatting, BBQ, etc.
If you have problems with meeting people I suggest you look at places like ours, or a flat with a shared garden.
Why not sell up and rent somewhere before committing to buying, that way you can get to know the area?
Plus have a go at helping others less fortunate than yourself? Many charities have places for volunteers, a friend near here organises teams to go and keep public footpaths and cycle routes clear. That sort of thing is great for meeting like minded people.