Regret buying a house at 28 - what do I do?

trailingspouse

Never compare your inside to other people's outside.



They may have looked like they were having a good time, with not a care in the world - but I bet some of them were thinking 'Wow, look at pineapple, she's really got her life sorted, owns her own house already, wish I could afford to do that'.

Mutton_Geoff

I would be very careful stepping off "the ladder" in the UK. It's a very hard place to get back into and you have already done the hard work.


Bar promotion etc in Asia is probably one of the worst jobs I can think of. You'll have no long term security and you will be working for and amongst a lot of criminal gangs. I have friends that have been in the nightclub industry in Asia for over 30 years and it is extremely competitive such that I don't think you can make anything other than pocket money despite what your friend tells you.


Have you considered a regular UK job that involves travel? This is what I did in my 20's onward (and to this day). I get all of the security of a UK home but get to see the world on a regular basis. It could be you're just fed up with your current postion. Running away to a foreign country where the grass appears greener may not be the solution and could easily cause your whole life to take an irreversible turn you will come to regret in later years.

SnooksNJ

Cakeguts wrote: »

https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/working-thailand.php



This is the list of jobs that foreigner are not allowed to do in Thailand.



Was the person you met in Belgium from Thailand because to me it looks as if front of shop work could include bar work in which case you won't be able to do it.

There goes my lifetime dream of making Alms Bowls in Thailand.

lookstraightahead

In my experience home ownership at your age was a chain around my ankles and made me much much worse off financially because of my life circumstances.

My daughter is 21 and I hope she doesn't buy for years and years - not saying she should spend all her money but the experience of life is so much more important and house ownership can tie you down (some call it security which is fair enough, depends on what you want in life).

However you also need to think about the work side - maybe separate the two things and look at them independently.

nkarma

And if this thread isn't an example of society making sure everyone stays on the conveyor belt of secure corporate job to make the corporation money, homeownership, marriage, and kids. And then what - death?

Why do you people care so much? It isn't your life and will not affect you in any way. Jealous much? Or do you feel so small that you need to lecture strangers to feel better? Is it that 'kids these days' have their own ideas and won't shut up and listen to you. It sounds like you are telling the OP, they might as well never leave the house for fear that something could go wrong. I mean they could lose their job at any moment due to Brexit or global warming too!!

I'd rather have a life in which I tried to do the things I wanted and sometimes failed (which I have) then sit bored, and discontented counting down the years to a safe and secure retirement.

OP highly recommend your first lesson is not solicit advise from anyone really but especially strangers. You know what feels right, and you have the skills and means to get you there. SO DO IT!

nkarma

FTBAngst wrote: »

I second this.

Do you know what you might want to do in the future? I understand doing this before you have commitments but what have you considered for the long term?

I used to hold a steady job on approx £45k a year. I used annual and unpaid leave to go in holiday for between 1-3months but it wasn’t the same as working abroad and i didn’t think it was sustainable. So I’ve taken a massive pay cut to re- train and hope in a few years when I get experience and a professional qualification, to be able to work abroad in the future and still have good earning potential. I don’t know if that option is available to you but that’s my take on it.

My experience has been the complete OPPOSITE! My friend group (mid-30s) are jealous of the people that planned and implemented their goals through useless education (fine arts), travelled, lived abroad, started that small side project doing what they love (baking, programming), etc. The ones that got security young (e.g. bought a home as they could and invested it) eventually felt tied town and depressed, and regretted it usually wondering why they thought there was any rush in the first place. My friend still talks about how she missed out on her best friend's wedding abroad a decade ago cause they had just sunk all this money in a house that really has given them nothing in return.

I mean to subscribe to any of this 'security' thinking is really to think that life is really just worth how much money you have. God I hope not!

[Deleted User]

Travelling and working to live on peanuts in your 20's is very appealing, the same in your 50's is not.


Personally home ownership is a dream for a lot of people and now you are on the ladder I'd find a way to keep it, there is a lot to be said for stability, especially if you found yourself unexpectedly redundant, ill, broke, relative crisis etc etc when abroad.


Options - charity work abroad
temping to earn money to travel, 6 mths work, 6 months traveling etc


Property swaps for countries you'd like to explore ie Thai people stay in yours and you stay in theirs


You could get a friend to stay in the house for security


I'd think very seriously about keeping my home.

AdrianC

BBH123 wrote: »

Travelling and working to live on peanuts in your 20's is very appealing, the same in your 50's is not.

There's a lot of people who would disagree with the second half of that.

rosieflowers

Cakeguts wrote: »

You do realise that getting a paid job in Europe is not as easy as it is in the UK. There is very high unemployment in a lot of Europe and so it isn't easy for foreigners to get the kind of job where you get a decent wage. The reason why a lot of people work in Europe is because their UK company has sent them there.


Before you think too much about Thailand you need to check the list of jobs that you can't do. It is quite long. In Thailand it appears that foreign workers are only allowed to do the kind of jobs that Thai workers don't want. You can guess what that is going to include.



Renting in Europe is not like renting in the UK. In Europe you don't get all the fixtures and fittings that you get in a rented house in the UK in some places this doesn't even include light fittings. You are expected to supply your own.



Working for a short time in a voluntary job is not the same as working in a low paid job and renting a cheap flat in a cheap area. It might seem like fun if you are only visiting for a short time and can then go back to your own nice comfortable property.

Cakeguts that's a load of crap, I've rented in Germany, France, Italy and Portugal for periods of as little as 3 months and as much as 2 years and they were always furnished :rotfl: renting in Europe is loads better than renting in the UK, and there's none of the stigma around renting vs home ownership. I've also had jobs in three of the four (bar work, waiting, hotel reception, administrator for a UK company) and in France and Italy only had to speak English, but I learnt some of the language anyway just for day to day living... which is a great experience.

The fact that it's a challenge - working a low paid job, finding accommodation, learning a language, making friends, broaching cultural divides etc - is what makes it worth it... broadening your horizons, building resilience etc

I for one am so so glad that I travelled, lived in foreign countries, lived like a local etc from the ages of 18- 25 (before, after and in between getting a good degree from a red brick as well of course) as then when I finally moved back home at 25 and got the corporate job, I was ready for it. Just bought a house at 28. Basically you can have it all in this respect. I would say go for it 100% OP.

AdrianC

Clue: Any statement that references "Europe" as if it was a single thing is a sweeping generalisation. If it references "Europe" as a single thing which is somehow homogeneously different to the UK, it's even more so.