Can’t afford to rent or buy - don’t know what to do

_Penny_Dreadful

lincroft1710 said:

wildbilljones said:

lincroft1710 said:

wildbilljones said:

Purbeck14 said:

A couple on 'Location, location, location' last night put their requirements into AI (Chatgpt?) and it produced  the 'perfect location' for them, Phil found them a house there. Of course it does help when you have 700K! Might be an interesting little experiment to try though. 

EDIT as I've just read a bit of your previous thread, where you state  your type of work and really London being where that  work is but that you didn't feel able or willing to pay commuting costs too far out. So really travelling  a distance to continue working in London doesn't seem feasible for you? Which is fair enough. 

I think the UK isn’t really the right place for long commutes. I know some people can accept paying 6-10k a year just on getting to their office but I find that to be unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport. 

. 

Sorry, but how can people spending £6K - £10K on getting to their office be "unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport"?? Do you think these people should commute by car and cause even more traffic congestion? Go to St Albans on any weekday before 9.00 am and see how many people get on the London trains. Imagine all those people driving into London.

Because it's extortionate. It doesn't happen in other countries because they wouldn't accept it. I currently live just outside London and it costs me 560GBP a month to go into the office (If i go in five days a week). 

Public transport should be affordable or free. 

Finally as you are so passionate about this, have you written to your MP to elicit their views on the matter?

Perhaps the OP could enter the world of politics himself to fight all this perceived injustices. 

Angelica123

Out of curiosity, are your friends partnered up/looking to settle down? It's likely if they are, then there is a possibility they won't stay in London (unless they are on very high salaries). Early to mid-thirties was when many of my friends started to leave London to start families. 

lookstraightahead

I loved working in London and my DD currently lives and rents there. But it's simply far more expensive than the north. I'm middle but I do miss London. But thems the choices 

baser999

arthurdick said:

Have you had a look around Lewisham,  Lee, Hither Green, Eltham, Plumstead, Catford or Brockley?.  You can get the odd decent priced flat in those area's.  Those area's all have not too bad transport connections.
Also, some pretty good prices up near the top of Shooters Hill, which either come under Woolwich or Plumstead.

And there’s so many transport connections into London from those areas - numerous national rail links and at Woolwich alone there’s DLR and the Elizabeth Line as well, which would get you into central London inside 15-20 minutes?  Perhaps be a bit less negative about all the suggestions everyones made, get out there and have a look at what’s on offer and decide exactly what you want. 

[Deleted User]

lincroft1710 said:

wildbilljones said:

lincroft1710 said:

wildbilljones said:

Purbeck14 said:

A couple on 'Location, location, location' last night put their requirements into AI (Chatgpt?) and it produced  the 'perfect location' for them, Phil found them a house there. Of course it does help when you have 700K! Might be an interesting little experiment to try though. 

EDIT as I've just read a bit of your previous thread, where you state  your type of work and really London being where that  work is but that you didn't feel able or willing to pay commuting costs too far out. So really travelling  a distance to continue working in London doesn't seem feasible for you? Which is fair enough. 

I think the UK isn’t really the right place for long commutes. I know some people can accept paying 6-10k a year just on getting to their office but I find that to be unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport. 

. 

Sorry, but how can people spending £6K - £10K on getting to their office be "unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport"?? Do you think these people should commute by car and cause even more traffic congestion? Go to St Albans on any weekday before 9.00 am and see how many people get on the London trains. Imagine all those people driving into London.

Because it's extortionate. It doesn't happen in other countries because they wouldn't accept it. I currently live just outside London and it costs me 560GBP a month to go into the office (If i go in five days a week). 

Public transport should be affordable or free. 

What do you consider affordable? How many countries have free public transport other than over very short distances? 


How would you finance free public transport for everybody? Where would the money come from, because you are talking billions of pounds annually? Why should ordinary taxpayers subsidise commuters, because that is what would happen. As I said in a previous post, pensioner bus passes benefits are being eroded, for example you have to pay one pound if you travel before 9.30 am on the bus.  


Don't get me wrong! Free public transport is a fantastic idea in theory, but in practice about as likely to happen as your next door neighbour being an advance member of a party of invading Martians!


Finally as you are so passionate about this, have you written to your MP to elicit their views on the matter?

If you'r going to pretend that it's reasonable for people to have to pay over 400 a month to get to work in central London from Hemel Hempstead, then you're welcome to do so. I've no interest in having a debate about it. 

[Deleted User]

wjr4 said:

[Deleted User] said:

EssexHebridean said:

Looking at your desire to stay within a close range of London - people have suggested various areas worth looking at just outside the M25 (and even some options just inside!) - have you explored options on any of those? Romford was mentioned earlier, I will throw Barking & Dagenham into the mix as well. 

Thanks. I will go to Romford next week to view a property. I don't know Barking and Dagenham too well. I recently visited Erith and I thought it was horrible but it's possible that there are some more pleasant places on the outskirts of London etc. 

Barking & Dagenham is horrendous. Romford is deprived but not as bad. 

Yes I spent a few days in Erith which is just across the river from Dagenham, I believe. One of the most depressing places I've ever been. It's no slight on people that live there, but I'd rather go and live in the woods than pay over 200k for a house in Erith or Dagenham. 

[Deleted User]

_Penny_Dreadful said:

lincroft1710 said:

wildbilljones said:

lincroft1710 said:

wildbilljones said:

Purbeck14 said:

A couple on 'Location, location, location' last night put their requirements into AI (Chatgpt?) and it produced  the 'perfect location' for them, Phil found them a house there. Of course it does help when you have 700K! Might be an interesting little experiment to try though. 

EDIT as I've just read a bit of your previous thread, where you state  your type of work and really London being where that  work is but that you didn't feel able or willing to pay commuting costs too far out. So really travelling  a distance to continue working in London doesn't seem feasible for you? Which is fair enough. 

I think the UK isn’t really the right place for long commutes. I know some people can accept paying 6-10k a year just on getting to their office but I find that to be unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport. 

. 

Sorry, but how can people spending £6K - £10K on getting to their office be "unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport"?? Do you think these people should commute by car and cause even more traffic congestion? Go to St Albans on any weekday before 9.00 am and see how many people get on the London trains. Imagine all those people driving into London.

Because it's extortionate. It doesn't happen in other countries because they wouldn't accept it. I currently live just outside London and it costs me 560GBP a month to go into the office (If i go in five days a week). 

Public transport should be affordable or free. 

Finally as you are so passionate about this, have you written to your MP to elicit their views on the matter?

Perhaps the OP could enter the world of politics himself to fight all this perceived injustices. 

'Perceived'.

Well done for standing up for the private train companies. Unjust pricing is all in the mind of the milennials. 

[Deleted User]

Angelica123 said:

Out of curiosity, are your friends partnered up/looking to settle down? It's likely if they are, then there is a possibility they won't stay in London (unless they are on very high salaries). Early to mid-thirties was when many of my friends started to leave London to start families. 

I have a fairly small friendship group. One bought a small flat about 5 years ago with m a 50k contribution from his father. Another is about to buy a London flat with 200k deposit from his parents. Another works as a developer and earns a very good salary, he's bought alone. I have other friends who have coupled up and bought in Brighton or who rent flats together as couples. 

It's not only about friends. My work is in London, my family is just outside London, I play for several sports teams in London etc. I know these things can be found elsewhere. I am a bit reluctant to throw myself into another witness protection scheme type experience though. As I know I'll likely become very depressed on my own in a place that I don't like. I'm coming to terms with that being the only real option though. 

Luke451

lady1964 said:

Luke451 said:

[Deleted User] said:

I wouldn't recommend  Birmingham, sure it's got great train services, and I have no doubt there are lots of interesting places there, but have you seen the number of stabbings in that area? ( live within the county so see this on the local news) but for actual stats on knife crime:

"ONS data shows that in 2022/23, West Midlands Police recorded the highest rate of 178 offences per 100,000 population. In contrast, the North Yorkshire recorded the lowest rate of 35 offences each, per 100,000 population." 

Like many cities there are good bits but you do really need to do your research, wherever you decide on. I'd go North!

UK has criminals everywhere, and regarding knife crime, just give them what they want, majority of bad knife crimes happen between gangs. 

Plus, it's enough to avoid certain areas and certain people in life completely.

You can't recommend Yorkshire if he wants to travel to London to see family and friends, though I agree that it's nice up there.

We do have trains in Yorkshire, from York to Kings Cross for example, takes 2 hours and if one books early enough, fares can be very reasonable, Hull to Kings Cross takes approx 2.5 hours on a direct run and Leeds to Kings Cross just a bit over 2 hours.

Hull is one of the least expensive places for FTB and yes, parts are a bit grim but there’s a shedload of investment going into the city and people do get educated in Yorkshire too.

I'm pretty sure that people are more educated everywhere rather than London, but I didn't say anything about it.

(One thing is sure, you wouldn't be hired to work in remote from Yorkshire, Londoners measure you by the distance you live from the city center, which defines their level of intelligence, but it's the way their neurons make connections. As a start, he would lose his job)

I wouldn't recommend Yorkshire because the point is not only to reach Kings Cross, the rest of the commute can be very long...........

Luke451

[Deleted User] said:

[Deleted User] said:

A couple on 'Location, location, location' last night put their requirements into AI (Chatgpt?) and it produced  the 'perfect location' for them, Phil found them a house there. Of course it does help when you have 700K! Might be an interesting little experiment to try though. 

EDIT as I've just read a bit of your previous thread, where you state  your type of work and really London being where that  work is but that you didn't feel able or willing to pay commuting costs too far out. So really travelling  a distance to continue working in London doesn't seem feasible for you? Which is fair enough. 

I think the UK isn’t really the right place for long commutes. I know some people can accept paying 6-10k a year just on getting to their office but I find that to be unethical and defeating the purpose of public transport. 

I will look into chatgpt though. It will be interesting to see what it says. The more I look, the more I get the sense that I am not able to buy, unless I find someone else to buy with. So I think I’ll have to continue house sharing. It horrifies me that I’ll still be doing that in my late thirties but I’ll have to try and adjust my expectations. 

I give you a plan, then take it as you wish:

1. Move to another city, anyway, any major city is better than London

2. Rent in a house share, make sure to have en-suite and all the commodities, like a lot of space, parking if you have the car etc...

3. Buy your ideal apartment in a safe and vibrant area, but not the city center, you don't need that!

Now start searching, good luck.