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

Mark_Glasses

I come from Leeds and live in London and I have no desire to move back to Leeds. I've heard Leeds being called the London of the north before but it really isn't. I can see the appeal of the city centre but most of the residential areas are grim. The nicer residential areas are expensive so defeats the point of moving out of London to save money. The public transport is rubbish and as a result the roads are congested.

The area of Leeds I come from wasn't too bad crime wise when I was growing up but it's got worse since I've been away. Some of the people I knew from there as a kid have moved to Bradford so it must be getting bad.

I've managed to buy a property in London but only a flat. It is scary the number of people I work with who live in houseshares. I also work with 2 people who are the same level as me who rent flats outside of London. 

RelievedSheff

silvercar said:

RelievedSheff said:

zedonk said:

[Deleted User] said:
I don’t love what I do! It’s hard to change though. I think you’re typecast by recruiters after a few years in one field. One option might be to rent for one more year while I try and upskill/relentlessly job hunt for a higher paying role. 

Glad to hear it wasn’t just me struggling with the city move. Norwich is a lovely place btw. I think with a family and a house, I could be very happy there. Wasn’t right for me at the time though. 

Agreed, Norwich was lovely, especially the second-hand bookshops and the Belgian pub. 🙂 I just found it hard to make friends from zero - it takes time, I probably didn't give it enough time, but the loneliness was badly affecting my mental health.

I'm planning a career change right now, and there are positions out there where you can be paid to retrain, with employers open minded about transferable skills. They don't pay more than £30K, though (that's without London weighting, so it would be a bit more in London). 

The firm I work for in Sheffield has a London office. The staff there earn 10% more than their equivalent northern counterparts. It just isn't enough to cover the additional costs of living down there.

We earn a decent combined wage for the area where we live (circa £90k) but are lucky that the cost of living is relatively cheap. We can comfortably afford to buy a nice house in a nice area and still go out and enjoy life.

We wouldn't be able to do that if we were living and working in London. Our combined wage (even with the 10% uplift) would not be enough to have an enjoyable lifestyle down there. But we accept that and have no desire to move south. Sometimes you just have to look at your circumstances and realise that something has to change.

We made the move to a new town where we knew one other person. We very quickly made new friends and the one person we did know we very rarely see. Life is what you make of it. Don't waste it waiting for circumstances to change but not being willing to make the changes.

Looking at it the other way, My son and his wife are currently in London and looking to buy. He would lose at least 20% of his salary transferring to the out of London offices of his company plus less bonus opportunity, she is progressing well in the civil service and would lose promotion opportunities as well as career moves, in spite of "levelling up", as well as a drop in salary.  They've decided that they can't afford to move out of London until  they are more senior in their careers. 

Their cost of housing and general living away from London would more than make up for the 20% "loss" in earnings.

So they can afford the drop. They just don't want to see their salary drop even though their standard of living would no doubt be higher elsewhere.

It is of course each to their own.

Gavin83

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141371264#/?channel=RES_BUY

That should be within your price range and is arguably still London. At the very least there's a London tube station just up the road.

silvercar

RelievedSheff said:

silvercar said:

RelievedSheff said:

zedonk said:

[Deleted User] said:
I don’t love what I do! It’s hard to change though. I think you’re typecast by recruiters after a few years in one field. One option might be to rent for one more year while I try and upskill/relentlessly job hunt for a higher paying role. 

Glad to hear it wasn’t just me struggling with the city move. Norwich is a lovely place btw. I think with a family and a house, I could be very happy there. Wasn’t right for me at the time though. 

Agreed, Norwich was lovely, especially the second-hand bookshops and the Belgian pub. 🙂 I just found it hard to make friends from zero - it takes time, I probably didn't give it enough time, but the loneliness was badly affecting my mental health.

I'm planning a career change right now, and there are positions out there where you can be paid to retrain, with employers open minded about transferable skills. They don't pay more than £30K, though (that's without London weighting, so it would be a bit more in London). 

The firm I work for in Sheffield has a London office. The staff there earn 10% more than their equivalent northern counterparts. It just isn't enough to cover the additional costs of living down there.

We earn a decent combined wage for the area where we live (circa £90k) but are lucky that the cost of living is relatively cheap. We can comfortably afford to buy a nice house in a nice area and still go out and enjoy life.

We wouldn't be able to do that if we were living and working in London. Our combined wage (even with the 10% uplift) would not be enough to have an enjoyable lifestyle down there. But we accept that and have no desire to move south. Sometimes you just have to look at your circumstances and realise that something has to change.

We made the move to a new town where we knew one other person. We very quickly made new friends and the one person we did know we very rarely see. Life is what you make of it. Don't waste it waiting for circumstances to change but not being willing to make the changes.

Looking at it the other way, My son and his wife are currently in London and looking to buy. He would lose at least 20% of his salary transferring to the out of London offices of his company plus less bonus opportunity, she is progressing well in the civil service and would lose promotion opportunities as well as career moves, in spite of "levelling up", as well as a drop in salary.  They've decided that they can't afford to move out of London until  they are more senior in their careers. 

Their cost of housing and general living away from London would more than make up for the 20% "loss" in earnings.

So they can afford the drop. They just don't want to see their salary drop even though their standard of living would no doubt be higher elsewhere.

It is of course each to their own.

Possibly, but they are ambitious and the career prospects won't be as great. So a drop of 20% now may be palatable, but a drop of a lot more in a few years time wouldn't be. I'm sure there may be a time when they could both transfer out and the drop of 20% on their higher salaries would be fine, but if career prospects are better in London, then staying put could pay for itself long term.

RelievedSheff

silvercar said:

RelievedSheff said:

silvercar said:

RelievedSheff said:

zedonk said:

wildbilljones said:
I don’t love what I do! It’s hard to change though. I think you’re typecast by recruiters after a few years in one field. One option might be to rent for one more year while I try and upskill/relentlessly job hunt for a higher paying role. 

Glad to hear it wasn’t just me struggling with the city move. Norwich is a lovely place btw. I think with a family and a house, I could be very happy there. Wasn’t right for me at the time though. 

Agreed, Norwich was lovely, especially the second-hand bookshops and the Belgian pub. 🙂 I just found it hard to make friends from zero - it takes time, I probably didn't give it enough time, but the loneliness was badly affecting my mental health.

I'm planning a career change right now, and there are positions out there where you can be paid to retrain, with employers open minded about transferable skills. They don't pay more than £30K, though (that's without London weighting, so it would be a bit more in London). 

The firm I work for in Sheffield has a London office. The staff there earn 10% more than their equivalent northern counterparts. It just isn't enough to cover the additional costs of living down there.

We earn a decent combined wage for the area where we live (circa £90k) but are lucky that the cost of living is relatively cheap. We can comfortably afford to buy a nice house in a nice area and still go out and enjoy life.

We wouldn't be able to do that if we were living and working in London. Our combined wage (even with the 10% uplift) would not be enough to have an enjoyable lifestyle down there. But we accept that and have no desire to move south. Sometimes you just have to look at your circumstances and realise that something has to change.

We made the move to a new town where we knew one other person. We very quickly made new friends and the one person we did know we very rarely see. Life is what you make of it. Don't waste it waiting for circumstances to change but not being willing to make the changes.

Looking at it the other way, My son and his wife are currently in London and looking to buy. He would lose at least 20% of his salary transferring to the out of London offices of his company plus less bonus opportunity, she is progressing well in the civil service and would lose promotion opportunities as well as career moves, in spite of "levelling up", as well as a drop in salary.  They've decided that they can't afford to move out of London until  they are more senior in their careers. 

Their cost of housing and general living away from London would more than make up for the 20% "loss" in earnings.

So they can afford the drop. They just don't want to see their salary drop even though their standard of living would no doubt be higher elsewhere.

It is of course each to their own.

Possibly, but they are ambitious and the career prospects won't be as great. So a drop of 20% now may be palatable, but a drop of a lot more in a few years time wouldn't be. I'm sure there may be a time when they could both transfer out and the drop of 20% on their higher salaries would be fine, but if career prospects are better in London, then staying put could pay for itself long term.

Or cost a lot of money for no gain!

People outside of London are ambitious and can earn high salaries. That isn't the reserve of London and it would be very short sighted to actually think that way.

silvercar

RelievedSheff said:

silvercar said:

RelievedSheff said:

silvercar said:

RelievedSheff said:

zedonk said:

wildbilljones said:
I don’t love what I do! It’s hard to change though. I think you’re typecast by recruiters after a few years in one field. One option might be to rent for one more year while I try and upskill/relentlessly job hunt for a higher paying role. 

Glad to hear it wasn’t just me struggling with the city move. Norwich is a lovely place btw. I think with a family and a house, I could be very happy there. Wasn’t right for me at the time though. 

Agreed, Norwich was lovely, especially the second-hand bookshops and the Belgian pub. 🙂 I just found it hard to make friends from zero - it takes time, I probably didn't give it enough time, but the loneliness was badly affecting my mental health.

I'm planning a career change right now, and there are positions out there where you can be paid to retrain, with employers open minded about transferable skills. They don't pay more than £30K, though (that's without London weighting, so it would be a bit more in London). 

The firm I work for in Sheffield has a London office. The staff there earn 10% more than their equivalent northern counterparts. It just isn't enough to cover the additional costs of living down there.

We earn a decent combined wage for the area where we live (circa £90k) but are lucky that the cost of living is relatively cheap. We can comfortably afford to buy a nice house in a nice area and still go out and enjoy life.

We wouldn't be able to do that if we were living and working in London. Our combined wage (even with the 10% uplift) would not be enough to have an enjoyable lifestyle down there. But we accept that and have no desire to move south. Sometimes you just have to look at your circumstances and realise that something has to change.

We made the move to a new town where we knew one other person. We very quickly made new friends and the one person we did know we very rarely see. Life is what you make of it. Don't waste it waiting for circumstances to change but not being willing to make the changes.

Looking at it the other way, My son and his wife are currently in London and looking to buy. He would lose at least 20% of his salary transferring to the out of London offices of his company plus less bonus opportunity, she is progressing well in the civil service and would lose promotion opportunities as well as career moves, in spite of "levelling up", as well as a drop in salary.  They've decided that they can't afford to move out of London until  they are more senior in their careers. 

Their cost of housing and general living away from London would more than make up for the 20% "loss" in earnings.

So they can afford the drop. They just don't want to see their salary drop even though their standard of living would no doubt be higher elsewhere.

It is of course each to their own.

Possibly, but they are ambitious and the career prospects won't be as great. So a drop of 20% now may be palatable, but a drop of a lot more in a few years time wouldn't be. I'm sure there may be a time when they could both transfer out and the drop of 20% on their higher salaries would be fine, but if career prospects are better in London, then staying put could pay for itself long term.

Or cost a lot of money for no gain!

People outside of London are ambitious and can earn high salaries. That isn't the reserve of London and it would be very short sighted to actually think that way.

Definitely. Just that they are part way along certain career ladders, so now isn't the right time to jump away.

GixerKate

You mention that your priority is to live in the south east near friends and family, have you thought of living south of London like Sussex or Kent?

If you are earning approx 40k with a deposit of 30k ish then have a look at south of London - quite a few options with straight access to friends and family in the south east.  There are 2 bed shared ownerships in Purley for 140k, you could rent out your spare room.  Or look at East Sussex - you can get a 2 bed doer upper flat for under 100k, get yourself on the property ladder and go from there.  Hastings for instance has regular trains into London, anything along that train line gives you straight access into London.

The easiest thing to do is do nothing and complain, the hardest thing to do is grab the problem by the horns and do something.

When we moved to East Sussex we didn't know anyone at all.  Yes we moved as a family but its still daunting doing that however 3 years on I have a great friend group here, mostly of people who have moved here also!  There are communities and groups that are specifically for people who want to meet new people, make new friends.

Also, I'm not sure its been mentioned but do you drive?  If not, get your licence and get a car, this makes it much easier to visit friends and family.

Skiddaw1

pinkshoes said:

What about Reading? You can buy yourself a 1 bedroom flat for £150k that is walking distance to the train station, then about £6000 a year for a season train ticket with tube travel. Or you might even find a job in Reading, as if you deduct the cost of the train ticket from your salary, you could then find something that paid less. 

You could buy yourself a 2 bedroom property and get a lodger.

Renting would set you back £900 to £1000 a month for a studio or 1 bed flat.

(I've not lived in Reading, but know people that do love it their, it's a real mix of all ages, lots to do. You can make anywhere your home if you're willing to try and fit in).

I lived in Reading for many years (went there as a student in 1982 and didn't escape until me and Mr Skiddaw relocated to Cumbria in 2019) and were very happy there. It's a nice town with plenty going on, easy access to proper country and plenty of work opportunities. @[Deleted User] you could do a lot worse especially now there's the Elizabeth Line.

zagubov

London has a large pool of transient residents who move in, usually in their 20s to find work, and who leave often in their 30s. More are female than male. Many meet and marry and when considering starting families, move out to smaller towns and/or big cities.

There’s a resident population who’ve been there for multiple generations, passing houses and/or deposits from generation to generation.

In most big British cities that’s the majority of the population whereas in London they’re an (albeit sizeable) minority.

So in London you’ll meet a sizeable number of people who’ll maybe flat share with you but maybe less likely to buy property shared with you, certainly not in the long term.

In other cities, there will be plenty of jobs because of the critical mass that cities generate. The resident population will be larger and the transient incomer population will be smaller. 

The 20-30 age group may well be more male than female in smaller towns, less sure what to expect in the big cities.

If I were in your shoes, I’d be looking for big cities away from the coast. Danny Dorling’s great book 

So You Think You Know Britain is well worth a read.

Luke451

pinkshoes said:

I'm going to be blunt - you need to cut the apron strings! 

Home can be anywhere, and doesn't have to be a short distance from your family! 

I've lived all over the UK, and the only place I didn't settle well was Liverpool. I've quite happily lived in many other towns/villages/cities.

What about Reading? You can buy yourself a 1 bedroom flat for £150k that is walking distance to the train station, then about £6000 a year for a season train ticket with tube travel. Or you might even find a job in Reading, as if you deduct the cost of the train ticket from your salary, you could then find something that paid less. 

You could buy yourself a 2 bedroom property and get a lodger.

Renting would set you back £900 to £1000 a month for a studio or 1 bed flat.

(I've not lived in Reading, but know people that do love it their, it's a real mix of all ages, lots to do. You can make anywhere your home if you're willing to try and fit in).

Mmm, I think that going to live in a cheaper place far away from London is much better... Birmingham, Manchester, all better cities...

Probably even Edinburgh is cheaper...

Whatever is around London is more expensive, less living space, overcrowded, toxic busy commute, all horrible things compared to other cities.

The only reason why he should stick around London is to tell his friends that he lives in London, or to stick it on his FB profile.

Lodger? LOL, he has a decent deposit and a decent salary too, he can afford to purchase where quality of life is more accessible to people and live in peace alone.

Lodgers are always a problem, and in the London zone, high chances are that they are drunksters (best case scenario) or much worst (don't need to list the rest of them...).