£150k house budget - mortgage free in Scotland

Meka3256 · 19 March 2017 at 11:04PM

AnotherJoe wrote: »

My thoughts exactly. Why put such emphasis on not having a mortage when it might be small and manageable and cleared In a few years (say, 10 or less), be easy to afford and give you a better quality of life for the rest of your life rather than be hogtied by what frankly is a fairly arbitrary decision.

You are probably at peak earning potential right now, mortgages are as cheap as they've been for many generations, without going wild with a millstone of a mortage now is the time to take adavantage of both those factors if it means you can get the right place for you for life, rather than putting up with second best just because you don't want to pay a couple of hundred pounds a month for a few years.

It will also put you better placed much later on, when / if you come to downsize or take equity, being ina better location will pay back those earlier years.

Thanks both for asking this question.

My desire to move is to have a better work life balance - essentially for my own well being. If I am able to be mortgage free, it means I can be self employed and chose a job that will make me happy.

What you say is exactly rational, and the best economic choice is to stay working. However my move is driven by a desire to have a happier life, and as long as I can get roughly what I want in terms of house and location, I feel it will be the best choice for me.

If I can't get what I want mortgage free, I will stay a couple more years in London and continue on with the 'rat race'. But at the moment next year is looking possible for me to move, and get what I want from life.

glasgowdan · 19 March 2017 at 11:20PM

I say stick to your instincts and buy outright. The feeling is wonderful. Though with my newest council tax bill I'll never really feel financially freed, mortgage or not!

zagubov · 20 March 2017 at 12:24AM

There will be loads of good places in the central belt. Around Stirling and Falkirk there are loads of good connections to Glasgow and Edinburgh and in Fife you've access to Dundee too.

moneyistooshorttomention · 20 March 2017 at 9:01AM

Have you thought about how you will feel somewhere that is so different to London?

It's very easy to spend many years living in one part of the country and assume the rest of the country is very much the same - except for fewer people and more countryside.

There's rather a lot more to it than that. It can feel fairly much like moving to a different country in many respects.

glasgowdan · 20 March 2017 at 9:50AM

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Have you thought about how you will feel somewhere that is so different to London?

It's very easy to spend many years living in one part of the country and assume the rest of the country is very much the same - except for fewer people and more countryside.

There's rather a lot more to it than that. It can feel fairly much like moving to a different country in many respects.

The OP has very much thought about it, that's the whole point of this post.

Davesnave · 20 March 2017 at 10:48AM

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

There's rather a lot more to it than that. It can feel fairly much like moving to a different country in many respects.

And if the wee fishwife gets her way, it might well become a different country!

But seriously, regional variations are something to be celebrated. Just make sure you understand the implications before committing to such a major move, which may well mean renting first.

I live in a large county. Within it there are quite marked variations in climate and the way people interact. It's fair to say that many parts of it don't attract me at all, regardless of what the tourists may think. One has to live somewhere for a while to really understand how it feels 24/7/365.

davidmcn · 20 March 2017 at 11:01AM

Penitent wrote: »

With respect, I lived in Peebles for a few years and it does get a large amount of snow.

It's at an altitude of around 200m, so it's bound to get a lot more snow than lower-lying places. I used to live in East Kilbride, which is at a similar height, and we would often have significant snowfall when the centre of Glasgow had hardly seen a flake.

Nebulous2 · 20 March 2017 at 6:31PM

Meka3256 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies so far - some really helpful suggestions. Some places also that I hadn't thought of at all.

I do drive, so this does make me more flexible with the location.

Then I'd look at a big stretch of the East Coast from about Laurencekirk to Dunfermline. Get yourself up there for a long weekend and have a look to see what you fancy. It will get much more expensive as you approach Aberdeen to the North and Edinburgh to the South.

Coastal areas and fishing villages will have less snow than further inland. It's funny stuff though. In the 60s there was a spell with bad winters and weeks of snow. The trend ever since then has been reducing, with the odd year where there is a bit more. In general as has been said we get one or two days where there is snow and everybody moans. Mostly people still get to work (not such an issue if you're working at home) Shops still have stocks but it's sensible to have some dried foodstuff at home just in case.

The biggest disruption tends to be schools. Teachers often live a long way from the catchment area and the last thing schools want is a whole load of children stuck in school so they tend to close early and play it very safe. Again if you dont have school age children this wont affect you.

moneyistooshorttomention · 20 March 2017 at 6:51PM

Davesnave wrote: »

And if the wee fishwife gets her way, it might well become a different country!

But seriously, regional variations are something to be celebrated. Just make sure you understand the implications before committing to such a major move, which may well mean renting first.

I live in a large county. Within it there are quite marked variations in climate and the way people interact. It's fair to say that many parts of it don't attract me at all, regardless of what the tourists may think. One has to live somewhere for a while to really understand how it feels 24/7/365.

Its a matter of opinion re "regional variations" imo - but what I do know is one probably has little (if any) inkling about them if having lived most of ones life in one region of the country.

So - I do see your point re renting some months first in another area of the country if possible if contemplating this.

As for the "wee fishwife" - I have a worse way of describing her - a LOT worse way of describing her and it aint a polite one. I've just self-censored my opinion of her...

I have come to realise since moving what you mean about the way people "interact" with each other. The thought had literally not crossed my mind that that might be different in a different area of the same country - but I do know what you mean now....

I have found personally that moving from one area of the country has pros and cons. The plus side is that going out for the day on one's own simply doesnt matter in some ways - as even a few hours out is very likely to involve having a long chat or two with total strangers about "anything and everything" all the way up to "putting the world to rights". I regard that as a plus - as we are rather "cooler" where I come from imo.

The downside imo is it drives me up the wall if people act like it's a different country - and some do....

It's swings and roundabouts/horses for courses imo on that one.

theartfullodger · 20 March 2017 at 6:52PM

Houses on schemes (=wot the Engerlish call council estates) in the Highlands go for about £80k.

Here's the view, March 2014, from one of mine:

That's a 3000ft+ Munro upper-left: 5 miles from Ben Nevis, 8 miles from Ski/Snowboarding centre (was there, watching local schoolkids having their skiing lessons, 2 weeks ago..)

Buy two, one for each foot!
[IMG]http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/<a href=http://s589.photobucket.com/user/theartfullodger/media/Gulvain1_1.jpg.html rel=nofollow>[/img]

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

£150k house budget - mortgage free in Scotland

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free