This isn't meant to upset anyone but WHY do people live in London? I really don't get it when its so expensive.

[fishnet]

Obviously those who earn trillions of pounds in the city can afford it but why does ordinary Joe bother. Surely the salaries aren't that much higher that it compensates for property prices? Or am I wrong?

SIL is pregnant and needs to move from a one bed rented flat in central London. They are looking at two bed semis for about half a million pounds. Up here you could get a large five bed for that. I really don't get it. How do people manage?

[fishnet]

I've told her she's mad but she's nesting.

She also said salaries are higher but surely not higher enough to compensate for the extra cost of property.

The car point is a good point though. Would love to be able to cope without my car.

[nkf]

Where is "up here" though?
London is very very expensive but oh so wonderful. And hanaflowers is right. Mad to buy now.

[fishnet]

Midlands. So not a million miles away.

Plus family are all here and I think they'll need the support once their DC arrives (but that's a different topic altogether!)

I'll never persuade her though. She has a good social life (although again that might all change with arrival of DC!)

[DeeRiguer]

london is a big place..where is she looking? cnetral london prohibitive to all but the richest and poorest some times..
it is more expensive but i know i pay alot less for food due to good markets nearby
and we have loads of green spaces dont need a car
cosmopolitan place to bring people up and where all our work contacts are so its home for the forseeable..

[fishnet]

Wimbledon I think. Not positive though.

The really mad thing about their situation is that she isn't a high earner anyway and her DH commutes OUT of London everyday!

[artichokes]

There are lots of great things about London: there is so much to do and see, so many cultural attratcions, so many activities on offer, so much to do with young children. It suits some peoples' lifestyles and for them it is worth it. If your SiL's friends are all here then that proabbly means alot to her. You can't put a price on a good social support network.

Is it her family or her in-laws in the Midlands?

[fishnet]

Both her family and her husbands are in the midlands. I understand the social circle thing. It is important to have friends nearby. I just can't believe how much people have to pay for property (although of course that is changing!)

[beansprout]

Er, some of us are from London and call it home. It's not just a place full of rich weirdos. Sorry the market is excluding your SIL at the moment but that doesn't make us strange.

[expatinscotland]

I have no idea.

[beansprout]

And they are looking in the wrong areas if they think 2 bed houses all cost £0.5m!!

[hifi]

i dont think i could live anywhere else now. we are 4 miles from centre, you get used to having everything to hand, culture , restaurants, fab parks. where we live there are loads of things to do every single day if we want to.

the problems are schools and the fight to get into a good one. house prices, and general cost of living.

we are lucky that dh earns a wedge.
i seriously dont now how some families on a regular wage survive, when their families increase most have to move out to less desirable places.

[fishnet]

Beansprout I never said you were strange so I'm not sure where that came from. I simply said I don't understand how people live there when the property prices are so high unless they are very high earners. I imagine it makes life difficult for many.

[artichokes]

You are assuming that for your SiL the size of her home is more important than other aspects of her lifestyle. That is just not true for many people.

[Kbear]

because I was brought up round here and have have family and friends round here - this is where I belong I suppose. Leave all this for the MIDLANDS? NEVER

[btl]

err... the jobs are in london?

[beansprout]

Well, asking WHY people live in London is an odd question. "How can people afford it?" is legitimate, but not a basic "why"? It's quite simple really.

[QueenMeabhOfConnaught]

Well, we live in a suburb of London because our jobs are here! We do both have to work to be able to afford a house, though.

[Gobbledigook]

No idea. I have lived in London and would not go back for any amount of money, I hate it.

However, people want different things out of where they live and some have people that tie them to a location. Plenty of people love London and would not live in the country and vice versa - that's just life isn't it? Everyone is different.

[staranise]

We love London, find the rest of the country provincial (and I am from the deepest provinces before everyone jumps on me!). There is soooo much to do here and most of it's free, and the transport is great, I never use the car. Plus ALL my friends live here, from school, university etc etc. But yes, the house prices are ridiculous in comparison with the rest of the country. However, your SIL is looking in the wrong place - £0.5m for a 2-bed is expensive by Wimbledon standards (especially South Wimbledon, ie, out of the village). We live v close to Wimbledon (SW15) and our 3-bed is worth less than that (and falling by the day ).

And TBH, given the house prices and the lack of secondary education, we will probably move out eventually. But I will be v sad, and probably bored!

[beansprout]

Oh gawd, we have just been to Dorset for two weeks and were shocked to find gollywogs in the shops. But that's a whole other thread!!

[staranise]

Oh yes, and lots of my friends whose husbands don't work in the City, live in flats. A big house isn't always a priority.