Moving to London

[Italwayshappenstome]

I have copied this thread from the Lone parenting section, thought it would make sense to post in multiple areas:

Hi, I had no idea where else to post this topic so thought here would do.

I am a lone parent, have ds who has just turned one. I currently live in the north of England and work here. My salary is ok and I receive tax credits due to being SP.

I don't really enjoy my job and it feels like a daily grind and I can't see me wanting to stick it out any longer than I have to. There are no prospects for me at all.

I have seen a job advertised but it is in London. I need to find out what the salary would be (waiting on a call back plus loads of other Questions I'd like to ask them about the position).

My question is has anyone moved to a completely new area miles and miles away from friends and family as a lone parent and succeeded? Is the cost of living in London expensive and would it be worth my while since I am on my own with a baby. I am anxious about the cost of living and childcare more than anything else, plus being miles away from my family and friends.

Anyone have any advice?

I think it's probably easier to become a parent in London on that than move in. Eg there are subsidised state nurseries that are much cheaper than private but you need to be on the waiting list when you're pregnant. Rents have really shot up so if you're either already there, or in social housing, your costs will be lower. Also if you're used to the area, you'll have a far better chance of knowing where and how to cut costs.

I appreciate your feeling that you need to move on but I have misgivings that this would be the right move for you.
There are lovely areas all around Crystal Palace, unfortunately most of them are leafy streets full of owner occupiers. Many of the flats available will be on grotty estates or above shops.
It's also true that there are nice supportive communities. However you have to be available to these communities - your opportunities will be limited because you are working fulltime, your DC is not at a portable age to be taken out and about in the evening and you won't have babysitters.
You will have lovely weekends spent in the Park and you can get a bus directly to the centre of London, this is true.
Schools vary enormously and usually the best ones are in the best areas and hugely oversubscribed. There are also problems with not enough school places and many schools are operating bulge classes.
It could be a rather lonely life.
I left the area last year having lived all my life within a few miles of CP. I grew up on a council estate locally and was lucky enough to end up in a very nice house on one of the better roads, with DC in one of the better schools. Also lucky enough to work very part-time or not at all.
For my sister and friends, working lone parents, it could be a very lonely life.
At dd's Yr6 leaving party last summer, there were lone mums there who didn't know anyone as they had been struggling to juggle home and work for so many years.
Is there no way you could use the next few years to study more in your chosen field locally so that you could make a move in time for your DC to start school somewhere where there would be a good quality of life for you both.

Also note that 3 London boroughs converge right at Crystal Palace, Bromley, Croydon and Lambeth. If I had to rate them in the order I wished to live I would say Bromley, Croydon then Lambeth. Areas of Croydon mentioned previously such as Kenley and Purley would leave you with a difficult commute.

What difference does that actual borough make?

Annie what are your housing costs?

OP, I don't think it sounds like it would be the right idea for you at this time - London is eminently depressing at times so I'm not sure you'd be happier. I would worry about your childcare and backup.

I am a single parent and I do live in London with no backup as family all buggered off years ago and ex a prize tosser, and friends are not of the child caring mentality. I worked full time in the city when my DS was a baby but even earning a very respectable salary, I found after tax, London nursery fees, my transport, bills and our rent for a 2 bedroom flat - I had next to nothing to live on, for all my very long hours and hard work. It was exhausting.

However I am still in London and have in fact taken a cut to change career and it is worse but no means impossible, I eventually found a much cheaper nursery option for example. It is one of those things you can do if you really have to, or really really want to.

London itself is vast it will take you a long time to work out where you like - all prices are pretty high in terms of rent but typically expensive areas aren't always as bad as you may think they are, and previously grim areas are often nouveau-lovely. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the UK really, except Cambridge where I lived once a long time ago, perhaps.

So - my advice is, move to a city that is not London. I think easier for renting, living, childcare and for schools and your future. Then reassess at the appropriate stage, but if hell bent on it the it can be done but isn't going to be the easiest ride.

I think op realised it wasn't going to work for her a day or two ago.

she might be thinking about it

wasn't there a movie about always saying yes? with jim carrey in it?

I've just had a quick run through the Entitled to calculator and the OP is likely to get nearly 20k in benefits bringing her up to about £35k net which seems perfectly doable really.

QueenStromba - Excellent! Maybe you should PM the OP and tell her, because many of the posts on here were not really relevant to her situation, talking about running a car etc, and not informed about the level of support available.

I think if the OP is resourceful, sociable and determined London is a great place to get experience and prospects!

Also, her childcare costs will go down within 2 years.

Mortgage £600 per month rates £206 and water rates £38 house ins and car ins £50 we don't have debts and I only spend £35-£40 per week on food.

Went out last week for meal that with vouchers meant we only spent 75p

Oh and we don't smoke, drink, or eat meat.

Everything is done on a shoe string. House is falling down but the mortgage is paid. Our car has seen better days but it is ours. It is do able. Dd's school costs £900 per month. Everything is checked to see what vouchers are available.

And when we want clothes it is EBay or Primark.

queenstroma I was just going to suggest using EntitledTo to check eligibility for benefits.

It would still be tough no doubt but benefits should be enough to make it possible.

If it really is an opportunity that would pay dividends long term it might be worth the move, if it is simply a more interesting job but without especially brilliant prospects I would be wary.

I would suggest Penge, Sydenham or Anerley as worth looking at to live, but be wary all of these areas are somewhat 'up and coming' (Sydenham especially) so rents are likely to be moving upwards. It was worth looking carefully at maximum local housing allowance levels in these places - you're likely to be eligible for some support with housing costs but be careful you don't end up somewhere where LHA rates aren't keeping up with rents .

I wouldn't move to London under your circumstances OP. London with a small child, no spare cash or other half would make life pretty difficult, particularly as your DC gets older and needs to be out/occupied more and more.

FWIW, I think Crystal Palace is a good area.

Annie - not many can still get a £600 only mortgage in London

I was paying nigh on £600 per month in RENT 17 years ago.

You can double that £600 for rent on a two-bed flat these days, easily.

Sadly many of these jobs are aimed at Londoners who still live at home with parents or in cheap shared accomodation so no expensive outgoings/child care etc.

Annie you're incredibly lucky. You're in a position very few people moving into London would be in.
600 gets what? A 130 grand mortgage? Do you know any houses selling for that in London...

Thanks again for the responses folks.

I checked out entitledto (not sure I filled it in correctly due to so many 'unknown' factors), it did come up with financial subsidiaries of approx 20k per annum!!!

XiCi - I live not too far from Manchester altho the commute would be horrendous and the type of job/work I am interested in is not available there. I will have a look at jobs closer to home, I think I was over-reaching in my expectations judging by what most of you have said (unless that 20k is to be believed).

MegBusset - I have to agree with your point about low wages. I think the welfare system only exists because companies get away with paying p!ss-poor un-liveable unrealistic wages and the tax payer ends up footing the bill. At the risk of getting on my soap-box, corporations pay wages that are peanuts, the taxpayer ends up getting taxed to the eyeballs to account for this and the money gets divvied out to folk like me (altho I too am a taxpayer). Tax credits needn't exist if companies gave fairer wages for everybody so I do in fact agree with your view.

Climbs down from soap-box

Hmmm after some consideration, I am going to look closer to home and if I can fit it in somewhere maybe look at doing something in order to re-train or advance my qualifications. Luckily I have my family up here to help me out should I need to go to night classes or do an online degree or something.

Thank you all for your responses, I have had time to chew the facts over and think I will be giving this opportunity a miss.

That figure doesn't surprise me and sounds like genuinely what you might be eligible for. However being dependent on benefits for a big portion of your income is an added stress.

It's not impossible but it wouldn't be easy and it sounds like you've reached your own conclusion on what's best for you and your DC. Good luck!

£600 for £130000 mortgage!!! Can honestly say that is on a mortgage nearly treble that. Also op would not need a 2 bed flat she could make do with a 1bed or even a studio.

We live in a 2 bed house with 4 of us in there. Sometimes you have to rough it in order to move forward in life.

OP, you sound like an ambitious, motivated and resourceful person. I admire your can do attitude.

The London thing is a bit of a red herring, I don't think the city is the draw, rather the new opportunities it can offer.

Now you've realised you want more and can achieve more you can look for those opportunites without going through such a major, costly upheaval.

Good luck to you.

I want Annie's mortgage broker...

Good luck, OP. Maybe we'll see you in London in a few years?!

Annie I assume you must be paying interest only on a very good rate. Otherwise you'd be looking at triple that on a mortgage of £350k+

You pay 600 on a 390 k mortgage? How is that even possible? Unless you took it out decades ago and have paid down nearly all the capital...
Our mortgage is the most competitive on the market and we pay 1200 pcm on 260,000 principal.