To ask about London and money

[Maisy313]

How much do you think you need to earn as a working couple to support a family of four (one year old and reception aged child) in London and have a reasonable standard of living? Would just be really interested in your thoughts... Someone told me it was impossibly to survive on less than a joint income of 100k in London which seems exceptionally high to me...

For me the thing that was difficult when i bought was changing my expectations in a rapidly changing market. I had never expected to get a Victorian townhouse in Islington/Crouch End/Muswell Hill or indeed anywhere north. I had been saving towards a house in the shit bit of S London I'd been renting in but the 2013 price explosion took that area out of my reach. I then got real, but it was a bit of a shock to the system and in a market where people were queueing up to overbid on any house in z4,i made the wrong choice. if I was a FTB now I'd try to relocate both home and work outside of London as the number of less popular more affordable areas is reducing and being pushed out to longer and more expensive commutes.

Mmh agree to an extent, it's difficult if your roots are here. am mixed race and grew up in bham. would go back there in a heartbeat if i could find work there for those multi cultural aspects (there are other UK cities with these characteristics too although granted not many. This is partly why I'm reluctant to move further into the commuter belt.

Not read most of thread.

We live in big house in arse end of London. Mortgage is about 370k. One child in part time nursery but we save vouchers from work so tax efficient. Another child in school. Mortgage is £2k a month. We are comfortable but somehow never seem to have left over money. But we do have meals out and holidays etc and never worry about buying food. Joint income about £100k.

For Chiswick or Kew, I'd say 150k for a comfortable life. Most/all of the people I know who live there would be on 150k++. I'm sure there are no so nice parts of both areas that would be cheaper but I'd expect to pay at least 2k/mth for a 3 bed and 2k in childcare. Then commuting costs.

I've lived in Isleworth & it's lovely. The only thing to remember if they are buying is to steer clear of the Mogden sewage plant which tends to cause a stink in some parts of Isleworth. If they buy closer to Syon park/A4 side they will find lovely flats around £350-400k. They can mange ok with 75k if they find affordable childcare with a childminder rather than a nursery. It's not an opportunity to be missed!

Osterley is also a decent place to look at..and on Picadilly line.