To wonder where are all the poor people in the South East supposed to actually live?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I rent privately, self contained space but essentially a lodger - ground floor flat. It looks like the family will need their place back sharpish due to illness, so I've started looking at rentals again.

Fed up. I've seen some horrific shitholes of studios and they're still hugely expensive. I'm in London zone 2, and looked at moving further out but it's still expensive. For a studio, Croydon is not significantly cheaper than London. Nor is Brighton, where I have family links to, hence looking there. Brighton is also close enough to be able to come to London for all my hospital stuff, as I'm an outpatient of Guys and Thomas and Moorfields plus have ongoing appointments trying to figure out fibromyalgia and gynae problems.

Weary of house shares now in my thirties and there are aspects of my health that make sharing quite stressful when it's a bunch of strangers. I don't want to share a bathroom and I don't want to share a fridge where I store my extensive medication. I guess maybe an en suite room, if I bought my own fridge for my room would be fine though.

Obviously I could well end up going somewhere like Manchester or Birmingham or Glasgow, or elsewhere, if I get really stuck - but that's just me as an individual, just one person.

There must be thousands and thousands of people in a similar pickle, including families with small kids in school. Leaving London and the south east of the country can't be the solution for everyone too poor to pay the market rent? Not everyone can up and leave?

What will happen regarding the whole unsustainable rental situation?

A friend of mine has just let a lovely furnished studio/ one bed in streatham hill. It's a big living room with a mezzanine bedroom, all modern and exceptionally clean, separate kitchen and bathroom. She had to reduce the price from £1100 to £1000 PCM as no one was taking it. She's also just installed a brand new washing machine and oven! Shame it's not still available. Have you tried that area?

The affordable housing is a joke, it’s still bloody expensive. Locally to me some flats have been built with a percentage that are part buy part rent, they have valued 1 bed flats at over £500k - way over what they would be if you just bought one outright, it’s a total con

" OP doesn't owe London her presence"

Absofuckinglutely. Let them find out the hard way.

Would you consider NE London? I live in Walthamstow and have worked at Moorfields and Guys so I know the commutes are 45 and 55 minutes respectively. House prices have gone up but renting is still relatively cheap.

It's not Hampstead obviously but if you're willing to consider Croydon you might not mind it here?

I was just about to say that Datinglife! Before you jump to moving further out you need to look at the cost (both financial & time wise) on commuting. We're now in Oyster zone 8, London/Kent border. I commute to zone 2, it takes an hour each way & costs £1200 a year. We looked at moving down towards Medway as most of our friends have but the cost & time spend commuting more than doubled so there was no point. I'd rather pay more rent & spend less time travelling!

Rental prices are ridiculous, especially when you compare them to the average mortgage. We were paying £1000 a month rent on a 2 bed property. When we managed to buy (gifted a 20% deposit) a similar property our mortgage was £500 a month once we'd remortgaged!

Oh & the new "affordable" housing being built in our town starts at £360,000!!!

If it's not been mentioned already look at Thanet

Gleneagle Mews, SW16
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-71307377.html

En suite room in a very lovely looking mews house share?

local to me

www.thelondoneconomic.com/must-reads/homeless-man-found-dead-chelmsford-following-night-sub-zero-temperatures/23/02/

I second or maybe third suggest living on the London- Brighton line, great train links and lots of choice. If you freelance i’m guessing you wouldn’t need a season ticket and can travel in after 9.30 when the trains are cheaper?? Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Hassocks are commuter towns. Hurstpierpoint is a large village within walking distance from Hassocks with a nice vibe, lots of Brighton folk move there. Good luck with your search.

I totally understand about the pump. I go to Kings for my care.
But as Random said, the St Peters hospital team @ Stephanie marks is excellent and does fund adult pumps.
As do many others I presume. Maybe start with that issue first?

We sold our 3 bed house in a village in Kent, walking distance to railway station, 50 minutes from there to London - and had to top up to get a 2 bed flat in Edinburgh so think on.

We could have got more space near the village in Kent by going into e.g. Gravesend, Medway towns, Sittingbourne. Isle of Sheppey we could have had a mansion (exaggerating slightly). There are cheaper places in the South East.

Also, there are coaches into London as well as trains, can be cheaper.

£900 per month = £11 k per year (not forgetting tenancy fees)
Season ticket Bromley to London about £2k per year
= £13 k net
On £24k gross income say £20k net income that would leave you £7k per year to live on. Thats about £110 per week for council tax, utilities, food, clothes and everything else. Is that even possible? It would be a very tight budget.

I live in Southend and it is affordable by SE standards. My 2 bed flat would be about £700 to rent. A 3 bed house £1000. Commutable to London in less than an hour. But again a season ticket on the trains is £4K so you're saving on house but spending on travel.

And your children?

I saw a flat on Facebook this morning in Edmonton for £1000pm

One of the biggest problems is that London sucks in all the money and opportunities so while you struggle with housing, transport costs, etc in the SE, the rest of the country struggle with poor job prospects, low wages and all our children having to move to London to get on leaving greying and diminished communities behind

This is a huge problem that no government has the political will to tackle

In answer to your question OP we're all expected to move North where the local people will hate us for buying/renting more affordable homes and pricing their children out of the market.
It's absolute madness!

Clacton.

worlybear but is that any more crazy than everyone wanting to live in the same place? It's crazy- and that's why housing is short and expensive.

I live in Brighton and was discussing this why my partner today. Try looking in Worthing, you get a lot more for your money there and it's definitely getting nicer.

*with

I live in a huge 5 bed semi in a leafy suburb of the capital. Great schools, International airport in 20 minutes, 10 minutes to wild coastland, . Huge employment, IT, Biotech, media, the arts.
20 minutes to the city centre. My house cost me £210K just 3 years ago

Flutterbybee Children? Not in this picture. But why bother when you can import (cheap, young) labour.

Cynical, moi?

Just checked on rightmove and there's a studio flat in telegraph hill (which is New Cross) for £900pcm.