Move to a cheap area... Is this life's secret?

[Pestopastamad]

I currently live in a 'nice' area in the north, which by northern standards is relatively expensive (most expensive postcode in our city).
My partner and I earn an okay combined salary, but a huge proportion of this goes on the house, it's still 'within our means' on paper, though. We both work full-time and haven't got a mortgage yet, we rent, but are looking to buy around where we live now in the next 12 months.

Lately, I've been feeling a bit fed up with our work-life balance, and weirdly I've noticed I feel very envious of the people I see at work who don't work/work part-time/ earn less than us but seem to still manage to own a house, buy what they like, drive nice cars and go on holidays.
It's made me wonder if I'm doing it all wrong and I'm questioning my decision to buy in an expensive area, when I could buy in a less desirable area for a fraction of the price and have a lot of money left at the end of the month.
I can't stop fantasising about a life of working part time , eating out constantly and travelling where I want when I want, because the mortgage would be so cheap.

Is there such a thing is a balance, finding a decent house in a 'middle ground' area, and having lots of disposable income left? Or is it a fantasy and would I just hate not living where I do now? All of my family (and most friends) live in the same postcode as we do now, and I am questioning my motives for wanting to stay around here - keeping up appearances/ what will the family think!! I wonder if this is common for those my my age group (mid to late 20's) because of the ridiculous cost of housing!

Please share your opinions and experiences...

@catandhiskit We did do the house up, yes but mostly we were very lucky because they improved transport links significantly whilst we were there and commuters from the city started to want to buy there. We were amazed at how well we did.

We have low and variable income so we bought cheaply in a big northern city. It is good to have the freedom to decide where to put income, not being slaves to the mortgage. It means we can do things like part time work without it being terrifying.

This is a cheap, working/lower middle class area with mostly families and owner occupiers. Our street is pleasant, we have nice neighbours and I can stop and chat to people. I mean there’s also fairly regular call outs of a police van but that’s dropped off since the nobber over the road moved out.

There are no good cafes in walking distance, and no naice shops. This is a source of sorrow but probably good for the bank balance. Actually, there is a craft beer specialist but that’s a quirk rather than a usual. Schools are alright. My partner complains that I should make sure toddler flattens his vowels, if he’s going to school here. I grew up with a ‘posh’ accent in a poor area, he’ll be ok. Ish.

I would totally do it but I value the flexibility it affords us very highly. I also knew I wanted to stay in the city rather than live in a small town. It does depend on your priorities though.

Not sure about this, it has to be a balance.

I definitely agree that it's not worth killing yourself with work to live somewhere you can't afford.

On the other hand, I live in a pretty cheap, not terrible but not so great area. We aren't stressed about finances but the work/life balance hasn't really changed. We still have bills obviously, so we still have to work. We could afford to drop hours but currently still work full time as that's the most common type of position available in our industries. It's not as simple as just moving then telling your boss "I only need 26 hours pay now, so I will now start work Tuesday afternoon".

We could afford to go out, but realistically the opportunity doesn't come up all the time. We have dc, friends live far away and they have busy lives anyway. So we spend most of our time in the house and local area, as I assume most people do.

So personally I wish we had stretched ourselves more and had a nicer house and area to spend our time. Grass is always greener I guess.

Do bear in mind that a lot of people are hugely in debt. If you know people earn less but they are spending on nice cars, fab holidays and so on, it might be debt. Not always, but it is surprisingly common.
In my job I go through personal finances with people and it's eye opening.
There's a family where I live where the wife drives a Land Rover and they go on flash holidays. But everyone knows they were in the verge of bankruptcy until one of the parents bailed them out. As far as I know they're back in heavy debt a few years on again.
Everything is not always as it seems.

I’m sure someone has said this already but could you rent in the other area to see for a bit? You’d probably save a bit more then too.

We live NE coast, less than desirable town because no work, a bit run down, train services not very reliable, nearest motorway over an hour away. We live on the cheap side of this town. BUT: the cheap side is full of character, has lots of artistic interesting people, great community spirit, the town is historically interesting, lots going on, we can walk to great local pubs, we have two beaches a few minutes walk away, there is lots going on arts-wise, there is stunning countryside all around us, we live in a four bedroom house with an incredible sea view. We don't have a mortgage, cleared by moving from South to North and so don't need big incomes. We enjoy a simple life, don't need expensive distractions because we have such a lot right on the doorstep.

I've had gorgeous house in shit area and shit house in gorgeous area . Area wins every time

You can find middle ground. I’ve moved from renting to buying in a less desirable area. Where I live it’s less than a mile away from an estate which is notorious for anti social behaviour, but tbh we see very little of it impacting where we are. The house itself is lovely, and I would love it more if we could pick it up and place it in the nicer areas, but I’m okay with it. I think if I had young school age DCs though my decision would have been different, as schools generally reflect the area where you live and I think it’s important for you to live near to good schools.

If an area is significantly cheaper than all the other areas in a town which surround it there's a reason for that. Cheap means not in demand. Not in demand often for very good reasons.

I think a lot depends on whether you have kids. I know I have benefitted massively from generations worth of 'living in the worst house on the best street'. For my kids, I cannot imagine bringing them up in an area 'less desirable' than the one I grew up in and it's worth making the sacrifice for (this is just me). This doesn't by any means equal living in the best postcode myself, but I want the best I can do for my kids upbringing. If you don't have kids, go for whatever suits you and then just enjoy it. (Or, if you can do that miraculous trick of sussing out the best up-and-coming area locally, move there for a great price and cash in on the upswing.)

I don't know tbh, the cheaper places my DD2 has been looking at are not very nice imho, litter & graffitti all over , the houses/area look run down and no one seems to take care of their homes . A mile or so away from these places, it is a totally different world. It depends what you can put up with l suppose OP . I wouldn't want it for my DD2 . Surely better to struggle now while young and earning potential can increase so you can aim for P/T .

"I guess the trick is to identify an area that is going to be up and coming then it's a win win situation!"

This is what we've done. Bought five years ago in an area we were warned off. The neighbourhood changed SO much just in that time (lots of young families moving in) and our house is worth almost double what we paid. Not that we're planning on selling up, we've grown to love where we live.

The move has meant I can work part time (and pursue an interest I'm hoping will become a career) and we have more disposable income as our mortgage is small(er).

Another thing we have done that has been a game changer is sign up to Airbnb and a house swap website, so we have more than average holidays but we either swap with someone elsewhere in the country so don't pay, or rent out our place and pay an equivalent elsewhere.

20 years ago we bought a flat in a beautiful and expensive part of London. We could have afforded a 3 bed house if we went to the slightly rougher and slightly further out part nearby. That rougher area has seen massive regeneration and is really cool and sought after now. I don’t regret our flat as it will probably be better for me when I eventually move back to London. But I am just saying you never know when the dodgy areas are going to become the next big thing.

We live in a slightly less desirable area, as the houses are bigger and closer to school, shops and buses. Gives teens more freedom to be out and about.

The roads/layout isn’t as green or as well tended.

People are lovely, little or no crime. Same community and same services.

Just a bit of snob value for those in the slightly better area.

'Up and coming' doesn't always come up. Some areas drift down too.

Both areas we’ve lived in had properties around 50/60 years old many elderly residence who brought a house and lived in or their entire lives. So they become a bit shabby as they are unable to look after a garden or keep up with repairs on things.
One they move on the younger generation move in, which means more children. Areas then become overcrowded with teens.

There’s a definite cycle.

Mini Islington and Hackney?

Cloudyyy ah that explains it - so it wouldn;t stay rough for much longer!

Bear in mind too that neighbours count for a lot - you could be in a million pound home but surrounded by awful neighbours.

I also think middle ground or unfashionable is far better than a bad area. I have friends and family in the latter and I will say I think it makes a massive difference. Incomes comparable with mine yet able to go to Australia on family holidays, Disney etc. If you can buy a house for £130 instead of £350 you have so much more freedom.

Having said that safety is important to me. We live in a very nice area tho in a smaller house that isn't detached and we don't have anywhere near the income of our neighbours. But due to said area in the last 10 years the average house has gone up almost 3x what it cost exactly a decade ago. That's an incredible return on investment. So I guess imagine if you purchased a house for £400K and10 years later they are currently selling for about £1 million. That is life changing. That's what a good area that becomes popular with working professional, dual income, families, is capable of. Now imagine you purchased almost the same house in a very much less desirable area that went from £90K to about £175 in a decade. Now they definitely live a better life in terms of holidays. But I wouldn't say that extra money necessarily goes to their future - most people spend what they have, sure maybe they put a few hundred into savings, but as most people's incomes increase they simply increase their budget for stuff/fun/life. If you want more funds to do stuff it's a great solution, but at 65 (say in 10 years) one person can sell theirs for (projected) £1.5 million and the other around £250. One has the option of downsizing and freeing up at least £750K to fund retirement and the other really will either need to stay put or release £100K and move into flat. That's the difference. Further complicated if you need schools for dc etc.

A house with a good ROI is forced savings. Could that family have saved £850K on their own in 10 years. Not bloody likely.

But there's no doubt unless you are high income you put a lot on hold to live in a better area. Comparing friends in low cost housing, the difference is staggering. Mortgage of £135/month vs. £2250 month. Holidays abroad for one vs. UK budget cottage. Unless very high income obs.

For some people simpler life now is better, so low cost housing is the way to go.

I read this study a while ago and found it interesting :
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322092057.htm

We live in a nice but not super fancy suburb - also in the North - and the rent is still extortionate here (i.e. just as much as the fancier town down the road). So you won't necessarily get cheaper rent for a marginally less-nice area - you'd have to move somewhere quite dramatically different.

We did it

We could have moved (we live in the north) into a village which is amazing but expensive, a 3 bed being around £300,000 in an okay part of the village, detached houses up to £600,000.

However we chose the next village over and our house cost £180,000. It still has outstanding schools and if I walk 5 minutes I’m in the expensive village.
I wouldn’t have bought in a bad area however but I feel we have balanced it right.

We now pay around £600 a month for our mortgage that will finish in 15 years (when we are early 40s if we don’t overpay) and still have enough to put around £1000 in savings as well as eating out and saving for my dds future (she has around £4000 in savings aged 4)
I also work part time (10-4:30 5 days a week term time only) and my husband works shifts. So we both spend lots of time at home with our Dd. I love my work life balance and it wouldn’t have been possible if we’d bought the more expensive house

There are secret nice parts of areas with bad reputations.
We live in Salford. We don't have the terrible commute that South Manchester/Cheshire people have. We're close to lots of green areas and to the Trafford Centre. My IVF wait was up to 6 times shorter than it was in other parts.
Have a look round. You might be surprised at what you find.

I’d also say yes to a nice but less fashionable and hence cheaper place. I wouldn’t move to somewhere that’s actually bad (issues with crime, grotty houses etc).

One advantage of the nice but less fashionable areas is that at least you’re less likely to get burgled. When you look at stats for top postcodes in cities, they’re pretty awful.