To think DD isn’t earning enough to live alone in London?

[Sunnydaysp]

DD is 27 and earns £65k a year. She currently has a long commute in to London for work each day but following her recent divorce and sale of their home, she wants to move to London for a fresh start. She has no DC, so is looking at one bed flats which appear to be around £1,500-£2,000 a month in rent, not to mention all of the bills on top too. I appreciate that DD earns a very good wage for her age, however, I’m concerned that she will be stretching herself too far by attempting to live alone and paying an extortionate amount in rent rather than house sharing, which seems to be the norm for most young professionals. She seems to think she can easily afford it, but DD has never lived alone and doesn’t really seem to appreciate the cost of living, as ex husband always managed the household outgoings etc. AIBU in thinking that DD will be stretched in attempting to live alone on her salary in London with the rental amounts described?

Hey OP,
Young woman of a similar age here, I’d be asking why East? It’s quite industrial and not very homely. Because it’s close to work? Or does she already know people there?
If not I would 100% consider somewhere else, Clapham is full of young singletons, lots of brunches and social clubs.
I would also stress to her house sharing, only with one other, maybe a female of a similar age, when I first moved to London I did this and I’m so glad as she is on of my bfs and it set me off straight away socially, if it doesn’t work she can always then look for a place oh her own but it will be hard to do it the alternative way. She could get somewhere amazing for £1000.
Also I think a previous poster meant *Brockley.
And whilst its lovely if you’ve got a partner, she will be spending a fortune on Uber’s back after a night out, it’s pretty out the way.

My daughter went to uni in London, did years of grotty of flat shares, as you do.
She is now in a well-paid job and has shared-ownership flat on her own.
It was brand new, it's in a good central location and now, five years on she is looking to move up to something a bit bigger.
There are, of course, pros and cons to these schemes but for her this has worked well.

She can definitely afford it. My partner and I earn that combined and pay £1500 a month rent plus bills in London for a 2 bed in zone 3.

Has she looked at the East Village apartments? They’re the old Olympic athlete apartments and they are all rent only and include some bills, have good tenancy agreements, no deposit etc and the village is full of young professionals so a good vibe. There are also lots of bars, delis, restaurants popping up there.

Erm my mum lives in London on 30k. And her mortgage is £1200 a month. She brought 4 children up on that, alone.

Absurd thread.

1. Your DD earns enough to rent a place in London on her own if that's what she wants to spend her money on. £65k is a decent salary, especially at her age.

1. Yes she could find a houseshare at 27, but maybe she doesn't want to. If she's already been married and divorced then maybe she feels she's lived a bit more than other people her age and doesn't want to go back to living like a student.

1. She's an adult and she can do what she wants. Not your circus, not your monkeys.

Just leave her to it.

Emmm she can totally afford it! My husband and I earn about 70k as a couple! We pay 1200 rent in zone 3! We have zero commute coats as we cycle to work! Her current commuting costs are probably ridiculously expensive - she may as well live nearer work - her work life balance will Be better!

Also - we are able to save about a thousand a month to go in our house deposit fund and we have holidays a few times a year ! So we aren’t exactly struggling.

She can definitely afford to move!

Lalalama …. £100 a week on food for one person!!

Help her do a budget of costs and then it’ll be clear whether she can live the way she wants to. She obviously can afford to live in a flat on her own, but it depends whether she wants to have only £2k a month to live on.

What is the worst that can happen? After 6 months she decides the rent is a bit high and moves or gets a flat mate?
Maybe this is part of the learning process she needs to go through. She has had her decision making taken away from her by her ex managing everything. Now she has an opportunity to discover what she wants. It is great that you are a supportive parent and I think knowing that you have her back and that she can try different options to see what is right for her would mean a lot.

We live in zone 3, two bed house which is £1200 a month, very close to a Victoria line station and we are on half of what your DD earns with a soon to be five people family.

OP you need to let her be independent, you sound very interfering. Of course she can manage on 65k.

Most of the single under 30s in my firm live in house shares in Balham . Clapham or East London way.

I can also totally see why she's not want to live in a cheap gritty flat or with a load of randoms. Obviously I have no idea of the circumstances of her divorce but can't imagine I'd want to go from living with someone I loved in a family home to living in a dump just to save a bit of cash!

I thought you were going to say she was 18 and earning under £20k OP. At 27 on £65k yes, she can afford to live in London.

@Tink2007 does your property today cost the same as what you paid?

I'm in zone 2/3 but my mortgage is 1/4 of what some now have to pay on the road.

That’s so helpful @SapatSea thank you. I’ve just phoned DD and she wasn’t aware that these ‘shared living communities’ places even existed, she’s now looking in to one called Lyvly

She should be able to manage fine on £65k. Trust me: I'm an accountant

OP, you seriously need to let go! She's 27, not 12.
I used to earn less than half of your dd's wage and lived alone in a very good part of London. My flat was small and old but perfectly adequate.

Sorry but Clapham and e.g. Dalston are totally different vibes, and many 27 year olds are looking for fun not homely, cosy atmosphere. People who love Clapham would probably hate east London life, but the reverse is absolutely true too. Falling in and out of infernos with some public school lass telling you about this one time on the lacrosse team when it was toates hilaire is not everyone’s idea of a good time.

Like PP said she's 27 and has managed to establish herself in a good career of course she can work out how much rent she can afford to pay. If I was going to engage in armchair psychology I'd suggest that having an overbearing parent who infantilises her and gives her the impression she doesn't have basic life skills will only encourage her to find another overbearing partner. She must take home about £3800 so with £1500 on rent maybe £200 on travel and £150 on bills she still has almost £2000 to live off a month which is more than many people's take home salary - she'll be absolutely fine.

That's easily enough to live on, but if I was her I would try and buy. I'm assuming she has some money from the sale of the house that she could use as a deposit? £1500 would be better invested in a mortgage than rent.

I think at 27 I'd have been wanting to move away from flat sharing not start again. She can afford it, so I'd say she should go for it and just not sign up to some obscenely long lease (unlikely anyway).

Can’t help but at the posters giving the op suggestions for other places for her dd to live. I’m sure the dd will be really pleased when her mum comes to tell her to flat hunt in Clapham or wherever on the basis of some internet rando’s say so! Also I’m a bit at the idea that all of east London is trendy or industrial or whatever. There are 21 or so postal districts in east London!

Op you need to step back. Your dd is best placed to decide what her budget is and where it will suit her to live. The fact that she’s had a moan about the price of rent does not mean it’s a good idea to crowdsource ideas for her living situation from strangers who have no idea of the details of her situation. Detach.

People who love Clapham would probably hate east London life, but the reverse is absolutely true too. Falling in and out of infernos with some public school lass telling you about this one time on the lacrosse team when it was toates hilaire is not everyone’s idea of a good time.

@Peonyonpoint this is SO TRUE. “So let me tell you about my gap yah, yah?”

At 27 I’d have felt absolutely ancient living in Clapham. Perfect when you graduate but we were all moving out of there in mid/ late 20s.

@aupresdemonarbre

Think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. I'm sure if the DD desperately wanted the advice on where to rent from a load of random middle aged women she could come on MN and ask for herself

*I’d be really irritated that at 27 my mother was concerning herself enough with my salary and outgoings to post about it on an online forum

She’s a grown woman. Leave her to make her own decisions.*

Agreed.