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?

27, single, no kids and can afford the rent in central London. Why the hell wouldn't you move to the best city in the world?

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.

This made me snort reminiscently.

WTF lmao. Of course she earns enough. Weird post.

At 27 - this really is her own call to make
And if she doesn't know the cost of living by that age, this is an ideal opportunity to find out.

I actually don't think renting is "dead money". DH and I, in our mid twenties, spent 3 years renting in a very nice part of London we'd not be able to afford to buy in, ever. We had the most lovely lifestyle - could walk into central London, absolutely gorgeous place to live. We had the best time. I wouldn't trade it. We bought in a different part of London, could have probably got somewhere a bit bigger if we'd used that 3 years to save, but you know what? I don't regret it. We had a fab life and we'll never get that time back again.

just leave her to try, if she finds it is not affordable she can move out, she should get an AST with a 6 month break clause in case, if she has got herself that well a paying job at that age she can't be as feckless as you presume?

@Sunnydaysp I think yours and her chief concern should be her job security. I am intrigued about what she does for work earning that kind of income at 27 with no student loan ( is she a graduate or did you pay off her uni fees?)

My guess is she is in IT of some sort or maybe law or banking because they are the only jobs paying that kind of money at that age in London.

Is her job secure ? If not, what happens next? Moving back to the suburbs?

I don't agree with posters saying you are wrong to ask for advice. I guess none of them have adult children. When you do, there is no cut off age for not caring, especially if they are only 5 years out of uni .

Re rents- you can't get a decent house share for under around £800-£900 these days if you want Zone 1, and a flat for 1 person will be over £1K a month, and a long commute by tube is horrendous, so she needs to bear all travel time in mind.

@notagaincharlie

Why doesn't she go into a house share? She's only 27 and it seems very young to be living on your own

😳 ehh? She’s 27, not 16- how’s that too young to live on her own?

Not to mention she’s managed to get a very good job with a great salary, so I assume she’s more than capable! 😂

I actually don't think renting is "dead money". DH and I, in our mid twenties, spent 3 years renting in a very nice part of London we'd not be able to afford to buy in, ever.

Exactly, I lived in West Hampstead, our house was absolutely incredible and a few minutes walk from the tube; I would never be able to afford a mortgage there, the only way was to rent. It isn't the same all over the country though, but definitely for London absolutely agree with your post.

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.

Seriously. She knows what she wants, she has a perfectly workable plan, and she's twenty-fucking-seven and financially independent, not seventeen. There's no need and no place for your opinion in there about how silly she is. If she's wrong, she can move. Your determination to keep her tied to the apron strings and "protect" her is not what a 27yo needs.

notaaincharlie why do you think she is to young to live on her own ? She is a 27 years old grown woman, this is 2020 not 1820

A Mortgage is dead money too as you're paying the bank. A house isn't always a great short term investment (and at 27 she may well want to move again in 5 years or less). If you want an investment there are other options which leave you way less leveraged and exposed than buying a property.

Either way a 27 year old can decide all this for herself. She doesn't need her mu suggesting areas to live in or deciding whether it's best to rent or buy or flatshare.

Is her job secure ? If not, what happens next? Moving back to the suburbs?

..? Who the fuck knows? And if she's renting, then yes, she can always move back to the suburbs, or into a house share, if her income dips. If she's already earning that much she has marketable skills and will ultimately be fine.

She can afford it, for sure. She just needs to be realistic about the flat she wants to live in/location. I moved into my one bed flat in Walthamstow at 27 - £1300 pcm including bills. Of course, 'chi chi' areas are going to be more expensive, but if she wants to do this, it's completely feasible.

I absolutely would if I was in those circumstances. I enjoyed urban living on a 5th of that income.

I am quite envious of her, young single on a a good wage and living in one of the best capitals in the world. She could just go for it.

Tell her to look in the Wandsworth borough it's the cheapest council tax in the country I think so she'll save a couple of thousand a year, nice areas too but not as trendy as east London. Westminster borough is cheap council tax too and covers Pimlico which is nice but cheaper than central Westminster. I'm an estate agent and she's definitely pass out affordability checks on her wage. I've lived in London 12 years now, encourage the move she'll love it! Tell her to put a 6 month break clause in her contract so she has flexibility

Yes she can afford it. I wouldn’t want to live in a house share even at 27, so I don’t blame her for that. Living on your own in London is great fun! Leave her to enjoy it.

^Council tax £250
Gas/Electric £100
Water £50^

Her bills won't be anywhere near that though will they if she gets a nice modern well insulated flat and is out at work and socialising a lot too.

Of course she can easily afford it. I'd look to rent somewhere that's reasonably close to work but also good for leisure and socialising, safe etc. She's got to have plenty of choice on that salary and keep an eye on the property market if she thinks buying will be something she wants to do, considering what the coronavirius fallout might do to prices. Yes renting is dead money but so can buying and selling in what's likely to be a time of turmoil in the next year or two at least.

She doesn't want to buy now and face a drop in value and also wants to consider her position in a few years time if she might have met someone new and wants to start a family, ie not buying a tiny flat.

My DS1 is 28 and earns a little less than your daughter. He shares a spacious 2 bed flat with a friend, they are both "young professionals" they pay ab;out £800 each for the flat and my son as saved a considerable amount despite having a very active social life (in non corona times). They have plenty of space with large bedrooms and a good sized lounge, plus eat in kitchen, which is better than a cramped small flat to yourself. If you are new to London sharing has many advantages, not least an introduction into friendship groups, social outings etc. I think your daughter will manage fine financially, the social side is more of a struggle if you don't know people living there already.

I’m actually very jealous although I earned that sort of money in my 20s and I lived in Birmingham. I wasn’t divorced and saved for a house deposit and for a wedding.

I’m gutted we never lived in London - or even moved abroad as we both had very portable jobs at that age and could have taken advantage of living in Dubai or Australia etc and lived tax free.

Oh well no regrets we made our choices and we are happy - however she can afford to live in London and have a great life! Leave her to it!

@ChainsawBear Maybe make your point just a bit more forcefully?

What is wrong with a parent asking for advice? Do you have adult children?

As for her moving back if she loses her job- that can be a big issue psychologically so there is nothing wrong at all in thinking about what may go wrong rather than it being a horrible shock if it does.

It's called Plan B.

So she's been married, owned a home with her husband and is now divorcing but doesn't know the cost of living/bills? But then if you think 65k is not enough to live on as a single person then perhaps that is telling.

No, 65k isn't enough to never have to think about what you are spending, yes, it's more than enough to live on as a single person and still have a comfortable life.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/property/greenwich/?resultssort=lowesttprice&bedsmin=1&includeesharedaccommodation=false&pageesize=25&pricefrequency=perrmonth&price_max=1250&q=Greenwich&radius=0

A mortgage is not dead money though as a previous person said, as you end up with a fully paid off house at the end of it. With renting you end up with nothing other than increasing rent costs.