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?

I've posted a link for some one bedrooms in Greenwich and the surrounding areas. It's in zone 2 if you use North Greenwich tube. A lot less than
1500 - 2000 per month. It's totally doable!

@Sunnydaysp she won't be moving or viewing anywhere for a while due to Covid. No one is willing to let people view and certainly no sharers.

Daughter of a friend is sharing with other professionals and finding it very hard; they all self isolate within the house and it's VERY dificult.

Regardless it doesn't matter what you think.
She needs to go and live her life, make her own mistakes and grow.
If it turns out she can't manage then she will have to change her plans.
Thats life.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/property/greenwich/?bedsmin=1&pageesize=25&pricefrequency=perrmonth&pricemax=1250&priceemin=1000&q=Greenwich&radius=0&resultssort=lowesttprice

Sorry, the links are not working and showing different prices. Type Greenwich into zoopla, max £1250 pm and one bedroom.

Yep, she can do it. I lived alone in central London in my early thirties on a similar wage. I had a v sweet, if v small, flat which cost c £1400, I was fine for cash. I had no debts though which meant my outgoings were simply rent / bills / tube / miscellaneous (hair, clothes, etc). I wasn't able to save anything. Having said that I was out all the time, lovely holidays, bought lots of nice clothes, etc etc.

I would avoid anything in the upper £2k a month range though if I were her.

@WhyCantIThinkOfAGoodOne

*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*

A mortgage certainly isn’t dead money.

There’s a point at which you will own the property outright and that’s the point. To be 55 and mortgage free is far more financially savvy than renting forever more until the day you die...

I’m not talking about getting a mortgage in this particular thread- renting would be better initially.

My ds lived in London on his work placement for a year on £19,000 - shared a flat in a nice area and could walk to work (that was a key thing about the flat). Money was tight but it was perfectly possible.

I would LOVE to live in London. On that salary, she can easily afford it and I'd be encouraging this.

I'm 29 and I earn £1750 a month, which is about to go down to £1250 as I'm quitting my job to live on a PhD stipend for the next three years. She is single and should enjoy her cash and freedom while she has it.

If I won the lottery I'd buy a flat in zone 1 and move tomorrow!

OP I’m not going to comment on whether I think your DD will be able to afford a flat in London as I don’t know about living costs etc. in the city, but I just wanted to say that I applaud you for looking out for her and offering her advice. That’s what Mums are for (and Dads) no matter what age the “child”. I still went to my DM for advice and guidance up until she died aged 90yrs. Having grown up children doesn’t mean you stop worrying and caring about them.

She’ll be fine - I’d try and steer her towards slightly cheaper areas by saying that the extra £200-400 she’ll save on rent she can put towards a deposit for a flat.

I live in zone 2/3 in a lovely area south of the river and 1 bed flats are around £850 for a studio to £2000 for a nice new build with views of the river.

Of course she earns enough. She will have nearly 2k spending money after bills. Even if she only put away £1k a month she could have a decent nest egg by 30.

She is on a very large salary. The majority of people earn much less and manage. I don't understand your issue.

Stealth post

You need to butt out and let her make her own decisions. She's 27 and is doing well professionally. I have no doubt she has the capacity to make this decision. It might not be the decision you or anyone on here might make but it's her life!

At that age 10 years ago I was £50k and loved on a beautiful flat off high street ken sharing with two others (strangers when moved on but worked out brilliantly). £1k a month including bills. The key is to go high quality and own bathrooms.

I absolutely LOVED this period of my life.

I lived in London by myself in my mid-twenties and it was a blast. Didn't want to share, was happy to pay a premium to get a bedsit/one bed flat all to myself. On that salary it's more than fine.

No one who really knows London working would describe £65k as a “very high salary” for living alone

Let her go and do what she likes

Bringringbring12

Well that's interesting as I've lived and worked here my whole life

Good for her ... life's too short of a long commute, she is 27 no ties should be out having fun...
Back off let her live her life ....

London is so expensive (I've been here 10 years). I'd rather flat share with one person and have more money to save and go out etc.

I'm a few years older but I did that after becoming single at the exact same age. I couldn't have afforded to live alone but I made some great friends flat sharing and it's more fun!

When she's a few years older and earns more, that's the time to stop having housemates!

And you think £65k is a “very large salary”

For living and working in London?

What part of London?

Yes she can afford it on a £65k salary and yes, she'll be fine living alone. However, what is her long-term plan - does she want to be lining someone else's pocket with her salary every month or does she want to save and buy her own place? If the latter, then if she's determined to get her own place she should be disciplined about saving a decent chunk of her salary so she can work towards buying somewhere in the future. If she doesn't have a lump sum saved up now then renting is her only option, but she should seriously consider a house share. They are not all skuzzy student-style living. I lived in a house share throughout my early-mid 20s and it was a lot more fun and sociable than living alone, plus it saves a lot of money - money that can be saved up for her own place either in London or outside.

At 27 it's high time she learned how to manage her bills and finances on her own and on her salary she should be able to manage just fine. In her shoes though I would be looking at buying instead of renting as surely she will have some money from the sale of the former marital home as a deposit and on her salary she should be able to manage a mortgage on a 1 bed flat or 2 bed and take in a lodger. Time she spread her wings and enjoyed her independence, I'm sure she will love living the single life in London.