But a family of 4 in a 2 bed flat is overwhelmingly more likely to be on a far lower income than the family in a 4 bed detached
Not necessarily, lots of people I know rent small flats (eg in London or city centres to be near work), and they’re on higher than average incomes.
I think it depends on area and how often you need to move house for work etc. We were a family in a 2-bed rental flat until recently, as we’d moved around the country a lot for work. It took us a year or so to settle and buy a house (and save the deposit etc). Our incomes haven’t changed since moving to a 4-bed house, but our outgoings have increased massively. In a small flat, one of us could have left our job to be a SAHP or taken unpaid leave with little impact financially, now it would be more difficult. I’m not complaining, we chose space and a bigger mortgage over disposable income.
it's not just the higher income families that can't risk losing a job. Worst case, your family in the big 4 bed can sell it or rent it out, even if that takes a bit of time, and have some equity
I agree families with low incomes are often unable to risk losing their income too.
Selling or renting a big property to move to a smaller one is rarely a quick fix though; the sheer costs of moving are often enough to deter a lot of families, who might have big properties but are struggling to keep their heads above water. I have a friend in a huge property who now can’t afford to heat it due the impact of the pandemic on her business. She has 3 kids and no nannies/cleaners/private tutors (or partner). Yet she loves the house and is hopeful she can get her business back on track. But she’s exhausted right now as you can imagine, trying to homeschool and work enough to cover her outgoings.
Doesn't mean it's easier for higher earners either, I am one, but I'm tired of seeing people on here have little understanding of how lucky we are, because so few have friends in really difficult financial circumstances
Hmm. I have friends in really difficult financial circumstances (including some in receipt of benefits and living in HA properties). But I don’t think as myself as ‘lucky’ (more I worked very hard to climb the career ladder before having kids and married someone who had done the same). We saved and planned carefully rather than relied on luck.
I know some people have been very unlucky and their financial circumstances are due to job loss or illness. But not everyone on a high income is ‘lucky’. They may have additional problems that make them exhausted, that no amount of wealth can solve.