100k+ salary, is it worth it?

[Goingtogetslated]

For the record…Not trying to be insensitive…

partner and I both earn approx 150k each. Working long and unpredictable hours with high levels of stress and responsibility.

Yet here we are living in a 3 bed terrace in the east end of london, a basic car, neither of us into high end expenses/dining out/clothes. We used to holiday a lot pre children, I guess would classify as our major expenditure in the past.

But is it actually worth it? A decent 4/5 bed house (with kerb appeal I admit) in the commuter belt seems to be coming in at 1.5 million minimum. Add the commuting costs/ extended nursery hours, paid help required theres barely anything left - relatively speaking.

Would we not be better off sacking it all in, moving to the countryside and earning enough to pay the bills?

We appear to be stuck in this middle ground where we earn too much to have any allowances from the state, contribute a lot to the government yet not enough for any real benefits in lifestyle

Just change jobs. A WFH job would solve your commuting problem. I found out that it is definitely possible to get a very well-paid low-stress job.

This whole thread is bullshit. How does the OP imagine that the vast majority of people in this country live? Most people manage to get by on a fraction of 300k a year. And she bemoans not getting any government support? She is one of the 1%.

I get it. Our household income isn’t exactly the same but take home per month is very close because we currently live where there is no income tax. When we lived in the largest (and most expensive ofc) city it seemed like it disappeared in the blink of an eye. We moved out; got a house and property that comparably would’ve been 2-3m if not more for under 750k, and even with the commute costs etc the quality of living is significantly better. If you can, I would.

We appear to be stuck in this middle ground where we earn too much to have any allowances from the state, contribute a lot to the government yet not enough for any real benefits in lifestyle

Income of over 100k puts you each in the top 2% of earners. And you are both on 100k.

Have a think about that. A real hard think.

@Anskl what do you find difficult to believe? I am just stating that we appear to earn a substantial salary but in real terms it doesn’t seem to stretch far.

I can understand in a way as I wouldn't be able to handle most jobs due to my mental health.

I imagine the stresses of this (fantasy?) 100k + job would probably be pretty major.

Don't live in a 1.5 million house then

Problem solved.

'required lifestyle'

Omg I'm dying.

That's piss funny.

Don't live in a 1.5 million house then. Problem solved.

Yep. It really goes beyond #firstworldproblems .

OP I do understand you. In a fairly similar boat living in London. Not quite 300k joint income, more like 220k which is still a decent amount but honestly not much left after mortgage, childcare etc. V stressful jobs too which we've both worked extremely hard for over the last decade or so. Often wonder if it's all worth it.

Of course you were going to get slated on here though (as you already knew!)

You’ve answered your own question then. This is what you want. So yes it’s worth it.

I’m not convinced you’d survive in the country if you can’t survive on £300k in London.

Move slightly further out of town.
4/5 beds in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire are affordable on that income.
The Medway towns….lovely castle and cathedral town of Rochester would get you a huge garden 4/5 bed detached with some excellent grammar schools. £1mil or so on the best roads.

Fast train into London….easy.

It's the London house prices. You ar ejust saying that earning such high salaries you would think your lifestyle would be better.
I think I would move out and commute in a few days a week maybe? High UK taxes too. We live in a high cost of living city and earn a decent combined ( less than you) but at least we do get a 4 bed here so even though we feel like we pay a small fortune each month for it it is in a nice area.

Thing is people have good lives in the UK on far less, but maybe not in London unless they bought a long time ago. Then some people are really struggling and cannot even imagine earning your kind of salary.

the “required lifestyle “ is costs associated to cleaner/dog walker/childcare on call 24/7

£500 on commuting when you live in London…?

@Florenz im not bemoaning the government for lack of support. I just recognise in some situations it benefits more than others for example a single parent household threshold of ~60k vs two earning 99k and the latter is entitled to tax free childcare.
It’s intriguing to me that I pay our childminder to look after our children when they are sick yet she can only do the hours where her child is at free nursery yet she doesn’t have any intention to find full time employment.
I’ve not always earned this salary, so I am well aware of how other people live. But is it so wrong to imagine there should be a little more available?

You don't need to do that, you just seem to lack perspective and have very high expectations of life.

You have to make a choice: Simple less stressful lifestyle with less material benefits, or material benefits with all the stress. Few people get both.

Ps
I know ones about to go on the market in a few weeks in ME1 ( rochester ) keep your eye out 🤫😉

Yes exactly this. Really annoys me that people who are high earners are not allowed to post about their salaries. OP wasn't bragging...was simply asking whether working so hard for 100k+ salary is worth it when in real terms it doesn't stretch that far. Also clear from the title of thread what it's about so if it's so offensive don't look at yhr thread.

Perhaps you should switch jobs (an income) with your childminder to see what her required lifestyle looks like!

That’s the key thing. I’m sure you could get a nice house for less within commuting distance. Maybe a 3 bed with a 3-4k mortgage instead of £6k. That would give you the extra 2-3k spare which gives the nice lifestyle with holidays, clothes and dining.

You need to decide whether the 5 bed house and covering everything with a bit spare is more important than say a 3 bed house and covering everything with a lot more spare, is more important.

I can see that a 6K mortgage would be crippling for almost anyone but I just can't see that you need to pay that, even in commuter belt. I don't know what kerb appeal is but I live in an area of the South East with an easy train commute to central London and you could easily buy a lovely 4 or 5 bedroom home for 800-950K. You could probably get one for 600-700K in fact. You do not need to spend over a million on housing.

And you definitely aren't middle ground. I see myself as middle ground and I'm a single earner on 44K. In terms of disposable income I think of myself as a privileged, high earner because I am single with no children. Obviously 44K in London with 2 young children would be a real struggle though. It's relative, I do get that. But I don't think there's any level of relative which makes your combined income anything but astronomical. Let alone middle!

OP said 1500 including bills.

We earn around half your family income, we have two children, a large flat in shoreditch and a holiday home in the UK. If we wanted to we could afford a four bed detached house within a decent commuting distance without spending a fortune on the actual commute. We could afford it as we aren’t wasting money on things we don’t need.

The reason that house prices are so high in London is because there are people "earning" 300k a year.