To quit my job because I can't afford to go

[Megapops]

I have my dream job, I absolutely love it, and thought I was on a decent salary. Recently the organisation has asked staff to go into the London office 2-3 days a week. Not a problem.

But.. just broke up with my partner who I've been livng with for a few years and I'm obviously looking at moving out into my own place now. To rent a modest, 1 bed place within an hour/hour and a half commute to work is more than my monthly salary. And to rent a room in a houseshare costs around half my salary. Living further out means more expensive train fares too. I'm looking right outside London too. (Considering moving back into a houseshare, and it costing half my salary is also making me die a bit inside).

I dont know what I'm going to do? The only solution seems to be to quit my job and move somewhere else because I literally can't afford to go to work. Although rent doesn't seem much better anywhere! Any advice?

Bletchley - fast train line about 40 mins into Euston this 1 bed is close to station and £850

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85450143?utmcampaign=property-details&utmmcontent=lettings&utmmedium=sharing&utmmsource=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_LET

is the London office officially your base location? or are you officially a home worker? If the London office isn't your base location then you can ask for travel expenses.

I don't understand how you think you are on a decent salary if you cannot afford £500 to £750 a month rent?
House share in Croydon, which is about 20 minutes by train from central London.

£900 in Wimbledon, £800 or £900 in Greenwich.

It's not luxury, and it's house share, but it would give you time to regroup?

This. I live in London near a train station and was considering taking in a commuter-lodger 2 nights a week (before I had children, no room now). I got the idea from notices up in local community colleges, centres, etc.. Gumtree etc. also.

Look at homeshare schemes where you live in an elderly persons home in return for providing some support https://amp.theguardian.com/money/2023/jan/28/low-cost-housing-rent-housing-co-ops-homeshares

You need to search the Monday to Friday website loads of nice rooms with quiet sounding midweek shares in London. Just saw a nice sounding one in mornington crescent for £450 and then you could cycle and forgo the tube. So do you have a base outside of London?

Try SpareRoom.com or MondaytoFriday, I've just checked and there's lots in London there for £400-500 a month, more for double and depending on location, but less than a houseshare and personally sharing with a family if there's some separateness may be easier than trying to gel with housemates. There's ones on there with only 2/3 nights a week, and lots by specific location, you absolutely will find something on there.

I would have a confidential chat with either your line manager or a HR person about this - you could perhaps put in a flexible working request to temporarily work from home 100% to give yourself more time to get sorted. This is a big adjustment so you would need some breathing space to adjust. I hope your colleagues are empathetic and realise a temporary arrangement over losing a staff member is worthwhile. Good luck.

Stevenage is 20 mins direct to Kings Cross. Lots of HMO properties here as we have a lot of industry and young professionals, also a large hospital too. Worth a look.

Maybe the much hated HS2 is the answer! I pay £580 for a nice one bedroom maisonette in the Midlands in a decent neighbourhood (lots of nice houses with expensive German saloons on drives etc) and it's gonna be around 45 mins down to London. Have a separate garage in a block 30 secs walk from front door and front and back garden too.

Have you looked at being a house guardian? Try adhocproperty , there are other companies as well

Where are you looking in Crawley? I can see quite a few studio apartments for under £1000pcm.

If you go a bit further out, St Neots or Huntingdon have cheaper rent and both on train lines to London.

We moved away from Surrey more than 30 years ago. It was unaffordable then and even worse now. Can you do your job anywhere other than London because moving away might be your best bet? House share is really only other option and the big problem with London and the South East is expensive housing.

OP if you’re trying to whip up a woe is me / isn’t everything so expensive thread at least get your basic facts right. A quick look on Rightmove shows a number of flats / studios in Crawley for under £1k. £1,500 will get you a 3 bed house or a luxury 2 bed / 2 bath flat is around £1,300. You say you’re on a decent salary, say that’s £40k to put you slightly above average, that would be a take home of c£2,400. You can easily rent a room in London zones 3-4 for considerably less than half that.

London hotel prices are INSANE right now.
A house share doesn't have to be a terrible experience. Many of us have done it and found friends for life!
Good luck. Sorry about your break up. Now is the time to embrace london not leave

Ex council flat, Crawley. £950pcm.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135530789

Instead of quitting your job, which is a bad idea

Take a week off sick

Look for somewhere else to live, be proactive

Do you have any friends or family that you can speak with ?

I earn almost 40k and need to be at Canary Wharf for work. I'm originally from the Essex area and that's where my family live - but I don't want to live anywhere near them, or where I grew up.

The flat I live in now is owned by my ex - it's small but newish and quite nice. Cheaper flatshares look really depressing. Already feeling down about a breakup, it's an extra kick in the teeth to have to move to a box room in a flat with a cleaning rota and set times you're allowed to use the kitchen!

Thank you, I did see that earlier actually and will enquire.

Sorry, I don't have answers, but I just wanted to say I feel your pain, and I hope things work out for you.

Appreciate the suggestions to rent somewhere in the week in London, but I have nowhere to live the rest of the time 😂I think renting two places would be complicated and difficult and also I'd need two deposits.

I second the intermediate rent idea. Here's some info about the Tower Hamlets scheme as you work in that borough. Also the newlon trust because someone I know got a place quickly so it may be faster to go direct to the housing associations (no idea if it is, just a thought).

https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/housing/housing_options_service/Looking-for-housing/Intermediate-housing-register.aspx

https://www.newlon.org.uk/finding-home/intermediate-rent/

House sharing after living alone is rubbish, but maybe doing it for six months to build up savings/while you find a decent, reasonably priced (for London...) place might be worth it. When I moved into a house share after years of living alone I asked the landlord about leaving early if I found a replacement tenant. He agreed. That seems to be pretty standard.

In Crawley?? I live in Sutton and rent a studio flat. There's places round here for under £1k a month. Look at Sutton/Mitcham/Morden

Also Redhill it's cheap there