Is the south east too expensive for my kids

[lking12]

Is the South East too expensive for my kids?

I’m not from the South East but found more job opportunities and ended up here.
I have three young children and am increasingly perplexed how they could live a reasonable life here. My daughter wants to be a teacher, I looked up the salary and it’s £42k. How is she supposed to afford a house on that? Never mind student loans or childcare. Even if she’s in a couple I don’t get it?

I have friends on good salaries moving out back to Lancashire because they can’t afford to save and buy here. They have one child and mum earns £65k the dad £45k and it’s cheaper for them to
buy a house in Lancashire and for the higher paid one to commute into London one day a week.

I don’t want my adult children having to live with me with no prospect of moving on and I don’t want them renting all that time given how unstable that can be (which I know from personal experience of a no fault eviction and a cafe fire below the flat I rented!).

My cousins in the north west are all on the property ladder with nice houses around £200k in reasonable areas with good schools. I feel like heading back so my children don’t have to grow up in a place too expensive for them to have a decent standard of living. We’re not able to save something for them but they might possibly get an inheritance of £50k from their grandparents though hopefully that’s decades off yet.

YABU- they will be fine in South East
YANBU- pack up and go

Can your children make up their own minds about where they wish to move to when the time comes for them to build their lives? Why do you think they will continue to live near to you? I think educating them about their options is more helpful.

Im in an expensive bit of the south east and work in a school.

We find a lot of the young teachers we recruit, head off to cheaper areas to set up their lives and teaching is a young profession so its a lot of churn .

But lots of people live their adult life away from where they grew up so Im not sure its an issue. Your children might decide all the opportunities are abroad for instance. They might think an international school in dubai is where they want to be.

42k is a decent salary, and with a 50k deposit would be able to achieve a good mortgage, particularly for a starter home.
However, that kind of salary is for experienced teachers, certainly no where near that as a newly qualified teacher.
There is a good chance where your children go to uni/who they meet will determine where they end up living. If you like where you live I would not move, they could end up all over the country/world!

You should think about you too. Does your job depends on living in the SE? Do you have friends? Do you like living where you do? Moving somewhere new can be stressful. And they could just move there when they are older themselves. That said, if you are going to do it, do it while they are still little.

Starter homes round here are £400k, if you’re lucky! That’s when I went on rightmove and searched in a 3 mile radius. Just crazy I think.

Yes I know adult children can move away and go where they want of course but now I’ve had children I’ve really struggled with being away from my family and hometown, so incidentally might end up moving anyway.
One big factor in that is I just don’t see without a big inheritance etc how my kids can crack on like I did. Our house inflation has well outstripped my wage inflation and we were just lucky to buy when we did I think!

A good salary in the South East is about £100k+ People who live in the South East and earn below that either struggle financially or have a spouse who earns a lot more.

If you stay in the South East I’d encourage your children to aspire to higher paid jobs eg banking / insurance / law / accountancy management consultancy, and not touch a job in the public sector unless they marry rich.

Most young people start off in flats, though, not houses. And 42k is for very experienced teachers and is a good salary. Newly qualified ones won’t earn that. But I do understand. My grown-up DDs live with me in London and don’t earn anything like 42k. Nor do I. It’s not ideal.

Well, that’s patently not true. I don’t know anyone with that sort of salary, and I’m in London. DH and I together don’t earn anything like that.

Why does where you live dictate where your adult children will live? I haven't lived in the same town as my parents since I was 18. I would probably have a better standard of life there as the cost of living is higher where I am now, but my own life led me here (job, partner etc). For 10 years I wasn't even in the same country as my parents. It isn't your responsibility to think of how they will manage living in x place as adults, that's up to them.

As an aside, I do now live in the south east myself. Two salaries, we manage. I commute 5 miles into a very expensive city from a much cheaper village. Also, I know a lot of teachers down here and none of them are on as much as 42k!

Where are you getting a starter hime for 250?!

I only know one person with that income and they are way above average in terms of lifestyle. Eg kids in private school, house worth at least 800k.

That’s when I went on rightmove and searched in a 3 mile radius

Well thats too restrictive - dont worry about your dc adult living to this extent

Yep I moved to the south east in my mid 20’s and I’ve been here 22yrs now. Renting. It’s only now with a recent promotion and now earning 60k and with a decent deposit that I’m looking to buy. But that’s a 2bed flat. I’m contemplating moving back north in a few years when DD is 18 and so I’m in two minds about buying now, as it’s not a great time. But I’ve seen a flat in block I’m in that I like. Will see. My kids will be ok as bank of Dad will help them. His mum lives in a house in North London worth over 1 million, so he’s going to give his share to the kids to help them buy as realistically it’s so hard for kids in this area to ever buy. Helps if you’re buying in a couple of course, but here you’re looking over half a million for a semi. Ridiculous

Same, I’m in sourh east and people get by on less than that.

3 miles radius on rightmove covers most of east London into Kent. It’s not a massive place for all its population and I live in an already cheap area of South East London for example.
I got the £42k just googling average teacher salary in London, assume that might be an experienced teacher in their 30’s, head of a department or year etc. Either way the teacher I know is moving with her children for the third time in three years after a no fault eviction, no chance of buying even though her partner is an engineer. The other teacher I know is married to the head of marketing at a travel firm so it’s his salary that made buying a house possible.
This image speaks for itself about London. I just feel sad if they wanted to settle near to us or have our support it’s not likely to be affordable to them.

I think your planning way too far ahead. If your children are young they may not even want to go into teaching when they finish education. They might emigrate etc. Meet a partner from Australia etc.
It's not normal to be micro managing and planning your kids lives and where they will live when they are so young.

It’s on my mind as I’ve been thinking about moving back to the north west myself anyway to be closer to family as I’ve really missed that support with my children.

And I disagree although not excessively worried lots of parents I know are concerned about what house prices and cost of living means either for the bank
if Mum or Dad or their children. I think it is pretty normal.

I get your point. And no harm in planning for the future but googling prospective wages for your kids is taking it to the next level.
Enjoy their childhood and a lot can change in even 10years. Let your children naturally evolve, their priorities in life might not necessarily be the same is yours. It's stifling.

OP if you feel that moving to the NW will give you and your children a better lifestyle for the next 10 years or so then move.

However you cannot plan careers for your children.

Myself and several of my siblings do jobs that didn't exist when we were children. Some of my younger family members, so nephews and nieces, do jobs that didn't exist 15 years ago.

You also cannot plan where they will live. Most people I know are in long term relationships/marriages with people who weren't born and didn't grow up where they did.

I'm in the SE and don't think about it. I've never lived anywhere else so don't notice that it's more or less expensive than anywhere else. My DC will find their way one way or another.

My niece is 28 and a teacher. She has a lovely three bed end of terrace in a nice area which she bought two years ago for around £350k with her husband who works in property maintenance. They have a lovely holiday once a year and both drive nice newish cars. They don't appear to be struggling. She has always been very sensible with money though.

I think you’re being a bit silly, your children may go off to university in a different part of the country and settle there. So you may move back up north but they may all live down south!
Also, anything could happen. I earn less than £50K in the SE but my H earns substantially more. So we’re comfortable and have a house etc. I’m not worried for my kids at all.. they will make their way

If you move to the north your DC may end up moving to the south for uni or work anyway. Not all of the south east is as expensive, round us you can buy a starter house for £300k or a flat for £250k.

Young kids

Dont worry about something way ahead
Encourage them to vote for a govt which will prioritise quantitiesof social and low rent housing of quality for teachers snd other key workers do there are options other than huge mortgage

Why are you even thinking about this. They will grow up and do whatever they chose.

I live in the SE, an easy commute to London, in what I would think of as a 'starter house' in a lovely area with great schools. It is currently valued under 250k - I suspect some folk have quite demanding standards of a 'starter house' if they think they can't find one for under 400K...