Many threads...on lifestyle

[Choices321]

NC for this.

Have I just woken up in a parallel universe or what's going on here with so many threads about it being WILD/HARD etc to live in England/London etc without inheritance etc etc and not being able to buy on single income etc. Even some say it is impossible with 2 incomes.

Look, I chose to study hard (5 years and more to qualify), surviving on 4/5 hour sleep throughout my 20s and early 30s to get good grades and to do well in my demanding and difficult career.

ALSO, I flat shared when I used LOGIC that I was hardly at home as worked all the time, so why pay for walls?

Because I was so busy working on my career, it meant I had no time for holidays except 3 weeks each year to see mum; and therefore not many opportunities to spend (waste money) on useless things.

So, I was able to buy a 2 bed flat in Zone 3 on SINGLE income aged 29. So I find it insulting that people want to say you need to be in a couple to afford that. I have since, again on my own, managed to buy a flat in Zone 1.

NONE of that would be possible without choosing a difficult degree and a career where I could earn enough, or if had pissed my early earnings on renting studio flats etc or endless holidays or days at cinemas.

Some posters quite rightly say those who cannot get £350K homes with their spouse who is a low earner, made a poor choice of spouse etc etc I agree. etc etc etc

No inheritance here and none will be forth coming- ever. In fact, I support extended families. So, I knew the hand I had been dealt and made my choices accordingly! How is MN going to help with the choices you made 10 or so years ago? We cannot!

Choices people. Choices. Thank you.

This thread is not about CoL crisis. It is also not about millennials.

Oh you sweet summer child 👧

Goes to free university, buys a house before they became unaffordable and then makes choices about government that pulls the ladder up from above leaving all those below stranded.

You sound delightful.

Sorry I couldn’t resist

Is a property worth the sacrifices in your early adult years and all the hard work?

I'm thinking they are way over valued. They take away having a life just to have shelter. A home should be affordable for everyone whether they are rich or poor, academic or not and shouldn't demand sacrifices. Obviously big, expensive houses are an exception but a bog standard semi in a bog standard town should be manageable for anyone who works in an average job on average hours.

You don't get that time back either!

Now she's middle aged and life has passed her by

I find this so sad

Because property prices haven't changed at all in the last 20 years 🙄

Some posters quite rightly say those who cannot get £350K homes with their spouse who is a low earner, made a poor choice of spouse etc etc I agree.

I honestly thought that the idea that people make a good match for money had died with Jane Austen.

Hard hat on but I agree. Not in London but I bought my first house (semi detached in the outskirts of a medium city) as a single person in 2015 aged 26. No deposit from parents, and at that time I was only earning £21k. Took out the absolute max mortgage which was 4.5x that and the rest was a deposit. No 'trick' to it, I'd just been working since I was 16 and saving consistently, because I really wanted to own my own home. I have one sibling and multiple friends who all did similar (bought their first homes on their own (i.e. not with a partner) in their late 20s/early 30s). None of us have great career jobs or had big deposits from parents. We just....saved.

I personally didn't find it that much of a struggle and still had holidays and lots of fun in those 10 years, just not loads of expensive treats, and admittedly lived in some slightly divey house shares.

I've literally been told on MN that I am lying about this by the way! For some reason some people insist that it's impossible to live a decent life unless you earn megabucks or have inherited money. I don't know whether it's because they think it's implicitly criticising them for not doing the same thing, ignoring the fact everyone's circumstances are different.

I agree it's not possible for everyone.
And I also understand that for lots of people making the sacrifices necessary (giving up things they enjoy for an extended amount of time, or moving far away from family and friends) just for a house, isn't worth it, which is completely fair enough.
And for some people it's not even a matter of choice, due to outside factors (cost of childcare, caring commitments, disability, etc.) they just do not have the money to spare to save/ability to move somewhere more affordable.

But it does piss me off to be told it's completely impossible for anyone under 40/single/in a certain area to be able to afford to buy a house.

Sleep deficiency can interfere with work, school, driving, and social functioning. You might have trouble learning, focusing, and reacting. Also, you might find it hard to judge other people's emotions and reactions. Sleep deficiency also can make you feel frustrated, cranky, or worried in social situations.

I am deeply aware that my DC are having a much harder time getting onto the property ladder. Life has changed.

OP just look up the starting salary for your first job and then look up the house price for a similar house you bought. All in the area where you live. You might have an epiphany that you were incredibly lucky to have been born when you were!

"Look" to you too.

NONE of that would be possible without choosing a difficult degree and a career where I could earn enough there we go then you have the academic ability and were able to do this. Not everyone can.

You seem fun, OP.

It's true, nobody else has any issues or circumstances that would make this harder for them, they are all just lazy.

It was easy to do in early 2000’s. You didn’t even need a half decent job.

😄😄😄

What a lovely OP!

If we're talking LOGIC, 40 years of pretty much comprehensive sacrifice for a flat sounds like a poor ROI..

Oh so buying new clothes is the reason I'm on my arse, not cos of my crippling divorce. Got it. Thanks OP.

WTF were you spending on clothes? 😂

Exactly. My house was bought for £67000 in 2007. It is now being sold for 170000. You absolute idiot op.

I hqd a right result, never went to uni, did admin type jobs and bought a modest house with my then boyfriend with a deposit my mum lent us that we paid back.. We split up, he signed the house over to me and then l met dh so we upsized and sold my smaller house.

But l still have empathy and understand the frustration of young people today who have a cat in hell's chance of owning prooerty.

Bit tone deaf l think op.

Oh and the recession of 2008 meant when the interest rates dropped , my mortgage went from £850 per month to £450

I don't think this will go well for you, OP.
I never say this but your opening post is pretty horrible.
I would not have wanted to live that way in my 20s. Well done to you but you don't need to be so goady about it.

I don't know why people insist on living in London.
Move up north, it's way cheaper and more fun 😅

Sounds like you've done alright op. Losing any joy in my 20s and 30s just to be able to afford a flat isn't a sacrifice I'd make, but we all have to play the hand we're dealt. I agree that some of the recent threads have been a bit much at points, but your op is a bit much in a different direction, hopefully you are exaggerating a bit for effect.

I'm an old millennial, owed property since 2012, easy commute to central London. In that time have gone from the only affordable thing which was tiny and having to watch pennies to pay the mortgage, to a nice big 4/5 bed with lovely garden and small mortgage. I'd like to say I worked hard for it - but the reality is I did at the start but it turns out my husband is much better at earning money so I gave up working hard 😆 So, I'm sure my workshy, married opinion doesn't count for much here. But, hopefully it is an example of how everyone has a different life and opportunities within it, and you make choices as you go along - you win some you lose some 🤷‍♀️

Have you always been so patronising and smug OP?