To feel there is no future for children unless they

[Honeyyourfamilar]

unless they start a business or are super academic or excel in their careers.

I grew up in a working class neighbourhood in London (zone 6 so maybe not London London) and so many of the parents were normal working class people who owned their own homes: postman, bus drivers, dinner ladies, mechanics. There was a couple who both worked in supermarkets and they owned their own home. In a few families only the bloke worked and that was enough to sustain the family - I am maybe showing my age.

These were people in their early 30s who were financially secure. Now those houses are worth £500k plus and there is no way someone working a low paid job could afford that.

Two people making £30k a year will get £240k mortgage, where is the other amount going to come from?

I think that young people don't have a future here anyone.

The only way someone who isn't earning a decent wage can afford to buy a house is if they get an inheritance or if their parents sell their £500k house, that they purchased for £30k, and downsize, and give a deposit to their kids.

The amount of families renting and dependent on housing benefit is just a disgrace. It also means people stay in horrible relationships because they cannot afford to leave.

This country is a ***.

YABU.

London is just an odd place. Move away and find a nice community elsewhere.

If people moved away from London then there would be less demand for rentals and prices would drop.

Plenty of nice towns where £250k will get you a decent sized family home. Of course there's employment outside of London. Academics aren't the only way to a good job. Having ambition is just as important as well as a good work ethic.

Not everyone lives in bloody London. Young people do have a future, of course they do. I know of someone who has saved up and just bought their first flat in their early 20’s, with no help from parents. Property prices are more expensive, but there are flats near where I live for 75-100k and it’s a nice area.

No, no one in the North has a job 🤦‍♀️

The North isn’t all cheap either.

@Radiantblur One issue is trickle down effect on actual local locals who are still earning at local rates. If an area has an influx of Londoners. We have some Londoners who bought in lockdown on our road. They paid 500k, it was crazy overall at that time. I reckon they paid 150k too much. Seems cheap to them probably. Talk about fall in to your stereotype, not at all friendly.

It doesn't sound different to how its always been. There was a small amount of time with the Baby Boomers, where property was affordable for most but most of the time the working folk have always rented.

To be fair, though the cities themselves are expensive there are plenty of decent suburbs within easy commuting distance that are reasonably priced. Obviously the leafier suburbs are ridiculously high but others are affordable.

You’re kind of right to an extent, although I know lots of tradespeople who earn a lot of money (not sure if you class that as starting their “own business”).

I’m from a small former industrial town in the North and know lots of “ordinary” people who own their own homes and are doing fine - postmen, shop workers,
labourers. They don’t live in mansions but have kids and have a life.

But it was affordable, my parents first family home was detached in West London and was £16000, they got money knocked off as the owner wanted a quick sell as he was moving for retirement. This was the mid 70s.

No one who is young enough to have kids today (mid-late 40s) will have been in the bracket of buying a £30k house that is now worth £500k! That was the generation before

It's not just London is it, this applies in the nicer parts of any major city, even the north. All my friends live in smaller, cheaper houses than their parents did despite having better qualifications and careers. A lot of us are the first generation to go to university and have professional careers rather than jobs but even with 2 adults working we're getting less than 1 adult with a "job" rather than career used to be able to provide. I never thought I'd still be living in a 2bed flat in my mid 40's but unless I magically find £250k down the back of the sofa or move out into the sticks i'll be here for the foreseeable future. Oh, and I live up north!!

"House pricess_ have risen by more than 800 per cent in some parts of the country over the past 30 years"

"Each of the past three decades also tells a different story, with mammoth growth across the country between 1995 and 2005 not occurring again over the two decades that follow. And in 2015 to 2025, some of the areas in London that previously had rapid price increases have actually seen prices fall before inflation is factored in.
Instead, over the past 10 years it has been areas in the North West of England, in Salford, Oldham and Manchester, that have had the fastest growth."

The financial crash, changes to mortgage lending, stagnating wages have all had an impact. it's not just supply and demand, affordability does matter.

I’m surprised that starting a business is being recommended as more secure as I have seen so many businesses close down the last few years. What sort of businesses are generally more secure?

That's true actually! My parents had been married 12 years and were late 30s when they first bought.

It’s even worse in Scotland. Not only are we all grossly obese and unemployed, we live on deep fried Mars bars, trip over the drug addicts every time we go out and it’s permanently minus 10 degrees C even in August.

Yes, everyone works in the whippet-making factory 🙄

I can see where you are coming from. In my home country you get married young (usually 1-2. partner) as soon as you finish the uni (they are free, so everybody is going), then parents/in-laws give you some money to buy a plot of land where it takes 3-5 years to gradually save up and build a house and usually many family members help in this way or the other, too. BUT, there are some sacrifices that go with it, too - people don't 'enjoy' life as much as people in the UK do, so there are no stags in Spain, trips to Thailand, etc. You might go on a honeymoon to Turkey/Egipt/Tunesia, but many people don't do even that - they prefer to save up for their property. For the majority of people 1 yearly holiday at the local seaside/lake district is considered sufficient. And when the house is ready, the couple starts trying for a baby. So the life is very traditional, quite mundane, settled and family-oriented - not sure whether the UK people would love to go for it - I guess it would be like going back in time for them, LOL.

😂😂😂😂

No, everyone who lives north of the M25 is unemployed.

Ridiculous question

It's interesting though that property prices are increasing in the North generally and flat lining in the South. I think as the cities become bigger with more companies based outside London and more working remotely the prices will even out generally across the country. We live in the North but in an expensive area and house prices are comparable to the South outside of London itself.
Yes I do worry about our kids. DH and I would consider downsizing to a flat when older to release equity as all our money is tied up in our house.

I can sympathise a bit with your reasoning, OP, but it isn't necessarily the case. I've got five kids (one lives overseas, so we'll exclude her). None of them are exceptionally bright (except possibly eldest DD who has autism and ADHD, so hasn't reached full potential). One is an accountant, not because of cleverness but from an aptitude for maths and hard work. He and his wife have bought a house in York (very pricey city, but they work hard). Eldest DD works for a scientific firm, is buying a house with her girlfriend outside the city, eldest DS works, rents quite comfortably with his wife, saving for a house. Youngest DD is buying a house solo, works for a charity. North Yorkshire. It's not cheap as chips, but it's doable, great place to live and there are jobs.

Are there jobs there?

Unbelievable.

That's right. Outside of London there are no shops, restaurants, schools, hospitals, police stations, airports, trains, buses, farms, factories, cleaners, nurseries, care homes, garages, universities, cinemas, theatres, museums etc to employ anyone.

We all just sit around all day.

In a way though it is not that outlandish to want to stay in the south of the country if that's where you are from. If properties are bought up and rented out on mass and Air BNBs dominate your landscape then there is something wrong with that. I now live on the south coast the foreign invested properties sitting empty has totally changed the area as it used to be a more balanced demographic of young and old and you could start a family here, now like London, infant schools are going to be closed as the birth rate is so low as people are mainly young renters.

No, no one works north of Watford. Not one single person. They just sit watching Coronation Street and eating pies.

I live in the north east and in the last few years have noticed there is more people moving up from down south due to property prices. This has been suggested by a few people on the thread.

All this will do is push up house prices in the area which is already struggling with holiday lets and buy to let. I completely understand that it gives people a better quality of life as they can buy a three bedroom house for the same as a small flat in London if you can put up with the weather. But wages are lower up here and if it continues it will just push locals out of areas who can’t afford these new inflated house prices.

I am in the process of buying my first house or I was as it all fell through last week. I booked two viewings for this week both of which have been cancelled by the estate agents as the sellers have been offered cash offers. One of them was offered a cash offer on the same day as putting the house on the market. I simply can not compete with that. The housing market is a disaster and I feel for anyone who is trying to get their foot on the ladder as it’s not easy.

Absolutely off point but I frequently hear about encouraging your children into trades and the examples cited are building, plumbing, electrician etc.

I have two daughters and the rates of employment for women in these lucrative jobs are about 1%

So realistically what trades are people talking about for women that will earn them 'loadsamoney'?