To think people only want the best then complain about cost and stress

[Ohhhhok]

This does not apply to people living in poverty, in unsuitable accommodation, struggling to find work and to make ends meet whatsoever.

I feel like many people will not settle for anything less than the dream lifestyle- large house in a desirable area with fancy interiors and expensive appliances, nice garden, cleaner, new cars, high-end clothing and make-up, expensive restaurants and luxury holidays, and so on.

Then they complain about the cost of their mortgage, the stressful job where they work 60 hours a week with all the responsibility and the 2k a month childcare bill.

It seems like nobody is willing to settle for less, it's like you've got to have the above to have 'made it' in life- they wouldn't be seen dead with an older car, a terraced house or shock horror, a flat. Second hand clothing, living a simpler life.

Mine was

96-97 a three bed semi
97-2001 four bed detached
2001 to 2013 five bed detached
2013 to now bigger four bed detached

Hopefully move around 2028 to a slightly smaller/cheaper house in a new area and use the price difference will be used on fees.

It was representative of my experience in the 70s. This is a light and inconsequential chat on a discussion forum not a sociology paper on the changing attitudes to materialism since the 1970s. Hence I thought personal experience was a reasonable contribution.

@5128gap

This was your post

“People certainly seem to want more materially than I remember being the case a few decades ago. When I was a child, homes were for functionality and furniture for comfort and durability. My parents had the same bedroom furniture their entire lives, and I only remember one new carpet (same as the old one). I don't recall anyone climbing the property ladder either. You just lived in your house forever. Perhaps things were different for wealthier people though.”

You generalised others based on your experience. By all means discuss your personal experience but don’t extrapolate that to others when it’s not representative of reality. Even on a forum it’s a silly thing to do 😆

Having council tax which is hundreds a month is fairly standard. Ours is 3.5k per year for a 3 bed house, which is ridiculous.

I think you're being a bit silly now. Because you've taken it upon yourself to 'prove me wrong' when you can't disprove my personal experience. Its pretty clear from the qualifiers 'I remember', 'I don't seem to recall' 'perhaps things were different..' etc that I'm speaking lightly about my memories, not presenting myself as an expert to win an argument. If your experiences were different from mine, then that's interesting. Doesnt alter my own recollections of my life.
If you want to 'win' the discussion because my experience is wrong and yours is right, then have at it. As I say this is a light chat where people will share different experiences. We don't need to arrive at a point where we agree. Its not important.

@couchpouchI think you are the silly one, sorry was that not clear?

Why do you think I’m talking about my own experience? I didn’t move house in the 80s or 70s! but it was far more common then vs now. And not only for wealthy people. Im not sure why stating that is attempting to disapprove your personal experience?!

I agree, especially in regard to the big house dream. In the last decade or so some people have stretched themselves to get that big house or a two bed terrace in that nice area and didn’t really factor in inevitable interest rate rises. We are also at the beginning of what is going to be a seismic change in our society, hugely impacting every aspect of our lives - the increasing use of AI in the workplace. Hard times are coming.

Even the Bank of England didn’t expect the inflation surges we have seen so I’m not sure why homeowners would know when interest rates would shift. And yes whilst they are at historic averages house prices vs salaries aren’t hence the huge slowdown in the property market.

People have always stretched themselves to buy a house, remember it’s nothing like pre financial crash when lending was far too relaxed. Many people just want to put what they are paying in rent to their own mortgage and want some security, I don’t judge that particularly when it was easier for me to buy a house.

Also in the 80s roughly 31% of all UK households lived in social housing vs about 17% today. I think people would like it to be more available as per the past but what can they do.

I think it’s definitely the Instagram influence. You are bombarded with new ‘hauls’ and shopping reels constantly which means you constantly feel the need to buy more. Seeing where people are going on holiday constantly. Days out/ trips, it’s constant. Home influencers redecorating/ doing DIY constantly. It’s relentless. I am seeing a backlash from other ‘influencers’ saying they are sick of the consumerism and to shop your own wardrobe and those are the accounts I’m following. Also the seasonal hype- no sooner is summer over then the shops are onto Halloween. It’s relentless. I think essentially a lot of people live their life online rather than thinking about what truly makes them happy. It’s keeping up with the jones’ on speed

I know you do. And you actually prompted me to do some digging to check if my memories had played me false.
Turns out I'm describing a recognised phenomenon where there was a shift, starting in the 80s and 'exploding' in the 90s from utilitarian home maintenance to a 'national obsession' with home improvements to follow style and trend. It was driven by programmes such as Changing Rooms and made possible due to easier access to DIY materials and cheaper flat pack materials. It's continued to grow with the advent of Instagram etc.

That seems like a lot of money to me for a box room. Of course we are all different and you can spend your money how you like. I would rather spend it on travelling.

@5128gapWhere did I say anything about interiors & the rise of DIY? I was correcting you on house moves and living in one house for forever, did you do some digging re that?

That’s beyond crazy for a 3 bed isn’t it? I think theirs is about £4-500 a month and ours is £180 a month which is a massive difference. It is also worth noting that council tax pricing is a bit of a postcode lottery isn’t it, some areas being a lot more expensive than others. Where we are in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire it is a lot cheaper than some of the southern areas.

You started your exchange with me at 7.37 this morning by talking about interiors. Sofas and such like. You later copied my entire post where I talk about interiors, with one line about house moving, to tell me I'm making silly generalisations. If you were only referring to that one line you should have been clearer.
However, yes, I have now. I've found that settling into a 'forever home' is much more characteristic of the boomer generation (my point of reference for my childhood 1970s experience) due to greater affordability. This is quite in keeping with my anecdote (as is the greater availability of social housing at that point) that I don't recall much moving about. People had either already afforded the home they intended to raise their family in, or were in secure SH and stayed there. You seem to be getting annoyed with me because you assume I'm agreeing with the OP that younger generations are somehow feckless and dissatisfied. I'm not. I'm merely commenting on changes I've observed since the 70s.
Some are a result of consumer pressure whereby people have been encouraged to see homes as a style statement (as per my comments on attitudes to interiors). Others are a result of changes to the wider housing environment.

Totally agree, OP. It's just greed, isn't it? All these people nitpicking about it just don't want to admit their failings to themselves. Humans will human...

No it’s not big, the bedrooms are pokey and I have one bathroom. I’m living in a house that I bought when I was working a really low level job…the extended downstairs makes it livable.

Youve missed the point. If I went chasing what society deemed as my place in life, I would be in a house worth around double the price of the one I’m in. Because I chose to stay in a house that was exactly what we needed to live, I’ve never worried about money.

The OP is talking about people who make enough money to not worry, but have spending habits and mortgages that mean they still end up worrying. If they bought suitable housing and suitable cars rather than status housing with multiple en-suites and huge bedrooms (more than are needed) then they wouldn’t worry about money.

For reference I’m talking a 3 person family choosing to live somewhere like this:
Excessive
Vs
Suitable

That’s not the point though is it. This thread is talking about those who do have money but leverage themselves with cars and housing and all the finer things in life and so are of course struggling when they don’t need to be.

I’m making the point that if people have appropriate housing already, they don’t need to go chasing bigger and better just because they get paid more. If they don’t chase it then they will have plenty left (generally) when they get promotions.

@Boreded there will be lots of people in the same size house as you but with a bigger family and less spare income.

I think the amount of people spending more than they need to on big houses and fancy cars will be relatively small in comparison, judging by government figures on average household income. I’m trying to sell my house at the moment and the estate agent said most people are downsizing

I don’t know why people are arguing with you…we all know people who have a house bigger than they need and then complain about how they can’t afford a holiday. It’s the facts of life now. Nobody is saying that everyone does it, but many many many people do. And now with interest rate increases they are struggling to afford life despite having 100k incomes.

I know people like this. And I live in a home that is the same standard as people on 2/3 or less of my income so that I avoid that exact situation where I am completely skint each month despite having a pretty decent income

They’re probably having to. But the fact that they are downsizing proves what I’m saying…they’ve bought bigger than they needed and now they aren’t as able to afford it as they’ve hoped, especially with the interest rate increases

Lots of space or pokey? Make your mind up.
Anyway, arguably you've bought bigger than you needed. You've just determined that your house is a suitable size because it fits your personal budget. You might sneer at what I paid for my similarly sized house with more people living in it. You've already got what lots of people want, so of course you dont feel the need to chase it.

@5128gap my experience is exactly the same as yours. I grew up in the late 70s/ 80s. There just wasn't a culture of people doing up their houses at that point - we maintained and decorated, but generally people lived with things like unfashionable kitchens etc. An unfashionable kitchen wouldn't have been on anyone's radar tbh! I also agree with you about Changing Rooms etc.

I'm not saying this as a moral thing. I don't care what people do with their kitchens 😁

Nobody knew exactly when they'd rise, but you would have to be really stupid to have believed that the abnormal rates from 2008 - 2022 would stay that low.