Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Other subjects
Original poster

Those of you who live in London and ....

92 replies

UnquietDad · 23/02/2007 11:59

... DON'T have a massive ffff-off Rachel Johnson salary/Caroline Phillips walnut shelves - where do you live? How do you do it? Do you all rent?

There must be cleaners, roadsweepers, dinner-ladies etc. living in London. They can't all commute in. And yet even a teacher would struggle to get a house, from what I gather.

It sounds impossible to move there - you have to have bought 10-15 years ago and sit tight. Will things ever get back to "normal"?

OP posts:
mommajools · 23/02/2007 13:41

I sold a lovely house in Plumstead 15 months ago for 250000 - just been told by an estate agent it will now go for nearly 400000 - arhh - its by the common and a 10 min walk to woolwich where the DLR is comming.
But you can still get reasonable priced houses there and abbey wood

pollyanna · 23/02/2007 13:43

Swains Lane was in a tv programme here this week too - me and dh were very excited!

Was the new playground at the Heath while you were still there? I put up with the grim one for so long and then just as I left there was a lovely new one!

Kids are fine thanks - they love it here and are very happy (and I don't really regret moving either).

I just have to remind myself about the delights of Archway and then I feel better about leaving

pollyanna · 23/02/2007 13:44

are you coming to Brighton superloopy, or somewhere hot and sunny?

sunnywong · 23/02/2007 13:45

New Playground!!! Have they got rid of the steel tractor climbing frame and the giant rounda bout?

Well yes, you only have to imagine waiting for a bus with the kids on Archway Road for the bubble to burst, innit?

pollyanna · 23/02/2007 13:47

yes, they even got rid of the lovely (and safe) concrete!

and I try not to remember Archway baths too ofen either!

sunnywong · 23/02/2007 13:49

ohhhhh, never went there, shudder

I do miss the pubs though...however... back to thread topic

superloopy · 23/02/2007 13:56

Sorry Pollyanna, moving to Melbourne.
Love Brighton though!!

pollyanna · 23/02/2007 13:57

(superloopy I realised as soon as I posted it I was being dim ).

marymay · 23/02/2007 15:33

i live in plumstead and love it.not ex council or dilapitated.but i am a bit common and undesirable

motherinferior · 23/02/2007 15:39

Sarfeast Lunnon here too.

I co-bought a one-bedroom flat in Forest Hill in, oooh, around 1990 I think, for around 54 thousand. I kept it when my boyfriend left me (it had plummetted in value) and it zoomed up in value again and I sold it for 101 thousand in 2001 when DD1 was a baby; and DP (who had NO money - had frittered away the proceeds of flat in the previous decade) and I co-bought a house in Catford, with a mortgage we struggled to pay.

It's a very mixed area. Some of the schools are really good.

Hallgerda · 23/02/2007 17:23

We bought our 4-bedroom semi in Streatham nearly twelve years ago, and do not have an enormous mortgage. Couldn't afford to buy (or possibly even rent) the same house at current prices though.

The school catchment area issue is as not simple as "all the cheapish areas in crap school catchments". At secondary level, there can be more choice than in some other areas - as well as the comprehensives that go purely on where you live, there are the ones that do banding (so you can fail to get in for being a Band A rather than a Band B), grammars in some outer London areas that take those who don't live nearby (including my DS1) and numerous schools with specialisms (including Nautical Studies). But there are "holes" - children who live in those areas are not guaranteed a place at any local school and may end up commuting out of necessity rather than choice.

At primary level, there are some very popular one-form entry schools that give rise to higher house prices in the surrounding area. Some of those areas, however, correspond to "holes" in secondary catchment areas, so parents move out of the area before the first child reaches the secondary school application stage but get any subsequent children into the much-desired primary under the sibling rule.

Turning to your original question, the cleaners, road sweepers etc. tend to live in social housing.

lockets · 23/02/2007 17:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

SherlockLGJ · 23/02/2007 17:33

LGJ faints clean away.... struggles on to one elbow to say............

Respect Lockets, respect, you convinced WMF to move out of London.

Then faints again.

lockets · 23/02/2007 17:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Twiglett · 23/02/2007 17:37

bought 2 bed flat in sw london in 1997 for 83K .. sold it in 2001 for 190k [kin ell]

moved to SE London (off tube but zone 2 and great trains / buses into town plus lovely area) .. our house has also more than doubled in value

all I can say is farkin' 'ell

serenity · 23/02/2007 17:44

I live in London, the area's not too bad (in Streaham, just down the road from hallgerda) but we're definitely stuck and I get very p'd off with myself for getting caught.

We have a 2 bed council flat and are looking at least another 7 or 8 years to get a transfer to a 3 bed. Renting privately is out of the question (we pay £500pm atm, my sister is privately renting a 2 bed just over the road and will be paying £1100pm)

At the moment we're just about balancing things, DD will be in fulltime school from September 2008 and I'm still deciding whether just to go for a 2nd job as soon as she goes or whether to try and find the money to do some kind of training first.

DH is an Information Officer for another council, and I work evenings.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 23/02/2007 17:47

We bought a 3-bed flat in Wimbledon in '99 with 10% deposit from our own savings. Lots of much nicer and grander housing around but it suits us where we are, we don't need to move till DS goes to secondary school (maybe not even then). Sometimes we think of moving a bit further out to "up-grade" but we really love the area and the freedom of a tiny mortgage (well under £300 pcm) and the feeling soon passes.

drosophila · 23/02/2007 18:00

How do we do it? Luck Luck Luck.

We had a 2 car accidents in early 90's and both times won an insurance claim. With that money put a deposit in a 1 bed flat in Streatham in 95 I think and then paid far less on my mortgage than we had been in rent. Sold it in 2002 and it had more than tripled in value and was then able to put deposit on 3 bed house. When we sold our flat we had an offer from an actress in the Bill, a city banker and it was finally bought by a pianist.

Agree with Hell about schools. Around my part we have some good schools. I'm not sure if DS will get a place but hey maybe lady luck will continue to shine.

jura · 23/02/2007 18:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

itsmeNDaveP · 23/02/2007 19:22

Blimey !

I've just been on rightmove.... you can buy LOADS in Plumsteadnfor less than £150k. There is a 1 bed flat on for £69k , ok it's probably in Murderville but bloody hell it is seriously cheap. You can't buy anything for that in my provincial city 100+ miles from London, in fact you struggle at twice that

jennifersofia · 23/02/2007 20:36

Shared ownership in East London. It's okay - it is Zone 2 and walking distance to L'pool street and 6 tube lines. Some schools bad, I think one my DD's go to is good. I still want to move out though - I miss trees and hills and space (I grew up in New England) Now, as to whether we should sell in 3 years when we move, or if we should try to hang onto and rent ... that is another conundrum.

CountessDracula · 23/02/2007 20:40

We have moved a lot and made money on each house. Starting out now would be a nightmare even with our decent salaries

mummymagic · 23/02/2007 20:46

We live in a 3 bed flat/maisonette in a Victorian terrace in Stoke Newington (Hackney). Dp made a fair bit on his flat he bought and did up, and we have a 20% Equity Loan from Key Worker (both teachers) and a reasonable mortgage. Bought nearly two years ago and think we did well but the equity loan won't move with us so no chance of moving to a house - we were looking for a house originally but compromised on a flat, got lots of space but a small kitchen and bathroom - and no outside space.

We did consider moving to t'suburbs but we love it here and have plenty of space (plus room to extend) for a couple more kids. Perfectly happy to send kids to Hackney schools myself (am total leftie)

Pimmpom · 23/02/2007 21:30

Started off like jennifer in shared ownership in Wapping. Moved to zone 6 at 8mths pregnant. Love it, can still get into town in 40mins.

nooka · 23/02/2007 21:48

We moved to not at all trendy Penge (SE London, Zone 4) about 12 years ago, and bought our very nice two bedroom flat for £60k with help from a trust fund set up by my grandparents. Sold it last year for £230. The flat next door (a little bit smarter, but not much) has recently been listed as sold for £280! Nuts - probably the effect of the East London extension finally getting the green light (and the Crystal Palace effect). I don't think that my new place will have the same rise in price, but I like it and that's all that matter to me at the moment!