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Original poster

Got a job offer in Warwick ... Can I afford to live there?

42 replies

Arsenal123 · 25/02/2015 17:44

It's shift work and I just checked rental prices and they're so high. I'll be on £22,000 as a single person without kids. The shift work may be a problem in terms of getting a housemate as I need a quiet environment.

It's also not my first choice job - I am still waiting to hear back off another job :-( It's stressing me out as a I'm in no position to turndown a guaranteed job but the rent is pricing me out of it. Any advice???

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 17:46

Look at Leamington, Kenilworth, Banbury or Coventry?

Didiusfalco · 25/02/2015 17:56

Coventry might be a good bet. Kenilworth and Banbury also quite 'nice' and more expensive, so probably no more practical than Warwick from a cost point of view. Coventry has some cheaper areas but isn't too far from Warwick assuming you can drive for your shifts?

BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 18:04

Wellesbourne, too... If you're looking for a room share, try www.spareroom.co.uk , my friend found something on that. Sympathies, though. Friends of mine in the area are all still living with parents, it's so expensive.

BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 18:07

Oh, and if you're looking on Rightmove etc, avoid Newman estate agents for renting. They have a lot of cheap, nice looking properties, but they are utterly awful at property management and just a nightmare to deal with.

What part of Warwick, if you don't mind me asking?

GotToBeInItToWinIt · 25/02/2015 18:14

What is your rental budget? A friend of mine paid £450 in Leamington for a nice one bed flat. Small but perfectly ok for a single person. I think she was earning about £24,000

Original poster
Arsenal123 · 25/02/2015 18:15

Central - I need to be 20 mins from the Hosp for on call duty

OP posts:
Original poster
Arsenal123 · 25/02/2015 18:15

I could maybe get away with the outskirts

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GotToBeInItToWinIt · 25/02/2015 18:17

20 mins walking or driving? Everywhere in Warwick is within 20 minutes driving Smile

BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 18:21

Near the hospital, look at the Cape Road sort of area. It's not the best area but it's cheap. There might be some ex council flats on Woodloes as well, although I think the majority of them are still council owned. These are probably the rougher areas of Warwick, but, well, you can't exactly describe any area of Warwick as "rough" Grin

Coventry or Kenilworth or Southam are all 20 minutes away by car as long as it's not rush hour.

BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 18:24

This looks nice, 13 minute drive away.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-50601164.html

You will find the listings dominated by student accommodation but keep looking :)

BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 18:26

If you're looking to avoid traffic, conversely further out might be better than closer. A lot of the local roads e.g. between Leamington and Warwick in particular are just not built for the volume of traffic they have to cope with today. The towns further out have had various bypasses built etc.

addictedtosugar · 25/02/2015 18:27

Any chance you'd qualify for hospital accommodation?

Original poster
Arsenal123 · 25/02/2015 18:35

20 min drive. One bed flat would be fine - I'm just wondering if I could afford to save for a deposit as well. It seems doubtful unless I meet a partner.

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Original poster
Arsenal123 · 25/02/2015 18:36

Don't think I'd qualify for Hosp accommodation

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BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 19:14

There's this which is just 20 mins (might be a bit tight) but it's on a main train line so could be noisy. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-50614109.html

Tiny tiny cheap 2 bed, 15 mins And this v. similar - though those two are so cheap I wonder if it's not a nice area. I don't know that much about the different parts of Coventry.

Earlsdon is supposed to be alright, though, but again cutting it fine with a 19 minute journey time.

Janek · 25/02/2015 19:27

Earlsdon is def the best part of coventry, my neighbour works at warwick hospital, but i don't know how long it takes her to get there, i'm afraid.

addictedtosugar · 25/02/2015 19:28

Would a professional room share work - something like this?? - sorry, no idea on location. Professionals would be out at work Mon-fri, so it would only be weekends where sleep / other people might coincide??

I reckon you'd take home about £1400/month, so if housing was 400, that would leave a grand for bills, petrol and food? I'd think you could save something from that, but its a long time since I shopped for one.

blibblibs · 25/02/2015 19:41

No advice I'm afraid but we have just left the area due to the rental prices. Its not a cheap place to live I'm afraid. Fingers crossed that you hear about the other job soon.

InfinitySeven · 25/02/2015 19:46

I live here. I wouldn't, on £22k.

InfinitySeven · 25/02/2015 19:52

That looks unhelpful. I have no children either, and a partner, and we're on good wages. I still wouldn't, though. You'd feel like you were slumming it forever, even in really cheap accommodation in a crappy area.

DustingOffTheDynastySuit · 25/02/2015 19:53

What are the chances of getting a house share with other health workers? Worth messaging anyone you can think of at the hospital to see if there's a message board or similar with rooms on?

FurbysMakeSexNoises · 25/02/2015 19:55

This may have changed but when I moved (because of DH's training rotation) to Warwick the hospital had no inhabitable accommodation anyway! Pathetic. I agree with all the comments, if you're single probably being somewhere like bits of Warwick orLeamington would be nice for more of a social life but I'm out of touch regarding rental fees.

BertieBotts · 25/02/2015 20:08

Well I lived there for bloody years on much less! Renting is the worst, admittedly, I had a DS so I got housing benefit. But when with XP I was earning just £10k and I'd be surprised if he was on much more, I don't know how much he earned - £12-14ish I reckon.

I think Russell Howard nailed it, though (he used to live just south of the river) when he described an overheard argument in Tesco. It was the most mumsnet argument ever Grin Something about a couple wanting to impress their visitors with "the right kind of biscuits" and the husband getting it totally wrong and looking some kind of curious mixture of pained, ashamed and baffled all at once.

Is there room for promotion in your job? I don't think it would be too bad as long as you have prospects to move up.

Original poster
Arsenal123 · 26/02/2015 13:18

Well I guess it would be the same as Bristol which is a place I'd love to live but which is also very expensive.

I've found some okay rooms for rent but even they are £400 per month. You can get a modest place of your own for that where I'm from up north.

If I can slum it, scrimp and save, get in the overtime and out of hours work as well as get a promotion maybe I could just about manage to get a deposit together.

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PfftTheMagicDraco · 26/02/2015 13:23

If you are choosing between Warwick and Bristol (having lived in one and near the other) I would say that rent would be FAR higher in Bristol.

£400 a month isn't bad tbh, rents have rocketed in the last 3 years.

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