How long can you survive in a small flat?

[erkeline]

I was brought up in the countryside. Big house and lots of open space. Dogs & market towns vibe.

Now I live in London for work. DP and I are saving hard for a deposit. We rent a one bedroom flat together, 40 sqm close to work so to save on commuting costs. It's a glorified bedsit.

We have done one year here already. Despite earning a good income, for London it doesn't go far. (We make about 120k combined). Appreciate some people have no choice, but by late 20s we thought we would be able to afford a slightly better lifestyle than this.

How long can you survive in a tiny flat?

Of course I could move out and commute in, but the difference in cost for a one bed flat in Central London vs Leytonstone for example, is not enough to justify the commute in.

Can you consider moving jobs and being outside London? The alternative is to make money in London, then move out much later on. I chose to be outside London throughout despite the massive pay gap for the same work, but it suits me a lot better.

I also think that, in the U.K., people REALLY have issues with flats in general.

When I was in France, living in a flat was normal. And the expectations of ‘space’ was very different. So was the idea that each child should have their own bedroom etc…

The reality is that it’s what you get used to. It’s easier when the expectation of ‘having space’ isn’t there. And yes you do get used to living in 40sqm and not finding it small. You certainly can’t be a hoarder, not even accumulate stuff ‘just because’. But it is enough space to live in Wo it being ‘a besit’
A bedsit would be one small double bedroom in a shared accomodation.

Different time but when I moved to London I had a two bed flat (one and half beds really) and lived there for five years. Mostly alone but occasionally with a flat mate (eg my brother moved in for a few months). I was ready to go by the end. I wanted a garden and more open space.

It helped I was right next to a park and lido so had green space I could easily get to.

I was thinking as far out as Leytonstone just a bit further out than central London.

Well if you're working long hours you'll not be spending that much time in the flat will you, so what's the problem?

You could be in one room with three kids sharing a bathroom and kitchen with several other families. Plenty are.

You earn enough to live in a larger place if you wanted. As I'm sure you know.

I should add - when I moved out after 5 years...

a) it doubled my housing costs from £1000 to £2000pm
b) it also doubled my commuting costs and time. It took my about 1.5/2 hours each way to commute to work. Sometimes longer when traffic was bad
c) I was still renting so it kinda delayed my buying somewhere by several years - hard to tell because it's hard to know what choices I'd have made otherwise etc.

For me it was worth it, but I could easily understand how for others it would not be.

What?!?
if OP works long hours, then why would they add another hour+ commuting each way?
And what does it matter if other people are sharing?!

You reply makes no sense at all.

OP has high expectactions of space in London, for the money. That just means they will have to scrimp and save to get the bigger place they want in the near future.

@erkeline Im not form the UK, and Ive always lived in flats, with no balconies or gardens. So central London life suited me absolutely fine!
You can live in a small flat forever. But you can save to move to a bigger place!

The secret of small flat living is to have less stuff.

Be ruthless about decluttering.

If you really must hang on to those books/momentos/childhood toys/equipment for hobbies you don't actually do, then rent a storage unit somewhere outside London and put them there (storage in London much more interesting expensive) and then go and collect when you buy your big house.

Upside of decluttered small homes :
Cleaning is super easy and quick.
Energy bills very low
You live in one of the world's best cities so you can go out to amazing free museums, parks, events every day and don't need to just sit inside your home.

Actually as someone else with a good salary there is luck in there.

If you don't have the ability- whether this is academic and/or other skills - plus the attitude, the upbringing you had and been alive now, so a mixture of the right genes and right environment, you wouldn't be able to earn your salary.

This.

I actually know older people - some unfortunately are now deceased - who lived and live in flats like the OPs.

The point such properties is if you are young and/or able bodied you don't spend lots of time in them as there are lots of other facilities both indoors and out for you to enjoy, if you are older and have slowed down and/or disabled then there is limited space for you to keep clean.

You have choices.

No one is forcing you to stay there.

You can move out and commute or get a lower paid non London job and live in a bigger house.

Own your choices.

I would say it's doable, but easier if you own it as you can make alterations and change the storage. If I had a one bed, I would be researching all the videos out there on Japanese flats with custom furniture. Also depends on your lifestyle- can be refreshing to be minimalist. Also, can you move out long term eg in 5 years and work from home or commute? Commuting no breeze though

Lots of people on here ask advice. 1And yes they have choices, which is why she is asking what we think- not to be told not to moan!

It is a bit of a silly thing to moan about though isn’t it, when it’s something OP has chosen?

And asking “how long people can survive in small flats in central London” is bound to get people’s backs up - if she’d asked how long people can survive with only one Mercedes, or whether it was possible to wear non-designer clothes over the age of 16, she would have got similar answers.

“How long can I survive in a flat which only costs £3k pcm? Long enough for me to save up for the £1m house I want?” is never going to get a sympathetic response.

I get your point, but could I not just say the same to people complaining about not having a choice?
Eg "They chose a career which paid £16k a year and chose to leave school at 16..." Do you see how that's partially true but also really not helpful? I was looking for advice on small living/if people think the trade off is worth it. How long people in my position stuck it out for etc.

We live in a two bed flat - it is a fair bit bigger than yours but not the four/five bed house that everyone on mumsnet seems to aspire to.

For long term flat living -

• Choose one with separate living room and kitchen - even if the kitchen is small.
• Bathroom with a window - trust me on this one.
• Be ruthless with clutter - I grew up in a large farmhouse and my dad is always trying to give me spare furniture - I refuse - if it doesn't have an imemdiate use then I don't want it.
• Built in storage is your friend - we have structural built in cupboards in both bedrooms and one in the hall way - We added a moving wall to the rest of the hallway (it is an unually large hall) behind which we have concealed clothes rails, drawers and shelves.
• Private outdoor space is a must - even if it is a small balcony - we have a large balcony that runs acorss 2/3 of our flats which is big enough for a forest of plants, a clothes airer and outdoor chairs.

Remember no matter how big your flat or house is, you can only be in one room at any one time.

It’s fine as long as you are BOTH tidy.

Somebody on £16k earns less than NMW, so anyone on that salary is likely to either be disabled or have caring responsibilities preventing full-time employment.

Popping up and saying “is it even possible to survive living in a totally normal living situation? I’m rich, this is so beneath me, but my Important Job means luckily this is just a stepping stone until I buy a place more fitting to my wealth and status”.

Seriously, it is tin-eared. I hope you work in finance, well away from the public, rather than anything like medicine.

Well, you've got two people living in a space designed to legally accommodate one person. The standards say that one person needs 1 sq m of storage, two need 1.5 sq m (and an extra 10sq m of living space). That's not to say that your accommodation is illegal in itself, but you're choosing to live somewhere that is only intended for one person.

You'll need to prioritise efficiency, not having unnecessary possessions and think of how easy it'll be to manage your nice, big house that you'll buy with all the money you've saved and your incomes in the future.

Having said that, my old LA flat was smaller than that and that was deemed large enough for five unrelated adults to live in, never mind 2 adults and 2 children. So I think you'll manage to slum it for a bit longer.

The entitlement is real with this one 🙄

Indeed. Many people in London can only afford to live in flats AND still have to commute to their jobs.

I was looking for advice on small living/if people think the trade off is worth it. How long people in my position stuck it out for etc.

Then why didn't you ask that?

Still in the one bedroom flat I bought after my divorce back in the 90s.

“Survive” honestly get some perspective Agree, it's not exactly a gulag.