Do you see yourself moving home?

FTA69

ballsymchugh wrote: »

no offense, but not sure what it is about the way you post, but i thought you were well into your 40s!

Cheeky dog! Ha what made you think that?

dd972

FTA69 wrote: »

I've also considered the prospect of family etc but at the moment I'm only 25 and she's 23 so it isn't a pressing issue at the moment. I also couldn't face into a long daily commute from W*nkerville, Hertfordshire. In fact the prospect of living in some dryballs, Toryesque village in Surrey or Beds would make me want to shoot myself to be honest. If I was to knock London on the head it would be for the likes of Brighton, a place that's infinitely cheaper than London but also has a bit of variety to it.

Good post, Zones 4 to 6 and beyond are mostly a pile of sh*t, Oxford or Cambridge are also quite OK places in the South East corner of England,decent links to Central London as well.

Brianderunner

Some good point raised so far.

I cant call it right now tbh, just take it all as it comes. I've always thought London in my 20's, then back home to ireland for my 30's and beyond but things change.

A few lads in work have bought houses in places like Hemel Hempstead and Luton etc cause of house prices in North London. I wouldnt fancy living out there and grinding up and down the M1 every day. Lets be honest you're not even living in London then.

Fysh

My brother lived in Reading for several years when he first moved here, and I learned from his experience to understand the difference between "living in London" and "living within an hour's train trip to London" (especially having seen how much happier he was when he moved from Reading to Camden). You may get cheaper rent and/or more space living on the outskirts (until you factor in your increased travel costs), but you also miss out on a lot of the stuff that makes London a fun and exciting place to live - I've lost track of the number of times friends have said they can't make gigs or nights out because they'd have to leave halfway through the main act to catch a train home, for example.

Moving to London and moving to the Greater London suburbs are two very different things.

FTA69

Brianderunner wrote: »

Some good point raised so far.

I cant call it right now tbh, just take it all as it comes. I've always thought London in my 20's, then back home to ireland for my 30's and beyond but things change.

A few lads in work have bought houses in places like Hemel Hempstead

Oh Jesus, I fitted a window in Hemel Hempsted once, awful sh*thole. London is unbelievable craic, we all know what's to love about the place but it's surrounding towns and villages are the most boring places on earth. There are few places that would grind your soul down quicker than Home County, Middle England. My old doll lived in Guildford for a year and to be honest it was sh*te compared to Cork even, and that's not saying a whole lot like. When you get into your Hemels, South Mimms, St Albans and places like that you can forget it.

As I said, if I'm going to move out of London at any stage it will be for a place where I can still have a bit of variety or craic. It won't be for vicars, flowerpots, the Tory Party and no swearing.

exiledelbows

FTA69 wrote: »

Oh Jesus, I fitted a window in Hemel Hempsted once, awful sh*thole. London is unbelievable craic, we all know what's to love about the place but it's surrounding towns and villages are the most boring places on earth. There are few places that would grind your soul down quicker than Home County, Middle England. My old doll lived in Guildford for a year and to be honest it was sh*te compared to Cork even, and that's not saying a whole lot like. When you get into your Hemels, South Mimms, St Albans and places like that you can forget it.

As I said, if I'm going to move out of London at any stage it will be for a place where I can still have a bit of variety or craic. It won't be for vicars, flowerpots, the UKIP Party and no swearing.

FYP, keep up with the news.

Can really recommend Brighton for everything except commuting as lived there for three years. But there's no way it's 'infinitely' cheaper than London property-wise.

old hippy

FTA69 wrote: »

Oh Jesus, I fitted a window in Hemel Hempsted once, awful sh*thole. London is unbelievable craic, we all know what's to love about the place but it's surrounding towns and villages are the most boring places on earth. There are few places that would grind your soul down quicker than Home County, Middle England. My old doll lived in Guildford for a year and to be honest it was sh*te compared to Cork even, and that's not saying a whole lot like. When you get into your Hemels, South Mimms, St Albans and places like that you can forget it.

As I said, if I'm going to move out of London at any stage it will be for a place where I can still have a bit of variety or craic. It won't be for vicars, flowerpots, the Tory Party and no swearing.

I was quite impressed by the villagey feel of St Albans but I wouldn't want to live there.

FTA69

exiledelbows wrote: »

FYP, keep up with the news.

Can really recommend Brighton for everything except commuting as lived there for three years. But there's no way it's 'infinitely' cheaper than London property-wise.

Well from a renting point of view it's a lot cheaper than what I'm paying for in Finsbury Park. Besides, tis a pipe idea anyway. I've a good ten years of blackguarding to get under my belt before I move out, if I do at all.

And UKIP is only the Tories with no common sense.

Playboy

old hippy wrote: »

I was quite impressed by the villagey feel of St Albans but I wouldn't want to live there.

St Albans is fine. Commute isnt bad at all.. something like 40 mins into Kings Cross. Nice place.. have plenty of friends who moved there and liked it. If I was going to move out of London its one of the places I would consider.

Fysh

Playboy wrote: »

St Albans is fine. Commute isnt bad at all.. something like 40 mins into Kings Cross. Nice place.. have plenty of friends who moved there and liked it. If I was going to move out of London its one of the places I would consider.

A couple of friends at work live there, it sounds nice but brutally expensive for what you're getting in terms of rents/house prices. Especially when, if you're working in London, you'd still be paying a hefty chunk on travel costs.

Playboy

Fysh wrote: »

A couple of friends at work live there, it sounds nice but brutally expensive for what you're getting in terms of rents/house prices. Especially when, if you're working in London, you'd still be paying a hefty chunk on travel costs.

Yeah that is the only downside... although property there is cheap to where I am at the moment. Dont want to move out but will have to at some stage I think

Bluezar

Moving to Dublin in a months time from London after a year over here. From Waterford so Dublin is not exactly home for me but close enough.
The company I work for is relocating to me to Dublin and to be honest, after a year here I am happy enough for something different.

London is an incredible city to fair and all my family are there but pretty happy to bring a job home with me and get a bit of time in Ireland again.

FTA69

FTA69 wrote: »

F*ck going home to be honest.

I have a job here that I absolutely love and have recently been given an extension on my contract thus am over the moon. It pays a great wage and is an opportunity that I could never hope to get back in Ireland. My partner is a nurse and she was recently accepted onto a midwifery course whereupon they will pay her a full nurse's wage while she's studying at a prestigious college (25 accepted out of hundreds of applicants) and she's guaranteed a job at the end of it. There's nothing for her at home only agency work. We have a beautiful flat (albeit an expensive one!) and a full social life. We have a number of holidays coming up and we love exploring London at the weekends.

I was a nightclub doorman in Ireland like, and as fun as dealing with drunks every weekend was; I think I'll stay put for now.

Sorry to be nosy, but what do you do?

I don't see myself going back to Ireland (not that it's even 'home', I lived in England until I was 11) but don't know if I'll stay in London. More than anywhere else I've ever lived, I feel like it's a place you need money to really enjoy. If you want a nice flat in a nice area, with no massive commute, a good social life etc, you need money. When I lived in Spain, I had all that for a very average wage. I find it frustrating that there's so much I want to do, but I can't afford to do most of it. I actually preferred living somewhere more boring, where at least I didn't feel like I was constantly missing out. I imagine I'll either end up abroad or in another English city.

FTA69

I work as a trade union educational organiser. Basically responsible for establishing training schemes for trade union members via different colleges and recruiting people within union branches to preside over this within their workplaces. I also do a minor amount of industrial stuff around construction (trying to recruit people into the union and get recognition off the bosses.) It's handy because I work out of two different offices in London with my primary base being in the Sussex areas.

Before this however, I was working full time in a pub and doing a bit on building sites. In short, working full time and being below the poverty wage. I agree with you wholeheartedly, if you've no money London is a very demoralising place to live.

blondie83

Got it sorted, moving back to Ireland in 3 weeks I like London but it's too busy for me, looking forward to going home

carlmango11

FTA69 wrote: »

Before this however, I was working full time in a pub and doing a bit on building sites. In short, working full time and being below the poverty wage. I agree with you wholeheartedly, if you've no money London is a very demoralising place to live.

I've heard this come up numerous times. I'm curious, what would be considered a decent wage for a nice lifestyle in London? For a single, young person with no commitments etc.?

Brianderunner

carlmango11 wrote: »

I've heard this come up numerous times. I'm curious, what would be considered a decent wage for a nice lifestyle in London? For a single, young person with no commitments etc.?

I'd say about 25k (stg) a year would be the minimum for a nice lifestyle. Even then there wouldnt be much left after rent and living expenses.

Alessandra

After four years of London life I'm moving to a different part of the UK with my partner. Unfortunately the cost of living and the salary I'm bringing in doesn't really give me a decent enough standard of living to allow me continue living here. I'd happily live in London another year or so but I'm realistic enough to know that property prices are to expensive to afford in the long term.

tibor

carlmango11 wrote: »

I've heard this come up numerous times. I'm curious, what would be considered a decent wage for a nice lifestyle in London? For a single, young person with no commitments etc.?

"Decent" wage and "nice" lifestyle will be entirely subjective here.
A reasonable enough gauge would be to add 30% or so to whatever you tink would be "decent" and provide you a "nice" lifestyle in Dublin.

Fysh

When I moved over 5 years ago, recruiters were telling me that the realistic minimum for living in London was about £25K. Given the increases in cost of living recently, I would say it's more like £28K-£30K as a minimum. It's a great city, but it's not cheap by any means.

LadyMayBelle

Fysh wrote: »

When I moved over 5 years ago, recruiters were telling me that the realistic minimum for living in London was about £25K. Given the increases in cost of living recently, I would say it's more like £28K-£30K as a minimum. It's a great city, but it's not cheap by any means.

I agree with Fysh here on this one. I guess by 'nice lifestyle' is being able to have meals out regularly, do stuff like the theatre, cinema whatever without having to count the pennies and think, crap, beans on toast again this week.

I came to London for a year, then we decided we stay for a second, and now we are here almost three, and no intention to go back. Maybe if the right jobs came up in Dublin..but at the moment we will stay put and consider moving north in a few years. I like London now though, I think I was unsure given my previous location but I really like the atmosphere and locality I am in now; altho it means spending more and saving zilch.