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'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

citylab.com

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Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#21

Post by peteretep »

CalRobert wrote: post #8

It's maddening that property owners can vote against new construction, when they have a deep conflict of interest. The community may require housing, but the homeowner has an interest in seeing housing prices go up forever. It's similar to this ridiculous notion that expensive housing is a good thing. We give absurd tax breaks to homeowners (why can't I deduct the lost interest on my rent?), and people lament falling…

    > and you have a situation where it's impossible for most
    > people to live in a city
Except for - of course - the 8m people who do

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#22

Post by wattson12 »

suvelx wrote: post #13
yeureka wrote: post #7

This is depressingly true. I just exchanged contracts on a 2 bed flat in zone 4 that will leave me and my gf with a 300k debt. If it wasn't for her stable job in town I would think about going somewhere else. And we know that we will probably never be able to upgrade to a bigger place if prices keep rising at this rate since our income will not increase at the same speed. I wonder if London will become a boring rich…

> 2 bed flat in zone 4 that will leave me and my gf with a 300k debt. Sounds like you got lucky then.

I just bought a 2 bed terrace in zone 4 for 280k, its not cheap but there are some places that are a lot more affordable (especially if you don't mind going south of the river)

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#23

Post by peteretep »

3princip wrote: post #15

I spent my childhood in London, moving overseas after graduation - not financially motivated. With two kids now I often entertain ideas of moving back, primarily because it really is an amazing city and because of the opportunities my children would have. Unfortunately, even with the handsome salaries senior devs earn I cannot see how I could possibly pay rent and support children. So I often wonder where all this mo…

a) People who don't need to support children

b) Landlords, who rent the houses to people who can't afford to buy, but can afford rent

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#24

Post by peteretep »

rjaco31 wrote: post #19
SandB0x wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of living in London is insane and it is a really interesting thought experiment. A lot of my friends are moving out of the city and I can't see myself staying here more than another year or two. But for some context, West Hampstead is a fairly nice suburb on three different train and tube lines. The rent for a one-bed flat is high as they are bid up by couples who are both earning. You are at a big disadvant…

How can rail transport be that expensive? (I'm genuinely asking)

Because the rail tracks were laid down a loooong time ago, and are surrounded on all sides by expensive property. This means limited capacity, ageing infrastructure, and unceasingly increasing demand.

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#25

Post by chrisseaton »

3princip wrote: post #15

I spent my childhood in London, moving overseas after graduation - not financially motivated. With two kids now I often entertain ideas of moving back, primarily because it really is an amazing city and because of the opportunities my children would have. Unfortunately, even with the handsome salaries senior devs earn I cannot see how I could possibly pay rent and support children. So I often wonder where all this mo…

"even with the handsome salaries senior devs earn"

People working at Google etc think they're paid handsomely, but in reality in London they are paid a fraction compared to what you can get in the financial sector.

This article and the comments here talk about software developers and graphic designers, and the reality is there's a whole community above you earning much more. That's who's able to buy the houses.

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#27

Post by crdoconnor »

peteretep wrote: post #20

I also left London recently, although I moved due to the weather. For every 29-year-old graphic designer who moves to Cambridge to buy a family home, there's a 22-year-old who's just started their career who's willing to live in a bedsit in Wood Green (as, coincidentally, I did at 17, trying to break in to the big city). You're meant to get older, and move out of the city. Circle of (urban) life. Give it 50 years, an…

>That you see yourself as being one of the "original" residents doesn't give you some inherent right to below-market-prices in property.

It speaks volumes that you implicitly put the rights of Russian oligarchs and Arab oil barons to buy property (which they often leave empty) above those of the working and middle classes of London.

I'll come back to London when they start taxing the wealthy again. Until then I'll watch from afar as every last drip of culture and life is squeezed out of every community by rising property prices.

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#28

Post by suttree »

SandB0x wrote: post #16
bruceb wrote: post #2

Reminds me of this article talking about living in Barcelona and commuting to London being cheaper than living in London: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/cheaper-to-live-in-barcelo...

The cost of living in London is insane and it is a really interesting thought experiment. A lot of my friends are moving out of the city and I can't see myself staying here more than another year or two. But for some context, West Hampstead is a fairly nice suburb on three different train and tube lines. The rent for a one-bed flat is high as they are bid up by couples who are both earning. You are at a big disadvant…

I commuted between London and Berlin for a decent amount of time, and I certainly remember having more money then compared to now when I live in London fulltime.

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#29

Post by peterjancelis »

Gurkenmaster wrote: post #9
yeureka wrote: post #7

This is depressingly true. I just exchanged contracts on a 2 bed flat in zone 4 that will leave me and my gf with a 300k debt. If it wasn't for her stable job in town I would think about going somewhere else. And we know that we will probably never be able to upgrade to a bigger place if prices keep rising at this rate since our income will not increase at the same speed. I wonder if London will become a boring rich…

On the other hand you can sell your flat for a higher price in the future.

I would be cautious making assumptions like that. Interests rate have been very low, at times negative even, for a long time.

Re: 'Nobody My Age Can Afford to Stay Here Forever'

#30

Post by darkFunction »

smcl wrote: post #14
darkFunction wrote: post #11

I'm leaving London with my girlfriend in a week, to move to Edinburgh. Been here seven years, both on a good salary, yet we live in an impoverished area and would never be able to afford to buy a decent place to live even where we are now. Edinburgh offers us an objectively better standard of living in every measurable aspect except proximity to Europe. I won't miss London.

I lived in Edinburgh for eight years, it's a beautiful place and you'll love it there. If you're into beer, check out the Blue Blazer - it was my favourite bar.

Thanks! I'm pretty familiar with Edinburgh already but haven't seen the Blue Blazer. I'll check it out.
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