Get ahead by not shooting yourself in the foot

Buying a house is, by far and away, the best thing I have ever done for my personal happiness and wellbeing. Have I constrained myself financially? Yes, sure. But every day I work in my garden, work in projects in my garage, take on home improvement projects etc. Despite the constraints, I have never felt more free. I would never, EVER go back to renting. Ever.

Aside from finance, a big motivation to buy a home in the UK is to have more self-determination in your home life. Renting places you under someone else's control to a large extent.

You often can't decorate much. Can't fit better windows, and windows where I've rented have usually been poor quality. Can't replace the washing machine even if it's not working properly. Can't put up shelves.

Can't fit solar panels or better insulation, or replace carpets. Sometimes you can't even paint the walls.

In the town where I live nearly all rental properties are "furnished", to the point that there aren't many unfurnished properties to choose from. This means you can't change the furniture - couches, tables, curtains (drapes), beds, wardrobes etc. Often there is an old TV you would never choose for yourself. Of course you do make some choices when you decide where to move into, but there may not be anything particularly to your own taste, and what you want will change over time anyway.

Aside from the lack of self-determination while in there, there is a constant threat of "no reason" evictions which landlords exercise from time to time. Because no reason is given, it doesn't take much. I've seen it done sometimes by rental property agents just so they can advertise a large rent increase on the open market which would not seem reasonable applied to the existing tenant - that time, the landlord didn't particularly want the tenant out, but the agent saw a chance to get their new-tenancy fees and advised the landlord to evict.

Long term stability in a rental property is a luxury in some areas, and finding another property nearby may not be possible. Got a child in school? Don't assume they will be able to stay in the same school.

I have encountered rental situations where it is required to pay 12 months rent up front every year during the tenancy (on top of 1.5 months deposit) - but only if you're not well off enough to qualify for monthly rental payment. This sucks if the reason you are moving is because of a no-reason eviction from a previous place, so you quickly need to find another property as well as 13.5 months worth of rent at short notice. Naturally, you can't use the deposit from the previous place in that scenario as you won't get it in time, and you won't get all of it.

Speaking of 12 months, in the town where I live and I gather in many others, 12 month tenancies are the maximum you can get. Technically every year there's a new tenancy, usually with new contract fees to pay, and the possibility they might decide not to renew it. If you're really unlucky there might be a new credit and income check each renewal, which you will fail if you fell on hard times, such as between jobs. This duration is because UK law has additional tenant protections with tenancies longer than 12 months. So of course landlords don't offer them.

My experiences at every company I've worked for (and the reasons I've departed from them) in my career have all given me additional signals to scan for in the recruitment stage, be it tech stack, culture, advancement, mentorship, etc. It's not a perfect system, but it's self-reinforcing and constantly improving -- I'm fortunate to be able to select for things I need/want and am not currently getting when I'm actively searching. This includes a comparatively brief but ultimately very stressful period of unemployment where the most important signal was "this role will pay me a salary".

Some bottom-of-the-barrel firehouses will absolutely disqualify themselves through their signaling in interview loops. But I think the reality is that at most places the dysfunction just won't become evident until you've been working there for a bit and the cracks start showing.

Which brings us back to another huge advantage of tech -- I think the "safest" landing spot (assuming your personal non-negotiables are satisfied) is the spot that gives you the most financial security to leave when you've seen enough. Assuming you have a good handle on your standards/costs of living and risk tolerance, after a certain breakpoint, more money saved means more time and less time-pressure to find the signals you care about. I don't think a "dream job" exists for me, but a better one always does.

I appreciate your reply. Understandable that it probably would not be too polite to go into identifiable details in public then. :)

Yes, most of these things are indeed different in Germany (and I knew of most of the situation in the UK, I know people who lived or live there and the differences are wild). For example:

> You often can't decorate much.

No issue unless you fix it back up when you move out.

> Can't fit better windows, and windows where I've rented have usually been poor quality.

There must be laws in Germany, because I don't remember living in an apartment where the windows weren't top notch. That's also very necessary with temperatures sometimes going below -10°C.

> Can't replace the washing machine even if it's not working properly.

Like all appliances, furniture, anything, it's "bring your own" in Germany (unless you have a common laundry area... not super common I think).

> Can't put up shelves.

Same as before, as long as you fix up the holes when you move out, not an issue.

> Can't fit solar panels or better insulation,

Don't know about solar panels. Like windows, never lived in an apartment without proper insulation in Germany (in the US on the other hand...).

> or replace carpets.

You can put in whatever floor you like as far as I know, and I've done so.

> Sometimes you can't even paint the walls.

Definitely not an issue in Germany.

This confirms my impression that renting in the UK is indeed very different from renting in Germany. It seems like the UK also treats renting as more of a short term arrangement, while in Germany people may spend decades or their entire life in their rental apartment, so it's their space to create.