How do people afford to work in expensive areas of the country?

[fez]

Unfortunately the UK isn't a first world country any more for the vast majority of people. My first cousin lives in America and her brother in law is earning high 6 figures as a trucker and I am nowhere near that.

A high 6 figure salary is nearly a million quid. I doubt he is earning that a year. And the US is great, until you get ill. Then all that money and progress in life is down the toilet.

Everything eventually reaches a tipping point. Our whole economic cycle is a never ending boom and bust.

It's obviously very difficult to know exactly when, but average house prices just carry on being a bigger and bigger multiple of average salaries, and that obviously cannot just keep getting larger and larger.

The economic cycle is boom and bust but thats going to change to just bust if we don't get a handle on the big issues. Dwindling working age population. More and more people taking out of the system who haven't put enough in. The average person is earning less and less compared to the cost of living and the rental crisis is a ticking time bomb.

In 50 years, all the people who haven't been able to buy a house ie. a lot of them won't have a house, will want to retire, probably won't have a good pension and will be paying thousands a month in rent. We're a welfare country so as this slowly gets worse and worse we will either put more and more of a tax burden on the young or we will have to abandon the old. Well, that or we make companies and the uber wealthy pay their fair share but now I'm just being silly.

 

[Rroff]

will want to retire, probably won't have a good pension and will be paying thousands a month in rent.

This problem is coming a lot sooner I think - loads of people in the probably 35-45 age range are pretty much screwed pension wise and increasingly housing wise, I'm guessing the Tories hope they work themselves to death due to being unable to afford to retire :s unless things change dramatically starting about 30 years from now it ain't going to be pretty.

 

[Nasher]

Unfortunately the UK isn't a first world country any more for the vast majority of people. My first cousin lives in America and her brother in law is earning high 6 figures as a trucker and I am nowhere near that.

Look how much some UPS drivers get paid in Canada. The UK has fallen far behind.

Wages never really moved on since 2009 for most people vs cost of living. Public sector workers especially are basically on a never ending pay freeze.

MPs have sorted themselves out nicely though. Corrupt *****.

 

[Kurgen]

i live in west berkshire, and work in london, but luckily my employer pays for the season ticket, other wise i couldnt afford it

 

[adam cool dude]

A high 6 figure salary is nearly a million quid. I doubt he is earning that a year. And the US is great, until you get ill. Then all that money and progress in life is down the toilet.

Sorry by high 6 figure I meant 150-200.

 

[fez]

Look how much some UPS drivers get paid in Canada. The UK has fallen far behind.

Wages never really moved on since 2009 for most people vs cost of living. Public sector workers especially are basically on a never ending pay freeze.

MPs have sorted themselves out nicely though. Corrupt *****.

Thats nice but you cannot compare salaries between countries easily. The average salary in the US is around $75,000. Fuel is dirt cheap over there so delivery companies spend far far less on transport costs. I would wager that their rules on fleet maintenance are far more lax than over here.

Oh and apparently the UPS drivers on $170k/year are actually on a $92k salary. The US talks far more in TC than we do. That extra $78k/year is things like health insurance and pensions. Companies in the US are excellent at giving you silly TC packages that they never actually pay that much for. "This insurance is worth $2k/month (but we only pay $500/month for it)".

They do 100% have better salaries over there but we are not as wealthy a country as they are and we have far higher tax burdens for all the welfare we enjoy.

 

[adam cool dude]

They do 100% have better salaries over there but we are not as wealthy a country as they are and we have far higher tax burdens for all the welfare we enjoy.

Back in the early 90' to mid 00's we were comparable though. Since the financial crash of 08 we have fallen off a cliff. Germany has gone ahead of us in such a short space of time and France is our equal. In the not too distant future I can see us being like Italy.

Far too much money has been funneled out of this country into the wrong hands.

 

[redeye]

This problem is coming a lot sooner I think - loads of people in the probably 35-45 age range are pretty much screwed pension wise and increasingly housing wise, I'm guessing the Tories hope they work themselves to death due to being unable to afford to retire :s unless things change dramatically starting about 30 years from now it ain't going to be pretty.

Yup that's me. Had a bit of rough luck in my 30s so my income stagnated and couldn't save much. I'm now 42 with a decent job and income but I can't afford to buy anything by myself. My private pension is worth about 20k which I started young but couldn't keep paying into and it's a struggle to pay back into it now with cost of living.

If this carries on I'm basically having to rely on inheritance (not that I want that right now, it's rather nice still having parents around) to fund my retirement and no hope of buying a house.

I don't know anyone else in my circle of friends in such a circumstance, I just hope there are a lot more than it feels like.

I guess I just need to work harder and even longer to get the pathetic UK state pension which won't cover anything.

 

[potatolord]

This problem is coming a lot sooner I think - loads of people in the probably 35-45 age range are pretty much screwed pension wise and increasingly housing wise, I'm guessing the Tories hope they work themselves to death due to being unable to afford to retire :s unless things change dramatically starting about 30 years from now it ain't going to be pretty.

There's another pensions review soon-2026, i think.

They didn't raise qualifying age to 68 in the last one (went to 67), but it seems likely that is coming. That will not be fun, as they do that on a 10 year notice period.

 

[413x]

This problem is coming a lot sooner I think - loads of people in the probably 35-45 age range are pretty much screwed pension wise and increasingly housing wise, I'm guessing the Tories hope they work themselves to death due to being unable to afford to retire :s unless things change dramatically starting about 30 years from now it ain't going to be pretty.

Its a time bomb.
In essence we have to accept a falling life expectancy. Because at the end of the day that's what's happening.

Without tax on wealth, reforms and funding for the NHS that's what's going to happen.

We vote for it though.

As the pension age goes up and up, and life expectancy drops fewer will ever see it.
Then this generation will really be able to say we had it harder. No ifs or buts.

It really makes it seem pointless for most to even bother with a pension. Because so few will even see it. I don't blame people for living for the moment more and more. Because the future is looking very grim.


Really.. The gap between haves and have nots will just grow faster and faster.


Edit.
For most retirement would also be grim. Because of lack of pension both public and private.. Even if you get there, you're probably looking at surviving rather than living.


My main hope would be equity release. Because I won't be retiring without house price rises + inheritance.

 

[Stu999]

Shack up with a partner who earns more. No mortgage.

I'm ugly. RIP.

 

[413x]

I'm ugly. RIP.

Only fans kink catering?

 

[Narj]

This problem is coming a lot sooner I think - loads of people in the probably 35-45 age range are pretty much screwed pension wise and increasingly housing wise, I'm guessing the Tories hope they work themselves to death due to being unable to afford to retire :s unless things change dramatically starting about 30 years from now it ain't going to be pretty.

I'm one of the lucky ones in that age range. Must say that recently, for the first time in my life I've been thinking I might have to retire abroad to escape the rot.

 

[dowie]

I've seen a job online that I'd really like to do but the salary is under £30k and it's located in the South East, not that far from London. How do people afford to do these 'normal' salary jobs in areas like this? Purely from already living in the area / having family to help out? Been employed for many years and bought a house more than 20 years ago?

Generally, they already live there or moved with a partner or have access to social housing (getting social housing can be a huge net benefit in London).

Some young people will take low-paid work if they can flatshare - this tends to work if it's something with a potential better payoff later. People don't typically move across the country simply to go work in some low-paid admin job but they might well take a low-paid fashion or TV job to break into those industries.

Is this job something in an industry where the jobs are concentrated in London? Or perhaps something that will offer bigger pay rises once you've got a bit of experience? If not then I'd perhaps look elsewhere.

 

[Stu999]

Updated OP with some more detail:

Trying to keep this vague has led to assumptions so a bit more about the situation:

- I’m in my 40s,
- I’ve worked 20 years in a career I no longer enjoy so wanting to change,
- Currently earning a little over £40k,
- Current rent in the NE is £500/month for a 2 bed flat,
- the role I’m interested in is skilled but a manual job so WFH is not an option,
- it’s closer to Oxford along the M40 than London itself,
- would be maybe for a couple of years to get the experience then maybe look to move back to the NE or a cheaper area,
- it’s a difficult field to get into and not many jobs crop up.

 

[dowie]

- I’m in my 40s,
[...]
- it’s closer to Oxford along the M40 than London itself,
- would be maybe for a couple of years to get the experience then maybe look to move back to the NE or a cheaper area,
- it’s a difficult field to get into and not many jobs crop up.

If it's not actually in London then perhaps the rent issue isn't quite so tricky, renting in High Wycombe or Princes Risborough or similar is going to be cheaper than many places in London.

Bit awkward to flat share/house share in your 40s though, I guess it is done - a friend of mine was renting a big 5-bedroom home outside London in his 20s and subletting to all sorts of random people. Though perhaps you could find a 1 bed or studio within budget.

Another option, since it's only for a year or two; a canal boat? The Grand Union canal is North East of that section of the M40.

 

[gingergundog]

Up in the grim north, mostly. Plenty of rough areas mind you.

I live in a "decent" town on the outskirts of Liverpool, very easy commute into the city for work (trains every 15 minutes), and even then our 3-bed detached, new-ish build at about 100sq.m was still £250k. Way more affordable, especially if you're able to WFH. Annual pass on Merseyrail is £800 at the moment, which on face value is quite high for the small area it covers (not even the whole network) but when you consider mortgage costs in London/SE I'm sure that'd be a very welcome trade for a lot of people, or not even needed with WFH.

Plenty of rough areas in the south too. I have often thought about moving to the Lake District to get away from it all.

 

[arknor]

Not sure what you're getting at, stop being sarcastic in text online if that is what you are doing i need tone of voice and or facial expressions to detect, even i would say that being 100% serious, but only if you say you already work 60 hours and its not enough.

you know how many hours are in a week? half of that will be spent sleeping and commuting or just waking up whatever.

it doesn't leave a lot of time left to do other basic tasks.

 

[platinum87]

you know how many hours are in a week? half of that will be spent sleeping and commuting or just waking up whatever.

it doesn't leave a lot of time left to do other basic tasks.

Leaves plenty of time?

I noticed you said "just waking up", if you wake up and sit there like a zombie for an hour before you can do anything, that was me also. Since i went no carb, that's gone. Now i wake up, and im ready.

Need to also point out, we are all wasting time just browsing OCUK forums tbh.

 

[FoxEye]

Leaves plenty of time?

I noticed you said "just waking up", if you wake up and sit there like a zombie for an hour before you can do anything, that was me also. Since i went no carb, that's gone. Now i wake up, and im ready.

Need to also point out, we are all wasting time just browsing OCUK forums tbh.

A 60 hour work week is 10 hours a day 6 days out of 7. Let's add two hours for commuting both ways and getting ready to go to work. Subtract that plus 8 hours for sleeping. Leaves 4 hours in a day for everything else. Let's say an hour to prepare meals and feed yourself. Down to 3 hours. Random crap like food shopping is going to take some hours from that.

So a max of what? 3 hours out of 24 that are not spent just keeping yourself alive.

What a glorious existence we could have, if we followed your advice and did a min wage job for 60 bleeding hours a week. Glorious.