Jesus H. Christ, surely it would never come to that, how could you hold your head up if you're a Londoner?
I'm probably an average joe, I finagled my way into a decent job when I was around 25, I worked hard, did the job right, and earned good money.
I bought a house for £28,000 just past Blackheath, almost into Welling, Kent when I was around 34.
I then talked my way into a better job, did well, then sold that house and bought a 3 storey town house for £56,995 right on the river near Tower Bridge when I was about 42.
I moved in in January '85, and in November '85 an estate agent offered me £115,000 for it.
It's probably worth a minimum of £750,000 - £775,000 now, maybe more, and I'm seriously considering selling up and either going 'home' to France, or if I stay in the U.K. I'll consider something like Westerham, Kent, or in that area.
There are media types who bought stripped out empty spaces as little as 20 years ago in the east end for £200k (seemed like crazy money back then, but pennies now!), fitted them out and even ten years ago they were valued at £1m+. Jean-Francois` return on initial investment is good but even folk who bought well 10-15 years ago will make an absolute killing when they sell.
1. Buy a long way out. We are talking Bedford here.
Croydon's still relatively cheap. There are plenty of one-bed flats for under £150k, which is less than you'd have to pay where I live in Sussex. Two people on £25kpa, with a 10% deposit, would be able to afford that.
I also checked out the sold prices for the road I used to live in. A house identical to the one I used to have sold 6 months ago for £205k, the one I bought in Sussex cost exactly the same at the time, but is now worth £280k-£300k.
most people dont. they commute. thats why rail network southeast is huge and reaches everywhere, while rail network rest-of-the-uk is a joke .......
Other than that being a quite a generalisation, there are historical reasons for that. The 'original' rail network when built radiated from London (and still does). The Beeching cuts didn't affect counties like Kent and Sussex etc., in the same way as much of the rest of the UK, because Dr. Beeching was born in Kent and later lived in Sussex, so he had vested interests to protect the railways in those areas.
If you're talking about the former Network SouthEast area, that extends well beyond what I would call the southeast.
The problem with trains in the London area is that most of them will be rammed during the peak hours and does one want to do that at least Monday to Friday. South of the river, the trains run on third rail, which is slow and IMO not up to the job, whereas north of the river they run on 25kV OLE, which is far superior.
So for living in London, I would imagine working from home or travelling off peak to work would be far better options. I don't know how house prices vary area by area in London, but generally it will be very expensive to rent or buy.
I think it's really funny when non londoners talk about London like it simply consists of a couple of landmarks around the Big Ben and not one of the most important cities in world, home with a population of a small country.
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I think I actually just vomited from envy. >:(
the greatest city ever
There are media types who bought stripped out empty spaces as little as 20 years ago in the east end for £200k (seemed like crazy money back then, but pennies now!), fitted them out and even ten years ago they were valued at £1m+. Jean-Francois` return on initial investment is good but even folk who bought well 10-15 years ago will make an absolute killing when they sell.
Croydon's still relatively cheap. There are plenty of one-bed flats for under £150k, which is less than you'd have to pay where I live in Sussex. Two people on £25kpa, with a 10% deposit, would be able to afford that.
I also checked out the sold prices for the road I used to live in. A house identical to the one I used to have sold 6 months ago for £205k, the one I bought in Sussex cost exactly the same at the time, but is now worth £280k-£300k.
Mind you, I moved away from Croydon for a reason!
Other than that being a quite a generalisation, there are historical reasons for that. The 'original' rail network when built radiated from London (and still does). The Beeching cuts didn't affect counties like Kent and Sussex etc., in the same way as much of the rest of the UK, because Dr. Beeching was born in Kent and later lived in Sussex, so he had vested interests to protect the railways in those areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Beeching,_Baron_Beeching
If you're talking about the former Network SouthEast area, that extends well beyond what I would call the southeast.
The problem with trains in the London area is that most of them will be rammed during the peak hours and does one want to do that at least Monday to Friday. South of the river, the trains run on third rail, which is slow and IMO not up to the job, whereas north of the river they run on 25kV OLE, which is far superior.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Southeast
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Railcard#Original_area
http://www.railcard.co.uk/clientfiles/files/map.pdf
So for living in London, I would imagine working from home or travelling off peak to work would be far better options. I don't know how house prices vary area by area in London, but generally it will be very expensive to rent or buy.
When the Thameslink Programme is completed (2018) you may not even have to do that.
www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk
http://www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/sites/all/files/styles/large/public/TLP%20Map_HR_MM_0.JPG
http://www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions#general16