Aviator

... or maybe not. Interest rates at 18+%, high unemployment, housing was not cheap relative to wages. The age of weed and free love!

There were not the social programs, nor medical advances even 30 years ago.

caretaker

Since both of my parents are dead I consider myself highly adoptable, especially by more mature couples who may not have time to watch a youngster grow up. Chores for allowance no problem.

dbd33

I think there's a very strong argument that the people "who never had it so good" really hadn't. My parents bought a house in London on the wages of a postman and a telephone operator. My Mother hasn't worked for 30 odd years and yet has a significant income from three pensions. That generation was an anomaly, people before and since did not have that degree of improvement in living standards in the span of a lifetime. People in London today do not have the opportunity to purchase affordable housing, nor do they have council housing to fall back upon. I realize that not all of this decline in the wellbeing of the workers is Thatcher's fault but she was some evil woman and certainly had a talon in the matter.

Back with the youth of today, those people who no longer get grants for education but who get billed for it instead, I think it's a mistake for them to live with their parents and commute to university. They should go to a school far away so that they are obliged to fend for themselves; that's part of the learning experience.

BristolUK

I wasn't sure if Aviator was referring to the UK but the latter comment may have been for Js.

30 years ago the UK's welfare system was a far far better safety net than now. It all went downhill when Income Support replaced Supplementary Benefit. Today's punitive measures were barely hinted at.

Housing was far more affordable then. I bought my house 1984 for £17.5k, borrowing the then maximum of 2.5 x salary of £6k. £15k mortgage and even with high interest rates I could just afford it.

That house was sold by me in 2005 for £156k and sold again a few years later for nearly £200k.

The current salary for the job I had when I bought is less than £15k.

I don't know what the ratio is for salary/loan now but I'm pretty sure £15k salary isn't going to enable the purchase of that 2 bed terraced home now.

scrubbedexpat091

I know it did not take my parents 3 1/2 weeks of full-time work to just earn enough to pay their rent or mortgage.

I know my parents had good jobs for the most part with high school education, and could provide for 2 kids a decent life for the most part.

Interest rates may have been high, and unemployment high, but my dad spent 1978 to 2016 with the same employer, retired at 58 with a pension.

I could never have kids, I can't work enough hours on this planet to own a home, I work nearly full-time and working nearly 60 hours this week alone, and that won't even clear 900 before taxes.



There may have been less medical advancements, and less social programs, but I would take less of those to have more of what my parents had such as stable housing, retirement options and the like.

Jingsamichty

That's also true for the youth of today who don't go to university. There are too many "kidults" working entry-level jobs but living very comfortable lives because they still live with their parents.

Shard

Probably a bit chicken and egg though.

Almost Canadian

Which is the chicken and which is the egg? If the argument goes that they can't afford to leave home that is, in my opinion, bollocks. If one applied that logic to most things, one would never get married, buy a house, or have children.

As I suspect you did, one learns to cope.

Shard

Given that earnings tend to increase with age and experience, that does not necessarily follow.

Teaandtoday5

The 'youth of today' have much more to leave behind though. My parents had central heating by the time I left home, but I spent most of my childhood without it so leaving it behind wasn't an issue. Nowadays it's a basic not a luxury. Expand that to umpteen paid for tv channels, wifi, mobile phone bills etc and kids today have a lot more to either leave behind or pay for themselves. I might have been fine with my 12" black and white tv, but a much higher standard (& cost) of living is the norm to many now.

Jingsamichty

I just find it odd that any young person puts creature comforts and disposable income ahead of freedom and debauchery.

Teaandtoday5

Ha. They just do that stuff at someone else's place, and expect a lift home the next morning.

Almost Canadian

We couldn't really "afford" to get married, have kids or buy a home. We did.

I accept that, over time, earnings increase and life becomes easier. That is, until, one buys a larger house, more expensive car, etc.

One copes.

spouse of scouse

I kept to the same rule as my mum did.

Secondary school, no contribution to household expenses or basics such as clothing required, they were given an amount of money each week for their personal use but they were expected to do help around the house for that.

Those who continued studying got a student loan and an income support allowance from the government. They paid all their personal expenses from that allowance, no monetary contribution to household expenses required but they were still required to help around the house.

Once they started working, it was 1/3 of their wages for board and lodging, 1/3 for their own use, and 1/3 in their bank account. And yes, they were still expected to help around the house.

When they were all post-secondary school age I was working full time. There's no way in the world I was going to spend my weekends cleaning the precious moppets' bedrooms and bathroom as well as the rest of the house - what's fair about one adult cleaning up another adult's mess? Why would a perfectly healthy and capable adult think it's acceptable to expect someone else to clean up after them?

Your house, your rules.

BristolUK

One can certainly leave. But to what?
Presumably, though, you borrowed to buy your home. So the lender decided you could afford to buy it.
I coped. When my mortgage payment went up from £108 a month to £148 it was a struggle. I was creative.

Leftover Sunday lunch made tea for the next 3 or 4 nights. I'd go to the supermarket with my mum, buy her shopping on my credit card and she'd give me the cash so in effect I had a cash advance without the usual associated costs. I'd have to pay the minimum on the credit card more often than I wanted to.

I suspect, however, that had the high interest rates responsible for a 40% increase in my payment existed at the time I got the mortgage, I may not have got it.

My post upthread shows I borrowed the maximum based on my salary of then £6000 to buy the £17500 house.

That salary is now £15k and the house is £200k. How big a deposit is one going to need (and where's it coming from)

Acccording to HSBC, for me to buy on my own as I did previously, the max loan is £71k and deposit needed £129k. Good luck with saving that on a salary of £15k.

So buying as a single person is out of the question.

Apparently rents outside the centre of Bristol are around £700 for a one bedroom flat. Maybe £600 for a bedsit. Out of a take home pay of £1100.

So we've gone from being able to afford a 2 bedroom house to a small flat and struggling on what's left or room in shared house...and then falling out with people for not tidying up.