Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Nov 2nd 2016, 12:48 pm
#46
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Having read the OPs posts on this thread, I think they were persuaded too easily from the Greater Manchester area and should revisit that idea. You will get much better value for house size/garden, and there is plenty of culture, not just in Manchester itself but the other cities that are easily reached within an hour by road or public transport - Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield. Plus a huge variety of countryside - pretty Cheshire villages, the Peak district, the Lake District, Snowdonia and coastline, all easy to access.
For those "only London will do" occaisions, trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston typically take around 2 hrs 10 minutes. Very easy to do a day in London for a match/museums/matinees/shopping if you are organised and book a cheap advanced ticket.
For those "only London will do" occaisions, trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston typically take around 2 hrs 10 minutes. Very easy to do a day in London for a match/museums/matinees/shopping if you are organised and book a cheap advanced ticket.
Nov 2nd 2016, 2:55 pm
#47
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Having read the OPs posts on this thread, I think they were persuaded too easily from the Greater Manchester area and should revisit that idea. You will get much better value for house size/garden, and there is plenty of culture, not just in Manchester itself but the other cities that are easily reached within an hour by road or public transport - Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield. Plus a huge variety of countryside - pretty Cheshire villages, the Peak district, the Lake District, Snowdonia and coastline, all easy to access.
For those "only London will do" occaisions, trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston typically take around 2 hrs 10 minutes. Very easy to do a day in London for a match/museums/matinees/shopping if you are organised and book a cheap advanced ticket.
For those "only London will do" occaisions, trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston typically take around 2 hrs 10 minutes. Very easy to do a day in London for a match/museums/matinees/shopping if you are organised and book a cheap advanced ticket.
Life in a Hertfordshire town is not living in or experiencing London. I live in a Hertfordshire town and London is a different world. Nobody around here would consider themselves to be living in London, I seriously doubt my next door neighbour, who was born and bred in this village, has even been to London more than ten times in his entire life. We re on the Stansted Express train line so trains run througout the night but still I rarely make the journey and I have no appetite for jumping on a 1am train home.
Manchester would save OP a few hundred k which could be spent on enjoying life and having far far more convenient access to city life in UKs third city. It is a complete no brainer IMHO.
Nov 2nd 2016, 3:28 pm
#48
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Life in a Hertfordshire town is not living in or experiencing London. I live in a Hertfordshire town and London is a different world. Nobody around here would consider themselves to be living in London, I seriously doubt my next door neighbour, who was born and bred in this village, has even been to London more than ten times in his entire life. We re on the Stansted Express train line so trains run througout the night but still I rarely make the journey and I have no appetite for jumping on a 1am train home.
.
I did commute to London with hundreds of others for a while from Milton Keynes.(35 minutes) I certainly didn't miss London traffic , but it did teach me how to do city driving. When I worked in London, it would take longer for some of the people living in London to get to work that it took me. Those tube trains don't go very fast.
For me it was how I want to spend my most of my free time, against what I like to do once in a while. I prefer the country air, to the city smog.
Nov 2nd 2016, 5:38 pm
#49
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
The other thing I'd say is that there should be no rush to buy a property straight away - rent and see if you can live the life you want in your chosen area, and if it suits you then you can buy at your leisure. If not, then it will be considerably easier to move and try somewhere else.
Someone usually pops up to say that "renting is dead money", but in situations like this it's not - its paying to keep a roof over your head while you make the right long term decisions for you.
Someone usually pops up to say that "renting is dead money", but in situations like this it's not - its paying to keep a roof over your head while you make the right long term decisions for you.
Nov 2nd 2016, 8:23 pm
#50
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Mmm that is just what I am thinking. It is incredible that OP is even asking about how Manchester, the UKs third city, is comparing with Eastbourne.
Life in a Hertfordshire town is not living in or experiencing London. I live in a Hertfordshire town and London is a different world. Nobody around here would consider themselves to be living in London, I seriously doubt my next door neighbour, who was born and bred in this village, has even been to London more than ten times in his entire life. We re on the Stansted Express train line so trains run througout the night but still I rarely make the journey and I have no appetite for jumping on a 1am train home.
Manchester would save OP a few hundred k which could be spent on enjoying life and having far far more convenient access to city life in UKs third city. It is a complete no brainer IMHO.
Life in a Hertfordshire town is not living in or experiencing London. I live in a Hertfordshire town and London is a different world. Nobody around here would consider themselves to be living in London, I seriously doubt my next door neighbour, who was born and bred in this village, has even been to London more than ten times in his entire life. We re on the Stansted Express train line so trains run througout the night but still I rarely make the journey and I have no appetite for jumping on a 1am train home.
Manchester would save OP a few hundred k which could be spent on enjoying life and having far far more convenient access to city life in UKs third city. It is a complete no brainer IMHO.
I like the NW location for lots of reasons. When I do go to London, which I do enjoy for short trips, it's for a particular reason such as showing my Oz relatives around. Just over 2 hours on the train, it's a doddle.
PS, OP, if you do choose a northern city to buy in, you can hire a cleaner with some of that spare cash. And if that's not a good reason I don't know what is
(I flipping hate cleaning)
Last edited by spouse of scouse; Nov 2nd 2016 at 8:25 pm.
Nov 3rd 2016, 12:48 am
#51
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
You guys are awesome! Thank you for all the great feedback. I'm a city person that feel equally comfortable living in the country. My game plan was to find a place in driving distance to London because of it's amazing nightlife and cultural offerings. I am totally open to the idea of doing day trips into London from a 90 minute travel time. Was definitely attempting to narrow down the trip to less than 45 minutes. But life is all about compromise and looking for the better option. Not allowing the perfect be the enemy of the good is the right approach in many cases. I have viewed several areas and researched their highpoints. Manchester is on my top 5 list. I just don't know that much about the place. I do like the fact it's close to several other cities like Liverpool, Blackpool, and a short travel distance to Ireland. Just need to learn more about the lifestyle in that area. 4 bedroom detached house for sale in Didsbury Road, Heaton Mersey, SK4 No question that the type of home one can afford for less money is impressive. Good example. 3 bedroom detached house for sale in Manor Road, Salford, M6 Manchester certainly is worth a look.
Nov 3rd 2016, 12:51 am
#52
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
The other thing I'd say is that there should be no rush to buy a property straight away - rent and see if you can live the life you want in your chosen area, and if it suits you then you can buy at your leisure. If not, then it will be considerably easier to move and try somewhere else.
Someone usually pops up to say that "renting is dead money", but in situations like this it's not - its paying to keep a roof over your head while you make the right long term decisions for you.
Someone usually pops up to say that "renting is dead money", but in situations like this it's not - its paying to keep a roof over your head while you make the right long term decisions for you.
Very good advice to take time before buying. I'm hoping to wait between 3-6 months before selecting a place. Unless of course the idea place presents it self.
Nov 3rd 2016, 12:57 am
#53
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Have you looked to see what you would get in greater Manchester for £500k? Or alternatively looked to see what those kind of houses would cost you in Mamchester, I would take a punt at £200-300k.
Those houses are about 20 miles from where I live but slightly further from and less accessible to London - and London is not an hour away from me and is not close enough to feel like popping there every weekend. On paper my train is 40 minutes to London but I would allow 90 minutes to two hours for every trip into London, it costs over £20 on the train and is too far for a taxi home. If I were doing theatre in London, I would book a hotel or do the matinee.
Nothing wrong with the places of course, but if you think you are getting London you are wrong. If you bought in Greater Manchester (say) you would save hundreds of thousands and would be far closer to the city action than you would be from a Hertforsdshire or Essex commuter town.
Those houses are about 20 miles from where I live but slightly further from and less accessible to London - and London is not an hour away from me and is not close enough to feel like popping there every weekend. On paper my train is 40 minutes to London but I would allow 90 minutes to two hours for every trip into London, it costs over £20 on the train and is too far for a taxi home. If I were doing theatre in London, I would book a hotel or do the matinee.
Nothing wrong with the places of course, but if you think you are getting London you are wrong. If you bought in Greater Manchester (say) you would save hundreds of thousands and would be far closer to the city action than you would be from a Hertforsdshire or Essex commuter town.
Nov 3rd 2016, 4:36 am
#54
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
You may want to use https://www.checkmystreet.co.uk/ if you find a place to check crime and public transport ratings. or https://www.police.uk/
Nov 3rd 2016, 12:21 pm
#55
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
The homes I've been viewing are quite beautiful. Manchester seem like an area were I might be able to spend 400K and find a really nice community and home. Thanks for the suggestion. I will consider that area. I wonder if the weather is much different in Manchester compared to outer London?
.Cardiff might be a good option for you if you want the balance.
This s a good site for weather
London climate information - Met Office
Last edited by Moses2013; Nov 3rd 2016 at 12:24 pm.
Nov 4th 2016, 12:56 am
#56
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Having read the OPs posts on this thread, I think they were persuaded too easily from the Greater Manchester area and should revisit that idea. You will get much better value for house size/garden, and there is plenty of culture, not just in Manchester itself but the other cities that are easily reached within an hour by road or public transport - Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield. Plus a huge variety of countryside - pretty Cheshire villages, the Peak district, the Lake District, Snowdonia and coastline, all easy to access.
For those "only London will do" occaisions, trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston typically take around 2 hrs 10 minutes. Very easy to do a day in London for a match/museums/matinees/shopping if you are organised and book a cheap advanced ticket.
For those "only London will do" occaisions, trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Euston typically take around 2 hrs 10 minutes. Very easy to do a day in London for a match/museums/matinees/shopping if you are organised and book a cheap advanced ticket.
Nov 4th 2016, 1:21 am
#57
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
I've only been to Manchester a few times but I loved what I saw. If I couldn't live in Liverpool and still wanted a buzzy and vibrant city to live in, it would be my next choice. I think that would hold true even if I had pots of money.
I like the NW location for lots of reasons. When I do go to London, which I do enjoy for short trips, it's for a particular reason such as showing my Oz relatives around. Just over 2 hours on the train, it's a doddle.
PS, OP, if you do choose a northern city to buy in, you can hire a cleaner with some of that spare cash. And if that's not a good reason I don't know what is (I flipping hate cleaning)
I like the NW location for lots of reasons. When I do go to London, which I do enjoy for short trips, it's for a particular reason such as showing my Oz relatives around. Just over 2 hours on the train, it's a doddle.
PS, OP, if you do choose a northern city to buy in, you can hire a cleaner with some of that spare cash. And if that's not a good reason I don't know what is
(I flipping hate cleaning)
Nov 4th 2016, 1:24 am
#58
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
You may want to use https://www.checkmystreet.co.uk/ if you find a place to check crime and public transport ratings. or https://www.police.uk/
Nov 4th 2016, 1:24 am
#59
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
Well, Manchester does get a bit more rain and is not as sunny as London but it's not life changing, especially if you can afford a house with garden in Manchester that gets the sun.
Cardiff might be a good option for you if you want the balance.
This s a good site for weather
London climate information - Met Office
.Cardiff might be a good option for you if you want the balance.
This s a good site for weather
London climate information - Met Office
Nov 4th 2016, 9:43 am
#60
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Re: Is 50,000 sterling a ok salary in outer London area?
I live in commutable distance from London and been here a year and have still not visited the big city. Maybe this Christmas for some "cheer" !