Originally Posted by mikelincs

Thankfully no-one was hurt and they only got their computers, lucky for them someone was in what the burglers thought was an empty house, and as Sally says, there were no guns or other weapons involved.

Originally Posted by Mallory

Seems to be a burglary hotspot!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20081428

Originally Posted by Mallory

Seems to be a burglary hotspot!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-20081428

Originally Posted by rebs

I thought Sally was in North Yorkshire, not West Yorkshire?

Originally Posted by scot47

The obsession with home ownership always struck me as weird - especially when it all depends on taking out a mortgage for 30+ years. Think about it - you are signing an agreement to pay some Financial Institution x-hundred a month for 30 years !

Originally Posted by windsong

Hello, Don It's nice to see you again!

I wonder why it is possible to work only 16 hours a week when earning minimum wage?

When you say you had to sign that you will not claim any state benefits, do you mean you had to sign that you would claim no unemployment or pension benefits? I didn't know that UK citizens with foreign-born spouses had to do this. It certainly takes away from the benefits the UK offers to you personally if you had to do this IF I am understanding correctly.

I also should state that in my comments about "immigration" I really refer to those who enter the UK in droves, take advantage of what the UK has to offer, etc - I am sure you understand. I am not referring to UK-born citizens with foreign spouses. To me, that's completely different and they have a right to be in the UK, just as my mother married an American and had a right to be in the USA because of her husband. I know immigration in the UK is a sensitive issue, so I thought I would make this clear. However, if these marriages had been arranged purely to enter the UK, then consider those in the group "those who enter the UK in droves".

I have also been thinking about the immigration issue in general. I wonder if it would make sense to have "tiered immigration", so that those UK citizens with foreign-born spouses both get the full range of UK advantages/benefits (Tier 1); then those who enter privately and of their own free will to become UK citizens, get another set of advantages/benefits (Tier 2); those who seek to enter with criminal backgrounds in their own or immediate family's history, either get yet another set of benefits (Tier 3 - very little) or do not get to enter at all. Then, after 10 years of residency in the UK with no problems, both Tier 2 and Tier 3 can change to full Tier 1 advantages/benefits. Something along these lines . . . I haven't really thought this out but it is a notion that occurred to me the other day. Maybe having a tiered system would reduce the desire to be resident in the UK. I think it might also be a huge relief for the taxpayers.

Originally Posted by mikelincs

she is, but how can you expect yanks to know where the various parts of Yorkshire are when 30% can't even place the USA on a world map..

Originally Posted by mikelincs

she is, but how can you expect yanks to know where the various parts of Yorkshire are when 30% can't even place the USA on a world map..

Originally Posted by scot47

The obsession with home ownership always struck me as weird - especially when it all depends on taking out a mortgage for 30+ years. Think about it - you are signing an agreement to pay some Financial Institution x-hundred a month for 30 years !

Originally Posted by Fish n Chips 56

I love the feeling of security owning my own home, but it does have its good and bad sides, I rented too and enjoyed the freedom it gave me to move on when I wanted.

I see lots of reverse mortgage advertisements on TV, lots of people must be doing these otherwise the ads would stop, I wonder if those are being offered in other countries, it tells you the financial state of affairs for many Americans once they reach retirement, Fancy making payments for 30 yrs and then using it as a piggy back to get you through, Those reverse mortgage companies have to be making a great return on the money for the risk involved, so it cant be that good for the homeowners, so much for the American Dream.

30 Years, I spoke to someone three years ago that had taken a 50 year mortgage, how sad is that.

Originally Posted by scot47

The obsession with home ownership always struck me as weird - especially when it all depends on taking out a mortgage for 30+ years. Think about it - you are signing an agreement to pay some Financial Institution x-hundred a month for 30 years !

Originally Posted by dontheturner

Weird? Really? Maybe you should have been able to take the chance, Margaret Thatcher created when trying to increase membership of the Tory Party - when she tried to sink and bury Labour for ever, by selling off Council houses to sitting tenants!
My Second Wife, who at that time I had just married, was, like myself, sitting in a council house.
I vacated mine, on marriage, as hers' was better with more garden.

We were offered it for a cash sum of £2120. Freehold. Should we have said no?

Originally Posted by windsong

I would have jumped at the chance, I think.

Do council houses still exist in Britain?

Originally Posted by windsong

You've had a lot of changes - and work - in the last couple of years. Sometimes it catches up with you and have you take a breather to rejuvenate. Also, the problems with your mother, don't help. This probably also prevents you taking a holiday somewhere but it sounds as if you could do with one. Is it possible to take some weekends away or, if not, to at least make some pleasurable drives into the countryside at weekends just to get out?

Sometimes, too, we begin to grieve - in advance - and if things with your mum aren't good, that may be happening as well.

That nursing home figure is incredible!! What do people who can't afford that do over there, I wonder. Is any of it picked up by the NHS?