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The article misses the point about the standard of living in London. It might seem strange that on someone's good sounding salary they can't make ends meet, bu

The article misses the point about the standard of living in London. It might seem strange that on someone's good sounding salary they can't make ends meet, but if you factor in all the nearby (<1hr walking or spending <£5 on public transport) stuff that's practically free and wonderful then on their salary they're still living one of the best goddamn lives in the world. I live in South London, not within walking distance of any tube line, but I still have three cinemas, one major, two independent, near me. The cuisines of a huge swathe of the world, shops for things I did not know existed, and the world's major and up and coming acts performing in hundreds of locations that cost me little or nothing to get to (and often little to attend, the big museums are free, universities do tons of free stuff, the Royal Opera House and similar have ~£15 tickets, and I can ignore the cost of traveling to London). This city is expensive if you look purely within the walls of your home, if you can get out into it, it's like having a comprehensive subscription to a better cultural network than you can imagine. It's indeed true that prices are indeed inflated by the London-centric nature of a lot of the culture, and purely financial investments in property. Apologies for sentence structure and formatting, this post impulsively written on my phone.

shaydoc 9y ago
The OP is now a single income household, and is £400 in the red every month. Also they have just had a kid (big cash drain), so I can't imagine there will be much socialising in the near future. Think they may need to "move to the 'burbs"
- dogma1138 9y ago
  The burbs that are connected via major transport links are not cheaper by any means, you get a slightly bigger property but pay the same in taxes. If you move further out then expect to pay as much as 5000£ per year to commute.
  - randomsearch 9y ago
    > 5000£ Umm, that's pretty cheap for a commuting train pass in London! It's usually way more. Double that at least.
collyw 9y ago
> they're still living one of the best goddamn lives in the world. Thats very subjective. No easy access to mountains and proper outdoor sports. Not very friendly people. British weather. Much of your time is spent on the underground. So it really depends on what you value in life. (Personally I am not a fan of London).
- shaydoc 9y ago
  not to mention the air quality in London!
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- civilian 9y ago
  That's a good point, but it's maybe a nitpick when you consider the context of the whole thread? AndrewOfMartin's point was just explaining the trade off that London gets you. Moving to a rural area, or even farther out into the suburbs, would absolutely help OP's financial situation out. Hopefully he can find a new job or work remotely. Or, if he wants to stay in London, he'll realize the value of things he would miss.
  - aidos 9y ago
    We moved into a more suburban spot outside London a couple of years ago (mostly so we could have more space for our kids) and thee are definitely some trade offs. Transport back to town is effing expensive - the 15 minute ride to Wimbledon where I work is about £9 per day. Public transport is rubbish. I cycle the 30 minutes to the nearest train station but on the occasions where my bike is out of action using local transport is only just feasible. For that reason almost everyone here has 2 cars. In London you don't even need a car, let alone 2.
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  I'm a city person, currently living in New York; I often have these types of discussions with people, and it's very easy for any one of us to forget that people can fundamentally value very different things, and that one of the important things in life is to find out what you value, and prioritize it accordingly. Two of my friends live in Texas, in moderately large houses; they're justifiably proud of them, but all I see is a huge expanse of wasted space, a lawn to upkeep, and nothing (except neighbors) to walk to. Meanwhile, they look at my life and see a tiny cramped apartment where our baby has to sleep in our bedroom, and a commute that's twice as long as theirs standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people.
civilian 9y ago
Yup! I think that his complaints about taxes are also unfair-- that 40% marginal tax rate is going to pay for health care, which I bet his wife and baby are using a lot of right now.
lukasm 9y ago
London is an amazing place to be, but a not great place to live.

shaydoc 9y ago

The OP is now a single income household, and is £400 in the red every month. Also they have just had a kid (big cash drain), so I can't imagine there will be much socialising in the near future. Think they may need to "move to the 'burbs"

dogma1138 9y ago
The burbs that are connected via major transport links are not cheaper by any means, you get a slightly bigger property but pay the same in taxes. If you move further out then expect to pay as much as 5000£ per year to commute.
- randomsearch 9y ago
  > 5000£ Umm, that's pretty cheap for a commuting train pass in London! It's usually way more. Double that at least.

collyw 9y ago

> they're still living one of the best goddamn lives in the world. Thats very subjective. No easy access to mountains and proper outdoor sports. Not very friendly people. British weather. Much of your time is spent on the underground. So it really depends on what you value in life. (Personally I am not a fan of London).

shaydoc 9y ago
not to mention the air quality in London!
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civilian 9y ago
That's a good point, but it's maybe a nitpick when you consider the context of the whole thread? AndrewOfMartin's point was just explaining the trade off that London gets you. Moving to a rural area, or even farther out into the suburbs, would absolutely help OP's financial situation out. Hopefully he can find a new job or work remotely. Or, if he wants to stay in London, he'll realize the value of things he would miss.
- aidos 9y ago
  We moved into a more suburban spot outside London a couple of years ago (mostly so we could have more space for our kids) and thee are definitely some trade offs. Transport back to town is effing expensive - the 15 minute ride to Wimbledon where I work is about £9 per day. Public transport is rubbish. I cycle the 30 minutes to the nearest train station but on the occasions where my bike is out of action using local transport is only just feasible. For that reason almost everyone here has 2 cars. In London you don't even need a car, let alone 2.
pavel_lishin 9y ago
I'm a city person, currently living in New York; I often have these types of discussions with people, and it's very easy for any one of us to forget that people can fundamentally value very different things, and that one of the important things in life is to find out what you value, and prioritize it accordingly. Two of my friends live in Texas, in moderately large houses; they're justifiably proud of them, but all I see is a huge expanse of wasted space, a lawn to upkeep, and nothing (except neighbors) to walk to. Meanwhile, they look at my life and see a tiny cramped apartment where our baby has to sleep in our bedroom, and a commute that's twice as long as theirs standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people.

civilian 9y ago

Yup! I think that his complaints about taxes are also unfair-- that 40% marginal tax rate is going to pay for health care, which I bet his wife and baby are using a lot of right now.

lukasm 9y ago

London is an amazing place to be, but a not great place to live.