And what does your partner think? > 2. ... an 'adequate' house in London would cost at least 10 times my salary. Then buy outside of London something much che

And what does your partner think? > 2. ... an 'adequate' house in London would cost at least 10 times my salary. Then buy outside of London something much cheaper, save a shitload and retire early, while keeping that well paying job. > 3. London is a horrible place to live. I have no affinity for it whatsoever. Even if I could afford a house I would not want to live here. It is a known fact that there are many people working in the city who live outside of London, nearby a train station, in the fancy suburbs: in the morning they go to the train station by car (which takes no time because they of course pick a quiet place with no traffic jam) then they go to the city by train. The parking lots of these train stations are, during the working days, full of Bentleys and Porsches and whatnots, which gives it away. Would that be an option? (not the car type: the suburb near a train station) FWIW in Brussels there are people doing exactly the same: living in the fancy suburbs (like the posh Waterloo suburb) and dodging all the traffic jams thanks to the train, while enjoying the high paying job (compared to the median salary in Belgium) the city offers (cough European institutions cough cough). My father-in-law, now retired, did that for 20 years: working on the trading floor for a big bank in Brussels, 1 minute walk from the train station, then going back to his on the countryside... I'd say it's not just extremely common: it's also very smart. You do away with the traffic jams, do away with the city stress, do away with the real estate price, can save more, etc. All the while enjoying birds chirping and squirrels at home every single day. > 5. My parents, like most boomers, had a much better standard of living when they were my age. My father had a pretty average salary, bought a massive house for a reasonable price, and saw his wealth multiply many times over. It's not like that for my generation. Common' now... If you work as a quant in the city, I'm sure it can be like that for you. I don't like the city either: any city. Not my thing. Lived in a city (not London) for 40 years, it's enough. A few years ago I moved outside the city and I love it.