That there London...It's a different world

[Markymark]

Anyway. London is awesome.

 

[swee'pea99]

Stratford is a crime infested dump.

You bring to mind a recent reminiscence from my sis:

"She managed to book the room in what can only be described as a knocking shop in a place called Llantrisant. It was truly grim. ....the hotel was opposite the site of the Royal Mint so, when I read a comment in one of the Guardians listings, I was able to enjoy it. It read: Llantrisant, the hole with a mint in it!"

 

[nickyboy]

House price inflation is great if you have an exit route. Sell your London suburban semi and buy a big house in Scotland when you retire or whatever. If all that ultimately happens is you live in London (or anywhere else for that matter), stay in London and die in London there is no tangible financial benefit unless you export the effect of the house price inflation (in the form of cash) outside London. If all that happens is you die and then someone else in London inherits the cash, there is no effect other than to further push up house prices

But back to the OP...yes, it's completely different and you can't look at it from the perspective of other parts of the UK. Son#2 is set on a life in Corporate Finance after University. He told me the starting salary for graduates at Deutsche Bank and it is eye watering, looking at it from Derbyshire. But of course it's actually just enough to live on when you consider the housing costs, commuting costs etc

 

[Globalti]

Not just London; the "conversion" ratio between Scotland and anywhere in the south is massive. Last autumn we stayed at a B&B in Argyll owned by a couple who had sold their farmhouse in Oxfordshire and used the money to buy a shooting estate in Scotland with a lodge with about 10 bedrooms for guests. At that time they were selling two 10-acre plots for building for £75,000 each.

 

[Markymark]

House price inflation is great if you have an exit route. Sell your London suburban semi and buy a big house in Scotland when you retire or whatever. If all that ultimately happens is you live in London (or anywhere else for that matter), stay in London and die in London there is no tangible financial benefit unless you export the effect of the house price inflation (in the form of cash) outside London. If all that happens is you die and then someone else in London inherits the cash, there is no effect other than to further push up house prices

But back to the OP...yes, it's completely different and you can't look at it from the perspective of other parts of the UK. Son#2 is set on a life in Corporate Finance after University. He told me the starting salary for graduates at Deutsche Bank and it is eye watering, looking at it from Derbyshire. But of course it's actually just enough to live on when you consider the housing costs, commuting costs etc

Mostly true but an appreciating property of high value could mean the ability to borrow against it for other purposes due to the high equity gained.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

London is another country, a city-state. As are most large cities in the UK, but London does it to the max.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

House price inflation is great if you have an exit route. Sell your London suburban semi and buy a big house in Scotland when you retire or whatever. If all that ultimately happens is you live in London (or anywhere else for that matter), stay in London and die in London there is no tangible financial benefit unless you export the effect of the house price inflation (in the form of cash) outside London. If all that happens is you die and then someone else in London inherits the cash, there is no effect other than to further push up house prices

But back to the OP...yes, it's completely different and you can't look at it from the perspective of other parts of the UK. Son#2 is set on a life in Corporate Finance after University. He told me the starting salary for graduates at Deutsche Bank and it is eye watering, looking at it from Derbyshire. But of course it's actually just enough to live on when you consider the housing costs, commuting costs etc

I've just seen the online video of the place a dear friend has bought, with cash left over, in Huntersville, New Zealand from what he got for a very average terraced house in Shooters Hill.

 

[nickyboy]

I've just seen the online video of the place a dear friend has bought, with cash left over, in Huntersville, New Zealand from what he got for a very average terraced house in Shooters Hill.

And that's when it works. However, I suspect that a large majority of those who "benefit" from London house price inflation just recirculate it, ultimately, back in to the London house market. All those parochial Londoners like @Markymark couldn't consider living outside Zone 2

What is the problem is the increasing disparity in house prices discourages movement of labour from areas without jobs to areas with jobs

 

[Markymark]

And that's when it works. However, I suspect that a large majority of those who "benefit" from London house price inflation just recirculate it, ultimately, back in to the London house market. All those parochial Londoners like @Markymark couldn't consider living outside Zone 2

What is the problem is the increasing disparity in house prices discourages movement of labour from areas without jobs to areas with jobs

Zone 5!!!

 

[nickyboy]

Zone 5!!!

I live nearer to central London than those in Zone 5

 

[simon.r]

He's lived in Stratford for the last 3 or 4 years (though has recently moved to Clapham), so knows the area reasonably well. It wouldn't be my choice, but it suits him from a work and social perspective.

My mind boggles at £300k+ for a one bed flat, but I'm assured that's the going rate.

I suspect he'd be better off overall financially if he took a pay cut and moved north, but he really likes living and working in London.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

And that's when it works. However, I suspect that a large majority of those who "benefit" from London house price inflation just recirculate it, ultimately, back in to the London house market. All those parochial Londoners like @Markymark couldn't consider living outside Zone 2

What is the problem is the increasing disparity in house prices discourages movement of labour from areas without jobs to areas with jobs

DFL's abound on the south coast, and hereabouts in Sussex.. Places are getting gentrified as a result. Very interesting experience in Margate a few weeks ago what I mistaken for a DLF-er.

 

[green1]

Not just London; the "conversion" ratio between Scotland and anywhere in the south is massive. Last autumn we stayed at a B&B in Argyll owned by a couple who had sold their farmhouse in Oxfordshire and used the money to buy a shooting estate in Scotland with a lodge with about 10 bedrooms for guests. At that time they were selling two 10-acre plots for building for £75,000 each.

Talk about a sweeping generalisation. Scotland is a big place.

 

[The Crofted Crest]

Londoners in photos

 

[Beebo]

Londoners in photos

They are cleverly done, to make everyone look alone and isolated.
But that is not london, it is a very small area in the city. No one lives there it is solely a working location.