Regional house prices

Cont.2 - so her option is that she will live off Benefits & take whatever state support is available (which may be sub-st&ard) but that’s her choice - she chose to have that child, bearing in mind what her options were. Her choice…
In a worst case scenario - where you can definitely say life was bloody unfair - Scenario 2, Jack & Jill meet, fall in love, get married, decide to have a child, a year later Jack returns from the Office Xmas party & declares he’s met Ms Muffet & he’s leaving! Ok undeniably that’s pretty sh*t!! but still Jill’s equally accountable to a certain degree (after all she married the tw*t & had a child – & so she has responsibilities now) So what does that mean, Option 1, she gets to keep the house so she has some security & which presents her with options in terms of going forwards. Ok, so they didn’t own a house - one can argue why start a family when you clearly can’t even afford to house yourselves?? Argument 2, they didn’t think owning a property was that important, having children was more important, so fine crack on, it’s going to be hard for a while on her own & having to live somewhere which isn’t exactly ideal BUT it’s Free & at least she’s been blessed enough to have children which was what she wanted, & lucky to have that state support too as an option, & she can look to the future & at ways of getting back on track! So really, it’s all good!
For every ‘no can do’/excuse, there is an option/solution - that is if you look & try hard enough & take accountability for yourself!!! Unfortunately many people take for granted whatever they do get for free & furthermore even have the audacity to then complain about such privileges! You talk about sh*tty Council houses & sh*tty neighbours etc etc (My area is from great & I paid a quarter of a Mil.£ for the privilege!!) so I’m more justified than you to be resentful But yet I’m not, neither of us are that badly done by if you think again, think what if you had a corrugated iron shanty-town of a house? But as it happens, you will find that those who do, they’re arel v.proud, & go out day in & day out to try & earn whatever they can for themselves & their families!!
I just cannot find a single excuse that could not be challenged here, not in this Country. I could go on & on… So you can’t get a good job, why not, you don’t have the qualifications, who’s fault, yours, But never mind you can still do something about it, work towards getting them!. You can’t work, why not, cos you’ve got little kids to look after, who’s fault, yours, But chose to have kids (when clearly not self-sufficient), but no worries, be happy, just do the best you can for them, & also look at doing something about it in terms of improving your lives, etc etc.
There are always choices - you either take the ‘then available options’ temporarily & work towards creating new options OR you simply choose to accept the existing as your life - because the alternate requires just a bit too much effort! Harsh words but true!!
I worked v. hard, had to make many compromises along the way & I still am, all in order to get where I am. So I work hard to earn good money but on the flipside, I pay 40% Tax I don’t like it (it’s bloody unfair - not exactly considered a privilege after working so hard) BUT I don’t complain, it’s just a fact i.e. if you earn x amount, you have to h& over almost half of your earnings! C’est la vie!! But should I decide actually that’s pretty pants & I really don’t want that, then I’ll just have to do something about it i.e. make happen whatever I consider is then more important to me. That’s up to me. & exactly the same principle applies to you & every person. As to how good your life is - that’s totally up to you!! Anyone - feel free to convince me otherwise…
Anyway that’s my little rant over with! :) I do love my flat, little it may be BUT it’s so cute & it’s mine, all mine!! :)

Cont. ..buying/selling whatever bric-a-brac they can, to make just a few cents/$ in order to feed & clothe their children, etc etc. I have absolute empathy.
THIS COUNTRY presents you with some of the best basic options available- a free education system, free NHS, free contraception, etc etc – all perfect to build on - BUT IF YOU choose not to utilize such like, or choose to make certain decisions (& which may subsequently limit your options in other respects) then that was YOUR choice. The outcome is likely to correspond to the decisions you took! But the great thing is, these free resources remain available, so whatever you may have missed out on first time round, you always have an opportunity to try & achieve later, if you really want to! THERE REALLY ARE NO EXCUSES!!!
Life is hard, everything has an element of risk attached to it, often things don’t go to plan even with your best endeavors BUT you deal with it & do what needs to be done! We’re not living in some Third World/ War-torn country so hardship should only ever be temporary - that is if you take ownership of yourself (& your obligations) in terms of finding resolutions. It may involve hard work for a while (a novice concept to many I know!) but effort = rewards.
Essentially everything results from something that we either Did or Did Not do! So going back to the badly-done-by-on-benefits discussion…
Scenario 1, Jill decides to have a child (despite unable to pay for that child’s upbringing) -

Having debated this topic with a friend since (following my comments below), I would like to add my opinion further, & hopefully it’ll be interesting reading for others - whether you agree or not?!
OK, my views on this, there’s only one certainty in life & that is we all die. Everything else is an uncertainty, so at the v.least there’s an Outcome A or an Outcome B, therefore which presents at least 2 options hence a choice to make. It doesn’t mean that the options might be ideal & of course you have to work within whatever applicable constraints. BIT that applies to Everyone & Everything!!!
I think what people fail to underst& is that ultimately we are all accountable for ourselves. When you’re transferring that accountability to someone else, then of course that creates added uncertainties & lesser options. But I think that’s blatantly obvious, & what do you expect?! The Analogy having your cake & eat it is fine BUT when it’s free cake, to then complain that it’s Tesco’s Value & you’re not happy because you want a free choice selection from M&S Luxury & Waitrose – now I think that’s a bit bloody cheeky! :)
If people open their eyes & look around the world, it puts into context just how ludicrous such excuses are! All around the world people have children who are a million miles off being financially secure BUT many do because they didn’t have contraception (nor education), but still they get on with it e.g. walk for miles to the closest towns, buying/selling whatever...

Interesting reading. I feel compelled to make a comment too. Unfortunately I disagree as much in that I do believe EVERYONE HAS A CHOICE. An example, despite a very difficult life, I decided to better myself & took myself through education working 3 part-time jobs at a time in order to do so. Then it took a decade to pay off my university fees & renting for over 15 years before getting to where I am now, affording my tiny little London pad. I now do well, though the definition of doing well is questionable as I can work >15hrs a day and after paying the mortgage & cost of living, living on my own in London, I break even! But that’s my choice. I am in my late 30s and would love to have children but can’t consider this as it would mean I wouldn’t be able to accept work and who would pay my mortgage? I choose to own a flat so that means I may end up missing out on something else that is equally v. important to me. But it could be said that only I would be to blame. Everyone has a choice, to create options and make things happen. So in the example below, the lady chose to go ahead & have a child despite she [&/or her partner] not being able to afford a family but accepting that they would live in a perhaps not so nice Council House & live off Benefits. In my opinion, that’s a choice..

Prices have not dropped in my area (near Gatwick) and I do not see why they should just because some journalist says so. People are not buying because the banks have not got the funds to lend. A problem which looks like it will be resolved soon. It would be a good thing if house prices stayed static or only increased in line with general infaltion rates for a while. I hope the government take steps to deter the BTL investers as they are grabbing all the entry level properties in my area

Hey guys it's not house prices keeping you off the ladder. Check this site to see that house prices have not soared anywhere (except London) ever.
Of course every localized or postcode area will have it's day of rising prices but the natural effect is that the prices finally rise to level at which point they don't sell. Then they come down in that area. This cycle is repeated everywhere.
What's keeping you guys off the property ladder is wages. For the great mass of workers who are on minimum wage or not much above their wages are actually much less in real terms than two decades ago. also so many are on part-time work since the recession of 1990 turned the labour market upside-down. Finally the sub prime mortgage disaster proves that many of the house owners today ironically should never have been given mortgages based on up to five times their income so the lenders created a false belief in personal financial security among the masses! That security was never really there. On a personal note, on reflection I regret buying my own home. Throughout the last thirty years it has been at the back of all my financial problems. Did you know the happiest nations (regarding financial staus e.g) are the europeans (e.g. germans, italians) because their wages are far better in real terms and fewer of them own their own homes than here (though it's changing) but in place of that have a much higher quality of life! I would love a re-run!

How lucky are you to have absolutely no understanding of what it is like to have no choice or options for yourself or your children. I hope you never find yourself in the situation where you need help from this state. It is not pleasant, they don't just give it away. You are treated like a 3rd class citizen, you lose all sense of privacy and dignity. Childcare provision is severely lacking, benefits are cut for no reason on a regular basis. You are interrogated about your financial and private life. You have no choice but to accept housing in any condition, no choice over who you share your neighbourhood with, often pay the highest rates for services such as electricity (council houses are built with the most cost efficient materials for builders not residents). Unable to obtain quick efficient services or repairs - e.g. communal area cleaners, broken door locks.

Congratulations to your son on obtaining an apprenticeship. I am quite happy to have paid for his education and healthcare. I wonder if he will charge the exorbitant prices commanded by electricians when he qualifies? Hope he pays his taxes.

Wonder about this for a moment if you will. My son is 3 years into his Electricians Apprenticeship. He works from 6am often to 7 or 8pm. He can just about manage to pay the bills and keep his work van on the road. Yet his friend who contributes not a thing to society just moved with her baby from a pretty decent council house in Bath to a brand new council house in Bath. She being 23 years old with a child. She is perfectly healthy and able to work. Where is the incentive for her to do anything but use the benefits system indefinitely to survive. I am not blaming her. I am blaming the system. Why should hard working people pay for other people to live. People who take, take, take! It's a total joke the way this country is organised.

what are the emerging generation of kids going to do to buy their own home. With house prices in Bath averaging at least £175k for a two bedroom place you need to be earning something like £50k a year to get a mortgage. And we're not talking palatial here, its just very bog standard mid terraced property. Its fine for all those people who are already on the ladder! Although granted many are struggling meeting repayments. But, how can the average Joe who has got reasonable qualifications, perhaps a degree really be expected to make that kind of income within their first 10 years of employment, i mean lets face it, plenty of people never make that much in a year!

what are you worried about? you've just bought your home - enjoy it!