Quote:
Originally Posted by Stew_Matthews
UK house prices are terrible. For the last few years it has been impossible for younger people to buy. It would require two good wages and the ability to borrow three, four or five times your joint income. As as Pip indicated the mortgage repayments for most people are crippling.
When home, I'm in Holland Park, West London - in a Borough (area) called Hammersmith & Fulham. I inherited my home, a two bedroom flat - and not very big. For central Londoners, it is typical to pay an annual 'service charge' if you live in an apartment block. In theory it covers the cost of maintaining communal areas. My charge is £3500 per year. On top of that we all pay annual 'council tax' which is a local tax to pay for refuse collection, schools etc. Mine isn't too bad at £1500 per year. So people in my apartment block have to find £5,000/$10,000 each year even before they make their mortgage payments and pay their bills.
Of course the house price increases have driven up the cost of renting so it's a pretty dire situation. I just don't know how people manage, and as Bretonbanquet said, it isn't that UK wages are twice yours.
..............and don't get me onto the cost of jeans and cds....  |
I think I may have not made myself clear re: the whole wage bit, all I was trying to say is that the value of the pound was twice that of the dollar. I dont know what wages are for different jobs over there, it would be interesting to find out...
I think the only REAL way to see the relative cost of gas there vs. here would be to compare what PERCENTAGE of your monthly outgo it represented when compared to what a person makes.
for example: if you were a single parent and if you only earned minimum wage in CA, (currently $6.75) and you worked a 40 hr week, you'd gross $270/week, x 4 = $1080/mo gross wages. tax represents about a third of that, leaving you with about $723.60 take home. If you rent an apartment in the Bay Area, thats your entire check. no money for bills. no money for gas. There are programs that subsidize housing costs if you are low income, but if you h ave to pay childcare on top of that, its just not do-able.
