what do you live in?

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Downsizer Forum Index -> Finance and Property

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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 05 7:53 pm Post subject:

simon wrote:

JB wrote:

Will wrote:

... six pubs and 50 yards from the chippy.

Six pubs and a chippy. So is that a week's worth of balanced meals?

Sounds ruddy good to me .... we will be over in September for a week or two. Can you cope with fam of five???

.... a few hens, a pig and a couple of ducks...

otatop

Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 1425
Location: North London

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 05 9:26 pm Post subject:

I live in 1/3 of a large late Victorian terraced house in Highbury, North London.

About 30 years ago I bought this place as a joint enterprise for conversion into flats with a couple of friends. As none of us wanted to be the freeholder, we formed a Ltd company. The other 2 have long since gone - but I like it here. I have the ground floor and basement - and garden. My front room retains all original features - ceiling rose, fireplace, and ornate cornice. At Christmas we play at being Charles and Carrie Pooter.

When I bought this place all those many years ago it was a very "working class" area - especially being so close to the Arsenal Football Club. Unfortunately, more recently the area has been "discovered" and taken over by wealthy "city" people.

One reason for this is that we are very well served by public transport. From the top of the road there's a bus that goes to Victoria via Sadlers Wells, Bloomsbury, Shaftsbury Ave, Knightsbridge.... and from the bottom of the road there's a bus that goes straight into the City. And it's only a short drive to get out of London to the north and east.

I'm beginning to sound like an estate agent - and there lies the problem! This used to be a "village" where kids could kick balls in the street and support the local football club - but only millionairs can afford the properties now.

I love it here because I love London - and I love being able to get to galleries (and the proms) but I get very angry about people who buy into the area as an investment and clog up the place with totally unsuitable vehicles.

(Scratch me and I'll show my anger over people who move into the area and "worship" at the right church in order to get their kids into the successful and fashionable school)

Arsenal Football Club does a huge amount for the local economy - not to mention the football and hockey training that they do for the local kids. So I get SO ANGRY when these people move in (briefly) and try to close the thing down.

Sorry abount the rant.

Jane

Naomi

Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 1945

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 05 11:28 pm Post subject:

I live in a five bedroomed cottage (two bedrooms and a big farmhouse kitchen added by us) with 3/4 acre garden, with veggie area,soft fruit area,various fruit trees ,including an ancient old bramley apple tree + two acres rented land with a huge pond, ajoining our own .We also have numerous outbuilding that were once used many years ago as the village smithy's forge and wheelwrights workshops (now in use as stables, chicken sheds and hay stores etc) in rural Lincolnshire on the edge of the picturesque Wolds.Our house and garden were extremely neglected and overgrown when we moved here 5 years ago and although we haven't yet finished ,due to lack of money, we feel we have at least brought our home back to life and we really love it here in Lincs.
Here are a few pictures from around our home and garden,

halloween

Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 61
Location: Co. Galway, Ireland

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 12:13 am Post subject:

Naomi wrote:

Sweet Naomi !! That looks really good!

We currently live in a three bed townhouse on the edge of Leeds. But hopefully, in around 3 - 4 weeks will be moving, mortgage free, lock stock & barrel to a 4 bed bungalow on around 8 acres of mixed land (field & bog) in County Galway, Ireland. Our daughter will be leaving us to pursue her academic dreams at Enniskillen University, leaving myself and the OH to pursue our downshifting dreams!

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 12:26 am Post subject:
Three bed semi surrounded by fields for miles, half an acre of garden with 5.5 acres of woodland a quarter of a mile down the lane from the house.

pink bouncy

Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 174

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 7:37 am Post subject:
Three bed semi with a mortgage on a council estate in Gateshead, small garden front and back and two allotments ten minutes walk away.

Naomi

Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 1945

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 8:26 am Post subject:

Quote:

Thanks Halloween . It has been an ongoing project for five years so far so that tells you how bad it was when we moved here. .
I have used the practice of permaculture throughout the land, so have planted fruit trees standards then dwarf and below them soft fruit etc ,we use only compost from our many compost bins and our horses manure on the soil ,to enrich and put back what our crops take out and have encouraged wildife into our garden with the use of plants to attract them and nestboxes everywhere for the diverse bird population we have here. It has really been a labour of love. Just wish we actually owned more land! Tell me more about your move to Ireland, as we are considering a move to Co Sligo .What is involved with moving to Ireland etc?

Will

Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 571
Location: Grenoside, Sheffield

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 8:54 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

simon wrote:

JB wrote:

Will wrote:

... six pubs and 50 yards from the chippy.

Six pubs and a chippy. So is that a week's worth of balanced meals?

Sounds ruddy good to me .... we will be over in September for a week or two. Can you cope with fam of five???

.... a few hens, a pig and a couple of ducks...

Animals would be fine (so long as they don't eat my vegetables) - people a bit harder to accommodate. Although I suppose you could sleep in the privy if I cleared the firewood out.

The chippy only opens Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday lunchtime - so liquid sustenance only for most of the week, and only four of the pubs do real ale. £1.29 a pint in the Cow and Calf though. :tongue7:

What I don't get is how so many people on this board have managed to get themselves mortgage free on large and desirable properties with land...it makes me think I'm going wrong somewhere...

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 12:15 pm Post subject:
Naomi: lovely ducks! We now have 4, and looking for more... And would that be a no.38 bus, otatop? I used to catch it to work every day... The old chap always asks me where London buses go on films, as I have a habit of piping up, for example, "If he's in Baker Street, that No. 73 is lost." etc. HBow sad is that?

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 2:10 pm Post subject:
Old black and white farm house/cottage. 4 beds, but could be six if I bought some plasterboard. 3 acres, doing precious little at the moment. Oh, and there's a mortgage, too. Nothing crippling however, less than 10% of the value of the house, I suspect.

Bicky

Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 8
Location: North York Moors

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 3:36 pm Post subject:

I have a thing about the number 73 bus... in my youth it came down High Street Kensington and it doesn't any more. I tried to catch it once in Oxford Street and the conductor said it was over 20 years since it went to HSK. My OH thought it was a hoot and is always suggesting I catch a number 73 if I need a bus to somewhere that isn't served by a bus.

We live in a farmhouse, with outbuildings and 20ish acres on the North York Moors.

Really sorry this has happened to you Farmwoody. I'm not sure they can legally force you out by upping the rent, even to a reasonable level if you've done the work on the basis of a ten year tenure. You can always sit and refuse to move - it takes ages to persuade someone to go legally (although you have to be a bit bolshy in the face of eviction). It's a real shame.

hardworkinghippy

Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Posts: 1110
Location: Bourrou South West France

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 4:26 pm Post subject:
It's a terrible shame Bicky - especially if you see what the house was like before all the work was done! ...Number 38... I used to get that to Whipps Cross, then pick up my bike and ride home to Woodford... Oh, and the links I put in earlier to show where I live are now working HWH

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 4:37 pm Post subject:

Will wrote:

What I don't get is how so many people on this board have managed to get themselves mortgage free on large and desirable properties with land...it makes me think I'm going wrong somewhere...

Well, we had to move to France to do it but we love it here now so we were forced into a very good move. I think it is getting quite hard to do this in England now (and indeed in France the property prices are moving so fast.) If it hadn't been for the recent property boom in England however I think that I may still now have been typing this message from our "Yorkshire semi"

RoryD

Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 692
Location: West Yorkshire

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 4:58 pm Post subject:

Some of us have benefited hugely from the lottery of the price rises of the last 5 years. If you are downsizer minded, the inequitous vagaries of the market, and a brief window where some house prices (London/SE) far outgrew more rural locations, have given us a once in a lifetime opportunity to do what we've always wanted to do. I suspect that that door may have part closed for a lot of people now.

You could also argue, that it'll be much much much harder for subsequent generations to do this and that actually we should all pay something back somewhere down the line.

Blimey. I must have had a serious day today..

halloween

Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 61
Location: Co. Galway, Ireland

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 05 6:02 pm Post subject:

simon wrote:

Will wrote:

What I don't get is how so many people on this board have managed to get themselves mortgage free on large and desirable properties with land...it makes me think I'm going wrong somewhere...

Same with us, I think we just managed to 'jump ship' before it all got too pricey.

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