Potential house move again....

p90fool

Philly_Q said:

@p90fool I have nothing useful to add to the discussion but oh my god I love that house!

(I know they've used the stretchy camera thing to make the rooms look bigger than they are, but still...)

Edit:  Yikes, that red-carpeted bathroom would need changing! 

@Philly_Q I had to stretch the "near me" point out to about 20 miles, as there actually aren't any half-mil houses on the market where I live - the max is about £350k for a five bedroom double garage house in its own three acres. 

The only house very near me which has recently sold for substantially more than that was Laura Ashley's beautiful mansion, which Charlotte Church just bought, but I suppose she could have bought an end of terrace in Hendon instead.

WiresDreamDisasters

@TTony that house is more or less the same as what we've got! 

WiresDreamDisasters

All jokes aside, I'd probably slash my wrists if I lived in the boondocks like some of you guys. I don't know how you can stand the boredom tbh! I'm not the kind of guy who gets off on walks through the park. I mean occasionally sure, but I'm much more concerned with the company I keep than the environment I inhabit.

Within reason anyway.

TTony

WiresDreamDisasters said:

@TTony that house is more or less the same as what we've got! 

 I thought the main reason for moving was to get into a better location, rather than a bigger house?  That location looks OK from what I can see on Google maps anyways ...

WiresDreamDisasters

TTony said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

@TTony that house is more or less the same as what we've got! 

 I thought the main reason for moving was to get into a better location, rather than a bigger house?  That location looks OK from what I can see on Google maps anyways ...

Not better location, but "closer" location - to our mates and family and schools. Kingsbury is the same sort of distance to what we have now. And it's basically similar to Queensbury. Loud, dirty, noisy, etc..

TTony

WiresDreamDisasters said:

TTony said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

@TTony that house is more or less the same as what we've got! 

 I thought the main reason for moving was to get into a better location, rather than a bigger house?  That location looks OK from what I can see on Google maps anyways ...

Not better location, but "closer" location - to our mates and family and schools. Kingsbury is the same sort of distance to what we have now. And it's basically similar to anywhere in London. Loud, dirty, noisy, etc..

 

WiresDreamDisasters

TTony said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

TTony said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

@TTony that house is more or less the same as what we've got! 

 I thought the main reason for moving was to get into a better location, rather than a bigger house?  That location looks OK from what I can see on Google maps anyways ...

Not better location, but "closer" location - to our mates and family and schools. Kingsbury is the same sort of distance to what we have now. And it's basically similar to anywhere in London. Loud, dirty, noisy, etc..

 

Well you'd think that lol but in the flat in Colindale we were opposite a police station. The main one where all the sirens are happening. We heard very little. Didn't have noisy neighbours, just families getting on with life. I was the noisy one, but they were all cool with my guitar noise. It was quite different to where we are now.

MikeC

I know the road - my youngster goes to school near there. Kingsbury is pretty decent, bit of a walk to the tube (15 mins) and probably slightly better value than Colindale. Nice park there. High road is ok, incl tesco's. When I was a kid there was a lido there, long gone. Jumpers for goalposts etc

Philly_Q

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57892934

p90fool

WiresDreamDisasters said:

All jokes aside, I'd probably slash my wrists if I lived in the boondocks like some of you guys. I don't know how you can stand the boredom tbh! I'm not the kind of guy who gets off on walks through the park. I mean occasionally sure, but I'm much more concerned with the company I keep than the environment I inhabit.

Within reason anyway.

I live in one of the most sparsely populated parts of Wales, and my close friends include TV actors, touring musicians, multiple Grammy record producers, a couple of successful novelists and some very good artists. 

I know plenty of farmers and checkout chicks too just to round it out (and some of those are awesome), but I have no idea why anyone would think city dwellers are better or more interesting people. 

I've done gigs in front of 3,500 people three minutes from my house and can call on a guy who mixed half the records my covers band plays for a coffee and/or advice. 

Cities can offer a real buzz, but they can also be a lonely grind compared to where I live. 

octatonic

p90fool said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

All jokes aside, I'd probably slash my wrists if I lived in the boondocks like some of you guys. I don't know how you can stand the boredom tbh! I'm not the kind of guy who gets off on walks through the park. I mean occasionally sure, but I'm much more concerned with the company I keep than the environment I inhabit.

Within reason anyway.

I live in one of the most sparsely populated parts of Wales, and my close friends include TV actors, touring musicians, multiple Grammy record producers, a couple of successful novelists and some very good artists. 

I know plenty of farmers and checkout chicks too just to round it out (and some of those are awesome), but I have no idea why anyone would think city dwellers are better or more interesting people. 

I've done gigs in front of 3,500 people three minutes from my house and can call on a guy who mixed half the records my covers band plays for a coffee and/or advice. 

Cities can offer a real buzz, but they can also be a lonely grind compared to where I live. 

+1.

We have a lot of industry heavyweights in the area (Cotswolds).

A guy who scored several Harry Potter films lives just down the road.
And besides there are a lot of non-famous but interesting people, doing interesting things.

I like having a presence in London but I couldn't live there full time.

WiresDreamDisasters

p90fool said:

I have no idea why anyone would think city dwellers are better or more interesting people. 

I too, have no idea why anyone would think that.

Dominic

Stretch yourself and try to get to the cheaper side of Mill Hill

WiresDreamDisasters

Dominic said:

Stretch yourself and try to get to the cheaper side of Mill Hill

We're at our limit at £520K. Plenty of doer uppers coming onto the market.

Let me throw this out there..... Barnet is currently seeing huge regeneration prospects. One of the areas is Grahame Park, an ex-council estate that is slowly being torn down and replaced with flats. It's part of a grand vision dating back to 2008. The mayor put a slight kink into things in 2018 when he demanded more affordable housing, but they've addressed those concerns and the plans are pushing on.

So we actually saw a mid-terraced we could have got for £395K. It was very run down and needed a lot of work. But if you spent £50-60K on it to add an extension, new bathroom, fix the electrics, do all the floors, big open plan space type of thing, make sure there are no more water leaks, etc etc.... you could easily turn a 395K house into a 500K house.

But here's the twist. At some point in the next 10 years, a bunch of CPO's are going to come into effect. Compulsory purchase orders. What they typically do is give you market rate, plus 10%, and then pay all your follow on fees for moving to your next place. So that could easily take it up to £600K by that point. We could extend our equity by £100K.

Which would buy a much nicer place, so when we're old and wrinkly and the kiddos (plural eventually!) have flown the nest, we can fuck off to Tokyo, or the Midlands. I'm not sure which is nicer


But it does mean taking on a heap. An absolute heap where at least one of the rooms absolute reeked of shit and piss.

TTony

Don’t buy a house on the basis of a possible financial gain.

If you do, it’ll never be a home, and you’ll never be happily settled.

Buy somewhere that gives you a feeling.  A warm, fuzzy, happy feeling that it’s somewhere you want to spend a big chunk of your life, with your nearests and dearests.

At least that’s the way we’ve done it.

p90fool

WiresDreamDisasters said:

p90fool said:

I have no idea why anyone would think city dwellers are better or more interesting people. 

I too, have no idea why anyone would think that.

Well quite, I was just trying to reassure you that the company you have to keep in the boondocks is not necessarily a problem. 

WiresDreamDisasters

p90fool said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

p90fool said:

I have no idea why anyone would think city dwellers are better or more interesting people. 

I too, have no idea why anyone would think that.

Well quite, I was just trying to reassure you that the company you have to keep in the boondocks is not necessarily a problem. 

What I originally meant was, I have family and friends already in London. Which is why I will continue live in London for the foreseeable. I prioritize that over all of the perks of moving out, right now. It wasn't a slight on non-Londoners.

London is expensive for sure, but I wouldn't trade my friends and family for a mansion. Well... to an extent

The problem I'm having really is deciding whether moving from a semi to a bigger terraced is a good idea or not. I took a ride around the area last night, it's a lot quieter than where we currently are. Got home last night.... loads of kids in all the gardens around us till 11ish at night. Like.. wtf is that about!?

scrumhalf

Dominic said:

Stretch yourself and try to get to the cheaper side of Mill Hill

I took a walk down to Mill Hill East yesterday, first time since the pandemic began. There appears to have been an infestation in what we must now refer to as Millbrook Park. Not only is every square foot covered in blocks of flats, but they're so fucking ugly that the architect needs to be put in the stocks. This, sadly, is the future of the London Borough of Barnet - pay us money and you can stick up any old ugly piece of shit.

The development where the old NIMH building used to be is criminally ugly. It's a beautiful part of the world, with lovely scenery and they put up Lubyanka-style boxes. IT could have been beautiful.

I shudder to think at the monstrosities that may come out of the redevelopment of the car parks at Cockfosters, High Barnet and Finchley Central (where the current plans are so ugly they need an 18 certificate).

Kittyfrisk

WiresDreamDisasters said:

p90fool said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

p90fool said:

I have no idea why anyone would think city dwellers are better or more interesting people. 

I too, have no idea why anyone would think that.

Well quite, I was just trying to reassure you that the company you have to keep in the boondocks is not necessarily a problem. 

What I originally meant was, I have family and friends already in London. Which is why I will continue live in London for the foreseeable. I prioritize that over all of the perks of moving out, right now. It wasn't a slight on non-Londoners.

London is expensive for sure, but I wouldn't trade my friends and family for a mansion. Well... to an extent

The problem I'm having really is deciding whether moving from a semi to a bigger terraced is a good idea or not. I took a ride around the area last night, it's a lot quieter than where we currently are. Got home last night.... loads of kids in all the gardens around us till 11ish at night. Like.. wtf is that about!?

Reading your responses, it appears to me that you are leaning towards a move.
Do you & your missus have a list of pros & cons & does it point in a particular direction?

WiresDreamDisasters

scrumhalf said:

Dominic said:

Stretch yourself and try to get to the cheaper side of Mill Hill

I took a walk down to Mill Hill East yesterday, first time since the pandemic began. There appears to have been an infestation in what we must now refer to as Millbrook Park. Not only is every square foot covered in blocks of flats, but they're so fucking ugly that the architect needs to be put in the stocks. This, sadly, is the future of the London Borough of Barnet - pay us money and you can stick up any old ugly piece of shit.

The development where the old NIMH building used to be is criminally ugly. It's a beautiful part of the world, with lovely scenery and they put up Lubyanka-style boxes. IT could have been beautiful.

I shudder to think at the monstrosities that may come out of the redevelopment of the car parks at Cockfosters, High Barnet and Finchley Central (where the current plans are so ugly they need an 18 certificate).

I think they look quite nice tbh!