Owning your own home

Just making the point that cultural expectations are different.

This is true, in France, when you get older/retired, you move into a flat in a city, the French cannot fathom why we would retired in the countryside with big house to look after, miles away from local shop, and expensive to run.

Totally true. Most people in European capitals, specially in Spain and France, live in flats and prioritise access to good public space and amenities. Gardening culture and the amount of land dedicated to houses are two things that are not so common in the continent

It’s not the worst thing in the world but it can be pretty sucky depending on what you are trying to do.

Perhaps anyone that astro turfs their garden should be expropriated, for the benefit of veg growers?

Where do I sign?

Don't @ me astro fans

+1 bro.

It’s weird my mum grew up in London (muswell hill) rented in Camden, when she could she bought in Dalston (1970’s) her friends thought she was mad and she was also was worried but it cost her something like £6k then moved to Highbury to another place that wasn’t particularly nice at the time. I grew up there. Area as I did was teachers/musicians/arty types. She’ll tell you that was a bad as people having to move to the ‘burbs for her at the time even now. Obviously that’s massively changed now. Her salary to house cost was completely ridiculous when she did mind. There was never chance I could ever move on in that area or to Stoke newington where my dad moved too when they divorced in ‘88 I was lucky/un when he died and got a flat in N16 but could never go up there so moved to e17 as everyone does. My mum weirdly ‘downsized’ from n5 to the same rd my dad moved to in N16 he bought at £88k she £1.2mil and that’s just bonkers. God knows where the next gen or below will be able to afford. We in 4 years of living in e17 couldn’t move to where we are now. It’s crazy

Spotted in LFGSS's Aldersbrook.

Graffiti there is middle-class and function over form.

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No this is not true, in france people mostly stay where they live when they retire.

We’re talking about in the middle of nowhere like quite a lots of houses in the UK, that are the only property in a 5 miles radius, rather than within a town/villages/hamlet.

Yes i get that, sadly france isn't the way it was and lots of places are devoid of shops or services now. The rural fabric, while less tellar than the Uk, can be very socially dead in some areas and just as remote.
One of the fastest growing industries is personal assistance to the elderly. Obviously generalisation is impossible, people follow all sorts of retirement trajectories, but the homebuying relying on loans rather than mortgages, the system works quite differently.

Yes i get that, sadly france isn't the way it was and lots of places are devoid of shops or services now.

That make sense, basically the UK was way ahead of that before France, going to villages and towns in rural France you still see and meet a lots of elderly who either stay there or move closer to town, different generation probably.

Well That’s a shit recipe;
250g SR Flour
Pinch baking powder
Pinch salt
25g sugar
50g melted butter
2 eggs
275ml milk

Table spoon into medium hot lightly oiled pan. Flip when you see bubbles.

I think this is a "thing" round these parts, have seen it at Wanstead tube station before with same colour chalk and handwriting

My parents had a little place in France they used to go to 6months on 6 months off (pre brexit) . Lovely garden etc in the Loire valley but when my dad sold it after my mum died it was a real struggle to even get viewings.
Most local younger people were snapping up new builds( not like uk shit ones) and weren’t interested in older (small)properties.
Was a lovely pace of life ( if you were retired)

My in laws did the 90s boomer thing of buying a derelict place in the French countryside and doing it up. Eventually they took early retirement and moved out permanently. They sold up about 4 years ago and moved into the local small town for easier access to doctor, supermarket and bar. Most of the viewers were British or Dutch. They sold to a French/Belgian couple who wanted a second home.

In their little hamlet old homes were only ever bought by non French people. There were a lot of derelict old properties but the community (French and not French) clubbed together to have some new houses built to attract young French couples and families to the area.

someone had low blood sugar on the way to Gail’s

My wife's French and we're looking to move over there in the next 3 to 5 years so we watch a boat load of French property shows, with the favourite being chasseurs d'appart. Everything is about practicality no one gives a flying fuck about period features if it comes with the compromise of space and if it doesn't have a walk in wardrobe you can really get to fuck!

Funnily enough that's at the bottom of my road too.

@revenant. I recall you saying you would be morbidly interested to find out what that big old house on Wanstead Park avenue went for that you put an offer in with via the stow brothers ? I think it was up for sale for 900k. I can't remember what you said you offered but I see it sold in January this year for £1,020,000.

no one gives a flying fuck about period features

I am french ?!?

Oh yeah - thanks! Looked up the link - just mad:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=113850881&sale=14611147&country=england

Most local younger people were snapping up new builds( not like uk shit ones)

The shoe-boxes built on lotissements on the edge of every rural town are just as shit. I can never understand why they want to pay more for them then doing up a nice stone place in a better location.

They sold to a French/Belgian couple who wanted a second home.

My parents sold their place in a hamlet to a Belgian family too.

I can never understand why they want to pay more for them then doing up a nice stone place in a better location

Suspect it is perceived risk vs. reward + learning about and doing all that shit is not their priority at that time.

Yeah, plus running modern services through thick stone walls is not fun or cheap, and if it's in the historic part of the town/village then there'll be no parking and probably a faff to drive up to as well. My in laws old place and the restored houses their friends lived in were very pretty but their newer place (60s or 70s not new build) is undoubtably easier to maintain and live in.

Anyone know a decent house painter South of the river? Ours needs redone, namely because the last crowd were shit, and also because ms_com has changed her mind on the colour as it doesn't go with the new front yard anymore.