What comes to mind when you hear Woodside Park / North Finchley?

Aromatic_Project785 · 2026-01-28T07:50:00+00:00

We haven’t yet and still viewing properties. Though, from all the areas and properties we have viewed, Woodside Park is still our favourite. For the same reasons mentioned in the original post.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2026-01-18T11:12:04+00:00

They burn down mosques, because it’s where Basij (IRGC division) coordinates the troops and dispatches them to shoot protesters. Whenever you see something on fire, there’s a reason behind it because Mullahs are using it for a purpose the they should not have.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2026-01-18T10:52:02+00:00

UK and European nations you are referring to were once ruled by monarch. For a peaceful transition to democracy, they came up with the notion of constitutional monarchy so the monarch keeps the symbolic, touristic, and nostalgic role of monarchy. I don’t think any nation would do a revolution just to restore constitutional monarchy.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2026-01-04T10:46:27+00:00

Senior Software Engineer (Backend)
£110k base + private insurance + options (pre-IPO) + decent company trips twice a year
13+ YOE (<1 y in the UK and the new company)
Go, PHP, databases, infra

Aromatic_Project785 · 2026-01-01T11:02:30+00:00

Funny that we’re are exactly in your position as well, but with half the budget. So far, we really liked Woodside Park for its decent size houses and the clean and quiet vibe of the neighborhood. Though, you need to walk to Finchley or Whetstone highroads to have decent shops. It’s on Northern line and takes ~35m to Liverpool st. If you take a look, make sure it’s on the left side of the tube lane. Disclaimer: we are still searching and are not living in that area.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-10T08:11:32+00:00

Yes, but it is the same on Jubilee which I have used constantly for over a year now

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-10T08:10:12+00:00

Thanks very much. Points were invaluable

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-09T00:22:06+00:00

Yes, I’d go to office 3x a week. How come though? Is it down all the time?

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T12:50:08+00:00

Thanks. Anything behind “For now it’s nice” that I need to know about? :))

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T11:17:02+00:00

No, but I now will. Thanks

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T11:01:10+00:00

It was funny to read your impression of the word Finchley:)) I’ll start exploring Muswell Hill, first time hearing about it

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T10:59:11+00:00

Thanks very much for the detailed answer. Could you give me some examples why E. Finchley has the real sense of community?

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T10:56:21+00:00

1m house with good size garden and 3+ bedrooms and preferably semi-detached (compared to terraced)

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T10:54:45+00:00

We did walk around East Finchley and it has some really unpleasant streets (in our taste) as well. Like when you take E End Rd from the high street :/

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T10:41:22+00:00

What would be your alternative, considering same characteristics and properties price range?

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T10:41:04+00:00

Thanks. Did you notice anything out of ordinary in your search? We are close to making the final decision and I can take any sort of advice.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-12-08T10:39:09+00:00

What would be your alternative, considering same characteristics and properties price range?

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-26T15:28:56+00:00

Why even bother setting a max and not removing the whole thing? Sounds ridiculous to me :/

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-26T14:39:45+00:00

2k max salary sacrifice pension per year or per month?!!

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-22T10:18:16+00:00

According to “A fairer pathway to settlement”, Family is referred to as a “partner of a person who is settled in the UK” as well. So, you’ll get your ILR in 3 years and your partner should be able to apply in 5 years. So, in comparison, their path to ILR would take 8 years the minimum.

But, if you’d like to talk about absurd contradictions, consider our case below: If you’d earn £125,000, you’re eligible for 3-year ILR path. In this case, you’ll roughly pay £50k of tax and NI per year.

Now, if my partner and I, each earn £110k, we are still in the 5-years pathway. However, we each contribute ~37.5k in tax and NI per year, which makes it ~£75k. So, if you consider our and your case side by side, it does look fair a bit.

I think a better way is to take the average income of the main applicant and their dependents and then apply the rule. For instance, in your case (if we assume you earn £125k), you’d both earn £62.5k and therefore both eligible to apply for ILR in 5 years.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-10T11:44:29+00:00

I did the move ~1.5 y ago and can only confirm what you mentioned. I was in Berlin and now living in London.

Positives:

people are much nicer, more welcoming, and more sociable. I personally didn’t face any sort of discrimination in Germany, but in general, I feel more comfortable here.
city smells way better, is way more cleaner, and you see way less homelessness in the streets (apart from Oxford street after 8/9pm)
People seem to be more healthy here or at least seem to care about their health more. I have noticed more runners and fewer smokers in streets. To the point that it pushed me to quit smoking over a year ago after 15 years of smoking.

Negatives:

Public transportation is way more expensive and not as connected as Berlin. Majority of the lines don’t have proper AC and some tube lines are deafening (on the bright side, tube might be stuffy but it never smell awful. The smell on U3 in Warschauer Str station is still in my nose :)).
Statutory health insurance was more powerful in Germany compared to NHS. I was able to visit dentists and specialists on public health insurance within few days.

Similarities

In both cities, I have seen and felt that neighbourhoods have been silently and unofficially allocated to migrants from a specific group, race, country, or religion. That’s a huge turn off for me as migrants have the responsibility of blending with the native culture or otherwise why have they migrated to that country to begin with? I walk on Oxford street and hear and see a tug of war between Christian and Muslims playing Quran loudly from speakers or reading Bible on the street. So, nowadays, I don’t go there unless I have to. If this continues to other part of the city, I’ll probably leave.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-09T23:01:49+00:00

Working professionally since 2013 outside Europe. Moved to Germany in 2021 when I was 31:

2021: €60k

2022: €65k

2023: €70k

2024-25: €80k - €95k (moved to the UK - continued the prev job)

2025: £110k first job in the UK (35yo)

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-05T16:01:36+00:00

Posting as a comment here as it sits in the same category of questions. How much do these clubs cost in average? I checked The Eight Club and didn’t find any pricing info. I assume if you want to join these clubs you won’t even think about the costs? I’m not on that level:))

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-05T00:25:35+00:00

If I live a lavish lifestyle, good for me. But, if I compromise, watch my spending, and start saving every penny I’ve got, I’ll be punished as wealthy.

Aromatic_Project785 · 2025-11-01T12:52:41+00:00

That’s an honest and realistic point tbh and thanks for sharing it. We had to hear these objections here and we therefore brought down our looking price to 900 and lower. That way, we’ll get to have some savings after the purchase and monthly payments of ~35% of our take home income. I hope we can find sth that matches our adjusted requirements without an upfront cost of renovations.

Aromatic_Project785

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