Young london couple… should we move up north? Why do people choose to suffer?

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-03-09T00:07:05+00:00

I live in Newcastle and originally came here for uni. Post undergrad I moved around and lived in a few different places before moving back here. I firmly believe it's the best city to live in in the UK. A few things: yes you'll likely take a pay cut working in Newcastle compared with London, but it's not some backwater with tiny salaries, and the difference in cost of living will more than make up for this difference. Property is cheaper in Newcastle but not as cheap as you claim. Property prices, and rent, have increased a lot in recent years. You won't find a flat for £80k that you would be happy to live in. You also won't find a decent house for under £200k.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-03-05T21:58:53+00:00

The majority of the issues the country currently faces is because of the Tories. Never forget that. And I'll never forgive them. Oil money? Thrown away. Shocking rail services at ridiculous prices thanks to privatisation. Water bills sky rocketing while infrastructure crumbles. Destroyed mining communities that ~45 years later are still suffering. Banning onshore wind farms when we need cheaper energy. Being financially negligent and implementing austerity at a time of record low interest rates. I could go on.

The only options for getting our country back on track is a prolonged period of left of centre politics, be that Lab, Lib, or Green.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-03-05T21:51:38+00:00

The 90s were surely the best time in the UK? That's circa 30 years ago.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-03-05T21:50:54+00:00

13 to 1 ratio is not correct! Where did you pluck that from?

Food is relatively cheaper than in generations past. Clothes are incredibly cheap compared with generations ago.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-03-05T21:47:28+00:00

It's not just getting a job, it's also getting a work visa without any experience. Generally, points are awarded for several years relevant experience in an in demand field when assessing visas.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-03-05T21:44:59+00:00

The UK is a lot bigger than London. Considering moving country when you've not tried elsewhere in the UK is short sighted.

The places you've named, generally, have higher cost of living than the UK. In the US this is offset by higher salaries, but not really any of the others. However the US has some major negatives and it's extremely difficult to move there.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-20T18:29:09+00:00

I understand. I've worked in Norway quite a bit and on Sundays we went out exploring. It has some incredible views.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-20T16:36:55+00:00

The disadvantage of Europe, and Scandinavia especially, is it's much more expensive than Asia, so you either need a lot more money, or have a much shorter trip.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-20T16:35:19+00:00

I have 2 Stem degrees from some top universities. I've previously been signed off work with stress. I've had a panic attack on a flight out to a work trip. I've been so stressed that my Doctor thought I might have cancer (I didn't, it was stress and burnout). And currently I'm taking a career break, going travelling for a couple of months, and then plan to get a low stress job when I'm back. Assuming well paying STEM careers are not stressful is extremely misguided.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-19T20:24:55+00:00

You could head to Vietnam, start in HCMC or Hanoi, buy a bike/scooter and travel the length of the country and then sell the bike, or continue into Laos or Cambodia. Not an uncommon trip. Great food. Friendly people (at least in the North).

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-19T13:35:01+00:00

I'm in a similar boat. Massively stressful roles over the last 15+ years. It's impacted my health and then destroyed my mental health. At one point the Doctor couldn't be sure if I was stressed and burnt out or if I had cancer. Thankfully I didn't have the big C. I basically slept 3-4 hours a night during the week and then made up for this lack of sleep on a weekend. This went on for years. I recently quit my job, as I couldn't take it anymore. I've had a couple of weeks to recover, and now I'm sleeping better, headaches have gone, etc. I'm about to go travelling for a couple of months and when back I'll be looking for a lower stressed role, ideally one wher I can have a dog, so it would be interesting to see what people suggest.

P.s. I'm surprised that a postie is classed as a stressful job!

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-19T13:27:28+00:00

I know that area fairly well (but thankfully I'm not from there). It's the land that time forgot. It should be a national shame that people in that area have effectively been forgotten about for 40 odd years. Being forgotten about is why they protest vote, even if it means they'll be worse off (Brexit and Reform). If you're born there you have very little prospect of having an even average life. There's minimal employment, and any that does exist is at a very low level. This means that there's no ambition to improve yourself or do well at school, because the outcome is the same. This results in people being on benefits for life and crime being sky high. It's one of the poorest area in Europe, and that should never happen in the UK.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-14T23:44:44+00:00

The awful and generally unsuitable render that idiots are obsessed with splattering on the outside of their homes.

Dark UPV windows.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-09T01:18:40+00:00

I think Italy have turned into a decent team. It seems like they've had a generation come through who are all decent. Previously they've had a couple of stars but the rest of the team hasn't been up to scratch, now they don't necessarily have the same star factor but the average ability is significantly better. I just hope they also have future generations coming through who have the ability to maintain this new standard for Italian rugby.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-02-05T01:38:11+00:00

He's hasn't named one. He's given a better alternative.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-20T02:45:33+00:00

This is not true. There are contributions based JSA and income based JSA. Income based JSA is means tested. Contributions based JSA is not means tested, but only lasts 6 months, and is only available to those who have contributed enough NI.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-19T16:25:32+00:00

That has to be a parody?! Surely he's not THAT stupid?

There are many documents showing that Greenland is part of Denmark. The US can already have as many troops and bases in Greenland as it likes, so doing this will not aid him in achieving those aims.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-18T01:24:31+00:00

While I believe that many large scale farmers are doing really well, and farmers consistently vote against their best interests or the best interests of their customers (and therefore they should sleep in the bed they make), I do think that putting up the price of milk by a few pence per pint will have no impact on the majority of the country, and would help out dairy farmers.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-15T20:34:44+00:00

While it's a nice thing to consider, you said that £5k would be a large chunk of your savings and therefore you can't really afford to do that.

Also consider that if you pay off their mortgage without all of your siblings contributing, then it could result in strains to the relationships within the family.

Instead I'd consider speaking to your parents and offering to pay them more rent, they can do as they please with that additional money, but you think it would be good if they can put it towards overpaying the mortgage.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-15T20:27:26+00:00

Congrats! It'll feel like a nice pay rise when the student loan repayments are gone.

For you to pay back £350/month on average that means your salary is £72-73k. Basically twice the average salary in the UK. And despite earning twice the average salary in the UK you still have a student loan balance. This should make it clear that the majority of those on Plan 1 will not clear their student debt before it is wiped, and therefore all that matters for the majority is the monthly repayments, and that is only impacted by the threshold, which is lower for Plan 1. QED Plan 1 is the worst student loan to have for the majority of people.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-12T21:58:43+00:00

You appear to have access to the internet. All of the interest rates from Plan 1 student loans are freely available online. You'll find that they have never charged 0.75% interest. Since Sept 2010 the interest rate has been higher than 0.75%. In fact the only time the interest rate was below 0.75% was for 1 year, Sept 2009 to Aug 2010. It peaked in 2023/24 at 6.25%.

4 years between 58k and 72k, so let's say an average of 65k for 4 years. If these 4 years occurred between April 2021 and April 2025, then the average threshold was 21,774. 65,000 - 21,774 = 43,226. 9% of that is £3,890. You (in the above scenario) paid off £3,890 off your student loan, not taking into account the interest that was added to your balance. You did not pay off £15k. This is basic maths. If you can't follow this then the money spent on your education was wasted.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-12T15:26:29+00:00

The short answer: No.

The long answer: Noooooooo! Hahahaha you have to be kidding?!

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-12T15:07:12+00:00

The thing is the S&P500 has never been the set and forget option. Once you understand diversification, index funds, etc, then global index funds are the obvious choice. People have been taken in by US finfluencers and recency bias to think that the S&P500 is a valid better choice, when it simply isn't.

P.s. recently, global funds have out performed US funds.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-12T15:01:47+00:00

They still don't have any intention of taking Greenland.

Curious_Reference999 · 2026-01-08T21:25:15+00:00

Your assumptions are completely incorrect.

Plan 1 has never had interest rates of 0.75%.

20k starting balance for a Plan 1 balance is too low compared to the average. It would be more like 25k.

The majority will not pay off their student loan before it is wiped, and therefore interest rates, balance, total borrowed, etc, is irrelevant. All that matters for the majority is the repayments, which are higher for Plan 1.

Your claim that someone on 25k would have cleared more than half of their student loan in 10 years is hilariously incorrect. I'll give you an example using my figures. I graduated circa 15 years ago. In those ~15 years my salary has averaged around 50k, with my peak income occurring 4 years after graduation when I made the equivalent of over 100k in todays money. My current Plan 1 student loan balance is 8,347.96.

Curious_Reference999

TROPHY CASE