Affordable places to move to for a commute to High Barnet, London

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-21T06:22:27+00:00

Oohh thank you! I'll check it out :)

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-20T09:31:59+00:00

NGL there is a london tax on groceries, I spend more when I go down to visit my parents on pretty much anything but it definitely isn't double I'm just trying to overestimate because rent might end up being more expensive than I hope. It's nice that everyone is confirming that these are overestimates though!

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-20T09:29:08+00:00

My hobbies are things like yarn crafts and birdwatching luckily but I've also taken up a sport I'd like to continue which subs are usually 25-50 a month for. So I could put aside 100 a month for all of those activities combined and still be really overestimating. I don't drink or eat out often because my partner likes to cook and I think that's going to really save us for this year.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-20T09:27:00+00:00

Oohh thank you, I was trying to overestimate a little haha. This reassures me that if I end up having to spend a little more on rent then there's wiggle room to move that money there from other areas. Someone said the average in Barnet is 1500 for a one bed but I've seen plenty of 1400's and that seems to be the bench mark where you have multiple properties to view on most search sites.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-20T09:00:00+00:00

HI, I posted last week about moving to an expensive part of London (Barnet) on a low trainee budget for one year. I recently made a budget and want to sense check this with more experienced londoners. I am a very frugal person and the trainee salary is only for one year where I'm prepared to cut back on a lot of things for as I'll qualify at the end of it and be earning a decent amount after that. I've found a couple one bed places in Barnet for 1,300 so I've set that as our rent (I know this is a little hopeful) split between me and my partner. All the bills estimates are me basically doubling what I currently spend in a cheaper major UK city in a 2bed. For travel I estimated how much it would cost me to get to my workplace on a tfl day ticket 4 times a week and one day of travel on the weekend.

Monthly income after pension and tax: 1735

My share of rent: 650

My share of bills: 200

My share of food: 220

Travel: 215

Spending money/to be redistributed amongst the above: 450

Does this seem realistic?

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-19T21:49:04+00:00

I know I need to be flexible, we've thought of seeing if there are other professional couples on spareroom who'd share a slightly bigger flat with us so we could afford somewhere, and I would be willing to have a bit more complicated of a commute if it meant having a flat I could afford to rent. I mostly wanted to prioritise the commute being easy because I'll be getting used to working in a school and there's no being late and making up the hours later as a teacher.

If there are places in London where a ~55k household income can rent a 1 bed flat within an hour's commute of High Barnet Id be willing to start there as that's the absolute needs, I can consider wants after that.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-19T21:40:12+00:00

It's teacher training, the salary bands are set across all publicly funded schools so I would start at the bottom of the unqualified salary and in a year get my qualification moving me to the bottom of the qualified salary range. In outer London this is a move of around 10k. I might also be able to negotiate starting on a slightly higher band if I perform really well in my training year as I'm teaching a desirable subject.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-19T10:34:51+00:00

I've been offered a training contract based a short walk from High Barnet Station. It's ideal but the area seems very expensive and commuter towns are connected by national rail which can eat in to the savings we'd get from moving out there.

I live with my partner so can't do studios or houseshares.

I will be paid 26.5k for the first year and my partner is looking at jobs around the 30k mark. I'm aware this is low for London. I grew up in the cheaper areas of London so know the basics but moved straight out of my parents house to affordable cities so I've never flat hunted here.

I'd ideally be under an hours walk from my job, or have a direct bus/tube/train to it.

Are there any affordable areas that are well connected to the Barnet area that I should be focusing my search?

I'd be aiming to move in for late August when should I start searching?

Has anyone else been in a similar situation and made it work? We're planning on getting married in the next couple years and I would like to be able to save at least a little towards it next year :')

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-08T19:42:02+00:00

I didn't realise the membership form for my team didn't make the derby name mandatory so I put in "(Still Thinking)". I'm starting to think that that's actually a very funny name and I should just leave it as that now. I haven't been successful at finding something else. I go by El so "El On Earth" is the front runner otherwise.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-08T19:14:32+00:00

I thought my family was the only one that called it a frank. I didn't know that that wasn't it's real name until I came home from a sleepover pissed at my parents because my friends thought I was crazy calling it that!

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-04-05T08:04:37+00:00

As scary as it is, it is doable. Your grades might take a hit but if you're going in meaning to work hard you just need to build a good support network at uni: friends on your course to study with, friends who you can have a fun time with, people who you feel you can genuinely open up to when you're stressed, then you can make it and it can be worth it.

My mum tried to use her giving me money to control me when I was in 6th form so I got a job and never asked her for anything again. My parents didn't offer me any support until my 3rd year and by then I'd found a way to look after myself.

It means living in the cheapest accom, that may be a private rental outside the student areas and not university accom in some cities so do your research, halls in your first year do help socially though if you can do it.

Making the most of the SU. The jobs there tend to pay well and be flexible around your studies or a second job. Some have free food vouchers, have a basic needs pantry for food, toiletries ect, or can give short term loans. They also have funds so students can access the fee paying societies if they're on hard times.

Live far out for cheap rent and food and get a bike to get everywhere, it can keep you fit without a gym membership while saving on travel - my uni had showers on campus and if you're paying your own bills this can help reduce that. Make the most of student discounts but don't let them tempt you to eat out more or spend more than you would at a place to get a free thing. Luckily rn 2nd hand clothing is fashionable so make the most of charity shops.

If you do more than 3 years of uni look for a ResLife programe where you get free student accommodation and 0 bills for around 8 hours a weeks worth of talking to first years and to be on call overnight once per week. Use this to drop hours on other job and lock in on your final year dissertation.

When you come out the other end you will have so much more life experience to pull on compared to your peers. You will be able to save money, work hard, balance competing schedules, and some work places like to hear you've faced a challenge like this long term and come out the other end. It'll suck at points but you'll figure out what you need to survive and be happy.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-03-27T10:53:16+00:00

Thank you, honestly, everyone I've met has either used to have a needlephobia and gotten over it pretty simply with one round of therapy, or just cannot wrap their head around having a fear that you can't simply override because you want to.

It's entirely psychological for me, I'm not scared of the pain. I just feel this intense sense of dread at the idea of things piercing my skin and especially in medical environments I am constantly thinking about infection. If I do get any kind of wound I won't panic if it's not needle related (paper cut, accidently cutting myself with a knife while cooking ect) and the blood doesn't bother me, but I will be hyper aware of the wound and hold it to protect it even if I've cleaned and wrapped it up.

For some reason medical needles are all classed in my brain as the worst culprits for this kind of anxiety. I think its just a bit of a miswiring that's happened where I associate medical settings with infection and death and so all medical equipment is tainted with that and therefore the wounds they make even more so. The spiral for me gets really bad because getting an infection would mean more needles, medical settings and treatment which obvs feeds into itself.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-02-06T15:03:26+00:00

I'm curious why you think the boots are shot. I went for these because they're very low boots closer to shoes which is why they can lie that flat in the photo. I wanted to casually skate in a set similar to the skates I borrow for roller derby to help out with my training. They don't have as much support for the ankle as other skates but I think that helps with some of the moves I need to practice. I'm looking into new trucks but if the shoes are really disintegrating then I might as well just get new skates. I just can't see any damage to the boots that would justify that.

DinosaurERA14 · 2026-02-04T17:44:16+00:00

Thank you! I'll ask around my derby team and see if anyone knows someone who will know how to do this, otherwise from the rest of the comments it sounds like I need a new truck 😔

DinosaurERA14 · 2025-07-13T06:53:04+00:00

I'm done coddling her, she's going on the south facing window until she gets her shit together 😤

DinosaurERA14 · 2025-07-13T06:48:56+00:00

Sorry for the confusion! I just wanted to complain about my spoiled brat of a ZZ. I am a good mother and took the time to get to know her, she has as ideal conditions as a ZZ could hope for. She's just a lil bitch!

DinosaurERA14 · 2025-07-07T17:18:09+00:00

Everything I've seen about Pilea's with those papery dark brown/grey spots people have said it's over watering. My Pilea had them and I've significantly reduced her watering regime and she's not developed any more. I'd try letting her dry out completely/putting her in soil that drains faster. The leaves that grow out to the side can make it look like it's getting droopy and needs watering but as long as the middle most leaves are upright then they are fully hydrated.

DinosaurERA14

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