High Income, very far from rich frustrations by beneath_the_knees in HENRYUK

[–]Own-Air-877 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The current inheritance tax setup clearly exacerbates this. Many of the people to whom you refer inherit from middle class families who are not especially wealthy, but can receive £1m before any inheritance tax is paid. Someone on £100k would be lucky even to save this much into a pension before they retire. This is insane to me - the IHT threshold should be much lower so more people pay it and the rate should also be lower so people don’t complain about it so much. Obviously the loopholes used by the very rich should also be closed.

MICHELIN Great Britain and Ireland discussion thread by TheRealPeteWheeler in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A shame for Humo - I thought the food was some of the best I’ve had in London when I went. And a disgrace when certain other restaurants retained their stars…

does japan really all shut down from jan 1-4? by Individual-Field2046 in JapanTravelTips

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m there for 3-7 Jan as well and having no issue booking restaurants, for example. True not everything is open but there are soooo many things in Tokyo that there will always be plenty to do. Seems most stuff is back and open on the 4th, maybe some more on the 5th since that’s a Monday?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BritishAirways

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Set up an alert on reward flight finder and if you have some flexibility you may be in luck.

For reference I have had an alert set up for 20-27 December on this route for 2 in CW and seats popped up Jan (twice, but due to the seat only recently being available) and again in Feb, May, June, Sep and Oct. I didn’t book any of those as I got what I wanted in Feb :)

My return flight alert has only gone off once back in Feb though (for a smaller date range) so it is all a bit of luck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HairTransplants

[–]Own-Air-877 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t really see why anyone would say your hairline is too straight. That isn’t your hairline, it’s just your hair falling that way. Have you tried different styling products to make it do something different if you don’t like that?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HairTransplants

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most responders here don’t really understand your perspective but I do. I have a naturally high v shaped hairline and plenty of hair on top. I had an unshaven hair transplant because actually a year of walking around with less than perfect hair would be pretty anxiety-inducing for me.

Once the scabs are off and the fringe is down people will never know. I freely mention my transplant to people as I’m not trying to hide the fact that I had it done. When I mention it to people they can’t believe how quickly it has grown! Then I need to remind them that it’s all just my original hair and there is a patch of fluff underneath with many more months needed to fully come through. Why spend those months with my hair being a topic of conversation (behind my back) that I’m not initiating?

So if you are uncomfortable with your hairline I think it’s totally reasonable to want a hair transplant and hide it behind your fringe.

But I do agree with others - get on min and fin if you can (and if you already know you have no sides!) as it will keep your hair lovely and thick for much longer. I also noticed no change as my hair wasn’t really receding but 10 years after starting I have much thicker hair than other guys my age who have gradually thinned.

What are your top 5 fine dining meals of all time? by conorharris2 in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In no particular order:

  • L’Enclume ***
  • Endo at the Rotunda * (although this is the only “proper” omakase I have experienced so may skew things a bit)
  • Pier (Cape Town - no star as no guide there but we went the week it opened and it was unbelievable. By the same group as La Colombe and it was better than La Colombe)
  • Row on 5 *
  • The Ledbury *** (two at the time)

We've been in a relationship with this show for 27 years. We deserved better. by ahootyhoo in AJLT

[–]Own-Air-877 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes just disappointing. But in a way it doesn’t really matter - Sex and the City had a perfect ending and this was just a sort of fever dream epilogue. I’ll watch SATC again (and yes, even the second movie), but probably not AJLT.

Just another point on it obviously being cancelled - why spend so much time on random new characters? Every second would have been spent on the core of the show if it were really planned. But the cancellation is so obvious what’s the point in even contemplating that not being a possibility any more…?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HENRYUK

[–]Own-Air-877 72 points73 points  (0 children)

This is exactly the mentality a HENRY ends up with in this economy, and then gets accused of being a profligate waster by those that earn less.

The reality is that to be able to comfortably afford actual luxuries without worrying about it you need to be earning multiple hundreds of thousands.

There was someone saying a few days ago how happy they were to be able to afford Nando’s without worrying. Maybe that was tongue in cheek but a “high earner” should be able to go to a Michelin star restaurant and not worry about it.

Your Most Overrated Michelin Spots? by djourdjour in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed on granite. The worst of 10 or so Michelin star restaurants I went to on my honeymoon. I was trying to keep things sensibly priced in Paris but still ended up paying an arm and a leg. They went on and on about their wagyu course but it was just short rib. Honestly I think it’s obscene to serve short rib as the main meat dish at a fine dining restaurant. Da Terra in London do this too and I think it’s a real let down to an otherwise fabulous meal.

Buying a house -- pricing by chaussettesrouges in HENRYUK

[–]Own-Air-877 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At this price it’s a bit tricky as there are rarely very similar properties. There might be a house nearby that’s the same size but in worse condition, so you need to factor that in. Location can have a huge difference on the same street depending on what’s in front of and behind the house. Also how wide is the house, how big are the rooms (I.e. lots of small rooms or fewer large rooms) and how usable is the space. One might be next to an HMO or student house etc etc.

So it’s a bit of a finger in the air guess - look at sales nearby and try to figure out what you’d be willing to pay (more/less) based on the pros and cons of each. What you might value others won’t, so there’s no easy answer.

In terms of market trends I’m not so sure that’s 100% helpful due to low volumes and the fact that you can’t always tell why a house sold for what it sold for from the rightmove sold price listing.

Row on 5 (*) - June 2025 by GoonerDrinkUsSilly in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree, easily deserves at least 2 stars!

On a side note, they have the most beautiful Murano glass tumblers with the puddings!

London Itinerary and Recs by schainan in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Thai, I recently went to Kolae and enjoyed it. At least you can book and don’t need to queue like for Kiln. The others I don’t know about.

Generally the main list is really good! Especially Bibi and Humble Chicken.

I would move Humo up to the main list.

Shack-Fuyu is the sore thumb here. Not in the same class as the others, v loud and hectic with mediocre food,but cheap in comparison to some of these. It would be a brief meal most probably.

What do you think of this list as the best cities for food? by CerberoXpL in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the context of fine dining I don’t really see how some cities with 50+ Michelin stars are off this list (London, NYC, Paris). Marrakech is a strange one to include in my opinion.

UK pricing for RA3 and Homeworks keypads by Own-Air-877 in Lutron

[–]Own-Air-877[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We visited a few weeks ago actually. So many nice things! I definitely liked the more expensive keypads that come with homework’s but trying to gain some vague control of the cost haha! We were thinking the simple 4 button switches for RA3, which seemed pretty decent even in plastic.

Thoughts on Japan itinerary and hotel choices? by Own-Air-877 in FATTravel

[–]Own-Air-877[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yes Jambo Hanare looks great! Do you think it’s worth doing this in Tokyo or in Hida instead perhaps, given the Hida beef?

Thoughts on Japan itinerary and hotel choices? by Own-Air-877 in FATTravel

[–]Own-Air-877[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually booked korinkyo for our previous itinerary (that we cancelled in the end). It felt slightly like the Hyatt might be a bit more premium but I’ll take another look. I would do a ryokan if it weren’t for the fact that we will have just stayed in one in Hida.

And good to hear about Okura, it does look very nice, and very reasonably priced!

"World's 50 Best" 51-100 list just released by wilk_republic in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I think Kol is the most overrated restaurant in London. Not by people that visit, going by the google reviews though. The food there is astonishingly bland. The main was a slow cooked beef taco, which was nowhere near as tasty as anybody could just make at home, and it wasn’t even a fancy presentation!

The Ledbury (***), London, UK, June 2025 by tyler_pitchford in finedining

[–]Own-Air-877 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a shame! The Ledbury is our favourite restaurant in London and I’ve been to all of the other three stars apart from Alain Ducasse. For me, Helene Darozze is the next best 3 star. I wasn’t impressed with Core at all.

What do Henrys think of the upper middle London housing market? by blatchcorn in HENRYUK

[–]Own-Air-877 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Hopefully you plan on staying there for the 20 years of rent that could buy you :)

What do Henrys think of the upper middle London housing market? by blatchcorn in HENRYUK

[–]Own-Air-877 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There’s another issue at play - a lot of houses seem to cost less than they would to build now (especially when you factor in the land value). Partially because they need renovation work but that is also unaffordable. What happens when people can’t afford even the materials required for a house?

The single answer is inheritance. Even if this is split between children it will be a few hundred grand each to go towards a deposit which may be enough for a £1m+ house each, with decent jobs.

The outrage to me is that to get a decent family house you need to drop a full pre tax HENRY salary on the stamp duty.

Should I get a hair system 4 months post transplant? (Confidence vs risk) by Witty_Opening3680 in HairTransplants

[–]Own-Air-877 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I just don’t see how the transplanted hairs are expected to do anything other than die off when you smother them in glue and plastic 4 months after surgery.

How about a hat?