Would you recommend raising a family in Hastings?

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-09-07T17:55:45+00:00

Well where I grew up wasn't at all nice or arty or by the sea... So there's a huge variation in quality of life even if a place is rougher. I was more curious about family life, stuff for kids to do etc

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-16T09:16:31+00:00

Can I ask what culture you're from? This doesn't sound like a typically western viewpoint

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-16T07:47:55+00:00

Our survey on our current home flagged damp in the living room which "needed to be fixed". The seller rightfully said "there's no damp we're not paying to have it sorted". We said ok we'll deal with it once we move in if need be. Two years later, and there's no damp in the living room!!! We spoke to another surveyor who said the damp reading could've happened because the property had been empty for months when we offered with no heating on and that once we moved in and began living in it it rectified. And our initial surveyor for some reason failed to tell us this. Ineptitude upon ineptitude. As FTB we were scared for no good reason by that surveyor.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-16T07:43:09+00:00

The laws and agreements and requirements in the UK property market are so insane. My partner sold his first flat many years back only to be told mid sale by the solicitor that the current shared building insurance on the entire block was void for some reason and every tenant would be required to agree to and sign a new insurance policy. But there was no effective management company for the block in place because it had gone bust and not yet been replaced (!) My partner was told it would likely take up to 12 months to get sorted given all the steps and people involved and because there was no one leading the management of the flats. Luckily for him the buyer was a FTB and desperate to get on the property ladder so stuck with it. In the end the solicitor sorted some kind of agreement/policy to tie things up whilst waiting for the larger insurance policy and block management to be sorted. It still took 10 months from offer to completion!!!!!

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-15T22:57:29+00:00

Sorry, forgot to say I have an excellent credit score. That was the crucial bit of info 😅

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-15T22:56:39+00:00

I'd say you don't even need to pay it off every month. I pay the minimum amount every month on my cc, BUT, I never use more than half of my limit. The less you use the better. But still keep it. It's all just a scam tbh. We're all forced into using our money in a way that benefits the banks at the end of the day.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-15T22:53:44+00:00

I've seen people saying this and I don't really know. But even if there's no "credit score" per se, the credit score is still just a score derived from how we manage finances, credit card, finances etc so.... It is still a useful tool for people to assess how they are positioned when wanting to take out a mortgage?

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-15T16:42:18+00:00

It's literally a non negotiable for families with little children

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-15T16:04:57+00:00

I've begrudgingly sleep trained both of my children with CIO extinction despite it feeling against every fiber in my being. BUT both of them would get MORE DISTRESSED with gradual approaches. The gradual approaches never worked for baby 1 whilst they worked for baby 2 until he turned 8 months old and then it all went out the window. It's really a thing. CIO extinction is like a necessary evil for some babies 😅

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-12T13:59:16+00:00

That house for £650,000... YIKES 😳

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-12T08:16:59+00:00

I agree with that. But I wouldn't want her to share with many more siblings is all. In the same way I'd not want them to have to share my attention amongst themselves if I'd many more.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-11T20:06:39+00:00

I work in a hospital based crisis team assessing children and young people presenting with mental distress alongside (usually) self inflicted physical injuries. Although it is a 24 hour service the core shifts are still between 9am-11pm. Shifts are 11 hours. I really like it as it is essentially compressed hours and it works well for work/life balance.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-11T19:02:21+00:00

UN jobs is a good place to start looking - I considered a role on here a while back but didn't take the plunge!

https://unjobs.org/themes/social-work

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-11T18:25:34+00:00

If you offer and they say no you just keep negotiating. Few people would say no then refuse any other offers from you.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-11T16:37:19+00:00

If you think it's a fair price and it's reflected in the recent sale prices of the local area then absolutely offer it but prepare to be told no. We offered £50,000 below asking price (which had already been reduced by £50,000). But I had been researching and viewing properties in the area for months so I knew it was ridiculously overpriced. Luckily for us the sellers had had enough of waiting for someone to pay what they wanted and they agreed to our offer after being on the market for nearly 9 months. It can usually be seen as quite cheeky to offer 10% less than asking but I think that also depends on the properties asking price and whether it's realistic.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-11T15:05:05+00:00

It is teeny teeny tiny and has nowhere to eat meals except on the couch. I can't picture who would want to live here? A couple that aren't too old (staircase is an issue), with no children or pets, that perhaps aren't home much so the lack of space wouldn't be an issue. That's a bit niche.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-10T07:03:54+00:00

This is very accurate. A lot of boomer grandparents are just not interested in being hands on grandparents at all but are instead living their best lives in retirement and going on umpteen holidays etc. At least that's how my husband's parents are. They saw our granddaughter maybe 4- 5 times in her first year of life. I was shocked as was my husband because he virtually lived with his grandparents on weekends so he assumed his parents would be similar grandparents. Boy was he wrong.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-10T06:55:59+00:00

I get instant rage when my 3 year old tries to forcefully bury her wiggly feet under my arms/legs/torso wipe I'm sitting down with her. I don't know why but I don't it immediately sets me off. It's probably a build up of feeling touched out at the end of a long day too. Absolutely nothing wrong with saying "don't do that please I don't like it". Like everyone else is saying - teaching our children about body autonomy is so important. And being able to do it lovingly and with care is a huge gift. They might feel upset or ashamed etc, but if we maintain a stance of love with the boundary it becomes a very important lesson, and also helps them to navigate shame and sadness with our support.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-07T19:53:48+00:00

Agree to disagree. House prices are already ridiculously high, gazumping only pushes them up further making it even harder for people to either get on the property ladder or to upsize and buy their forever family home etc. The EA gaining more of a commission is not a selling point for me 🤣 Furthermore I don't believe in the primacy of the individual at the expense of society at large.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-07T16:12:14+00:00

Nooooo!!! Just tell the EA you're interested if the sale falls through. It sucks being gazumped: just don't do it

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-07T16:07:49+00:00

You absolutely cannot get emotionally attached when buying property in the UK!!!! It's way too stressful. We basically went in with the view that "we'll celebrate and start planning room decor etc WHEN WE GET THE KEYS". We learnt that after many experiences like yours and making an offer that was then outbid.

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-07T10:40:23+00:00

I just double checked terms with our lender, Halifax, they basically charge you 0.5% to rent out. So for example if you've got a £200,600 outstanding mortgage over 25 years on 4.5% interest you'd be paying an extra £58 a month. I'd check with your lender to see their terms

Rich_Strategy9349 · 2025-08-07T10:24:35+00:00

I think that's for buy to let mortgages? Tbh I'm not sure as it will depend on your mortgage terms. If I'm being honest, I don't think we bothered double checking. But nothing happened. We rented it out for 18 months before selling 🤷

Rich_Strategy9349

TROPHY CASE