Moving out for the first time.
Discussion
So it seems like i've come to a point in my life where i feel like moving out of the family home is the right thing to do. I will be moving in with my girlfriend and possibly a very good friend of ours.
I've been searching the interwebs for information and also looking at the types of places i can afford to rent in the right area. Seems like i can get a nice (if a little bit small) place for around £190-£230 a month.
I take home roughly £300 a week.
I'm really just looking for some advice, where to start, what to look out for, bills included in price, rough bill prices per month, are studio apartments really really bad or something you can live with for a couple of years. What did you guys do, how much did it cost, do you regret moving out when you did etc etc etc
Just gimme some help please!
Thanks in advance to the Pistonheads massive.
I've been searching the interwebs for information and also looking at the types of places i can afford to rent in the right area. Seems like i can get a nice (if a little bit small) place for around £190-£230 a month.
I take home roughly £300 a week.
I'm really just looking for some advice, where to start, what to look out for, bills included in price, rough bill prices per month, are studio apartments really really bad or something you can live with for a couple of years. What did you guys do, how much did it cost, do you regret moving out when you did etc etc etc
Just gimme some help please!
Thanks in advance to the Pistonheads massive.
Edited by Robb F on Tuesday 4th May 14:06
You need to account for items like (obviously discounting rent - or your share of it, unless of course the others may not pay some months and you would need to make up the shortfall):
1. Council tax
2. Electricity
3. Gas
4. Water (and sewerage)
5. Food
6. Mobile phone
7. Land line
8. Internet
9. Buildings and contents insurance
10. Car tax, Car fuel, Car insurance
11. Any loans you might have outstanding, including for the car....
However, even if you can afford those, can you also put down the deposit for the rent? Can you afford to purchase a hoover, iron, cutlery, plates, bedding (and even loads of furniture if the place is unfurnished) and those odds and sods that really, really add up (like cleaning materials and products for the house).
Not sure if I've been much help...
1. Council tax
2. Electricity
3. Gas
4. Water (and sewerage)
5. Food
6. Mobile phone
7. Land line
8. Internet
9. Buildings and contents insurance
10. Car tax, Car fuel, Car insurance
11. Any loans you might have outstanding, including for the car....
However, even if you can afford those, can you also put down the deposit for the rent? Can you afford to purchase a hoover, iron, cutlery, plates, bedding (and even loads of furniture if the place is unfurnished) and those odds and sods that really, really add up (like cleaning materials and products for the house).
Not sure if I've been much help...
f
k it. If you can afford the monthly rent and council tax etc, go for it. You will find yourself adjusting your lifestyle to suit any bills and stuff like cutlery and all that will fall into place.
Living away from home offers you so much more freedom, you would be mad not to. £300 a week income is enough to live away from home, especially if your girlfriend (and other friend) are earning and paying towards bills etc.
Don't be one of these naysayers who boasts that he was able to save for a new car, but still lives in his Thunderbirds wallpapered room just across the landing from his mum's room!
k it. If you can afford the monthly rent and council tax etc, go for it. You will find yourself adjusting your lifestyle to suit any bills and stuff like cutlery and all that will fall into place.Living away from home offers you so much more freedom, you would be mad not to. £300 a week income is enough to live away from home, especially if your girlfriend (and other friend) are earning and paying towards bills etc.
Don't be one of these naysayers who boasts that he was able to save for a new car, but still lives in his Thunderbirds wallpapered room just across the landing from his mum's room!
^ lol at that post.
both helpful posts though.
Only looking at fully furnished places, will that included everything you need to live in the place, like you say cutlery, will that be there? tv's?
or does furnished just mean things like beds, tables, chairs, white goods etc and leave me having to get electical things?
(i know all the places are different but just getting a general idea)
With the list, any idea in general how much these will be. Looking at very new/modern 2 bed flats in dartford/essex/gravesend area, most have two bathrooms. heating not often on.
I've crossed out the ones that aren't relevant.
1. Council tax
2. Electricity
3. Gas
4. Water (and sewerage)
5. Food
6. Mobile phone
7. Land line
8. Internet
9. Buildings and contents insurance
10. Car tax, Car fuel, Car insurance
thanks again
both helpful posts though.
Only looking at fully furnished places, will that included everything you need to live in the place, like you say cutlery, will that be there? tv's?
or does furnished just mean things like beds, tables, chairs, white goods etc and leave me having to get electical things?
(i know all the places are different but just getting a general idea)
With the list, any idea in general how much these will be. Looking at very new/modern 2 bed flats in dartford/essex/gravesend area, most have two bathrooms. heating not often on.
I've crossed out the ones that aren't relevant.
1. Council tax
2. Electricity
3. Gas
4. Water (and sewerage)
5. Food
7. Land line
8. Internet
9. Buildings and contents insurance
thanks again
Don't think that costs and so forth will be the biggest problem. I've lived in some places where you pay the rent all to one person and others where the bills are posted on the fridge and everyone does the honest thing putting in their share.
The biggest problem will be your relationships with your housemates, whether they respect the common area cleanliness 'rules', noise, etc. If nobody has lived out of home before this is especially so. Make some rules or make a rota or get a cleaner
The biggest problem will be your relationships with your housemates, whether they respect the common area cleanliness 'rules', noise, etc. If nobody has lived out of home before this is especially so. Make some rules or make a rota or get a cleaner
you can cross off water rates and buildings insurance too, as the landlord 'should' pick those costs up.
my 3 bed flat cost just shy of £3k last year to run, which was council tax, gas, electric, phone, tv licence, internet and contents insurance.
not much, but I don't use the heating much really - You could add another grand to heat a poorly insulated house to that, or if you share with two women
my 3 bed flat cost just shy of £3k last year to run, which was council tax, gas, electric, phone, tv licence, internet and contents insurance.
not much, but I don't use the heating much really - You could add another grand to heat a poorly insulated house to that, or if you share with two women
oops i made a slight error there. Total rent would be around £190-£230 a week for two of us, or £220-£270 if three of us.
Have been paying rent to live in my parents house, along with my own food. (i know, bum deal rght!) so have am used to having the monthly out goings.
Just can't help but think it should be more difficult than finding the right place, calling them up, then turning up to live there a week later!
Thanks for the help aswel guys, its all useful.
Have been paying rent to live in my parents house, along with my own food. (i know, bum deal rght!) so have am used to having the monthly out goings.
Just can't help but think it should be more difficult than finding the right place, calling them up, then turning up to live there a week later!
Thanks for the help aswel guys, its all useful.
Robb F said:
oops i made a slight error there. Total rent would be around £190-£230 a week for two of us, or £220-£270 if three of us.
Have been paying rent to live in my parents house, along with my own food. (i know, bum deal rght!) so have am used to having the monthly out goings.
Just can't help but think it should be more difficult than finding the right place, calling them up, then turning up to live there a week later!
Thanks for the help aswel guys, its all useful.
Moved into the place I am at now about 30 minutes after ringing up to make a viewing.Have been paying rent to live in my parents house, along with my own food. (i know, bum deal rght!) so have am used to having the monthly out goings.
Just can't help but think it should be more difficult than finding the right place, calling them up, then turning up to live there a week later!
Thanks for the help aswel guys, its all useful.
Go for it.
Stuff like cutlery, bedding, towels, etc...all somehow tend to "accumulate" - family, friends all find stuff they they have no longer a need for and it somehow finds its way to you.
Two words of warning: This "third" friend......how good a friend is he? May be best buddies but you will soon find the limits when living under the same roof. Just be careful!
DO NOT be tempted to bung everything on a credit card.
Stuff like cutlery, bedding, towels, etc...all somehow tend to "accumulate" - family, friends all find stuff they they have no longer a need for and it somehow finds its way to you.
Two words of warning: This "third" friend......how good a friend is he? May be best buddies but you will soon find the limits when living under the same roof. Just be careful!
DO NOT be tempted to bung everything on a credit card.
this mate, i would say dont move in with him! about 7/8months ago i moved in with my girlfriend, my best mate and his girlfriend(who i see as a sister)
there was a minimum of 6months rent, and then rolled over after that, needless to say, i hate the bloke now...being mates is one thing, but when you live together its shocking how the little things can grow into massive problems! the only rooms that were shared were the kitchen/living room, as we had our own bathroom/bedrooms!
all in all, dont move in with your best mate, you will end up hating each other!
me and Swmbo are now 3months into our new place and its all good! we dont speak to my *best mate* anymmore though!
when i moved i was lucky as i took the bed from my mothers, the tv etc...make sure you sort tv licence( only 5.50 a week)
we found that poundland helped alot, specially with the cleaning products, baking trays, stuff that you find out need when you come to use it lol! home bargains helps with bog roll. 12 rolls for 2.99 iirc, much cheaper than asda,tescos etc!
bedding you could blag from ur mums etc
i moved out from my moms house around 8/9 months ago, and you would never think it! we have a 3peice suite, 32inch tv, sky, cooker, fridge freezer, blah blah blah! wouldnt think you would accumalate so much st!!
make sure the landlord registers you for everything, and make sure you take a meter reading!!]
Most of all....good luck =]
there was a minimum of 6months rent, and then rolled over after that, needless to say, i hate the bloke now...being mates is one thing, but when you live together its shocking how the little things can grow into massive problems! the only rooms that were shared were the kitchen/living room, as we had our own bathroom/bedrooms!
all in all, dont move in with your best mate, you will end up hating each other!
me and Swmbo are now 3months into our new place and its all good! we dont speak to my *best mate* anymmore though!
when i moved i was lucky as i took the bed from my mothers, the tv etc...make sure you sort tv licence( only 5.50 a week)
we found that poundland helped alot, specially with the cleaning products, baking trays, stuff that you find out need when you come to use it lol! home bargains helps with bog roll. 12 rolls for 2.99 iirc, much cheaper than asda,tescos etc!
bedding you could blag from ur mums etc
i moved out from my moms house around 8/9 months ago, and you would never think it! we have a 3peice suite, 32inch tv, sky, cooker, fridge freezer, blah blah blah! wouldnt think you would accumalate so much s
t!!make sure the landlord registers you for everything, and make sure you take a meter reading!!]
Most of all....good luck =]
For a bit of balance, I moved in with my mate and it wasn't an issue at all.
I think what you need to do is consider what sort of person they are. Are you the sort of person who has everything in order, who likes to wash the dishes straight away and likes to keep things neat and tidy and have the bills paid on time, or the sort who likes to just live life day to day, let things sort them self out and not mind stuff lying around waiting to be tidied up.
I generally leave things lying about and it doesn't bother me in the slightest if there are dishes waiting to be washed on the side. I once had a house mate who got ridiculously pissed off about little things like running out of clean tea towels and stuff, but my 'type' don't generally give a st when the 'tidy' (read anal) type get annoyed at those little things and that just wound him up more. So bear that in mind if you are the sort that likes to have everything in its place.
If your mate doesn't sit on the same side of the fence as you when it comes to those things, then you may well end up hating each other. I think a lot of times when people have a friend who they like to hang out in the pub with, they don't think about what it would actually be living with them and how their day to day habits will affect them.
On the other hand, my mate and I got on great living together (with a couple of others) and it was like hanging out with your mates non stop. We had a quality time. So yeah, just think carefully about whether you could live with each others small niggles and what those small niggles might be. If you can't see a problem, then hell, go for it. You might miss out a great time if you don't!
I think what you need to do is consider what sort of person they are. Are you the sort of person who has everything in order, who likes to wash the dishes straight away and likes to keep things neat and tidy and have the bills paid on time, or the sort who likes to just live life day to day, let things sort them self out and not mind stuff lying around waiting to be tidied up.
I generally leave things lying about and it doesn't bother me in the slightest if there are dishes waiting to be washed on the side. I once had a house mate who got ridiculously pissed off about little things like running out of clean tea towels and stuff, but my 'type' don't generally give a s
t when the 'tidy' (read anal) type get annoyed at those little things and that just wound him up more. So bear that in mind if you are the sort that likes to have everything in its place.If your mate doesn't sit on the same side of the fence as you when it comes to those things, then you may well end up hating each other. I think a lot of times when people have a friend who they like to hang out in the pub with, they don't think about what it would actually be living with them and how their day to day habits will affect them.
On the other hand, my mate and I got on great living together (with a couple of others) and it was like hanging out with your mates non stop. We had a quality time. So yeah, just think carefully about whether you could live with each others small niggles and what those small niggles might be. If you can't see a problem, then hell, go for it. You might miss out a great time if you don't!
Edited by Shay HTFC on Wednesday 5th May 22:11
Robb F said:
So it seems like i've come to a point in my life where i feel like moving out of the family home is the right thing to do. I will be moving in with my girlfriend and possibly a very good friend of ours.
As others have said - I would be very reluctant to move in with a mate. This is for two reasons:1. You may not be mates for long - little things that are funny stories when told by your mate may soon turn into major issues when they are being done, or not done. in your house
2. In the event that it doesn't work out with the G/F (sorry, but you HAVE to be aware there is a possibility if this is the first time you've lived with her, because your friends habits will annoy, hers may send you off the scale) then if it's just you and her, it's a lot easier to split. If however you have a mate in the mix as well.......
Sorry again, but I think it's a consideration.
The guy is like my brother, we are basically the same person! So i don't think there will be any problems there. Breaking up with the g/f shouldn't be an issue either as we've discussed it, and we're moving in as friends, not as partners. So i already have it agreed that if we split up, which we both said could happen, then it will all be good and i can bring copious amounts of clunge back to the place with me :P (also the off chance of ex-sex so win win. I'm only kinda joking....)
Going to start saving for the deposit after i've paid my insurance this month.
Was going to save up a fund for buying random crap that we'll need when we move in, such as tea towels, cleaning stuff, bog roll etc but don't really know hom much is sensible.
And just knowing that people did the same as i'm planning on doing (i.e a bit haphazard and fairly unplanned/impromtu) makes me feel alot better.
Going to start saving for the deposit after i've paid my insurance this month.
Was going to save up a fund for buying random crap that we'll need when we move in, such as tea towels, cleaning stuff, bog roll etc but don't really know hom much is sensible.
And just knowing that people did the same as i'm planning on doing (i.e a bit haphazard and fairly unplanned/impromtu) makes me feel alot better.
@ shay..i think that was the problem with me and my ex flatmate! he was very straight, always had to be clean, paid bills before the reminders got sent etc!!
im very much the opposite,i do pay my bills, it just takes a while lol! and i dont mind about stuff sat around for the washing up, im pretty lucky actually as swmbo is full term pregnant, and is constantly just cleaning haha!
just enjoy what you are doing, it was awesome moving out for the first time..stressfull but enjoyable!!
im very much the opposite,i do pay my bills, it just takes a while lol! and i dont mind about stuff sat around for the washing up, im pretty lucky actually as swmbo is full term pregnant, and is constantly just cleaning
haha!just enjoy what you are doing, it was awesome moving out for the first time..stressfull but enjoyable!!
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