London is contention zone for billionaires and millionaires buying up property left and right.
What kid of property can you buy if you are a good software dev working at FAANG?
What kid of property can you buy if you are a good software dev working at FAANG?
Housing is expensive in rough proportion to how central you are, and especially how close to tube stations you are. But it's also possible to live quite well. My commute would be a little over 1 hour each way by public transport, but I generally used a motorbike, closer to 35 minutes.
We are however leaving, in large part due to Brexit. I'm Irish, my partner is German, and neither of us wants our son to be schooled in this country. The political situation is heading in an Orban-like direction, they're locking up EU citizens at the border and the anti-EU rhetoric from leadership and tabloids is relentless.
I would not come here as an EU citizen.
I quit my job and joined Google in part because they'll relocate me to Zurich.
500k is what I want to spend for housing as well and it would merely buy a sad flat in London.
The cost of housing, the weather, the incoming tax hikes, progressive teachers and teenagers with knives are the reason I'm relocating somewhere else (Brexit didn't change much).
That said, for buying a house, I'm personally looking to one of the commuter towns. Somewhere like Woking, Basildon, Cheshunt... Maybe even out near Gatwick somewhere. I grew up next to an airport so I actually find the sound nice.
The biggest material impact of Brexit for me right now is the much greater difficulty in importing stuff, wine especially. But when we get back to international travel, the border will make more difference. Goods to declare, for one thing.