Property prices thread

[Tamas]

I still think you should explore the country more rather than confining yourself to the home counties and London. You may find you can earn just as much money in Manchester or Newcastle and the housing suddenly becomes a lot more sensible. Though it may be difficult for your wife given her speciality?

The latter is part of it although more along the lines of she being very happy with where she is at the moment.

Exploring more is of course a good point, because, frankly, we have zero interest living in the worse-weather and worse-economy parts of the country, and this probably stems from ignorance. There's also a comparison with Eastern Europe to do when considering moving to a less prosperous area - we'd give up a lot by moving back (in the current situation, a functioning healthcare system comes to mind especially in case of Hungary), but there also would be advantages. So while the scale would still probably tip towards the UK when moving away from London and the SE, it would be less of an obvious choice.

[The Larch]

most cars are perfectly fine outside.

Are they, though? I mean, I would never, like, rent a garage or anything of the sort, but having a car outside in a very green area like ours here is bad. It's a constant struggle to prevent nature claiming for its own use. Storing a car in a garage is far more convenient. Not to mention not having to do any kind of basic maintenance on the bloody street.

Even if it's just for cleanliness' sake it's better to keep a car in a garage rather than on the street. At least over here when buying a 2nd hand car the fact that it has been kept in a garage is normally considered to be a factor that increases its value (or rather than keeping it parked on the street makes its value go down much faster).

[garbon]

You guys don't like it when I say there are some weird island-dweller idiosyncrasies in this country but this is one of the examples.

I love it! You should do an entire thread of this - although if you come for the British plug I will go spare

I consider British plugs to be superior.  Also like that the outlets have an off switch.

British plugs are terribly large. Also what is up with British apple plugs that nearly need a wrench to be removed.

[Josquius]

. Storing a car in a garage is far more convenient. Not to mention not having to do any kind of basic maintenance on the bloody street.

Convenience is a big factor against garages. Having to open and close those awkward doors and the tightness of the parking vs just jumping in and you're off.
Maintenance is something yes. The few people I know who do keep cars in garages are classic car guys and one guy who does a side business buying and selling wrecks.

I still think you should explore the country more rather than confining yourself to the home counties and London. You may find you can earn just as much money in Manchester or Newcastle and the housing suddenly becomes a lot more sensible. Though it may be difficult for your wife given her speciality?

These days working in IT especially when it is possible to have a London job and salary whilst living in a much nicer place.

The missus seems the issue. Kill her Tamas. It's the only way.

[Sheilbh]

Even if it's just for cleanliness' sake it's better to keep a car in a garage rather than on the street. At least over here when buying a 2nd hand car the fact that it has been kept in a garage is normally considered to be a factor that increases its value (or rather than keeping it parked on the street makes its value go down much faster).

I don't mean to get into stereotypes but is part of that also that streets in Spanish towns tend to be narrower and there's possibly a higher risk of cars getting dinked etc?

I don't know anyone who uses a garage. You're far more likely to see people park in the drive or on the street - cleanliness is an issue but you just get/do a car wash every now and then. I've never thought of it as an issue or likely to impact on the value of a vehicle

This does also get to one of my many issues of cars - the vast majority of the time, they're parked. We waste a lot of urban space with places for people to use and store vehicles for at most 2-3 hours a day

[Tamas]

Even if it's just for cleanliness' sake it's better to keep a car in a garage rather than on the street. At least over here when buying a 2nd hand car the fact that it has been kept in a garage is normally considered to be a factor that increases its value (or rather than keeping it parked on the street makes its value go down much faster).

I don't mean to get into stereotypes but is part of that also that streets in Spanish towns tend to be narrower and there's possibly a higher risk of cars getting dinked etc?

I don't know anyone who uses a garage. You're far more likely to see people park in the drive or on the street - cleanliness is an issue but you just get/do a car wash every now and then. I've never thought of it as an issue or likely to impact on the value of a vehicle

This does also get to one of my many issues of cars - the vast majority of the time, they're parked. We waste a lot of urban space with places for people to use and store vehicles for at most 2-3 hours a day

OMG Sheilbh I don't know how narrow Spanish streets are but do you know how narrow English ones are? 

And on the insufferable pain of getting in and out of cars in garages (as Tyr brought up) the whole point is that these garags are too smal to have a practical use. I can tell you, the chore of opening and closing dors of garages where a car actually fits pale in comparison to the chore of keeping on-street cars in an even remotely acceptable state.

[Tamas]

Also, Sheilbh, I understand in the middle of London a car appears of little utility. However, the whole world is not a built-up metropolis.

[The Brain]

No one sane lives in the Cursed Earth.

[The Larch]

For those complaining about narrow garages. 

https://twitter.com/moylato/status/1387139670962843658

[Sheilbh]

OMG Sheilbh I don't know how narrow Spanish streets are but do you know how narrow English ones are? 

Yeah - I could be wrong but I generally think the more north you go (and the worse the sunlight is) the streets tend to be wider to make the most of the daylight, the further south (better and more intense sunlight you get) the narrower streets are. The old built up bits in Spain I've been to are far narrower/denser than in the UK.

And on the insufferable pain of getting in and out of cars in garages (as Tyr brought up) the whole point is that these garags are too smal to have a practical use. I can tell you, the chore of opening and closing dors of garages where a car actually fits pale in comparison to the chore of keeping on-street cars in an even remotely acceptable state.

Yeah I just find this interesting. I've lived my entire life with my mum and dad keeping their car on the street and it's never been an issue they've thought of - we even had a separate garage at one point, but we'd just moved to a far smaller house so that was used for storage and the main car was parked in the drive outside. The garage was big enough to fit our cars too

The only person I know who did use their garage was my grandad who was a mechanic and had a vintage car like Tyr says.

Also, Sheilbh, I understand in the middle of London a car appears of little utility. However, the whole world is not a built-up metropolis.

You know my views - our goal should be that cars are of no utility anywhere and are eventually banned. We need far, far fewer cars. And in any sort of town or city taking a block just to store vehicles is going to really kill density which should be the goal not sprawl - though I've no issue with park and ride models.

I was thinking of a comparison I saw on a webstie of some American city centre which had previously had large office blocks and quite good density, but now a huge number of those blocks had been turned into car parks

[The Larch]

Even if it's just for cleanliness' sake it's better to keep a car in a garage rather than on the street. At least over here when buying a 2nd hand car the fact that it has been kept in a garage is normally considered to be a factor that increases its value (or rather than keeping it parked on the street makes its value go down much faster).

I don't mean to get into stereotypes but is part of that also that streets in Spanish towns tend to be narrower and there's possibly a higher risk of cars getting dinked etc?

I don't know anyone who uses a garage. You're far more likely to see people park in the drive or on the street - cleanliness is an issue but you just get/do a car wash every now and then. I've never thought of it as an issue or likely to impact on the value of a vehicle

Just as dirt can be washed, dinks can be repaired. In any case, I don't know what's the underlying cause for the decrease on a car's value, if it's something objective due to the cars being "at the mercy of the elements" or just a subjective quirk.

This does also get to one of my many issues of cars - the vast majority of the time, they're parked. We waste a lot of urban space with places for people to use and store vehicles for at most 2-3 hours a day

So many of the issues surrounding cars make no practical sense whatsoever. How it conditions urban design, the amunt of money it costs to keep one vs. the amount of time you use it, how inefficient it is energy-wise for mobility purposes, etc. They're accepted because people just don't think that much about these issues.

[Sheilbh]

So many of the issues surrounding cars make no practical sense whatsoever. How it conditions urban design, the amunt of money it costs to keep one vs. the amount of time you use it, how inefficient it is energy-wise for mobility purposes, etc. They're accepted because people just don't think that much about these issues.

Yeah - and we choose not to design spaces and transport around other options. We don't create an alternative and then flap our hands at how, unfortunately, there's nothing we can do and they are inevitable and essential.

[Josquius]

You know my views - our goal should be that cars are of no utility anywhere and are eventually banned

Destroyers of planet and society they are.

[Tamas]

  Oh you urban-bubbled people.

[Grey Fox]

It is still a good thing to aim for, imo.

And I say this has a suburban living North American.