Cheapest places to live below the midlands?

[Craig_J]

I’ve recently graduated from Uni at the ripe old age of 25.

Basically my mental health is quite bad and I would need private therapy from r the condition I have assumed I have as NHS doesn’t offer much that is proven effective. The therapy I see from a proven therapist would be 140 a week and is supposed to be done weekly.

I currently live in Newmarket and Suffolk and upon graduating have assumed living with my mother again who is unwell with Huntington’s.

I don’t know what my prospects are as I’ve graduated late - but I would assume minimum wage for the time being.

Where are the cheapest places in England? I would love somewhere where I don’t have to choose between living on my own or getting proper help but it seems like I’m trapped in having to choose between one or the other.

Preferably the place would be below the traditional midlands as I don’t want to be to far from home as I don’t drive and may be needed on occasion (and as Scara will attest too, Northerners are savages!)

I also happen to hate the town I live in as everyone’s a junky, drunk or gambling addict - and usually all of the above. Cambridge is near to me and I love it but the rents are so expensive as to

I know a lot of you are really on the ball with this sort of stuff and have much more life experience than I do.

From where I’m sitting my only option would be to look up towns individually on Right Move etc... but it doesn’t seem too practical!

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

 

[Bedfordspurs]

I’ve recently graduated from Uni at the ripe old age of 25.

Basically my mental health is quite bad and I would need private therapy from r the condition I have assumed I have as NHS doesn’t offer much that is proven effective. The therapy I see from a proven therapist would be 140 a week and is supposed to be done weekly.

I currently live in Newmarket and Suffolk and upon graduating have assumed living with my mother again who is unwell with Huntington’s.

I don’t know what my prospects are as I’ve graduated late - but I would assume minimum wage for the time being.

Where are the cheapest places in England? I would love somewhere where I don’t have to choose between living on my own or getting proper help but it seems like I’m trapped in having to choose between one or the other.

Preferably the place would be below the traditional midlands as I don’t want to be to far from home as I don’t drive and may be needed on occasion (and as Scara will attest too, Northerners are savages!)

I also happen to hate the town I live in as everyone’s a junky, drunk or gambling addict - and usually all of the above. Cambridge is near to me and I love it but the rents are so expensive as to

I know a lot of you are really on the ball with this sort of stuff and have much more life experience than I do.

From where I’m sitting my only option would be to look up towns individually on Right Move etc... but it doesn’t seem too practical!

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Have you looked at upmystreet.com. They used to have rental guides by region

Lincolnshire is cheap to live, offers reasonable employment and is still close to home for you

 

[Gutter Boy]

I was in Shaftesbury the other day and was surprised how cheap the houses were around there for a chocolate box village. It's a bit isolated, but it's only a few miles south of the A303

In North Kent, some bits west of Margate are affordable and ok - whitstable etc

 

[Gutter Boy]

Have you looked at upmystreet.com. They used to have rental guides by region

Lincolnshire is cheap to live, offers reasonable employment and is still close to home for you

Stay inland in Lincolnshire though, the coastal resorts are hell holes

Long Bennington and wragby are two random nice villages I've stumbled upon in search of a pint and a roast

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Stay inland in Lincolnshire though, the coastal resorts are hell holes

True
I part own a property development business in Boston and there are some really nice old places in that town... surrounded by some dumps

 

[Craig_J]

Thank you for such early replies Lads.

I hadn’t considered upmystreet.com but will definitely look into it!

Unfortunately I’ve grown up with both a mentally incapacitated mother and father (Divorced a couple of decades ago) who lived their whole lives in council flats. The rest of my extended family are, ironically, fairly lower middle class now and own their own homes so I’m without much information on the rent front!

I’m at least glad this has happened after the banning of agency fees otherwise I would not stand a chance!

 

[Moby]

Graduating late or not, is the expectation once you’ve graduated really just minimum wage? (Serious question as I bypassed Uni after 6th form and went straight for the work option)

I’m just surprised as minimum wage is peanuts, and for the objectives you’ve got on at the moment, bagging a semi decent income instead would actually seem to make a lot of your challenges a lot simpler.

 

[P.D.]

Sorry to hear all that mate - have you checked out Northampton? Supposed to be really cheap and transport isn't too bad. Probably cheaper places to live but further north you go better paid work will be harder to find.

 

[Moby]

Sorry to hear all that mate - have you checked out Northampton? Supposed to be really cheap and transport isn't too bad. Probably cheaper places to live but further north you go better paid work will be harder to find.

Peterborough might be worth a look too

 

[Lemonade Money]

If you need trains to get to Newmarket (mum) & Tottenham (Spurs), maybe somewhere on the train line between the two? Bishops Stortford to Tottenham Hale is only 25mins, so maybe somewhere between there and Newmarket?
Cambridge would be ideal, are you sure you wouldn't be better off in a bedsit somewhere you want to be, rather than in your own place somewhere you don't?
I would also recommend living and working in the same place, within walking/cycling distance, the cost of a rail season ticket could be the difference in somewhere you want to live.
If you need to regularly visit a private therapy, then this being nearby may be a consideration too?
I live and work in the same town and love it, and love being right in the town centre, but you may feel you're happiest in the middle of nowhere with no one around? I'd value quality of life over what size property you can afford.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Maybe a silly question, but could the care/treatment you require dictate things?

Im not sure what it is, obviously, so as the question of how widely available it is - and if there is a need to find a "good" one.

If these questions are pertinent it might help focus your search.

 

[SpurMeUp]

+ 1 for getting a job walking/ cycling distance from home. If you are footloose and free, make use of it! Not only do you save on transport, your quality of life - and free time - will be enhanced.

You will get a better than minium wage job. What did you study? Not 18th centry French poetry...

Cheaper to live probably also equals less work. So a happy medium is probably best.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

Mate of mine is doing up a narrow boat and is planning to live on it. Looking at places in Essex, fairly affordable way to live if you do not have a family.

Otherwise I can suggest Worthing and not just because I am renting out a house there, honest. Is fairly affordable and an hour and 15 minutes from London on the train. Pretty good mental health workers round here and I should know. Used to have an old persons reputation but with the young being pushed out of Brighton by property prices it is coming up a bit.

Agree with what others say about being able to walk to work and also perhaps going for a smaller place if it is an area you want to be in.

 

[Craig_J]

Thanks for the replies again everyone!

It will be a few months before I can save up enough to seriously think about moving but you've all helped me get some starting places. Think its best to take my time to seriously consider where I want to be.

Graduating late or not, is the expectation once you’ve graduated really just minimum wage? (Serious question as I bypassed Uni after 6th form and went straight for the work option)

I’m just surprised as minimum wage is peanuts, and for the objectives you’ve got on at the moment, bagging a semi decent income instead would actually seem to make a lot of your challenges a lot simpler.

+ 1 for getting a job walking/ cycling distance from home. If you are footloose and free, make use of it! Not only do you save on transport, your quality of life - and free time - will be enhanced.

You will get a better than minium wage job. What did you study? Not 18th centry French poetry...

Cheaper to live probably also equals less work. So a happy medium is probably best.

I would hope that I'd get better than a minimum wage job but I think I'm just cautiously pessimistic when it comes to prospects! I know a lot of people who have graduated struggle for a little while to find something decent but I might get lucky. My plan was to have a year having before going onto do a masters but that might have to wait a while

I studied sociology so some people would probably say it's as useful as 18th century French poetry. I'll be applying for the Civil Service grad scheme when it opens next week - but I know they get around 25,000 applications and there's only around 1,000 jobs so it seems a bit of a stab in the dark.

If you need trains to get to Newmarket (mum) & Tottenham (Spurs), maybe somewhere on the train line between the two? Bishops Stortford to Tottenham Hale is only 25mins, so maybe somewhere between there and Newmarket?
Cambridge would be ideal, are you sure you wouldn't be better off in a bedsit somewhere you want to be, rather than in your own place somewhere you don't?
I would also recommend living and working in the same place, within walking/cycling distance, the cost of a rail season ticket could be the difference in somewhere you want to live.
If you need to regularly visit a private therapy, then this being nearby may be a consideration too?
I live and work in the same town and love it, and love being right in the town centre, but you may feel you're happiest in the middle of nowhere with no one around? I'd value quality of life over what size property you can afford.

Thanks mate that's very useful. I might have to consider a bed sit type situation for a while until I get settled. I had also thought about looking into a flat share but I think I appreciate my privacy too much to have to share a kitchen and everything with people. I think a bathroom I could probably manage so long as it's not with so many people that the toilet looks disgusting and there's competition for a shower!

Maybe a silly question, but could the care/treatment you require dictate things?

Im not sure what it is, obviously, so as the question of how widely available it is - and if there is a need to find a "good" one.

If these questions are pertinent it might help focus your search.

I would defiantly look into whether there was appropriate therapy services. In Cambridge there are a couple and I'm incredibly lucky that's the case because there doesn't seem to be another one from here to London! Although doing it online over a webcam shouldn't make any difference to its effectiveness so I'm not sure that it rules out anywhere.

 

[SpurMeUp]

Sociology means you can do anything. Just tweek your CV to the job. Like...."was fascinated by the economics side of sociology" when going for a finance job ...."understanding human needs accross societies" for charity/ third sector roles etc etc. But need a nugget of intersting academic info to back up each claim you make if they ask you in for an interview.

Civil Service sounds interseting. Possibly a little frustrating. You end up having to play the game as a civil servant. Commercial enterprises maybe offer faster routes forward if you find something you are good at and want to work hard at. Key is to find somehthing you are genuinly interested in, and feel like you're making a difference!

 

[milo]

I was in Shaftesbury the other day and was surprised how cheap the houses were around there for a chocolate box village. It's a bit isolated, but it's only a few miles south of the A303

In North Kent, some bits west of Margate are affordable and ok - whitstable etc

Whitstable is not affordable

 

[Craig_J]

Sociology means you can do anything. Just tweek your CV to the job. Like...."was fascinated by the economics side of sociology" when going for a finance job ...."understanding human needs accross societies" for charity/ third sector roles etc etc. But need a nugget of intersting academic info to back up each claim you make if they ask you in for an interview.

Civil Service sounds interseting. Possibly a little frustrating. You end up having to play the game as a civil servant. Commercial enterprises maybe offer faster routes forward if you find something you are good at and want to work hard at. Key is to find somehthing you are genuinly interested in, and feel like you're making a difference!

Thanks mate! When I decided to study Sociology I kinda did so mostly because I loved the subject at A-levels but also because it’s a pretty generalist subject and I had no ideas what I wanted to do! Thought I would have figured that out by now but not quite!

I would primarily like to work in the third sector as you’ve said - but I know the wages, particularly at starter level, are less than ideal. Fortunately I’m not the sort of person whose motivated by a flashy lifestyle so that doesn’t bother me. Just have expenses to consider at the moment but otherwise I’d be happy with any charity job!

The Civil Service grad scheme seems by far the best straight-outta-uni option financially but it has definitely made me wary that I could end up working for the DWP, albeit temporarily, who I don’t have the highest opinion of! I definitely wouldn’t want to enforce the kind of stuff they have on normal people!

 

[Mr_B]

i'd nominate coventry, lived there when i was a student, recently checked property prices, not much to do there but cheap as chips

 

[Moby]

i'd nominate coventry, lived there when i was a student, recently checked property prices, not much to do there but cheap as chips

There’s a reason for that.....

 

[Lemonade Money]

There’s a reason for that.....

To send someone to Coventry is an English idiom meaning to deliberately ostracise someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist. Victims are treated as though they are completely invisible and inaudible.