the_matelot said:
Scotch,
Are you trying to say that he's the only one in this position? What about all the people who choose not to uproot their partners/wifes/husbands/goldfish lives everytime they've got to move because they deem that to be irresponsible especially if the partner already has a good career? I choose to live away from where I'm based as it allows me to have long-term stability in my life. My point was he was whinging about the cost of housing and commenting that he couldn't afford it on his wages. How many married couples do you know that apply for a mortgage and choose to leave out one of the incomes? If she was a shopworker, then fair enough but she's a teacher and no doubt earns a good salary. So with their two combined salaries, they can afford more than £140,000. It all depends on what he's looking for but the way he's made out his finances is a tad bit irritating.
I don't know how much you think a teacher earns but it isn't that much (ok a lot more than I can earn for less stress and responsibility but I won't go there!)!
We get down to the same problem faced with many military families....do families stay together and so wives have less job stability and therefore decent wages? Or do you settle the family down in one place and do weekly commuting. Mr S_M and I are arguing about just this problem now! The fact is a basic family home is too expensive for first time buyers. Even on a Majors wage. The only way we could afford it was taking advantage of key worker schemes that I am entitled to through work! Now we have a house that is a LOT smaller than we have been used to but we have joined the real world (for a while). In a few years we might even be able to afford a reasonable family house!
Mr S_M like many military types would like his family to be with him, he doesn't want to live alone in the mess. Yet if we as a family stay put, my career can get back on track, the children can have stable schooling.
We looked at the buy to let plan for housing, as suggested by Short-Fuse, but the cost of properties where we live meant anything we could afford to buy would not be suitable to rent out. That is also the real world.
Someone mentioned that people can buy anywhere in the country. Quite right but it is sensible to buy at least a reasonable distance from either family or where you can keep an eye on your investment.
There is no easy answer to any of these problems. The Major in question buying in France was just finding a reasonable solution to his problem just as Matelot has found his solution already. Navy families have always stayed put while the sailor travels. Army families have traditionally followed tha flag. Unfortunately now, following the flag is a double edged sword! And Short-Fuse was ahead of the game when he decided to invest 5-10 years ago.