Think I know what you mean, Sozbot. Much as I like visiting London, I think you'd have to be on a really big wage to truly enjoy the place. Not an average wage and having a huge commute every single day, only to get back to a place that isn't all that nice... people I know from the London area are desperately broke just to struggle to a halfway decent standard of living... hope you're not one of them!
Just seen this now, many months later!
Well, I'm fortunate enough that Husband and I own our house with a relatively small mortgage (due to a legacy I was left), and he earns decently as a self-employed electrician. I'm at a point in my music career where earnings are sporadic but I have to keep doing what I do and forging ahead otherwise it'll all be for nought... I can't afford to take the time away from my work and get an office job or whatever. It'd be foolish at this point. I'm earning enough to not need to do that, but I'm not earning ENOUGH. If I didn't have my husband and this house, I'd be in a very different situation.
Frustrating, but we do OK. We're far from rich, but because of his work we can still go out to dinner and the pub and see most of the bands we want to see.
I do find that the cost of travel is crippling. Quite often I have to make my excuses to musician friends because at certain times I can't afford to see their shows - it's not just the cost of the ticket, but the price of travel and the inevitable drink afterwards as it's really quite rude to leave without saying a proper hello and congratulations... I'd rather do these things less frequently and do them better.
I'm happy to admit that we're lucky, and we're so much better off than many. We are thankful for it.
However, I'm tired of having to conjure things out of thin air. As a household we do fine, but I have very little money to spend on anything for myself. I can't remember the last time I bought a new dress. I can afford to spend a little money on myself maybe once a year. Birthdays and Christmas are stressful because I want to buy gifts for people that they deserve, and I can't, because all my money gets eaten up by travel and just... London. I must spend at least £100 a month on travel, and that's when I'm not travelling into Central London often.
My husband probably doesn't realise I feel this way - he'd hate it if he knew, but I hardly feel as though I can say to him "please give me more money on top of what you already spend supporting me so that I can have something nice for myself".
I just feel that our life would be so much better if we lived in another city, but by the same token, we feel stuck here. I feel as though the 6 years I've spent building up contacts in London would disappear overnight if I wasn't immediately in their line of sight. I've seen it happen. Also, my husband has built his business over almost 15 years and would either have to go back to working for someone else, or start from scratch.
So basically, it's tough to have a good life here, and we can't afford to move.
Please excuse the rant and whine, I just feel trapped. First World Problems in the extreme. I laugh at myself for complaining, frankly.