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Cycling on

Bicycle
over 6 years ago

I haven't been here for a while and thought I would just look in and tell you all how things have been.

Life's been a little crappy lately, to say the least.  It looks like I could be losing my job because of cutbacks in services.  If that happens, I don't know what I'll do.  I really need to move to somewhere better than I have now, but it's hard enough to afford with work.  I can't see how I'll manage without it.  I've tried putting my name down on the council list, but they say I don't have any valid enough housing needs.  If I loose my job I will qualify for housing benefit so that my rent will be covered at least.  It might help if there was a bigger stock of social housing around here, but much of it has been sold off under the Tories 'Right to Buy'.  What about having a right to a roof over my head in the first place?  What gets me is that many of the former council properties have been bought up by private landlords.  So - former council houses, bought up cheaply then rented out for a profit.  It sickens me.

So much about this country sickens me now.  I've thought of moving abroad, but I don't speak any other languages.  And I have no special skills or financial resources.  I need to be around familiar things, too - places and faces I know, even if I don't really have much of a social life.  I'd like to live somewhere where they have a different social ethos.  Norway, for instance.  Here, it seems to be all about self self self.  People who want to pay less tax so they've got more in their own pockets, and sod the rest of society.  People being dumped because social care is starved.  The middle-classes grabbing all the best school places, because they can.  Housing prices getting completely out of hand. Then the homeless being fined and swept off the streets of Windsor because of the royal wedding.  Where are they going to go?  I was interested to read, in a guide book, that Windsor Castle has "about" 1000 rooms.  So many they're not even sure how many!  Maybe a few homeless people could go in there, then. 

Sorry.  Just feeling down and grumpy about it all.  Letting off some steam.

Parents
  • over 6 years ago

    Homeless people living on the streets are being fined? How on earth are they supposed to afford to pay a fine? What are they being charged with? It can't be illegal to be homeless, surely? Sorry, I don't mean to ignore the rest of your post but this is news to me. 

    The housing situation up and down the UK seems to be in crisis at the moment but I have heard that it's particularly bad in London. The reasons seem to be very similar though to those in my small rural community - far too many houses are bought up by people who use them as second or third 'holiday' homes leaving fewer and fewer options for locals. Most young people, just like in London, have no option but to leave home relatively early to find work and are forced into the exorbitant private rental market because of the shortage of affordable alternatives. Things are getting out of hand with it but there seems to be no solution on the horizon. 

    'Occupy Windsor Castle', I like it!   :)  I wonder how long it would take the government to act if that happened!! 

  • over 6 years ago in reply to Endymion

    It's a Tory council, wouldn't you know...

    Council leader faces challenge over 'remove homeless' call

    Windsor council set to fine homeless people sleeping rough before royal wedding

    I live in a community where there are lots of low-paid workers - in the care sector, retail, etc.  Property prices have already risen over 10% in the last couple of years, which means rents have also risen.  But the council is capping housing benefit.  So what are the low-paid supposed to do?  They're being pushed out, just as they have done in many other places around the country - most notably London of course.

  • over 6 years ago in reply to Bicycle

    Sorry to hear you having such a tough time of it. If you don't have enough of a need to get a council property surely that's a good thing? I rent a council flat and at the time of being offered this property was going through hell. I had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was suffering terribly with my MH, so much so I'd stopped going to work for 6 months, ended up unemployed and was struggling to afford to eat. Being so unwell and receiving my care in the locality are two of the things that made me a priority for housing. 

    Would a council property automatically be better than where you live now? If you did get a flat or a house it wouldn't come with carpets, a washing machine cooker etc so you would have a lot of outgoings at a time when potentially you will have very little money. Also, my sister rents a council flat and has a very abusive neighbor. This person doesn't like having neighbors so has keyed my sister's car, is banging on the ceiling if she moves, even in in bed, has cut the washing line so all her clothes end up on the floor etc. If the housing benefit will cover your current property maybe staying there for a while wouldn't be so bad?
    Although the tories introduced the right to buy scheme it was actually a labour idea and was initially proposed in their manifesto for the 1959 general election which they subsequently lost. When labour have been in power they didn't remove the scheme either or ensure that adequate numbers of replacement ideas where being built. As such surley, they should also be blamed for the housing crisis?
    Although the right to buy scheme has created some challenges, mostly due to a lack of replacement houses being built the right to buy scheme has done a lot of good and has brought security to many individuals. My family is one example of this. My grandfather brought his home through the scheme and enjoyed over 60 years living in it. My mother is a carer and earns very little, she walked away from a private home she'd saved up for a purchased due to an abusive relationship. She's 60 this year and works 3 x 12 hour shifts for her standard contract and regularly has to do overtime in order to make ends meet. My grandfather has just died and left the house to her, without the right to buy this wouldn't have happened. My mum is now moving into the house, saving herself over £500 per month in rent. This means she no longer has to do as much overtime and can have a better quality of life. She also lived in a council house so this has freed up the property for another family. 
    If you're unhappy with your life now what could you do to improve it? My ex is a low payed worker and has been unhappy with his job and the quality of life his pay brings. His barrier to higher paying jobs in his sector was a degree so he's now starting one part-time. What are your barriers to getting to where you want to be? Perhaps the forum could suggest ideas on how you can overcome these obstacles?
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  • over 6 years ago in reply to Bicycle

    Sorry to hear you having such a tough time of it. If you don't have enough of a need to get a council property surely that's a good thing? I rent a council flat and at the time of being offered this property was going through hell. I had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was suffering terribly with my MH, so much so I'd stopped going to work for 6 months, ended up unemployed and was struggling to afford to eat. Being so unwell and receiving my care in the locality are two of the things that made me a priority for housing. 

    Would a council property automatically be better than where you live now? If you did get a flat or a house it wouldn't come with carpets, a washing machine cooker etc so you would have a lot of outgoings at a time when potentially you will have very little money. Also, my sister rents a council flat and has a very abusive neighbor. This person doesn't like having neighbors so has keyed my sister's car, is banging on the ceiling if she moves, even in in bed, has cut the washing line so all her clothes end up on the floor etc. If the housing benefit will cover your current property maybe staying there for a while wouldn't be so bad?
    Although the tories introduced the right to buy scheme it was actually a labour idea and was initially proposed in their manifesto for the 1959 general election which they subsequently lost. When labour have been in power they didn't remove the scheme either or ensure that adequate numbers of replacement ideas where being built. As such surley, they should also be blamed for the housing crisis?
    Although the right to buy scheme has created some challenges, mostly due to a lack of replacement houses being built the right to buy scheme has done a lot of good and has brought security to many individuals. My family is one example of this. My grandfather brought his home through the scheme and enjoyed over 60 years living in it. My mother is a carer and earns very little, she walked away from a private home she'd saved up for a purchased due to an abusive relationship. She's 60 this year and works 3 x 12 hour shifts for her standard contract and regularly has to do overtime in order to make ends meet. My grandfather has just died and left the house to her, without the right to buy this wouldn't have happened. My mum is now moving into the house, saving herself over £500 per month in rent. This means she no longer has to do as much overtime and can have a better quality of life. She also lived in a council house so this has freed up the property for another family. 
    If you're unhappy with your life now what could you do to improve it? My ex is a low payed worker and has been unhappy with his job and the quality of life his pay brings. His barrier to higher paying jobs in his sector was a degree so he's now starting one part-time. What are your barriers to getting to where you want to be? Perhaps the forum could suggest ideas on how you can overcome these obstacles?
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