Eco-mooring zone in development in Islington

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, IanD said:

They can see the problem, but unless they want to carry on renting forever what choice do they have?

 

Also you can still buy a cheap semi in an ex-mining village in many areas of the country, but unlike "the good old days" there aren't any jobs round there any more to pay for them -- living "where you can afford" doesn't work if you can't get a job there...

I think that it is more that house and job expectations are 'higher' that they used to be.

A Quick bit of research shows that today there are

13,793 job vacancies in 'Nottingham'. 

22,131 in 'Manchester'

14.371 in 'Leeds'

6,302 in 'Glasgow'

 

They may be 'jobs' rather than careers and they may not be what "you" aspire to, but its work and it pays.

I am sure that I am not unique, I 'started at the bottom' winding copper wire onto bobbins in a cable factory - but found that its amazing that the 'harder you work the luckier you get' and was able to retire at aged 45.

[IanD]

57 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I think that it is more that house and job expectations are 'higher' that they used to be.

A Quick bit of research shows that today there are

13,793 job vacancies in 'Nottingham'. 

22,131 in 'Manchester'

14.371 in 'Leeds'

6,302 in 'Glasgow'

 

They may be 'jobs' rather than careers and they may not be what "you" aspire to, but its work and it pays.

I am sure that I am not unique, I 'started at the bottom' winding copper wire onto bobbins in a cable factory - but found that its amazing that the 'harder you work the luckier you get' and was able to retire at aged 45.

Well, as opposed to harking back to days long past when jobs were plenty (when I started too -- eee, we 'ad it lucky), I've actually got two children in their early twenties (and I know all their friends) so I know what the realities of the job markets are nowadays for the young ?

 

Yes there are plenty of crappy low-paid zero-hours jobs, but many don't pay enough to pay the (astronomical) rent unless you're sharing a house with five other people. So now kids go to university (because without a degree your chances of getting any job other than Deliveroo are next to nothing) and leave with debts of typically £50,000 (remember, *we* had student grants and didn't have £9000/year fees and high rents). Funnily enough, they're looking for jobs for which they're now qualified and which will pay them enough to live on -- along with tens of thousands of others.

 

Both my kids are lucky enough to have found well-paid jobs that actually use their skills (both have engineering degrees of one type or another, same as me and my wife...) but many others aren't so fortunate. If you'd just spend three years at uni building up a massive debt because the government told you it would mean you could look forward to a good career, would you flip burgers for minimum wage in a job with no prospects? Especially if it didn't make enough to pay the rent and leave enough over to actually eat?

 

So why not go straight into a job instead of uni, I hear you say? Because every job worth having has loads of applicants, many with degrees, and if you haven't got one you go straight into the bin for most employers because you're seen as inferior. This is the reality of work in the UK where we don't have the kind of apprenticeship systems that places like Germany do which offer a genuine alternative to university, or the employers ("mittelstand" -- the small often family-run manufactuing companies) who value non-acedmic career paths.

[ditchcrawler]

8 hours ago, LadyG said:

Long term, it must come down to economics, the retail price  of electrickery must reflect the infrastructure, miles and miles of expensive wires and transformer things,  but there is scope for swingeing changes to prices where its only one big fat cable laid alongside the canal, I am not sure if Islington has really grasped the nettle. Its just a nod to the residents complaints. 

Scottish Power [who are Nationwide] are doing their bit for renewable energy https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-45880021/scottish-power-to-use-100-wind-power but I see my bills increasing year on  year in spite of all this "free" energy. There is something wrong when increased efficiency leads to increasing costs, but I see that all over.

But Scottish Power buy in non renewable electricity

[cuthound]

5 hours ago, cereal tiller said:

More of a Lower Pollution Mooring than 'Eco'? Eco means it must have one or more of those Incredible Fans!

 

You could use the fan to blow the pollution away ?

[sparrowcycles]

On 20/10/2018 at 13:26, Jess-- said:

looking at average house prices & wages for 1970 and 2010 with figures from various places  your argument looks to have a few holes in it

 

in 1970 the average house price was £4,975 with average wages at £1,664 per year, this meant that a house represented around 3 years worth of wages

by 2010 the average house price was around £252,000 and the average wage around £21,500 meaning that a house represented around 12 years worth of wages

 

could you have afforded a house in 1970 if they had cost 4 times as much?

Thanks i wanted to say just that

[MtB]

On 20/10/2018 at 16:36, Alan de Enfield said:

I am sure that I am not unique, I 'started at the bottom' winding copper wire onto bobbins in a cable factory -

 

Curious you hould say that, I did the opposite.

 

I started at the bottom of the ladder too, but I was winding bobbins onto copper wire in an electroplating factory.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Curious you hould say that, I did the opposite.

 

I started at the bottom of the ladder too, but I was winding bobbins onto copper wire in an electroplating factory.

 

Small world.

[crossley]

Nice little earner for somebody overplating and changing anodes.

All them boats sat there fizzing away merrily on shore supply. At least it won't freeze over in winter  what with all the stray currents that'll be circulating!