I told A that if I have to be open to doing work that I was not called by God to do, so does he, if we are both still unwilling to compromise our middle-class lifestyle.
Part of me would like to live more cheaply and in community with other people, say in a commune-type setting, or to move in with family, which are the only possibilities I can think of. A really doesn’t want to move in with his mum (understandable), and I really don’t want to move in with his brother’s family (where multiple TVs and radios are always playing, and his brother just winds me up on multiple levels). Communes? Well, those can be difficult, too, with the whole unrelated-people-with-different-upbringings-operating-democratically thing. I’ve looked into co-housing options and, wouldn’t you know, the one planned in N won’t even have a garden and/or its own allotment!
In order to be able to grow some of our own food (fruit, veg and chicken eggs), it looks as though buying a house is our only option as most rental properties won’t let you do that kind of thing on a useful scale, or at least, if you assume it’s going to be a temporary arrangement, it’s a bit painful to invest money in fruit trees and garden structures, say. Community allotments are a bit dodgy in N, apparently, with long waiting lists and people jumping the queue through nepotism.
We were then told by a mortgage adviser that given our current income we wouldn’t be able to borrow enough to buy a place we like. He suggested we up our incomes first. So the plan is to find a house to rent, move to N and get jobs, then in 6 months’ time look more seriously into getting a mortgage.
Oh, and I forgot to say, A agreed with what I said at the top, and is going to look for new work as well! Which freaks him out as he’s done the same thing forever and it’s hardly remunerative. (Can’t say I blame him.)
It’s a start.
