* buy a place with one of your mates and share it * Meet a girlfriend/wife that earns a similar amount to yourself
The important thing seems to be to get onto the property ladder as quickly as possible.
As for savings, save as much as you can afford - I probably save 10 - 15% of my salary at the moment (no family to worry about) and it leaves me with enough beer money too!
We left, basically. We've moved to Vienna (Austria) and living relatively cheaply in my late grandmother's place. I'm trying to get a startup off the ground, she's slowly figuring out what she wants to do.
And yeah, we're super-lucky to even have that opportunity.
I honestly don't know how London is staying as populous as it is. As far as I can see you're completely stuck with graduate salaries. (except in banking)
I am in Belfast, where the property prices only ballooned about 2 years ago, so I got lucky. Only a year or so after I got my house, friends were buying similar sized places that are less central for twice what I paid, not good!
OK, so maybe betting on a startup to succeed is a dumb plan, some hedging might be in order (occasional consulting gigs to ensure a minimum income - any other ideas?).
Btw., I wonder what is the average savings rate for employees? I am 35 now, and I recently realised that I am probably way behind on my savings compared to my peers... I think maybe to save about 10000€ per year is realistic?
Still, in my first year of work after getting my degree, according to some statistics I was already in the top 10% of earners of my country. Nevertheless I felt that without inheriting some money from parents (which I won't), I would never have been able to even afford to buy a flat. That is kind of sick, I think. Maybe life as an employee is not so easy, after all. A friend of mine is also an I worker in the top 10% range, and he said he couldn't support his family without help from his parents.