tennaval Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Downshifting piece from todays Guardian and a little bit of "extra" background here ............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmagooisagovteconomist Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Downshifting piece from todays Guardian and a little bit of "extra" background here ............ Hmmm, thought income of 16k and 300k properdy didnt ring true ! \gruaniad fibbing or just stupid journo ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miko Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 That is a painfull DROP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDW Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 FRom the comments What you fail to mention is where your £16,000 income actually comes from: Assume partner works 16 hours at minimum wage = £4938.96 Working tax credit (as one person works 16 hours a week) = £3872.28 Child tax credit = £5662.02 Child benefit =£1752.40 Total income = £16,225.66 So the £16K income is likely to include £11,286.70 of benefits! As you have no savings you'll also get council tax benefit on top of this which is likely to be about £1,500 a year. So it seems to me that the taxpayer is subsidising your lifestyle whilst you write your book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberbrown Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 <br />Downshifting <a href='http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/may/14/downsized-family-budget#start-of-comments' class='bbc_url' title='' rel='nofollow'>piece</a> from todays Guardian and a little bit of "extra" background <a href='http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/982605/Homelessness-charity-Brighton-Housing-Trust-buys-PR-shop-Blue-Rocket/' class='bbc_url' title='' rel='nofollow'>here</a> ............<br /><br /><br /><br />Good find. God, the Grauniad and people like this make me nauseous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberbrown Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 <br />FRom the comments<br /><br /><i>What you fail to mention is where your £16,000 income actually comes from:<br /><br />Assume partner works 16 hours at minimum wage = £4938.96<br />Working tax credit (as one person works 16 hours a week) = £3872.28<br />Child tax credit = £5662.02<br />Child benefit =£1752.40<br /><br />Total income = £16,225.66<br /><br />So the £16K income is likely to include £11,286.70 of benefits!<br /><br />As you have no savings you'll also get council tax benefit on top of this which is likely to be about £1,500 a year.<br /><br />So it seems to me that the taxpayer is subsidising your lifestyle whilst you write your book.</i><br /><br /><br /><br />And in fairness, as much as I can't bear the left swing of the Grauniad, they haven't removed that comment from the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Reminds me of the ex-girlfriend of a friend of mine - gave up her 250K plus perks exec job in a top national newspaper, moved to West Wales to live on a small-holding, live the green life and write a book on it. Within few months she was back in her job in London. Most of us in Wales know at least one person or couple who do this kind of thing. Uusually it is 18 months top before they get fed up and move away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberbrown Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 <br />Reminds me of the ex-girlfriend of a friend of mine - gave up her 250K plus perks exec job in a top national newspaper, moved to West Wales to live on a small-holding, live the green life and write a book on it.<br /><br />Within  few months she was back in her job in London.<br /><br />Most of us in Wales know at least one person or couple who do this kind of thing. Uusually it is 18 months top before they get fed up and move away.<br /><br /><br /><br />The difference in this case however is (thanks to the OP's second link), I don't think they have the choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) I was sitting in a business meeting a couple of years ago doing what normal people do in meetings at work. There was lots of "blah, blah, blah, financial targets" and "waffle, waffle, waffle, notes from the last meeting" when it dawned on me that, now in my mid-30s, I didn't want to "do business" any more. I didn't want to work in an office, in fact. No let's be honest, the New Labour gravy train is over and I need to sell my social enterprise business whilst I still can before it's worth nothing when the various taxpayer income streams run out, and besides my house is worth £300,000, f*ck this I'm off. corrected BHT has bought PR shop Blue Rocket and its sister company Green Rocket, which specialises in environmental campaigns. Edited May 15, 2011 by Si1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) <br /><br /><br /> And in fairness, as much as I can't bear the left swing of the Grauniad, they haven't removed that comment from the article. cunning of them to put all spare cash into a farm, so it can't be means-tested and that 16k+ figure appears to be AFTER tax - so in reality living off a, what, £24k income, plus undeclared, non means-tested, implied income from the money in their farm gotta admit - for riding taxpayer largesse, the guy is a genius Edited May 15, 2011 by Si1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) I hope she's not relying too much on that book. City-folk-moving-to-country has been done to death from every angle and in every medium. Year in Provence to Boycie in Green Green Grass of Home. The amusement value of Arthur Leafmould rustics and 'the day our pigs got out onto the main road' palls a little after the eighth time.... Edited May 15, 2011 by juvenal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennaval Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 often risk is softened by mitigating circumstances.........not least the unspoken knowledge of family money, property, inheritance in the future etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Preacherman Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 The truth from Kim Stoddart's LinkedIn profile Social entrepreneur and ethical business woman who is now focused on sustainability first hand on a Welsh smallholding.Former Founder of Blue Rocket PR and its sister company Green Rocket which specialises in environmental PR. Both businesses were sold to the social enterprise group BHT Enterprises in January 2010. Apart from me everyone stayed on and this fantastic team continue to deliver journalism-led national PR campaigns, but all profits are now used to tackle homelessness through BHT (Brighton Housing Trust). I am a firm believer in the importance of making a difference through your work and this deal fulfilled a long-held ambition. Clearly she decided to bail out as she could see the Nu-Labour gravy train coming to an end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Preacherman Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Latest comment from Sister in Law snarlyspice15 May 2011 1:27PM Such negativity and cynicism astound me! I'm Kim's sister-in-law. She is no longer retained as a consultant for Blue Rocket. They do not have any inheritance or any other financial backup. They have no internet, no tv, and are aiming to live a frugal, self-sustaining lifestyle, as far as is possible. The amount of work they have put in to growing fruit and veg and tending their livestock is astonishing. And as for all the comments about them being middle class...they're working class, and proud of it. "They're working class" my ar*e. I'm amazed by the number of trough filling Nu Labour types who despite doing non-manual professional work justify their actions on the basis that their parents or grandparents got their hands dirty. The worst example was a former colleague of mine claimed to be working class despite working as a journalist. Her claim was based on the fact that her Grandfather was a trade unionist. She neglected to mention that he was a member of the House of Lords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erranta Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) <br /><br /><br /> Good find. God, the Grauniad and people like this make me nauseous! It's always the same group of puppet meisters stirring this stuff up. Do any of you question why Billions of pounds of 'Benefits' secretly allocated by Defra to already wealthy landowners each year (also paid by the taxpayer) are NEVER mentioned in newspaper articles? Edited May 15, 2011 by erranta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 The truth from Kim Stoddart's LinkedIn profile Clearly she decided to bail out as she could see the Nu-Labour gravy train coming to an end. what's environmental PR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Preacherman Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 what's environmental PR? Bullsh*t? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.hpc Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Can't be bothered to read all of that crap, it's ridiculously long, and seems to just be an advert for his book. But I couldn't think of anything worse than moving from a bustling, vibrant city like Brighton to live on a farm with your missus and kids. I give him a year before he's swinging from a beam in the barn. Spectacularly well timed actually, Stewart Lee covered this exact topic of city types moving to the country on his "Comedy Vehicle" show this week. "Oh there's the horse. He was over there yesterday." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Latest comment from Sister in Law "They're working class" my ar*e. I'm amazed by the number of trough filling Nu Labour types who despite doing non-manual professional work justify their actions on the basis that their parents or grandparents got their hands dirty. The worst example was a former colleague of mine claimed to be working class despite working as a journalist. Her claim was based on the fact that her Grandfather was a trade unionist. She neglected to mention that he was a member of the House of Lords. Well, journalism is 'trade' - I guess the vast majority of us are working class, because we have to work for a living, with a large proportion of this working class being the underclass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 what's environmental PR? Working for firms in the environmental sector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) As you know, I'm in PR. The papers are short of content these days - they are not using freelancers half as much, and when somebody comes along to write an article for free - hey presto. You can do it yourself. Pitch an idea - get an article in there - use it to promote whatever it is you want to promote. Edited May 15, 2011 by gruffydd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thombleached Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Well, journalism is 'trade' - I guess the vast majority of us are working class, because we have to work for a living, with a large proportion of this working class being the underclass. Quite. Arent all us wage slave proles "working class" when it comes down to the nitty gritty of "money in=not quite enough money to go out" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shell Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Glad they've left Brighton. But not glad they managed to sell their 'tiny suburban-by-the-sea home, affectionately known among friends as "the hobbit house"' for £300k! The Brighton property slot machine is over now and the likes of this couple are its last beneficiaries. Whoever bought their tiny hole won't be enjoying any swapsies for anywhere with acreage anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Quite. Arent all us wage slave proles "working class" when it comes down to the nitty gritty of "money in=not quite enough money to go out" Shhhh, doesn't suit the 'we're all middle class now' aspirational con sheeple love to bleat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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