Millenial details bleak choice she and friends face as they 'live like a nomads'

A late millenial has lifted the lid on the bleak choice her generation faces — cheaper rent or "a safer area to walk home alone at night". Charlie Appleyard, 32, is desperate to own a property but, though she has had a meteoric career as a tattoo artist, she is struggling to be able to find enough money for a mortgage. Charlie has rented all her life and, although she budgets and is wise with her money, the young woman feels it is likely she will "live like a nomad" forever. The self-employed tattoo artist said: "These days, my generation has to choose between cheaper rent and a safer area to walk home alone at night. Of course, I want to own my own home. I dream of owning my own home, making it lovely, having a garden and surrounding myself with my own beautiful things. "But it is impossible. The main reason is cost - in the 1990s, a small flat around here would have cost £70,000 to £150,000 - now, it is over £500,000. Wages have simply not increased proportionately." With elections this week, young people have stated housing remains a big issue likely to influence their vote. A recent survey of adults aged 28 to 43 revealed 26% have yet to become homeowners — despite previously assuming they would have by this stage — with 68% of those currently renting and 23% still residing with relatives. Many of this 26%, such as Charlie, live in the Southeast of London where property prices are significantly greater than elsewhere in the UK. Charlie also commutes from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, into central London, adding another large expense on her outgoings. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph , Charlie said: "I am feeling distinctly left behind. The only consolation is looking around and realising it definitely isn't just me. But nor does it feel like a 'phase' or a 'current crisis'. This is the way things are, and if anything, it is going to get more and more difficult. I think we may well be the generation of eternal renters. "When I mention buying a home to all my friends, I get the same response — an eye-roll and a hollow laugh. I feel a bit as if I am living like a nomad — flitting from one insecure perch to another." The Home Builders Federation (HBF) reports Gen Z may never own a home. Young people today would have to pay six times more for their first home than their parents. Indeed, Charlie's mother Diana bought her irst one-bedroom flat in Bowdon, south Manchester , when she was 25 for £29,000 and, at Charlie's age, Diana and her husband Ross were owners of a four-bedroomed farm conversion in Alcester, Warwickshire. But today's first-time buyer has to find a deposit which is, on average, twice their yearly salary — £60,000. This is on top of the fact that the average salary — while rising, obviously — has barely doubled since the 1990s, from £15,034 to £37,430. This is compounded by new research which shows only one in 10 newly built homes reaches the open sales market . Figures from estate agent CRM providers Alto, combined with ONS statistics, revealed the vast majority of new build properties don't reach the open market for Brits to purchase.