jrtriplethreat

You both work at the same place. He gets the bus in. You drive. That’s literally it. Nothing more needed. I definitely wouldn’t recommend you offer a lift, unless you want it to become the norm - because it will. And if you’re feeling guilty about driving past him even now, imagine what it’ll feel like if it became normal and you wanted to then cut the arrangement..

No, I actually don’t. The “Cost of Living Crisis” is growing inequality, mixed in with the reality of the wealth extraction traits of capitalism. We aren’t really innovating any more, we’re stuck in a release cycle designed to extract as much from consumers as possible. That keeps shareholders happy, execs in jobs, pension funds rising - but gouges the rest of us. I think we’re stuck in a place where we don’t truly understand the power our own data has over us. We readily give it away, and it’s being turned against us by big companies through the greater use of technology. That’s not going to stop until it’s regulated, but government is weak, too susceptible to the lobby. The media actively discourages us from voting for something that might upset that.

Because we’re a nation of fit people, athletes?

Moved out at 21 and relocated to London, moved back in at 24, bought my first place and moved out again at 26.

Which is odd. So what’s driving that, supermarket’s buying power?

Which is what we see/hear when nurses and junior doctors etc ask for pay rises.. If they’d had pay rises at the rate of inflation through the period of austerity when their pay was frozen it would have amounted to the ~25% percent increase the unions took the negotiating table. But, of course, a 25% pay increase - across the board - isn’t feasible and makes a very handy headline for the pliant media.

Context is important, we don’t know industry, but the simple maths is that based on a 46 week working year, 115k is £500pd. It’s a UK top 5% salary. So, hard agree, there are very few roles paying 115k where you can do 9-5, fewer within that number where you can rise to that level in 6yrs, and even fewer still where you can realistically have immediate command of the expectations that come with that salary. IMO, OP hasn’t had a lot of time at the table, so of course it’ll be hard. But, having risen to this level, there must be a path forward..