cheapest, best places to live in England?

rachbc

Leeds - W Yorks is cheaper than North I think...certainly York and Harrogate carry premium prices

angelil

mummyoftwomonkeys wrote: »

Hi everyone, good afternoon hope you all had a good Easter. Could anyone give me some rough ideas of the cheapest places in England to live? just interested how much house prices/rent are for other parts of the country? I live In Devon and the going rate for a 3 bed property is £600 or £700 a month and house prices are crazy. Im not that struck with where I live either tbh:o

You're lucky you don't live where I am! I live just outside of Paris (well, to be precise it's an hour and a quarter commute) and here we rent a 1-bedroom flat for nearly €900 a month...and we're actually lucky as we're on an older tariff from 2008 (if we wanted the same space today we'd be looking at closer to €1200 a month). House buying is for millionnaires only! The grass is always greener and all that...

If I were looking in England today, I'd be looking at the north of England for sure, although anywhere around any nice city (e.g. York or Durham) is always going to be expensive even if it is in the north! I'd also be looking at Wales (but that obviously doesn't fit your stipulation of England ).

Mr_Thrifty

Frankly, the whole of the UK is rapidly becoming a dump. If you're really able to "up roots" then it may be worth emigrating. The country is over-crowded, full of foreigners who take what they can then leave, and has a national debt that will take decades to pay back (thanks to the over-indulgence of previous generations). The public transport is dreadful (I actually think those trains in India where people cling on to the sides are more civilised than the tube during rush hour), the roads are choc-a-block, and frankly the majority of the people who live in this country aren't particularly nice folk either - too much attitude and self-entitlement for my liking. We're working longer and longer hours just so that we can pay more tax, the weather is dreadful, and nobody has any national pride anymore. Have you been to the USA lately? Their houses are about 5 times bigger than ours. I saw one place just outside of Houston, Texas that was $300,000 and you actually wouldn't even be able to buy anything like it in this country. It actually had SPACE...

People looking in on this country from the outside must think it's a joke. Folk living in grim little over-crowded terraced houses that were built 100 years ago, and which don't even have enough space to put a king size bed and a wardrobe in the same bedroom? Even the bankers live in little 1,250sq ft apartments in the city. It's pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

rachbc

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

If you're really able to "up roots" then it may be worth emigrating. The country is .....full of foreigners

I love the irony.....

Mr_Thrifty

Where's the irony? So many of them are over here now that there must be space in the places that they left. Australia seems like a nice place to live, they speak the same language, and it would appear that most of them live in London nowadays.

kingfisherblue

I live in Merseyside, which many people wouldn't consider. We do have some lovely countryside though, and great shopping. There are plenty of attractions within a short drive, and excellent motorway links. Prices are inexpensive compared to many areas. I live on the edge of St. Helens, alongside farmer's fields, and within ten minutes drive of shopping in St. Helens, Warrington and Widnes. Liverpool and Manchester aren't that much further.

Mr_Thrifty

Yeah, it's a nice place Kingfisherblue (by UK standards), but are there any jobs up there? By which I mean professional jobs that pay £50K plus. From what I gather, everyone either works in retail, for "LV" (that building society with the annoying adverts) or is on the dole/disability allowance/works as a "carer"/some other benefit scam.

j.e.j.

Well, I guess you can't have everything. The best paid jobs are in the major cities, but with major cities comes overcrowding, extortionate rents, pollution, anonymity and more of a 'multicultural' population.

kingfisherblue

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

Yeah, it's a nice place Kingfisherblue (by UK standards), but are there any jobs up there? By which I mean professional jobs that pay £50K plus. From what I gather, everyone either works in retail, for "LV" (that building society with the annoying adverts) or is on the dole/disability allowance/works as a "carer"/some other benefit scam.

Errr....I am a carer. My son is disabled and has been since birth. I would hardly call that a scam. He has Down's Syndrome and was born with a number of rare congenital abnormalities of the digestive system. His first surgery, at Alder Hey (wonderful hospital!) was when he was nine hours old.

My son has several medical conditions that mean he has to be cared for both day and night. I'm up every night, at least four times. I change his nappies, give him his medications (ten a day), deal with regular choking, clean his vomit which can be several times a day, comfort him, remind him to wash (including naming parts of the body while he showers himself), sort out his food so that it is cut up into very small pieces (as he cannot manage to chew properly, and his swallowing is compromised by abnormal peristalsis due to scar tissue in his oesophagus, help him to decide which clothes are suitable (shorts are not advisable in snowy weather!), encourage him to eat and drink.... I could go on! (OP, sorry to hijack your thread!)

But no, there are not many jobs that pay £50k. Having said that, the cost of living is cheaper.

moneypuddle

rachbc wrote: »

Leeds - W Yorks is cheaper than North I think...certainly York and Harrogate carry premium prices

Pffft tell me about it. Harrogate is a real pocket. I live there and it costs a fortune to both rent and buy! It is lovely though