Which UK city is best from a financial perspective (discretionary income, house price rises etc)

bp5678

Purely from a financial perspective (i.e ignoring desirability), where the in the UK will allow you to obtain wealth the fastest?

So far example, in London salaries may be higher than anywhere else in the UK, however cost of living is also significantly higher and outweighs the higher salaries for the majority. This means once you've paid your monthly mortgage, bills and general cost of living, most Londoners are left with very little at the end of the month. While a more affordable city offers a lower cost of living, the salaries may be lower too which may also mean you don't save much money each month.

For context, let's say you can't afford to buy a house in London as many people cannot. All other parts of the UK you can afford though. You're on a job around the UK average... lets say £30k as it's a nice round number. The salary for this job changes depending on where you are in the UK however it doesn't change too drastically. You're therefore not a millionaire!

Where would offer you the greatest chance to save? I think this is the purchasing power index? I've heard Derby, Swindon, Coventry, Glasgow etc.

chucknorris

bp5678 wrote: »

Purely from a financial perspective (i.e ignoring desirability), where the in the UK will allow you to obtain wealth the fastest?

So far example, in London salaries may be higher than anywhere else in the UK, however cost of living is also significantly higher and outweighs the higher salaries for the majority. This means once you've paid your monthly mortgage, bills and general cost of living, most Londoners are left with very little at the end of the month. While a more affordable city offers a lower cost of living, the salaries may be lower too which may also mean you don't save much money each month.

Where would offer you the greatest chance to save? I think this is the purchasing power index? I've heard Derby, Swindon, Coventry, Glasgow etc.

But in London if you buy a property, and then later move to another area, you usually enjoy a tax free windfall due to the difference in property prices.

AnotherJoe

This would also depend on your job.
For example if you are in some sort of commission driven banking career or high flown legal, then your salary will make london prices look trivial. OTOH if you are in a job where wages are at the other end of the scale, let's say a cleaner on minimum wage then you need to be in an area with the lowest house prices.
Then there's also the consideration that you may be in at job which can be done remotely say programming or technical support and so lack of jobs where you live isn't an issue. Or it may be that there are very limited jobs of a type in an area so if you are lucky to get one if them, let's say a vet or a doctor, you are golden otherwise you'll be unemployed.
So, in summary, an unanswerable question.

bp5678

AnotherJoe wrote: »

This would also depend on your job.
For example if you are in some sort of commission driven banking career or high flown legal, then your salary will make london prices look trivial. OTOH if you are in a job where wages are at the other end of the scale, let's say a cleaner on minimum wage then you need to be in an area with the lowest house prices.
Then there's also the consideration that you may be in at job which can be done remotely say programming or technical support and so lack of jobs where you live isn't an issue. Or it may be that there are very limited jobs of a type in an area so if you are lucky to get one if them, let's say a vet or a doctor, you are golden otherwise you'll be unemployed.
So, in summary, an unanswerable question.

Ok for arguments sake, lets say you're in a job where the pay is pretty similar nation wide (with the exception of maybe london) eg marketing manager.

BobQ

bp5678 wrote: »

Ok for arguments sake, lets say you're in a job where the pay is pretty similar nation wide (with the exception of maybe london) eg marketing manager.

Say you were a billionaire, would it matter which was the best financially?

Herzlos

London - you're paying more in mortgage but it's going towards equity. Spend a few years there in the rat race and then move out to the sticks to start a family, trading your crappy flat for a huge house.

bp5678

BobQ wrote: »

Say you were a billionaire, would it matter which was the best financially?

Ok fair point. I'm going to edit my original post for further context to make this thread a little more easy to answer!

Zero_Sum

What exactly is the question?
If its best to accumalate wealth, then it probably is still London
If its a best place to live from a work life balance / VfM perspective, then theres plenty up north

lisyloo

If you can get a high paying job, then London is best and then move out.
You have to be prepared to either commute (if you have kids) or live in a broom cupboard or share or live somewhere horrible.
We live in a broom cupboard but are prepared to do that for a couple of years In return for retirement at 55 rather than 67.

zagubov

lisyloo wrote: »

If you can get a high paying job, then London is best and then move out.
You have to be prepared to either commute (if you have kids) or live in a broom cupboard or share or live somewhere horrible.
We live in a broom cupboard but are prepared to do that for a couple of years In return for retirement at 55 rather than 67.

London's good in a very limited way. If you're single and don't mind living in something resembling an indoor shed, you can make some money. We've got kids but we bought at the right time and are at the very edge of the city. I think we were unusually fortunate;

I've lost count of the number of friends and workmates who've enjoyed living down here in their 20s but moved way further north in the UK when they wanted to start a family.

I also know people who bought up north and started families up there but didn't bring them down south when they got jobs here; their families lived in better houses in areas with better schools and less crime than in London.

I know people living on a similar income as me but in much better housing and with better family life all over the UK. You could probably live better in any city with a population over 200,000 or thereabouts.

Arklight

London is an amazing place to live at the right time of your life, but it sometimes promises more than it delivers in terms of careers. There are so many keen young people without specific skills competing for adminny - media-y and salesy type jobs, rental prices for flatshares are through the roof, and salaries for these kind of roles are bumping along the bottom.

My advice to a new starter considering London is make sure there is something you can do there, whether it's hairdressing or accountancy, and go and do that with a goal in mind, rather than just rocking up at Reed with your snazziest CV and hoping they won't send you to the nearest post-room (they will).