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

vacheron

In my profession (Engineering) I have often been offered jobs in London and the south in general, but these are usually only 20-30% higher at best than my current salary in the North East.

Once you factor in travelling, "lost money" housing costs such as increased rent and mortgage interest, and "unpaid overtime" resulting from the the additional length of the commute, the costs exceed any benefit by a substantial margin.

The fact that I have no huge desire to live in London or the South makes the decision even easier.

So as others have said, it is impossible to say as it massively depends on the profession even in "middle income" jobs. If I was an Estate Agent rather than an Engineer for example, then the commission on a £1m house in the south vs £250K house in the north would be a significant factor for example, but then competition could be much higher.

thickasabrick

I would start your search by matching up the area with highest wage vs lowest housing affordability ratio.
e.g.
ONS "Range of median housing affordability ratio in local authorities for English regions and Wales, 2018"

centreforcities.org "Average Weekly Workplace Earnings (£) 2018"

Rent (and buying is similar) as a percentage of annual earnings across England and Wales averages about 29.4% so it's probably a good place to look at to make significant savings that you can then invest.

Next look at the Gross Value Added (GVA) by UK cities and regions to see which ones have good growth percentages as that should be an indicator whether your salary will grow or stay static.
wikipedia "List of UK cities by GVA"

There is probably a living costs index that includes all the above information in a handy format, hopefully someone more knowledgable will post a link.

Have you tried putting some figures into the BBC "House price calculator: Where can I afford to rent or buy?" ?

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.

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.

kingstreet

bp5678 wrote: »

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

I'd recommend three things;-

a De Lorean
a flux capacitor
accelerate to 88 mph and go back to about 1987.

You buy in London then fast forward. Sell in London and buy in Cornwall and Spain and still have change in your pocket for a pastie, scrumpy, paella and rioja every day for the rest of your life.

Your average episode of 'A Place In The Sun... Home & Away.'

Owain_Moneysaver

I think I heard Peterborough.

South enough to have good jobs and wages, far enough from London to be affordable in comparison.

Thrugelmir

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.

Undertake a career in the public sector, i.e. NHS. Then live in a really part cheap of the country. Salaries are on a national scale. You can earn the same salary whether it be Halifax or Bristol.

BikingBud

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Undertake a career in the public sector, i.e. NHS. Then live in a really part cheap of the country. Salaries are on a national scale. You can earn the same salary whether it be Halifax or Bristol.

Much classier people in Halifax though

zagubov

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Undertake a career in the public sector, i.e. NHS. Then live in a really part cheap of the country. Salaries are on a national scale. You can earn the same salary whether it be Halifax or Bristol.

I used to work with people who, when they were tired of London and wanted to start a family, moved to Northern Ireland. Same salaries as mainland Britain but house prices are a complete steal.

I once read that Northern Ireland was one of the main places (after SE England) for sales of upmarket German cars. Reason being the low house prices left everybody with high disposable incomes.:cool:

Thrugelmir

BikingBud wrote: »

Much classier people in Halifax though

Have friends that live on the outskirts. :beer:

lisyloo

zagubov wrote: »

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.

Yes big downsides when you want a family in London.
Some people get round this by one person making a sacrifice with commute or sofa surf/air b&b/hotel or working from home sometimes.

I have family in Bristol with awful commutes (the ring road is congested) whereas we have 5 - 30 minute nice commutes in London (the 5 minutes being on foot).
So Many other cities have congestion, parking and lack of public transport issues.
Even a city like Bristol lacks decent public transport for people in the suburbs where most family accommodation is, so it’s certainly not the case that the picture is rosy in other towns/cities.

lisyloo

zagubov wrote: »

I used to work with people who, when they were tired of London and wanted to start a family, moved to Northern Ireland. Same salaries as mainland Britain but house prices are a complete steal.

I once read that Northern Ireland was one of the main places (after SE England) for sales of upmarket German cars. Reason being the low house prices left everybody with high disposable incomes.:cool:

Yes but it’s quite wet and cold.
Prices are related to desirability, jobs being a major factor but not the only one.