Why are property prices so different in the north?

Zero_Sum

GreatApe wrote: »

So many London homes have been extended or had a loft conversion done.

For every London home thats been extended, there will be another thats been carved up into flats. This means that the shrinking omes are growing at a faster rate than expanding ones.

lisyloo

Zero_Sum wrote: »

Its also worth noting that in a recent report stating that record numbers of over 30's are leaving the capital. This would back up my point that its not really suitable (or rather unaffordable) for families

So it’s a better place for youngsters who like the vibe or have a particular career objection (e.g. designer fashion, creative industiries), highly paid breadwinners for whom the commute (or bolt hole/hotel/air b&b) is worth it for them and their family or childless singles and couples.

So what? (That’s not meant to be rude I’m just not sure of your point wrt north vs south).

I would also expect central Manchester, sheffield, Glasgow etc. and any city to not have many family homes.

There is btw an exodus from London of about 100,000 per year, so perhaps it has got to a tipping point where some are going elsewhere. This is a good thing for both north and south I think (although some may be just moving to areas outside of London like Luton).

enthusiasticsaver

We moved out of the SE 30 years ago when our children were babies/toddlers. We both earned good salaries, albeit i was on maternity leave and could not afford a house in an area we liked. My DH was offered a transfer to the SW which we accepted and had better options in terms of housing, nicer lifestyle with less of the rat race mentality, shorter working hours, better schools and better commuting conditions. Only downside was we had to leave our friends and family. Never regretted it though.

Properties in the North are cheaper because it is perceived and may or not be true that jobs are few and far between, wages are lower and that is true hence demand for houses is lower. From our experience of moving out of London though the lifestyle is better almost everywhere else so I am surprised more people don't move away. For most though I guess the sticking point is moving away from friends and family

Zero_Sum

lisyloo wrote: »

So it’s a better place for youngsters who like the vibe or have a particular career objection (e.g. designer fashion, creative industiries), highly paid breadwinners for whom the commute (or bolt hole/hotel/air b&b) is worth it for them and their family or childless singles and couples.

So what? (That’s not meant to be rude I’m just not sure of your point wrt north vs south).

I would also expect central Manchester, sheffield, Glasgow etc. and any city to not have many family homes.

There is btw an exodus from London of about 100,000 per year, so perhaps it has got to a tipping point where some are going elsewhere. This is a good thing for both north and south I think (although some may be just moving to areas outside of London like Luton).

Not really 'better' just different. As the in the north you can actually afford a house which some (which includes me) would view as being better, others may disagree.

The other cities you mention all have cheap housing within commutable distance. The actual city centre itself may not be suitable for families, but a couple of miles out is (ie walking distance).. This cant really be said for anywhere within the M25.

This WesternPromise character continually refers to it being a dump with nothing to do. Probably tninks we all keep ferrsts dowm our trousers. Clearly just a WUM

zagubov

I've known plenty of people who've relocated from London and none of them seem to regret it.

For people wanting to start or expand their family, the benefits are major and the penalties are minor.

A great deal of London's pluses are easily replicable or exceedable in most large cities in the rest of the UK.

lisyloo

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

For most though I guess the sticking point is moving away from friends and family

We would have difficulty with one job which is London centric. There are risks to specialising in your career but you don’t always have choices over the direction your job/career takes.
So for example I know people who work on airport software who are quite restricted where they can work (yes I know the north has airports but they don’t necessarily have software teams on site).

We would not move away from family. One parent is in a nursing home and getting towards the end of her life. We’d want to provide her and other members of the family with as much support as possible for as long as possible.
My Dad is 76 and currently has 4 hospital appointments a month.
When I retire I hope to support him a bit more especially if/when his older wife passes away.
Of course everyone’s situation is different, but I know a lots of grannies (50s age group) who would not leave their grandkids for anything and want more than occasional contact and in some cases care for them whilst the mother is working (as they tend to do these days).

A great deal of London's pluses are easily replicable or exceedable in most large cities in the rest of the UK.

I don’t believe there’s anywhere near as many 6 figure jobs anywhere else. Irrelevant of course to anyone not in that category.

BikingBud

lisyloo wrote: »

So for example I know people who work on airport software who are quite restricted where they can work (yes I know the north has airports but they don’t necessarily have software teams on site).

How bizarre one would think that IT and software related jobs were those that could and should be completed remotely.

Why do you need people in IT collocated when they espouse to the rest of us the value of collaborative remote working?

westernpromise

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Only downside was we had to leave our friends and family. Never regretted it though.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

westernpromise

lisyloo wrote: »

(yes I know the north has airports but they don’t necessarily have software teams on site).

Or planes.

westernpromise

zagubov wrote: »

A great deal of London's pluses are easily replicable or exceedable in most large cities in the rest of the UK.

That's why property prices are so much higher in northern cities than in London. Very few Londoners can afford to relocate to beautiful Bootle, Leicester or Bradford.