I come bearing yet another study that’s going to make you want to instantly vacate the capital city and hotfoot it up to the north east. Recent research has revealed the most unaffordable cities in the UK – and (you guessed it, folks) London is perched right at the very top of the list.
The research in question comes courtesy of the payment pros over at takepayment. They analysed 34 major UK cities, using 16 ‘affordability factors’ to uncover the priciest places to live. From pints and petrol to property and public transport, they left no stone unturned; using their financial findings to dish out an ‘affordability score’ to each city analysed.
London is the most unaffordable city in the UK
Our big, bright, and bloody expensive capital city was named the most unaffordable city of all, with a rather measly affordability score of just 3.12 out of 10. Despite London being the city with the highest average annual wages (£58,163), the outrageously high cost of – well… everything far outweigh the benefits of the higher salaries.
The average property price in London is £516,710; almost four times the amount of the average in the most affordable city (Middlesborough). Rental costs in the Big Smoke are equally as eye-watering, setting the average Londoner back £1932.50 a month. When it comes to non-essential expenses, London continues to soar above the rest, with pints, coffee, and gym memberships all costing far more in the capital than they do elsewhere in the UK. Ahh, don’t you just love living in London, hey?
The most unaffordable cities in the UK
- London
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Manchester
- Portsmouth
- Plymouth
- Leeds
- Edinburgh
- Birmingham
- Luton
If you’re in the mood for a bit of self-torture, you can have a browse the full findings here. You might want to jump on the next train to Middlesborough once you’ve read it, though.