The Metro do a regular series looking at what people rent. It started with London and now they bounce around the country. I did it a few weeks ago and it’s just gone online so I thought I’d share.
I really love my flat and think I pay a good price, and from the comments I’ve already seen on this and previous articles in the series, I fully expect people in London to think the price is good and people outside of it to think it’s insane, but that’s how it goes 
Well it is outside of London. I pay less than half of that for a two bedroom Victorian house. But if you’re happy where you are, you can afford it, and it’s good for your mental health, that’s cool. I couldn’t afford what you’re paying on my own, but I guess wage differences across the country is also the reason why.
Interesting article, thanks for sharing.
Yeah totally, I know it is high if it was outside of London, but it’s not, that’s the point. Rent in London is absolutely bonkers. If you have a look through other entries in the series you’ll see some people paying around the same as me for a cupboard. Fortunately wages are higher, and travel is very affordable (I’d never be able to afford a car in London, so its fortunate I dont need one).
Yes exactly. I wouldn’t be able to afford to live in London, at all, unless I got a job there before I moved.
I don’t think I’d be able to move here now from elsewhere the way I did in 2002, without a job or any leads. Stayed in a friends spare room for basically no rent, got a job in cafe, and managed to stick it out until I found a career.
Nothing quite made the point of what value for money was till I moved from the South(Oxford) to the North(Newcastle). When I was an undergrad I could only get a room with a shared kitchen in student halls in Oxford(I went to Brookes).For the exact same price, I have q studio apartment in Newcastle for the same price as a room in London. Its just mind blowing(and I’m on a stipend) something that I would struggle to live on in London
Man, that’s an absolute steal. I’m paying £850 (inc bills) for an ensuite room in a shared house in Brixton, as a new graduate.
Thankfully the London salary makes up for it.
4 years ago, I was paying £800 / month for a tiny basement flat in Oxford.
Someone on Facebook reminded me that 12 years ago in 2007 I lived on my own in London zone 2, paying £950 a month for a 2 bedroom place, my big room was en-suite and I had a decently sized outdoor patio space. At the time it felt expensive I moved out of there because I thought it’d be nice to live with friends, but I’ve never regretted anything so much.
I’m moving into a 3 bed house in Winchester with two other graduates (all starting at the same place in September) and the rent is £1200 a month for the whole house, which isn’t bad for Winch.