I grew up in Derbyshire, in the rural East Midlands. At the age of 19 I decided to move to London to seek my fortune. This elicited two main comments from the good people of Derbyshire. One was "it's very big down there, so many people". The other was "it's very expensive".
For a long time I accepted the assumption that London really is much more pricey. But then when I started to think about where money actually goes, I realised that the difference is really not so bad.
The biggest cost of living to the average household is housing, and in London this is noticeably different to most of the rest of the country. This is a problem, but it is not so bad when you realise that wages are significantly higher in London (although not usually enough to cover the full difference). If you aren't in work, then your local authority pay the rent anyway so the cost is irrelevant. If you don't have to work or claim benefits, then you're too rich to be complaining about the cost of living.
The next most sizeable chunk of household income goes on transport. Now, compared to most of Europe, London's public transport is expensive, slow and unreliable. But compared to getting around rural Derbyshire it is cheap, quick, reliable and quite entertaining. In the countryside, train stops are few and far between, and without the tube or trams, buses are the only option. These run hourly or less, and are unreliable. They are slow and cost significantly more than London buses. And to make things worse, they usually stop by around half ten at night. Then you can either walk the 10 miles home, or take a taxi. Taking taxis isn't cheap, taking a night bus is. Alternatively, you can buy a car. This is expensive.
So, having spent all this money on rural transport, where are you going to go? The main activities are walking, cycling or horse-riding. These are all pleasurable and healthy for a while, but can wear a little thin. There is cow-tipping, but this is generally frowned upon by the locals, not least the cows. In terms of events, there is very little. Seeing anything more exciting than a school band generally requires traveling a long way, and when you get there, it's expensive. The good folk of Derbyshire are so starved of entertainment that when Donny Osmond came to play people were willing to pay over £20 for tickets.
In London, you not only get an overabundance of excellent stuff for money, but free concerts, festivals, gigs, theatres, galleries and museums. In Derbyshire, there are stately homes, but they're expensive, and not to everyone's taste. After that, you are left with the museums of small towns. Often inhabiting small houses, these museums have to go to great lengths to explain why their meagre collection of exhibits is, in fact, slightly interesting.
Derbyshire is well set up for old-style pubs, where you can see the same ten people drinking every night for 50 years. But you'd be hard pressed to find a decent bar or club within a fifty mile radius. The drinks are cheaper, but why are people so outraged by paying an extra 30p on a pint of beer? When you have to pay for a £10 taxi home rather than an 80p night bus home, you could drink 30 pints and London it would still work out cheaper.
Food prices at shops and supermarkets are pretty similar in either place, with London having the advantage that you don't have to either have a car or carry your food three miles on your head to get it home. Buying food out is expensive, but you get a better range of options, and you're paying for the convenience. In the country it can be harder to get anything decent, so you don't bother. That is cheaper, but it is a tactic that is easily replicated in the city.
Overall, 'the country' is a cheaper place to live than London if you are happy to wander about in fields all day. But if your horizons need expanding, you can't beat the bright lights for experiences that you can walk or catch a bus to. If the pint price difference is still enough to make you think Derbyshire is a better deal, I can do no more than refer you to the incisive proverb, "you get what you pay for".
First published 7 January 2007
For a long time I accepted the assumption that London really is much more pricey. But then when I started to think about where money actually goes, I realised that the difference is really not so bad.
The biggest cost of living to the average household is housing, and in London this is noticeably different to most of the rest of the country. This is a problem, but it is not so bad when you realise that wages are significantly higher in London (although not usually enough to cover the full difference). If you aren't in work, then your local authority pay the rent anyway so the cost is irrelevant. If you don't have to work or claim benefits, then you're too rich to be complaining about the cost of living.
The next most sizeable chunk of household income goes on transport. Now, compared to most of Europe, London's public transport is expensive, slow and unreliable. But compared to getting around rural Derbyshire it is cheap, quick, reliable and quite entertaining. In the countryside, train stops are few and far between, and without the tube or trams, buses are the only option. These run hourly or less, and are unreliable. They are slow and cost significantly more than London buses. And to make things worse, they usually stop by around half ten at night. Then you can either walk the 10 miles home, or take a taxi. Taking taxis isn't cheap, taking a night bus is. Alternatively, you can buy a car. This is expensive.
So, having spent all this money on rural transport, where are you going to go? The main activities are walking, cycling or horse-riding. These are all pleasurable and healthy for a while, but can wear a little thin. There is cow-tipping, but this is generally frowned upon by the locals, not least the cows. In terms of events, there is very little. Seeing anything more exciting than a school band generally requires traveling a long way, and when you get there, it's expensive. The good folk of Derbyshire are so starved of entertainment that when Donny Osmond came to play people were willing to pay over £20 for tickets.
In London, you not only get an overabundance of excellent stuff for money, but free concerts, festivals, gigs, theatres, galleries and museums. In Derbyshire, there are stately homes, but they're expensive, and not to everyone's taste. After that, you are left with the museums of small towns. Often inhabiting small houses, these museums have to go to great lengths to explain why their meagre collection of exhibits is, in fact, slightly interesting.
Derbyshire is well set up for old-style pubs, where you can see the same ten people drinking every night for 50 years. But you'd be hard pressed to find a decent bar or club within a fifty mile radius. The drinks are cheaper, but why are people so outraged by paying an extra 30p on a pint of beer? When you have to pay for a £10 taxi home rather than an 80p night bus home, you could drink 30 pints and London it would still work out cheaper.
Food prices at shops and supermarkets are pretty similar in either place, with London having the advantage that you don't have to either have a car or carry your food three miles on your head to get it home. Buying food out is expensive, but you get a better range of options, and you're paying for the convenience. In the country it can be harder to get anything decent, so you don't bother. That is cheaper, but it is a tactic that is easily replicated in the city.
Overall, 'the country' is a cheaper place to live than London if you are happy to wander about in fields all day. But if your horizons need expanding, you can't beat the bright lights for experiences that you can walk or catch a bus to. If the pint price difference is still enough to make you think Derbyshire is a better deal, I can do no more than refer you to the incisive proverb, "you get what you pay for".
First published 7 January 2007
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