MANCHESTER, LEEDS AND NEWCASTLE OFFER GOOD JOBS AND CHEAPER LIVING
Thinking of heading to London now you’ve graduated? Graduates looking for somewhere to live and work might be smarter to avoid the capital and head for northern cities like Manchester, according to new research.
A study by the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) challenges many graduates’ assumption that London is the best place to be once you’ve graduated. Although the capital is known for having some of the best job opportunities, when taken together with soaring housing costs and a poor work-life balance, other cities may in fact offer graduates a better overall deal.
Northern cities performed the best. Manchester was found to offer the best balance, followed by Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds, which all scored highly on a combination of graduate level employment opportunities and house price-to-earnings ratios.
Angus Hanton, co-founder of IF, said:
“Young people want both to work and to be able to afford housing, but in most of the UK they can only do one or the other.
“While London offers many job opportunities, the capital’s housing crisis means young people may have good jobs, but their income is disproportionately swallowed up by high housing costs.”
The research would seem to support the idea that more companies should look at expanding outside London. As Hanton said:
“There is a huge untapped pool of graduate opportunities outside London with businesses missing a trick by not locating in these areas. Our findings overlap with the current government’s strategy to seek to build a ‘Northern Powerhouse’, and devolution of public expenditure and taxation to Combined Local Authorities would allow these regional centres to truly compete with London for young talent.”
Graduate Fog thinks this research is fascinating – and we love the idea that graduates may be exerting some ‘people power’ on employers, without even realising it. When the cost of living is so crazy in the capital, for how much longer will the best employers be able to demand that you come to them? Isn’t it inevitable that at some point they’ll have to start looking at where you can afford to live, and start opening offices there.
* IS LONDON LOSING ITS SHINE FOR GRADUATES?
Is the capital still considered the best place to kick off your career? Is London your top choice of place to live and work – or do you think the capital is over-rated? Have you struggled to make ends meet in the capital – and would you consider moving north for a better life?
Agreed, although there are less jobs than in London. At least full time minimum wage is liveable if you’re renting a room and don’t have a car in a northern or Midlands city, rather than London.
I’ll definitely be far better off in Birmingham when I start a £7.50 an hour temp admin job on Monday paying a £380 a month rent and £105 a month bus and train pass, compared to £450-£650 in London for a far smaller room and over £200 a month on the tube for an even longer commute for the same wage or not much more.
You also often have to move more often in London compared to renting elsewhere, and rents are jacked up more and more often.
Actually, when I’m on the dole and under 35 Housing Benefit in Brum, I pay 73% of my income on rent. Isn’t that what many full time workers in London pay for rent and the tube?
London is basically crazy. They’ll need to build robots or have most of their staff living five to a room or worse. Or stop demolishing shantytowns.
Danny Dorling writes some good stuff on the housing bubble, and points out importantly that there isn’t strictly speaking a shortage, even in London.
I can’t speak for all industries, but for the creative sector London is definitely not the be-all-end-all (despite what some might tell you)
Originally from London, I graduated from university (Lincoln) five years ago and now live in Sheffield, work in Derby (£270 monthly commute) and have a car on top of my rent/bills etc — even after all that I’m still able to put a fairly good sum into a savings account and have disposable income to ensure that it’s not all ‘eat, work, sleep, repeat’
There’s plenty to do in the Midlands/South Yorkshire and house prices (to buy) are much more realistic than they are within the M25. My career hasn’t been affected negatively and, from speaking to friends who live-&-work in the capital, it sounds like my quality of life is better too; they seem surrounded by things that they can’t afford to do “because rent, y’know”
Graduates are, for the most part, perfectly positioned to take the opportunities outside of London as you’ll likely be flexible with your current living situation and won’t have big commitments like a family (generally speaking) to consider — and I couldn’t recommend it more.
I honestly can’t believe they even need to write articles expousing this logic.
No criticism of the article at all, I think it’s great, but surely this is just common sense?
I am biased because I’m from North Lancashire and now live in Leeds. I’m lucky in that I’m a freelance translator, so it really doesn’t matter where I live.
I was recently approached by a software firm about working for them. The minute I saw it was in London, a mental block engaged automatically and I probably didn’t realise it, but I pretty much discounted the possibility of accepting instantly. They offered me help with relocation and lots of other benefits and the wage was more than liveable, even down there.
But, in Leeds I spend about a tenth of my income on my monthly rent and it’s not some mattress with walls like some of my mates who live in London/ South East have to endure. When the interviewer asked me how I felt about moving, I basically said I wasn’t willing to compromise my standard of living to such a huge extent and have to pay for all the transport costs on top.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being in London, but it’s clear when I’m on the Tube that I’m in the minority judging by most of the faces. If I was living there, I’d want out pretty fast.
So, workers of the country unite and populate the North – then the Northern Powerhouse won’t even need funds injected, because human capital will create that as a by-product.
I’ve made the move up to Manchester with my partner and we would not consider moving back down South unless we had a 6 figure salary or a lottery win.
I think there is still a bit of a snobish attitude towards the north that stops some people.
I went even further up north and moved to Scotland. I’d never really considered it in the past but it turned out to the best decision I’ve ever made. Plenty of career progression in my chosen field, genuinely affordable housing, great nightlife, friendly people, beautiful scenery just a short drive out of the city…and I’m managing to build up savings for buying a flat. This would be nigh on impossible at the age of 26 in London, unless I was on a huge salary, which is unlikely with an arts degree.