With more companies embracing remote working, it has never been easier for people to choose to live outside London and the south-east, even if your company’s headquarters is in the capital.
And with major employers like the BBC, Burberry, KPMG, Channel 4 and even the UK Government opening important bases in northern cities like Manchester and Leeds, large numbers of people have started leaving the capital for a new life on the other side of Watford Gap.
Figures from estate and lettings agents suggest there is a growing trend of people leaving London for a new life in the north. In 2019, 13 per cent of people moving away from the capital had bought or rented homes in the north, compared to just one per cent 10 years earlier in 2009.
Data from the Office for National Statistics suggested the most popular northern powerhouse cities for Londoners to relocate to are Sheffield, Leeds, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 2018, Sheffield saw a 12 per cent rise in people from London looking to buy or rent there, while Leeds and Newcastle both experienced increases of five per cent.
But what can you expect if you take the plunge and move from south to north?
Cheaper house prices
One of the biggest appeals to leaving London for the north is the lower rents and house prices on offer there. Quite simply, you get a lot more bricks for your bucks in the north of England. According to Zoopla’s Cities House Price Index, the average property price in Manchester is £185,000, while in Leeds it is £179,100 and in Liverpool, a home will typically cost you £130,600. All these cities come in well below the national average house price of £223,700 and pale in comparison to the typical cost of a London home, which currently stands at £487,200. Even if you’re not in a position to buy, rent in the north is much more affordable too. Official government figures show the average rent in London is £1,425 a month, compared to £495 in the North East, £575 in the North West and £550 in Yorkshire and Humber.
More change when you buy a pint
The cost of food and drink varies significantly from north to south and one of the places you might notice the biggest difference is in the pub. London is the most expensive place in the UK to buy a pint of beer with the average cost coming in at £5.18. At the other end of the scale, the cheapest pint, according to Finder, is in Preston, Lancashire at just £3.06. A pint in Manchester typically costs £4.11, while travelling just 35 miles west to Liverpool will see the cost falling to £3.27.
New terms of endearment
Moving north will see you called a whole new range of endearments from “love” in Yorkshire to “duck” in Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Derby, and the Midlands. So don’t be alarmed if a friendly bus driver calls you “hen” in Glasgow or the lady down the post office refers to you as “pet” in Newcastle, it’s all part of the cultural experience. You will probably find strangers talk to you more when you are out and about as well. A YouGov survey found Londoners were the most embarrassed at the prospect of making small talk with a stranger with 27 per cent saying they’d feel uncomfortable if someone they didn’t know tried to chat to them on public transport. In contrast, just 15 per cent of northerners felt the same.
You probably won’t have a clue what to call a bread roll
In most of the south, a bread roll is called exactly that, although some people may choose to refer to it as a bap instead. Once you go further north, there is a much wider variation in what people ask for when they want a bread roll, which can be confusing for a newcomer. In Yorkshire, you might call it a breadcake, teacake, stotty, bun or even scuffler. In the north west, it’s a barm, but if you’re in Lancashire, it might be called an oven bottom. The town of Oldham refers to it as a muffin, which might lead to disappointment if you think you’re ordering one of the cake variety. In the East Midlands, it is a cob, while in Warwickshire, it is known as a batch.
Gravy is for more than a roast dinner
While salt, vinegar and tomato ketchup are the most popular things to add to your chips throughout the UK, if you relocate to the north, you’ll find a lot of your new neighbours enjoy theirs with a generous helping of gravy. In fact, 19 per cent of northerners would choose gravy over anything else when it comes to a topping for their chips, according to YouGov. Another popular option is cheesy chips AND gravy and if you start ordering that from your local chippie, your induction into becoming an honorary northerner will be complete.
Based in Lancashire, Andrew Porter Limited has been helping people move from south to north and vice versa for nearly 50 years. For a free quote or removal survey, call our team on 0800 389 1222.
