<story><title>Priced out of Paris</title><url>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a096d1d0-d2ec-11e2-aac2-00144feab7de.html#axzz2WSyQOXWl</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>andyking</author><text>Even if my pay was doubled, I wouldn&amp;#x27;t be able to afford to live in or near London. However, I can afford a comfortable lifestyle in rural Yorkshire (house, car, holidays, internet access, good food, days out etc etc) on a modest pay packet. The rent for my 17th century cottage with garden in a Yorkshire village wouldn&amp;#x27;t get me a room in a shared house in an undesirable part of London.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t understand the pull of the capital. It&amp;#x27;s overcrowded, noisy and dirty, even in its &amp;#x27;desirable&amp;#x27; areas. The oil sheikhs and Russian oligarchs can keep it. I&amp;#x27;d much rather live up here even if I had enough money to live in London!</text></item><item><author>stevoski</author><text>The article talks a lot about cities now being the domain only of &amp;quot;one-percenters&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;global elite&amp;quot;. This is demonstrably false. Consider the UK.&lt;p&gt;UK&amp;#x27;s population: 62 million&lt;p&gt;London population: 8 million&lt;p&gt;13% of the UK&amp;#x27;s population, therefore, resides in London. To say that only the &amp;quot;1%&amp;quot; can afford London is clearly not the case.&lt;p&gt;In France&amp;#x27;s case, 15% of the population live in Paris.&lt;p&gt;Perhaps we can&amp;#x27;t all live in London&amp;#x27;s Chelsea and whatever the most desirable part of Paris is. But both cities have excellent public transport...</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>simonbarker87</author><text>Couldn&amp;#x27;t agree more, I live in Newcastle (Upon Tyne) and wonder why all my friends headed down south after uni - for &amp;quot;the salary&amp;quot; was their reasoning but none of them have savings and their salary goes into rent, commuting and maintain an expensive social life. I&amp;#x27;d much rather be here in Newcastle and be able to afford to live and save - just wish the weather were a little better</text></comment>
<story><title>Priced out of Paris</title><url>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a096d1d0-d2ec-11e2-aac2-00144feab7de.html#axzz2WSyQOXWl</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>andyking</author><text>Even if my pay was doubled, I wouldn&amp;#x27;t be able to afford to live in or near London. However, I can afford a comfortable lifestyle in rural Yorkshire (house, car, holidays, internet access, good food, days out etc etc) on a modest pay packet. The rent for my 17th century cottage with garden in a Yorkshire village wouldn&amp;#x27;t get me a room in a shared house in an undesirable part of London.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t understand the pull of the capital. It&amp;#x27;s overcrowded, noisy and dirty, even in its &amp;#x27;desirable&amp;#x27; areas. The oil sheikhs and Russian oligarchs can keep it. I&amp;#x27;d much rather live up here even if I had enough money to live in London!</text></item><item><author>stevoski</author><text>The article talks a lot about cities now being the domain only of &amp;quot;one-percenters&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;global elite&amp;quot;. This is demonstrably false. Consider the UK.&lt;p&gt;UK&amp;#x27;s population: 62 million&lt;p&gt;London population: 8 million&lt;p&gt;13% of the UK&amp;#x27;s population, therefore, resides in London. To say that only the &amp;quot;1%&amp;quot; can afford London is clearly not the case.&lt;p&gt;In France&amp;#x27;s case, 15% of the population live in Paris.&lt;p&gt;Perhaps we can&amp;#x27;t all live in London&amp;#x27;s Chelsea and whatever the most desirable part of Paris is. But both cities have excellent public transport...</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>njs12345</author><text>If you don&amp;#x27;t mind me asking, how much do you earn? If you&amp;#x27;re on the median UK national income and you double it you&amp;#x27;d very easily be able to live in a nice place in London. Your lifestyle would of course be very different, but not necessarily worse (I&amp;#x27;d rather take good public transport than drive, for instance). Housing is the only thing that&amp;#x27;s objectively worse, unless you have kids, that is..</text></comment>