It's cheaper to live in Prague, Budapest or Berlin and commute to London than it is to rent in the capital
OK so we know that not all of us live in London, but for those of us who are chained to the capital it’s a sobering reminder that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world, so much so that it’s actually cheaper to live in 12 European cities and commute to the UK capital rather than live here.
The average one bedroom flat in London now costs £1211 and a zone 1-4 Travelcard costs £177, which adds up to some pretty steep living costs – £1388 to be precise) especially when compared to 12 of Europe’s biggest cities.
If you were to live in Prague, for example, and commute in to London you’d save yourself a massive £977 a month, according to a new European Commutability Index created by logistics and relocation specialists Kiwi Movers.
You can get a two-bed flat in the Czech Republic capital for £243 and seven flights to London a month cost just £168.
Not a fan of Gothic architecture and wayward stag dos? Commute in from Budapest and save £911 a month!
This is how much you would save on living in London in the following cities (including the commute):
1. Prague £977 saving 2. Budapest £911 saving 3. Warsaw £863 saving 4. Berlin £725 saving 5. Barcelona £713 saving
Not only is it so much cheaper to travel from these cities, in some cases it’s actually faster to get in from the continent than parts of the commuter belt.
It takes less time to fly from The Hague in The Netherlands to London than it does to get from Ruislip to Epping on the Central Line.
Of course your carbon footprint would be ridiculous taking all those flights every month but it’s still worth thinking about.
Would you ever commute to London from Europe?