London 0, Hull plenty: how is life in England's only 'affordable city'? http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/oct/30/hull-the-city-that-gentrification-forgot
I love this photo of the bloke with a door across his handlebars. It simply does not happen where I live. No one has the time to use a bike like that, its car or van or nowt. My mate has moved back to Hull, just for exactly the same reasons as in the article, he can afford to live and save in Hull, but he would not manage both in Southampton. There are more opportunities down here, work is easier to find, but the lower end pay scales are the same. The only problem that I see, is moving from Hull to other cities, the price divide really must make it difficult.
Some of the Guardian comments underneath are utterly ridiculous. I was in Shoreditch the other day - which is now meant to be quite a cool place to live. If that area was in Hull you'd get people slating it for being such a **** hole.
And by 'cool' I mean everyone walks about dressed as an ironic Noel Fielding hipster-farmer, chugging bottled wheatgrass and talking about 'Humph and the gang are coming over for tiffin' Giles". Imagine Gok Wan made the film Brazil and you get the idea.
Good article, apart from the photos. The photo of a 'more modern' estate looks like one of the old blocks that are getting knocked down, and the photo relating to Siemens building in Hull is off Marina - hopefully they wont build here by mistake!
Has anyone posted the article "Top ten lies and half truths about hull" By Calvin watts... A proud hullensian...
I saw someone walking down Spring Bank with no shoes or even socks yesterday morning. It was pissing wet and he clearly wasn't homeless or anything. He had a daft beard but apart from that he looked pretty normal. Well that and his bare feet obviously. Weird place is Spring Bank.
I was there the other day too ( it wasn't me you saw though...I can assure you!) You're spot on. It is a dump, with no irony in the fact that everything is overpriced
Was in Southampton earlier this year. There are a couple of streets there packed with decent restaurants many of them with reasonable prices. But, as you say, lower end pay is no better which given the prices of houses makes it difficult. Would happily live in Hampshire, preferably in the New Forest or in Dorset but impossible to sell up here and buy somewhere down there.
at the other end http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34661296 Housing crisis 'threatens' London's competitiveness A lack of affordable housing is threatening the capital's global competitiveness, according to a London Chamber of Commerce (LCC) poll. Housing was cited as the key problem by 48% of London's residents and business leaders and 68% of its councillors. Gerard McCann at the Mint Leaf restaurant in Haymarket said finding staff was "incredibly challenging" as they live so far out of the city. LCC asked 1,700 people about the crucial factors for London's success. Mr McCann said he had just lost a potential member of staff after a successful interview, as she lives in Orford. "She had everything we wanted, but she just lives too far away," he said. please log in to view this image Image captionMore than two-thirds of councillors and over half of businesses cited housing costs as problematic for people wanting to set up new businesses Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "London is a phenomenal success story, but are we soon to become a victim of our own success?" He said the research showed the city was "fast becoming an unaffordable place to set up shop and live". Mr Stanbridge called on the government to make "better and more coordinated advice" available about funding for businesses. 'Hard' after crash Sir Edward Lister from City Hall said post-2008 "we had a real shortage of cash". "But we have got our [housing] numbers up," he added. When asked about the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs, more than two-thirds of councillors and over half of businesses also cited housing costs. The price of buying space to set up a business was also considered a big hurdle, with 49% of business leaders citing this factor as key in limiting London's competitiveness. LCC conducted the poll through Com Res.
