To wander what's cheaper up north apart from house prices

[chocolover12]

Hi everyone,

You may remember my previous threads a few weeks ago, regarding moving from London to Manchester and asking advice on schools and areas ?

Well we visited Manchester and looked at all the areas, we loved davyhulme, urmston and flixton.
Now before we make the move I have a few questions, we are moving in order to afford a larger property but also for a better lifestyle, I don't want to get there and think it's not what we expected in terms of being more affordable as dh will have a pay cut too.

Apart from housing what else is cheaper up north?
Supermarkets, petrol and clothes shopping seen the same prices. And I know public transport is more As is council tax?
What things do cost less as everyone says life is cheaper life is better up north?
I know this is a tricky question but what kind of salary is a minimum to live well? I'm a sahm at the moment. I'm just wandering so we make the right choice, as we really liked the area and want to move but the areas we liked we won't be reducing our mortgage it will be the same but a bigger house but also a pay cut.
Thanks

Childcare
Alcohol in pubs

Pints

A lot of salaries are standardised - eg teachers, nurses, council workers tend to have the same pay structure. Minimum wage and benefits are the same across country. So your hypothetical 30K in the south goes absolutely no where, but will allow you a cheap mortgage and associated lifestyle. In my experience there is a lot more social housing in the north and rent is 1/4 of what it is in the south, as are house prices generally.

When we visit the olds up North, going out to eat is always much, much, cheaper. I assume because rents/rates/salaries are less so lower overheads.

Childcare and eating/drinking out is cheaper

Entertainment, booze, childcare, services (eg if you have to get a plumber in)

I did a similar move last year.

Tbh housing is cheaper, but not much else.
Transport generally more expensive, petrol may be cheaper but bigger distances to drive.
Electricity/gas/council tax/tv/internet all about the same.
Eating out the same, especially as most places tend to be chains anyway. Same for cinema, bowling etc.

Kids activities/gym memberships can be cheaper. Coffee in non-chain places are often a lot cheaper- £1.50 in the library cafe compared to £3 in london/starbucks etc.

The main difference I find is lack of public transport. I miss tubes and buses, although I don’t miss sitting in traffic for 45 mins to get 3 miles if I do need to drive. Manchester’s transport system is better than most though.

Greggs.

Eating out
Cinema / other leisure activities
Child care
Home improvement / builders
Parking

Sorry forgot to say I moved from London to Newcastle 3 years ago.

Leisure centre prices sound cheaper.

Is Insurance cheaper, e.g. home and car?

I grew up in the SE and now live in Yorkshire. Regularly go back to visit family. Tbh, I don’t notice that stuff like a round of drinks or a meal out is much cheaper. I don’t know about tradesmen - obviously it will vary from area to area. I’m struggling to think of anything, beyond house prices, that are significantly less.

Services like hairdressing, cleaning etc
Food and drink when out
Childcare

Cafés much cheaper
A single person can live well off 30,000 pre tax (holidays, car, rent or buy 2-3 bed place in average area, nice food etc). You can get by on far less though. Annual rent for a fairly nice 2 bed house can be 600 per month (can also be much less in some areas) I know people in London paying more than that just for a room

I'm from the South East and have been in Manchester for 12 years. When I arrived I looked at the takeaway menus that landed on my doormat and just couldn't get over how cheap the food was. Any food and drink from non chain places is significantly cheaper, cafes, restaurants etc.

And as tigerbread said, getting your hair cut/coloured is a fraction of the price.

I live in Manchester, around the area that you are looking at and spent several pre-child years commuting to London for work.

Other than housing, I’m not convinced there’s much of a difference any more, meals drinks, entertainment etc. are roughly the same, hairdressers and childcare similar (childcare maybe a little cheaper but not much, transport much cheaper in London.

Socially I think there’s a big difference. People really are more friendly up north!

I think you meant to write 'wonder' in the thread title, OP. The verb 'wander' means to drift round aimlessly. Which is perhaps how you envisage your life up North.....

School fees and nursery fees

Portion sizes are bigger, I noticed. Stuff like buying a scone or cake in a cafe not necessarily less but you get a ridiculous sized cake compared to the South so you can share. I can see why obesity rates are higher.

Petrol does tend to be a bit cheaper as well.

But the main thing is house/rent prices.

I have friends who live up north who are living a millionaire lifestyle, but who would be in a 3 bed semi where I live.

I live in Leeds and have worked in London quite a bit and I think Leeds city centre bar and restaurant prices can be nearly as high as London, but both cities can be good for cheap eats, it's just a case of shopping around.

I think our fish and chips are quite cheap, about £5-6 for fish and chips, in quite a large portion, which are also the nicest in the country.

Activities - things like gym classes, yoga, sports memberships are cheaper. Parking charges are usually lower too. Alcohol is cheaper, but I wouldn't say food is - city centre Manchester has lots of places in competition so you can get really good quality food very affordable, but out in the suburbs it can be annoyingly expensive for not very good food.
Any extra services you might use - eg gardeners or cleaners tend to charge less because the overall wages in the area are lower.

If you go over the wall to the North with the wildlings, things are even cheaper. Water and wastewater are in the council tax bill in Scotland and can be as little as £250 a year for council tax band A. I used to pay over £600 a year for a tiny house in the Northwest of England.

I don't think there's a simple answer.

Housing, childcare, paying other people (cleaners, tradespeople etc) and possibly a pint in a pub are cheaper. And public transport is more expensive.

But there's variation on everything else. Takeaway in my home city is more expensive than where I went to university (both Midlands). Cinema is very expensive. Naice cafes, restaurants and wine/gin bars are expensive. But there are cheaper caff type places too. I think one of the main variables is how touristy or mc it is which adds a premium to stuff like eating and drinking out.

When I arrived I looked at the takeaway menus that landed on my doormat and just couldn't get over how cheap the food was.

When I moved SOuth the biggest shock was the cost of rice, I never paid for rice in the North West, curries all had the option of rice, chapattis or naan bread.

And if I went to an Indian restaurant twice you got banana liqueur.

OP

Wait until you order a kebab and it comes in a naan bread not a pita.

Also there seems to be more 'local' entertainment. I've just spent a week with my dad in Lancashire, we went to a concert raising money for a church charity, the ticket was £6, there were 4 different acts on and the price included tea or coffee and had snacks on the tables.

If you wanted alcohol you brought your own.

If you go to a pub quiz (in Lancashire so may or may not be the same in Manchester ) there will be food provided. Usually a 'pie and pea supper'.

Taxis are often cheaper and cheaper still if you don't mind them picking up another fare on the way.