... to be (slightly) freaking out about my woodburner?

[HappyAlley]

The Guardian is going really big on this (although we all know they have a track record of ignoring other vital concerns) & other news outlets have been reporting on this for a while. It does seem obvious that burning fuel inside a house is, in fact, very bad for you. I have a four-year-old & we've had a woodburner for 5 years, since we bought this (draughty, Victorian) house. Used a fair bit to cut down on energy bills. Two - four times a week in coldest winter; sometimes all day on weekends etc. I try not to open it loads but DP won't bloody listen; he's got that man-disease of constantly tending/fiddling with the fire for no fucking purpose whatsoever.

But rent/ mortgage costs are surely much higher in cities? The cheapest, grottiest small 2 bed anything around me is £1400 month and often goes for over asking. And for me to get into the office it costs me £15 a day by train. It's just over 10 miles as crow flies, zone six to zone one. No cheap public transport here, not for anything other than very local journeys on buses. If I drive to my office, £15 congestion charge plus parking and petrol so obviously I don't ever do that.

Every single house maintenance thing I need doing costs me around 50 to 100% more than what my parents pay in rural yorkshire for trades. Which means I do most stuff myself. Petrol is 5p a litre dearer than at my parents.

It is very, very dear to live in London. It's a choice obviously, but my job can't be done anywhere except London and my kids are in school here.

For me, burning wood is 90% motivated by cost, and 10% by cosiness.