To be a bit shocked how much cheaper things are in other parts of the country

[Frozenpeace]

And to think that the price of shopping is as relevant as the price of houses etc when we are shocked by someone who is struggling to live on a particular salary

We're up visiting family in the NE. We now live in the SE. If I could, I would move north but I am separated from the children's dad and he can only do his job in a particular location and I would never move them from him. When they are grown up we may think again

I just went to fill up with petrol and bought a big bag of shopping and genuinely was astonished how cheap it was. I honestly thought they'd made a mistake at the till.

And this isn't a post to complain, and we aren't tight for money, but it strikes me that when people are incredulous at how someone is struggling on what they see as a decent income then all the living costs come into play, childcare, housing costs, petrol/commute costs.

In fact I know people who travel north to buy their cars because they say they can get them cheaper that way.

Sorry if this is a "stating the obvious" post to some but it's a while since we have made it north to visit family.

The southeast has become now a completely different economy to the north. There’s always been regional inequality, but it really has got to the point where it makes sense to see them as different countries. The south east has a lot more zero’s involved with everything - including, remember, the wages.

Remember we have a fiat currency and it can be anything it wants to be.

The north has as much reason to resent the south, which can leverage all those extra zeros any time it wants on our housing - indeed that’s what landlords have often done - as the other way around.

This is no way to create social cohesion or run a country.

I had a reverse shock the other day when I went into London.

Popped to an M&S, picked up a meal deal and a chocolate brownie and something else snacky (can't remember now) and it was £14!

Fuel prices isn't just a north-south thing at all.

I work in a London suburb and, according to petrolprices.com, the cheapest I can get diesel for is 133.7p.

I live 17 miles away from work and the cheapest near home is 139.9p.

My parents live in the south east and their cheapest is 134.7p.

I have a friend that lives in Leeds and near her the cheapest is 137.9p

I get that it all comes down to supply and demand and the more competition there is in an area, the cheaper the prices will likely be, but I always try and fill up near work now as it's a good £3 a tank cheaper. I know that's not much, but when you fill up every two weeks that's over one tank full of fuel difference each year.

It amazes me how many people moan about the price of things - a glass of wine, or a meal out, but still pay it. If people continue to pay the prices, they will just go higher and higher.

I can assure you that most southern salaries do not have extra zeros!

The median salary in the SE is £4900 higher than the NE
In London £8400 higher

Overall salaries in the SE vs NE are a third higher
The NE has the lowest salaries in the UK

Northern Powerhouse Partnership 2021

Also just because people appear to have more disposable income visibly through buying takeaways and eating out doesn't mean they do, it means they spend their money on those things.

Yes I’m surprised by this. We are in the northeast. A pint most places we go would be £6-7 and wine would be £8-12 for a large glass. Surely it can’t be £36+ for a large glass of wine?? Maybe they were just somewhere super cheap up here. There are some places where I find myself double checking they charged us right.

In London the average house price is over £600k/median £510k
In the North East it’s under £200k/median £150k.
I’m therefore a bit surprised you’d have a better quality of life overall in the south as even 1/3 higher salary surely doesn’t make up for housing being that much more expensive?

The SE isn't just London shock
Also many of the 100-150K houses are small older terraces, very few of those in the SE compared to the NE
New builds in the NE average 262K

Also QoL isn't just housing costs
Crime, opportunities, transport, education and the weather all add up to better QoL
If a man on average dies 8-14 years younger in the NE it doesn't point to better QoL does it ?
I'm not sure why you arguing this?

Northern Powerhouse Partnership lays it all out -if you live in a nice area of the North it's not you they are talking about
The poverty and lack of opportunity doesn't melt away because it puts your back up to mention it.

Odeon Limitless monthly membership is the same price throughout the country - there is a premium if you want to use the central London theatres but it is the same up north as say Wimbledon.

I doesn’t put my back up. It just surprises me that the housing price differential doesn’t even things out a lot more. Even looking at the south east generally the average is £440k with a median of 370k. I realise it’s not the only measure of quality of life but having to spend that much of your income on housing, even with a 1/3 higher salary, must limit your disposable income. I guess I’m doing what many of us do a viewing things more through the lens of personal experience than statistical analysis.

Wages vary regionally too, so in areas of higher wages I would expect higher prices.
A few years ago I worked in Bristol and was surprised how much more expensive it was compared to the West Midlands just 90 miles away.

But also wages are often lower in those places too

Supermarkets charge more if they are the only large supermarket in the local area. If they have competition they lower their prices.

Going to visit family in West Yorkshire and the cost of things like coffee and lunch in a nice cafe is way cheaper. I work in Central London and all I can afford to buy at lunchtime are Tesco meal deals.

And surely coffee at Nero cost the same over the country as well ?

no, different stores are different prices

I’d be be very surprised if the Trafalgar Square cafe Nero charges the same as the Peterborough cathedral square one does.

I live just outside of Newcastle City centre, I can assure it's not boring! Amazing city, coast and countryside on the doorstep, just over 1 hour drive to The Lakes and Scotland.

What a stupid comment

My parents were so impressed by the price & service when they broke down in Yorkshire that they seriously considered driving abck there from Berkshire when the car needed servicing!

Yes, it does! Even half a mile apart in London ... I used to work in Canary Wharf and lived in Bow. There was a Tesco in both locations. My shop from Canary Wharf cost half as much again as the same shop bought in Bow.

I don't know if that's still the case, as Bow's got more expensive since I lived there, but the principle still holds in areas with a large wealth discrepancy.

You have to be quite analytical to compare prices. Affluent and tourist areas north and south may well charge a premium but probably have higher rent and staff costs. Petrol has a whole competition authority investigation into the higher costs in some areas and they have not found the answer.
It is also interesting that professions such as teaching, GP's and Dentists are short of numbers in the cheapest housing areas despite their salaries being fairly consistant

That's odd. We used to spend a lot of time in Northumberland and were always surprised at how much more expensive food and, particularly, fuel was there. We were living in Gloucestershire at the time, not at all known for it's low cost of living.

Before any East Enders pick me up on facts, Bow to Canary Wharf is actually two miles. Like an idiot, I put the distance I had to walk from the Bow Tesco to home. It was an unpleasant walk that didn't feel safe when weighed down with carrier bags, so it must have imprinted on my mind 😖
I used to think of paying the CW prices as my safety tax. (I was a bit of a prat, tbh!)

Just did a petrol comparison to where my BIL lives in Blackheath and that is cheaper than Perth. So the SE is not always more expensive.

It's true! I live in NE and when I come down south it is more expensive. A good guide is the price of a pint, same beer but different location. However cities don't aren't cheaper, towns are. X

How does that work with online shopping at Tescos for example, where a loaf is the same price as in the shop? Does that mean they adjust online prices for the area?
Can't say I've noticed much difference by the way, north or south.