Just come back from a lovely holiday in a gorgeous seafront town in the UK. I loved the beach so much that when I saw a for sale sign I checked it out of curiosity (daydreaming that perhaps if it's much cheaper we could sell up and live off the proceeds) and was surprised to find that it's pretty much the same price as the houses in our commutable-to-London suburb, where one or both people usually have a relatively high paying London job or a job in the local hospital.
It wasn't commutable to any major city or hospital, and the only thing in the town was a supermarket, charity shop and hair dresser, so it got me wondering...what do people do for jobs there which means they can afford the houses.
I really don't mean to be goady, my entire upbringing has been very focused on "get a professional job in London and buy a house in the suburbs" so that's all I know, and so I'm genuinely curious. I tried my hardest to live outside London (in different busy towns as my skillset wasn't needed more rurally) but over the years my industry has closed all its "regional offices".