Bath is a beautiful place BUT…..

[Journey1234]

I honestly had no idea how beautiful Bath was until I came here. I’ve absolutely loved it! The city centre is stunning, with amazing shops, restaurants, and gorgeous architecture everywhere you look.

I drove through a little area called Twerton and stopped at the corner shop £3.00 for a tiny loaf of bread. While I was there, I had a look at the local house prices and was genuinely shocked. The cheapest house I found was around £270,000, and it needed loads of work. In many other parts of the country, a house like that would probably be closer to £120,000.

I also looked at local job salaries, and they seem really low compared to the cost of housing. It honestly made me wonder how do people afford to live here? House prices range from around £270,000 for a fairly ordinary home needing renovation to £9 million for some of the city’s most incredible properties.

Bath is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited, but I really feel for local people trying to get on the property ladder.

Twerton is one of the top 10 most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. There isn't much to buy there, (mostly social housing) unless you are aiming to rent it out. It is well documented that the poorest areas often have the highest food prices.

Yes, houses are expensive. No, wages are not high. We moved in 15 years ago, couldn't do it now.

Also, Bath is the largest city in the UK without a bypass, but is still only 94,000 people, of which 21,000 are the student population of the 2 universities. So many houses are sold as student digs.

Also, as a World Heritage Site, there are further restrictions on building on green belt land, so the city can't expand into more new-build suburbs.

Plus, it's a massive tourist attraction, so lots of houses are short term lets.