As someone from the UK, I’ve been thinking about how expensive it is to live in a lot of our most popular tourist areas, and I’m curious how it compares across Europe.
In the UK, many of the most visited and beautiful cities like London, Edinburgh, York, and Bath are also some of the most expensive places to live. You often hear locals complaining about high rents and the general cost of living.
It’s not just cities either. A lot of well-known scenic or tourist-heavy regions like the Lake District, the Cotswolds, the Peak District, and places like Cornwall or parts of Devon also have really expensive housing markets. There’s a big issue with second homes and holiday lets, and it often feels like younger locals are being priced out of the areas they grew up in.
I’m sure there are exceptions, but overall it feels like in the UK, most touristy places are quite unaffordable for the average local.
I’ve spoken to some people from other countries (e.g. France) who said that while there are definitely expensive areas, there are still parts of those regions that are relatively affordable to live in.Which I feel like i’d definitely much less the case in the UK.