The Cost of London - Tom Rufford Hampton School
The cost of London is ever-rising, with prime property costing $1m per 21sqm in 2015, resulting in The Telegraph competitively ranking London as the 3rd most expensive city to live in at the time.
Without a doubt, many cannot afford London prices. However suprisingly the 2010 NatWest Student Living Index ranked London as the most 'cost effective city for students in the UK' with an average £104/week living cost, in additition to accommodation costs.
These accommodation costs however result in many problems in particular for students, renters and first time buyers. Average London house prices grew by 7% in the last year, and now stand at £531,000, also having a knock on effect on the renting costs. Louis, a bio-chem student at UCL states 'the renting price is absurd, I can only afford to flat-share with 4 others'.
Another problem for London dwellers is transport costs. Private vehicles are out of the question for many, with the congestion charge sitting at £11.50/day and the slow traffic at peak times. This means many must resort to public transport. Although this is still costly. For example, since 2000, single bus fairs have over doubled in price, at and affordable £1 in 2000 to £2.40 since 2013. However, although in November 2016 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced a four-year ‘fare freeze’ on all ‘TfL fares.
Not only does London have a cost on our wallets, it does too on our health. Recently, Brixton, a South London road has breached its annual air pollution limit for 2017 in just five days. NO2 is linked to nearly 5,900 early deaths per year, and at one point the NO2 levels were verging on double the legal limit.
Is London worth the cost?
