A controversial new survey claims to have identified the best cities for millennials to live in based on factors such as the cost of buying and renting a home, as well as one more divisive measurement – the number of local people who oppose Brexit.
TotallyMoney says its assessment includes property factors such as the cost of renting and buying a one bedroom property appropriate for a millennial, as well as work factors – overtime hours, paid overtime, average weekly earnings, number of business start-ups, graduate hires and so on – and cost of living factors such as the costs of gym membership, a posh coffee and a meal for two in a local restaurant.
The survey then factors in lifestyle issues such as demographics and – controversially – “the percentage of Brexit remain voters.”
In first place is Glasgow, owing to good weekly wages, innumerable entertainment hotspots, and house prices well below the national average — thought to be a huge contributor to its top performance. One-bedroom properties here cost on average £584 per month to rent.
London, despite its high costs, still performs well across this wide range of measures including Brexit voting patterns; the average rent for a one bedroom property here is £1,633 pcm.
Basildon in Essex takes the bottom spot, owing to what TotallyMoney calls “a paltry two per cent of graduates finding work here, as well as extra-curricular activities paling in comparison to the rest of the UK. Basildon also delivered the second-lowest Brexit Remain figures.”
James McCaffrey, spokesperson for credit experts TotallyMoney says: “There are some things millennials have had to adjust to that haven’t been experienced by past generations, and with this comes an entirely different set of priorities. Rising house prices, stagnant wages, and Brexit are just some of the hurdles this generation have to get over.”
Here’s the top 10 identified by Totally Money, and their one bedroom average rents:
- Glasgow, £584 pcm
- London, £1,633
- Aberdeen, £478
- Liverpool, £483
- Bristol, £686
- Gloucester, £443
- Southampton, £584
- Cambridge, £689
- Cardiff, £493
- Middlesbrough, £353.
