As a trend, yes, particularly since the costs of cars has fallen:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/trends/current/section2ptbm.pdf

(See Trend 2.6)

On the other hand, households are paying more for transport as a proportion of household expenditure - because total car travel has increased.

I think people complain for the reasons Swan Knight gave. At one time there were three large empolyers in my local town and they were in the centre, so busses to work were a real option. Now the work is dipersed around peripheral industrial estates.

Yes.

I look at it this way. In May 2006 I took up my present position at Brunel University. Since this was such an unexpected turn of events, I remained for a year living in Berlin and commuting. After a year of this time-consuming, stressful and wasteful flying back and forth my partner and I decided we should move ourselves and our daughter to London to see how that would work out. The way it has worked out is that our rent is approximately twice as high as it was in Berlin AND we've swapped a larger place in the centre of the city for a smaller one at the edge, and then there's everything else that's more expensive and all the other things that need to be paid which in Germany don't, such as community charge and when unavoidable congestion charge. Then there's the massive amount of time (and expense and stress) involved in getting from one part of the city to another. Then there's the fact that my daughter would be receiving a German/English bilingual education in Berlin almost as a matter of course, whereas doing such a thing in London would involve astronomically expensive private schooling. And my partner has very little remunerative work (as a singer) in the UK so has to travel back to Germany or elsewhere once or twice a month anyway. Some months we end up scraping through just as we did when we were both working exclusively freelance in Germany.

While I'm glad my family has had the opportunity to experience the much greater cultural diversity that you find in London, this seems to be clutching at straws given the alternative of moving back to Berlin and going back to the 2006/7 way of doing things, which, in the absence of some miracle, we will probably end up doing next year.

I'm not having a grumpy old rant or wallowing in self-pity. I recognise that I have choices available to me which many people don't. I'm just rather astonished at this situation, viz. the difference in cost between these two cities is basically more than a university professor's salary, without taking into account any of the quality-of-life aspects like being able to get around by bicycle or efficient and cheap public transport.

 


And I'm sure, returning to the thread title, that Johnson's election is more likely to make this situation worse than better.

So, Richard, why on earth did you choose to return to the UK, if the move did not make economic sense?

I can't believe that London is so much more culturally diverse than Berlin - and even if it is, is it really worth the extra expense/hassle you've had to put up with just for the dubious privilege of living in this soiled diaper of a country?

As you say, your daughter would be receiving a superior education in Germany....you'll have to fight (hard) for her to receive even a half-decent one in the UK.

Presumably, you speak fluent German, so language is not a bar to employment over there. 

I ask again: why come back?

If I spoke fluent German, I certainly wouldn't be languishing in crappy old G.B., I can tell you....

Here, S_K, from my bookshelf. I'm not using it.

I did, of course, vote for that nice Ms. Berry - and it didn't do any good!!
Perhaps I will move back to Leeds.....

You know, I think the result is the worst thing that's happened to London since the Blitz.
NOT ONLY did Boris win, but the [edit: silly party] got a seat on the Assembly.

PLEASE do not include Green Left or the Ecosocialist International Network in your strictures!!
Although it must be admitted that within the ranks of the Green Movement there are people who shy away from identifying with Socialism.
I believe, however, in the idea that YOU HAVE TO BE RED TO BE GREEN AND YOU HAVE TO BE GREEN TO BE RED. uh, it's complicated, and we keep having conferences about it....to which we DON'T fly, if we can avoid it!!