Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Goalie of
the Century gently breathed:
In message , Pyromancer
writes
Just why does gov.uk seem so utterly convinced that the entire
population of England, bar a few west-country hoteliers and the landed
gentry, should live within 50 miles of Central London?

Because the asking price of an ordinary terraced house in Reading is
GBP 215k
http://www.austinandco.co.uk/details.php?prop=AUCO206
and for something similar in Bolton, it's GBP 80k?
http://www.regencyestates.co.uk/detail.asp?PID=479

TBH, those are rather different properties, the one in Reading has three
bedrooms, a bay window, nice gardens front and rear (rear being fully
enclosed) and a summerhouse / shed, while the Bolton one is only two
bedrooms, no bay window, and nothing much said about external features,
which suggests there are none of note. But agreed, a single extra
bedroom plus nice garden hardly justifies almost trippling the price.

Which is not to say they shouldn't be doing something to reduce demand
in the south east and increase it elsewhere.

Harder than it looks. For generations people have believed that "London
is the place to be", and no matter how many departments are relocated to
Leeds or Bristol, the overwhelming idea of London is *the* UK city will
remain.

I love Leeds, but it's hardly in the same league. The only place in the
UK that comes close to London in terms of feel is Glasgow, IMHO.

--
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