03 August, 2015

By VIVA Team

Spain’s affordability and accessibility make it a viable continental commuting location for Brits who work in the UK.

The practicalities might not be exactly perfect, but there is no faulting the calculations – research from none other than Labour Mayoral candidate Tessa Jowell has found that it would be cheaper for a Brit to live in Madrid and commute to London than actually living full time in the UK capital…

Such is the sorry state of house and rent prices in London that an average earner would save around €500 per month if they lived in Madrid and flew to London and back every day from Monday to Thursday.

According to Jowell’s calculations, a Londoner who worked centrally in the capital and commuted from a typical one-bedroom flat in Camden would spend around €2,700 per month on rent and travel expenses.

A fully furnished one-bedroom apartment in Madrid, however, would set that person back just €750 per month. Add in flights to Stansted and appropriate train tickets into zone one, and the total monthly outlay would be around €2,450 a month, making it cheaper to enjoy the comforts of Spain – and easyJet – than it is to reside in a cramped, overpriced property in London.

Annually, Jowell added, a typical worker would save around €6,000 if they lived in such a manner, although they might well be rather frazzled by the end of it all.

“The UK housing crisis is getting worse all the time – and renters are paying the price,” said Jowell when presenting her calculations. “Londoners are now paying so much to landlords that they could be better off commuting from Madrid than staying in London.”

Spain’s affordable property and abundance of cheap and regular flight routes makes it one of the more attractive commuting destinations in the EU. And while Jowell was simply trying to make a point, continental commuting is not as far-fetched as it sounds…