London now most expensive European city for upscale rental property

With London now Europe’s most expensive city for rental accommodation, is it time for expat professionals to request a move to another location?

According to new research, professionals living and working in London must now pay out some £5,000 plus every month for suitable apartments within a reasonable distance from their places of work, whilst those lucky enough to secure well-paying jobs in the UK’s secondary cities can rent similar accommodation for around £1,500 a month. London, of course, is the EU hub for financial professionals, but do the massive salaries paid to bankers these days merit justification by means of overcharging for their living spaces, thus pushing up prices of lesser properties suitable for those in normal jobs?

The looming disaster of Brexit is persuading a good number of expat professionals at present in the UK to relocate, either back to their home countries or to another less expensive EU member state. International companies are either thinking about relocating or have already established offices in cheaper European locations as, whilst expanding demand for quality rentals is already pushing up rents, there are still European bargains to be had at far less than London prices.

Dublin has seen recent rent increases mostly down to its dealing with the property bubble caused by the 2008 financial crisis, as well as by the increased demand for high quality rentals by relocating international companies. Even so, the market’s got a long way to go before it reaches the heights of London’s rentals sector, at present being supported by an increasing number of expat-owned buy-to-let apartments.

For expat professionals looking to save more of their salaries rather than living on the edge due to the high cost of just about everything in London, relocating to San Francisco, Sydney or Los Angeles could well solve the problem. Other advantages include warmer weather, reduced living costs in general and more attractive surroundings, and both LA and Sydney are regarded as good value for their live/work/rent combination. San Francisco comes in at a respectable third place.