I regret moving to London for my career – our rent was £2,350 a month

For decades, moving to London has been seen as the next step for young professionals. But for some young people from the North, London is no longer the obvious route to career success. When Ben Copeland, 28, moved to London in 2023, it seemed like an obvious choice. Originally from Yorkshire, he had first moved to the capital in 2018 when he had the opportunity to intern at a record label for the summer. “Trying to get a [full-time] job was impossible,” he said, so he moved back to York when the internship ended. Despite not having a paid role, he loved the city. Back then, Copeland says, living in London felt like a long holiday. He met new people, loved the nightlife, and had financial help from his grandparents. “The second time, I definitely regret going down; it wasn’t the same,” he says. The company he worked for was opening a restaurant in London and offered Copeland the role of manager, which he gladly accepted. He moved into a flat in Crouch End with his then-partner and best friend. Living in London was not such a carefree experience the second time round and money soon became a problem. “The flat was run-down, but it was enough. It was £2,350 a month in total for the three of us just for rent, and I was paying for my ex, so it was a stupid amount. After rent, I was left with very little,” he says. “It affected a few aspects of my life, like the relationship ended, I ended up getting very poorly from not looking after myself living there, I was skint.” Shorts “It felt a bit bleak,” he says, when he realised how hard it was to live in the capital. “On one hand, it was fun because we had everything on our doorstep, but I also couldn’t do anything because London was so expensive. I had become like a zombie working just to cover the extreme rent.” Eventually, the restaurant decided to shut up shop in London and return North due to high costs and competition in the capital. This decision worked for Copeland, who was burnt out and broke. “I wanted to come back to York and continue with my career, which I was enjoying.” Copeland now works as area manager for the business’s restaurants in York and Newcastle, where he is much happier. Would he reconsider returning to the capital? “It would have to be under very strict circumstances,” he says, such as an excellent job opportunity. Anna, 25, works in a public sector role in North West England. When she was looking for jobs in public affairs and consulting, she found that most opportunities were in London. “In the end, I did have a job offer for London, as well as the job I have now, which is based up North. Due to timing, I accepted the job up North. I think I would have had a big decision to make otherwise,” she says. While most of her friends were in London, staying in the North meant living at home. Though her starting salary would have enabled her to rent, it was not worthwhile to move out when her job was so close to home. Her parents agreed that she could live at home to save money, while paying a small amount of rent. “Even if I did move out, I wouldn’t be spending the same amount of money as I would in London,” she says. The difference in rental costs is stark once you leave the capital. In July 2026, the average monthly private rent in London was £2,317, compared with £965 in the Northwest, making average rents in the capital almost 2.5 times higher. “One of the reasons I didn’t move to London was because of the financial challenges that would come with it. I wasn’t willing to not be saving when I’m in my twenties. I think it’s a really crucial time to save,” Anna says. Unlike her Gen Z contemporaries in London, most of whom have just enough to live on after their rent is paid, Anna is in a position where buying a house is a possibility. Not only that, the North offers her more than financial benefits. “If I want a day trip to a city like Manchester or Liverpool , it’s not too far on a train, but I’m also not far from the Lake District and nature. Within an hour, I can be somewhere new,” she says. She also enjoys the slower pace of her seaside town. “I can decide how I spend my time more freely, rather than feeling the social pressure of constantly having to be doing something - or seen to be doing something – in London.” Staying in the North has not been at the cost of ambition, either. Working in the public sector, Anna does not believe moving to London would equal faster career growth. “I think there are other industries in which going to London would benefit you to network and to get specific job opportunities. But in the career I am pursuing, there’s equal opportunity all over the country.” Ben Speakman, left, says staying in Manchester has been hugely beneficial to his career, despite most of his friends moving to London Ben Speakman, 25, is from Manchester. After completing an undergraduate degree, followed by a master’s in planning and development at Cambridge, he initially searched for jobs in London, where most of his friends were. But when a commercial real estate development company offered him a job in Manchester after his master’s, he abandoned his plans to move to London, and instead moved back home. “At the time, I felt like coming back to Manchester was a step backwards, whereas moving to London could have been a step forward,” he says. Now, he sees things differently. Since his girlfriend also moved to Manchester, the two are living together. “It’s much more affordable as two young professionals to live comfortably in a nice modern apartment. I have friends in London in similar jobs and incomes living in less desirable places,” he says. “There isn’t much drawing me to London, bar my friends being there.” Manchester has also been hugely beneficial for his career. “In the real estate development world, Manchester is outperforming London in development and investment, and is the most opportunistic place to be,” he says. And as part of Andy Burnham’s devolution plans, more than 22,500 jobs are forecast to move to Manchester and Liverpool by 2031. This is estimated to inject up to £2.25 billion into the North West’s economy. On top of an employment boost in Northern cities, Speakman says Manchester offers more opportunity to take on senior work and accelerate through your early career. “Being in a regional city, you get exposed to bigger work and clients earlier on than you would in London.” Outside of work, Manchester increasingly offers what London can, just on a smaller scale. “I think the food and drink, and the nightlife scene is very good and is concentrated in a much more accessible area,” he says. Speakman and his girlfriend are settled in Manchester, and only a truly exceptional opportunity could tempt them to London. In fact, he says, “I’m starting to get the sense from friends in London that the novelty has worn off, and they want to move fairly soon.”