It would Be Cheaper To Live And Commute From Madrid Than Live In Camden

OK, if you didn't believe it before: things have seriously got out of hand now.

Mindboggling new research suggests that living in Madrid and commuting in to work in London each day would be cheaper than renting a flat in Camden Town and working in Liverpool Street, including all travel.

The average one-bedroom Camden flat costs £1,893 to rent with £11.40 council tax and a zones one and two travel card costing £123.30, giving your basic cost of London-living as £2,128 per month.

Meanwhile, the total cost of renting in Madrid (a fully air-conditioned apartment in the city centre would cost £532 a month), spending £50 a day return on Ryanair flights (booking in advance), plus trains to and from airports would come to just £1,725. Granted, your commuting time would be substantially increased, but you'd get weekends in the beautiful Spanish capital. And can anyone really argue that Ryanair flights would be any less comfortable than the underground?

One caveat: the research is based on working a four day week - but would any boss begrudge you working from home once a week if you lived in Spain? We doubt it, especially if you offered to put him up in your Madrid pad for a weekend every now and again.

With the money saved, you could even buy a season ticket at the Bernabéu to see Ronny and the Real boys in action. 

Labour mayoral candidate Tessa Jowell, who put the figures together, commented: “The housing crisis is getting worse all the time — and renters are paying the price. Londoners are now paying so much to landlords that they could be better off commuting from Madrid than staying in London. We’ve talked about London’s housing crisis for too long — now it’s time to deliver the change that London needs. If I become Mayor, I’ll set up Homes for Londoners on my first day in City Hall to finally bring the housing crisis under control and get our city building again.”

See you for a siesta sometime then?

(Image: Getty)