This depressingly real tube map shows just how pricey London living really is
A new map reveals the insanity of the capital's rental market.
It turns out you're not the only one who's forced to move miles from the nearest artisanal bakery/quirky brunch place just to avoid going into debt at the end of each month.
Housing charity Shelter has released a 'tube map of affordability', where stations in unaffordable areas have been closed, and, well, there's not a lot left. It's a TFL massacre.
The map defines affordable rents as 35% of an average couple's income, and you better learn to appreciate the delights of the suburbs, because that's the closest most will get to zone one. Even homes in 'difficult to afford' areas, costing an overdraft-busting 50% of incomes, will still only get you as central as Stratford or Golders Green.
Rents in London, currently double the national average, are rising at a record pace - 4.2% last year alone. At this rate, normal Londoners will be forced to choose between shelling out for that Netflix subscription or keeping a roof over their heads.
Unless you're worried about your name popping up in the Panama papers any time soon, then the chances are you'll be getting a lengthy night bus home on Saturday night. One unintended plus of Shelter's redrawn tube map is that it would put an end to any pesky tube strikes, if only because there wouldn't be much of a service left running at all.
Maybe it's finally time for that mass exodus to the north?
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