Northerners move shorter distances than southerners
People moving house in the south of England move twice as far on average as those in the industrial north, even though the distance they travel to work is similar.
The research by Professor Mike Coombes of Newcastle University for the Royal Geographical Society shows that commuters in the north are not less willing than southerners to travel daily to reach available jobs, but when they do move house northerners – and particularly those in the Pennine region‘s old industrial towns – tend to move much shorter distances.
“There seems to be a stronger sense of loyalty to one’s local town in the north of England,” said Professor Coombes. “People living in Bolton for instance, are unlikely to move to Wigan for whatever reason, while in the south of England people might move anywhere within the same county with little loss to their sense of identity.”
Meanwhile, a survey by the Nationwide Building Society looks at why some people have decided not to move at all. It shows that:
* Three quarters of home owners have been in their current property for more than five years
* 60% of non-homeowners have no plans to buy a property in the foreseeable future
* 38% have no intention of ever moving again
Even for those homeowners whose property has become too small for them, 29% said they would extend or make do rather than move. Nearly half (45%) mentioned either the state of the economy or the costs involved in moving home as the main barriers, with instability of house prices another factor (28%).
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