January 31, 2012 by Michael Oakes
Snow in London
As the UK has adjusted to heavy snowfall in recent years it seems that everyone wishes that they lived closer to work. No train delays, just a delightfully slow amble to the office each morning as the rest of the country battles their way along on the M25 or a broken train. As we brace ourselves for some bad weather later this week, it seems that commuters have had enough already and want to move fast.
Our estate agency business, Young London, has seen an increase in requests for central London rental property recently. Although this isn’t down to the prospect of bad weather alone, an increasing number cite living close to work as a main priority when choosing where to live. Whether it’s snow on the tracks, the yearly autumnal issue of ‘leaves on the line’ or overheated points from our annual summer ‘heatwave’, commuters seem to have had enough. Through rain or shine it will take you less time to get to work, and even a 30 minute journey is better spent walking in the great outdoors than cramped onto a delayed, overcrowded tube.
During the heavy snowfall last winter, our enquiry rate doubled. We even had a call from a prospective tenant stuck on a snowed in train to London from Uxbridge; fed up with the disruption and unreliability of the journey, she was Googling while stuck on the train, actively looking to move much closer to work. We will let you know once the snow hits whether we have many similar stories again this year!
Would you move closer to work to avoid winter train troubles?
