Where are the best places to live for Millenials?

New data and analysis by TheHouseShop.com has revealed which areas across Britain are the best for Millennials to live and have compiled the results in a new report.

Related topics:  Property
Warren Lewis
3rd November 2017
Door 885

Due to the financial constraints placed on the demographic, to help make their lives easier, the property marketplace has located the top places in Britain that can offer them affordable housing, high quality of life and the largest disposable income among other good qualities.

But who are the “Millennials”?

The infamous Millennials, or Generation Y, born between 1980 and 1995, have gained notoriety from the media, resulting in negative stereotypes and being labelled as, “lazy”, “unhappy”, “selfish”, "snowflake generation", “cosseted” and “entitled’. Despite this unflattering image, Millennials are actually politically independent, place a high value on education, question conventions and are more tolerant than previous generations.
Older Millennials entered the workplace during the height of the 2008 recession and they witnessed numerous redundancies, which have shaped their unconventional and new expectations from their employers. They crave flexible hours, increased use of technology, such as social media, rapid progression, access to training and mentoring from their superiors. Many have even started their own businesses, seizing available opportunities in a poor economy, leading to them becoming heavily involved in the startup boom.

TheHouseShop.com have investigated the best places for Millennials to live across Britain and have compiled the results in the Millennials Hot-Spots 2017 Report. The ranking factors include among others, average graduate salary and average manager salaries, housing costs, cost of living, job availability, creative economy, number of startups, and the all-important average price of a coffee.

The top five Millennial Hot-Spots are:

1. Birmingham – Best for Older Millennials

       Key Stats
•    Cheapest place for a meal out for two at just £40.00
•    Most affordable cost of a coffee, £2.27
•    The largest amount of startups with a whopping 17,473
•    High management salaries starting around, £37,500
•    Good number of cycling routes available

Birmingham has earned the number one spot for the best area for Millennials to live across Britain and has the dream blend of numerous employment opportunities, a healthy startup culture, strong student population and affordable amenities to enjoy.

Birmingham dominated in the career stakes for Millennials, with a large number of both graduate and management jobs available. Combined with a higher than average earning potential and a fantastic number of startups. Birmingham proves that a successful career can be built outside of London and younger Millennials should take note when they are looking for a place to live after graduation.

Millennials will be pleased to know that Birmingham offers an affordable social life, securing the first place for both average prices of a coffee and a restaurant meal for two, it has a lot to offer the foodie Millennial generation.

Birmingham will benefit older Millennials looking to move up the career ladder and with average property prices starting at just £178,241, it’s also an affordable area to invest in a property. The average rent prices for a two-bed property are also promising at £825 pcm, should they decide to move out of shared housing and move in with a partner.
 
2. Leeds – Best for entrepreneurial Millennials
 
Key Stats
•    Huge amount of 4-bed shared housing available
•    Very high number of startups to work for, 7,645
•    Great average rent per person for a 4 bed, £295.75 pcm
•    Large number of graduate jobs
•    Expensive price of a coffee at £2.70

Leeds seized second place in the Millennials Hotspots Report 2017 for its affordable housing available for cash-strapped Millennials, making it an ideal location for them to live, as it offers a good and realistic chance to get on the ladder without completely breaking the bank.

Entrepreneurial Millennials will be pleased to know that there is a burgeoning startup business philosophy in Leeds, as the city aims to build businesses and job opportunities away from London, the local council is committed to providing funding for new businesses in the area. Millennial entrepreneurs based in Leeds can apply for an average business loan size of £6,000 with one loan available per person and a payback deadline of 1 – 5 years with 6% annual interest.

Leeds consistently appeared in the top spots for affordable housing for both 2-bed and 4-bed properties. So, for entrepreneurs that aren’t ready to rent out an office space, they can afford to use a spare room as an office in a 2-bed flat for just £741 pcm in rent.

3. Cardiff - Best for fledgeling, corporate Millennials
      
Key Stats
•    Cheapest utilities per month, £95.42
•    Super-fast broadband for working remotely, 39.49 Mb/s
•    Large student population
•    Affordable price of mid-range bottle of wine, £6.00
•    Top five for number of 4-bed rental properties currently available

The Welsh city came in third and it’s easy to see why, with a low cost of living, affordable travel and some of the highest WiFi speeds across the areas studied in the report.

Although Cardiff did disappoint in the number of graduate jobs available (15th overall), the area came a joint 6th place for an average graduate salary at £25,000. With top employers such as Deloitte, PWC, Admiral Group, Morrisons Supermarkets plc and AECOM that have offices in the area. The fledgeling, corporate Millennials have the chance to work for the cream of the crop across multiple disciplines such as law, finance, accounting, engineering and tech.

Cardiff’s excellent supply of affordable shared housing is a boon to graduate Millennials leaving university with debt and looking to get a foot on the corporate career ladder and with 475 4-bed properties and 768 2-bed properties available, it will be easier to find accommodation in time to start their first jobs. Coming to a respectable seventh place in both average rent prices for 2-bed and 4-bed properties, Cardiff has a great choice of low-cost homes.
Travel in Cardiff is also affordable coming fourth for cheapest travel pass at £50 per month, third place for a total number of cycling routes, with a massive 6,569 and eighth place for the average price of a VW Golf, should younger Millennials look into investing in a car.
 
4. London – Best for creative Millennials
 
Key Stats
•    Largest number of rental properties currently available
•    Highest number of Millennials living in the area, 2,445,542
•    Largest number of management jobs 70,067 and graduate jobs 11,972
•    Highest number of creative businesses, 81,703
•    Biggest creative economy
•    Worst place for affordable housing

It will come as no surprise that London has made the top five, coming in a respectable fourth place with a high number of graduate and management employment opportunities available with the highest salaries, as well as the highest numbers of rental properties available.
However, even though London is the best area for Millennials to launch and progress in their careers, the expensive housing and cost of living are the real reasons behind the high salaries.

London is a pricey city for Millennials and it's the hardest area to get onto the property ladder, with rents for a 4-bed property coming in at an eye-watering £4,812 per month, it’s easy to see why Millennials in London struggle to save for a deposit. When the high travel costs (£132 per month) and an average spend of £139.52 per month for utilities are taken into account, London isn't a kind city to a Millennial paycheque.

London broke away from the pack when it came to the strength of the creative economy, with large numbers of people being employed by creative businesses and benefitting from the booming startup culture. So, those Millennials looking to get into these industries won’t be short of employment opportunities and with higher than average availabilities in graphic design, adverting, marketing, photography, film, publishing, fine art and theatre, London will offer a great experience to the CV.
 
5. Liverpool – Solid all round
 
Key Stats
•    Most affordable cost of a beer, £2.90
•    Cheapest rent of a 2-bed property, £585 pcm
•    Fantastic number of 2-bed properties available to rent
•    Low price of a good bottle of wine, £6.00
•    Worst place for creative economy

Liverpool has earned the fifth place in the Millennials Hotspots report 2017, for the affordable housing and recreational amenities. Liverpool consistently performed well, coming in the top ten for ranking factors like cost of broadband, coffee, a VW Golf and average price for a meal out for two, but it rarely made number one.

Liverpool stood out for the abundance of affordable property, coming in first place for the average price of a 2-bed (£585 pcm) property for rent and second place for the number of 2-bed rental properties available, making it more affordable than our winner Birmingham.

Liverpool also came third for the cheapest price of a 2-bed house at just £128,096, which is good news for those older Millennials who are in a better financial position to get onto the property ladder.

Liverpool also stood out for employment opportunities, coming sixth overall for both the number of startups in the area and the average graduate salary, making it a good area for younger Millennials to launch their careers outside of the Big Smoke.

The two worst areas for Millennials to live are:

Exeter

Exeter came in last place for the availability of affordable housing and it had the lowest population of Millennials living in the area. Exeter repeatedly appeared in the bottom of the pack across many of our ranking factors, which damaged any chance of redemption for the area. From a low number of cycling routes to expensive rental properties (from £1403 per month for a 4 bed) and pricey lattes - Exeter failed to provide a good place to live for Millennials.
 
Nottingham

Although Nottingham came in the top ten for housing affordability and availability, it came in the bottom across the board and the very last for the percentage of the population with a level 4 qualification or above. This low score, in particular, is a disadvantage for Millennials, who are one of the most highly educated generations in the UK and they prefer to live in an area with people from a similar education background as themselves in order to feel at home and connect to the local community.

Nick Marr, Co-Founder TheHouseShop.com, commented: “Many Millennials are finding themselves locked out of homeownership due to colossal house prices, which have been jacked up by the UK’s housing shortage. Millennials are also paying higher rents than previous generations, which are leaving them unable to save up for a deposit, causing many to put off marriage and having children due to their insecure living situation.”

Millennials will want to know which areas in Britain can offer them affordable housing and cost of living, as well as the highest earning potential and numerous employment opportunities. An area must also provide amenities to support a rich social life such as the fastest broadband speeds for flexible working and socialising at their beloved coffee shops.”

Our Millennials Hot-Spots Report has shown that Birmingham is a great choice for older Millennials. They will be impressed with its strong startup culture, affordable cafes and restaurants and high earning potential for management positions.

Most of the top five areas highlighted in the report performed well for affordable housing which is a deciding factor for Millennials. Liverpool was the area with the lowest average house prices, making it an ideal area for older Millennials to buy a home and unsurprisingly London was the least affordable place to live, but it made up for that in all the other areas important for Millennials.”

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