Living in London is stupidly expensive. Well, I guess we all know that, but I’ve been looking at the figures a bit more lately, as my wife doesn’t approve of our financial situation. Here, for a grand a month, I get a small 2-bed flat (British homes are the smallest in Europe, on average). In, say, Yorkshire, I can get a 2-bed house for about £350 a month. If there is work, even at the minimum wage, that is viable. Here, we are finding it almost impossible to save. In London, you are either decidedly well off, or poor. There is not much in the middle.

And what of other countries? Here, the pound sterling is a strong currency. But in many countries, a thousand pounds is a lot of money. Many people come to this country, live 10 to a house to cut their rental expenses and save like mad for a few years. They can then return home and purchase big properties. I knew someone who did this and returned to South Africa and bought a whole farm. My wife knows of someone who returned to Russia and bought a block of flats with his savings!

Now where in the world is nice, but cheap?