Euan McGrory: Who says Edinburgh is a cheap place to live?
In the last 12 months alone, the Capital has been rated the second best city in the world for quality of life by the Financial Times, the UK’s greenest city by the Guardian and its most walkable city by the charity Living Streets. It is a little more unusual to see, as we do today, the city being heralded for being one of the most affordable in which to live. One thing that Edinburgh certainly is not is a cheap place to live. There are plenty of free and cheap things to do but anyone who pays rent or a mortgage will know that living in the Capital tends to come with a certain price tag.
There are a few reasons that Edinburgh has been ranked so highly in this latest study. One is that salaries for young professionals in the city can be quite high, making those rents more affordable for young people who are working, and the plentiful supply of ‘cheap eats’, cafes and restaurants where you can go out and enjoy yourself without it costing the earth. Of course a big factor is that Edinburgh is being compared to other major international cities including the exorbintantly expensive Paris and London.