The high cost of living and working in London means it can actually be cheaper – and better – to commute in from Europe
For those who love their London job but hate the cost of living, there’s now a way to keep their career on track without the financial stress of living in London.
At least 12 major European cities are now financially and logistically commutable* from London, according to new research.
Kiwi Movers have created a European Commutability Index to help London workers find a city to commute from that suits them – the higher the index score, the better.
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Taking into account a range of lifestyle factors, such as commute time, commute cost, rent, cost per square foot and local climate, we’ve come up with the ‘commutable 12’ – Europe’s best cities for working in London.
As well as offering a financially better alternative, the cities – which include Barcelona, Zagreb, The Hague and Berlin – offer other advantages too, including better rights for renters, more sunshine and in the case of the The Hague, a commute that is actually quicker than some tube journeys.
With average rents now hitting £1,211 for a one-bedroom flat in the London and a monthly Zone 1-4 travel card adding a further £177 to your living costs, heading for mainland Europe, where rents are as much as £977** cheaper per month, can be a financially savvy decision.
In fact, one Londoner did just that in 2013. Social media manager Sam Cookney relocated to Barcelona and saved a reported £339 per month.
But some cities are even cheaper and offer more space, more luxury and far better weather to boot.
Prague’s relatively short commute time, cheap rents and affordability make it the highest scorer on the index. Budapest follows closely behind but would-be commuters should note that not everyone speaks English, so it would be necessary to learn Hungarian to get by here.
If it’s a short commute you’re after, you can get from your front door in The Hague to Bank Tube Station in approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes. That includes the commute from The Hague to Rotterdam Airport and then on to London City Airport.
Best cities overall for commuting to London
| City | European Commutability Index |
| Prague | 931 |
| Budapest | 879 |
| Warsaw | 794 |
| Barcelona | 728 |
| Berlin | 673 |
| Madrid | 647 |
| Milan | 633 |
| Lisbon | 576 |
| Vienna | 533 |
| The Hague | 521 |
| Zagreb | 514 |
| Bruges | 19 |
How do the Commutable 12 compare to London?
Best weather – Lisbon – average temperature is 20.8 degrees celsius and an 68% annual average probability of sunshine.
Best value for money on rent – Prague – £243 per month for a 70 sq metre 2-bedroom apartment with wrap-around balcony and hardwood floors near the centre of the city.
That’s £1 cheaper than a Zone 1-7 monthly travel card
Shortest commute – 1 hour and 17 minutes The Hague. 22 minute commute from The Hague to Rotterdam Airport, followed by a flight time of 55 minutes straight into London City Airport.
This commute is six minutes shorter than a Central Line journey across London from West Ruislip to Epping!
Cheapest commutes
You can fly to London from Warsaw, Barcelona, Berlin and Milan for under £40 return. Compared to the £316 cost of a monthly rail pass to get from the Buckinghamshire commuter town of Gerrards Cross to London, we’ve calculated how many journeys people living in the Commutable 12 could make.
Warsaw and Barcelona are cheap enough that a commuter could feasibly travel to London ten times a month, almost equivalent to half of the working days in a month.
| City | Commute Cost (Return flights) | Number of monthly journeys for price of commuting from outside London |
| Warsaw | £34 | 9.3 |
| Barcelona | £36 | 8.8 |
| Berlin | £39 | 8.1 |
| Milan | £39 | 8.1 |
| Prague | £42 | 7.5 |
| Lisbon | £46 | 6.9 |
| Madrid | £50 | 6.3 |
| Budapest | £51 | 6.2 |
| Vienna | £54 | 5.9 |
| Bruges | £83 | 3.8 |
| The Hague | £87 | 3.6 |
| Zagreb | £121 | 2.6 |
Shortest commutes
| City | Flight time |
| The Hague | 55 minutes |
| Berlin | 2 hours |
| Prague | 2 hours |
| Milan | 2 hours 10 minutes |
| Bruges | 2 hours 17 minutes |
| Vienna | 2 hours 30 |
| Zagreb | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Barcelona | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Madrid | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| Budapest | 2 hours 45 minutes |
| Warsaw | 2 hours 45 minutes |
| Lisbon | 3 |
*assuming one weekly commute, returning on the same day so no hotel expenses.
**Based on living in Prague.
2 comments
Cool idea. but does not take into account time at airports (60+ minutes/trip), travel card needed in london if you fly in (zone 1-2 £140) or fluctuating ticket prices for the air travel.
not feasible, would not recommend.
Hi, thanks for your comment. The purpose of this was to highlight the relative low cost of commuting from Europe to London. Since every single person’s commute and living costs are different (even for those who live and work in London) we have had to make a number of assumptions.
We’ve assumed that…
People use online check-in where possible to minimise time spent at the airport.
People book flights at least three months in advance. We’ve used monthly projections from August until March.
Regarding paying for a London travel pass, since people are flying in from Europe approximately four times per week, they won’t need a travel pass and their travel expenses, in the same way we haven’t factored in expenses of getting from front door to nearest tube station for London commuters.
Nor have we factored in time for people getting to their nearest tube station. In some cases, it’s easier for people in Europe to get to their nearest airport than it is for people in London to get to their nearest tube. See The Hague as an example.
People flying in from The Hague land at City Airport, which is one stop outside Zone 2 (Bank).
Kiwi Movers