For years now, the Conservative government has pledged to revitalise the north and turn it into an economic powerhouse to rival that of the south.
The latest attempt to achieve this objective involved a series of rail upgrades, which included the highly anticipated eastern leg of HS2. That was meant to run between the Midlands and Leeds, creating a superb transport link for the Midlands and North of England. However, those plans have been scrapped in favour of less costly measures to serve cities like Leeds and Manchester.
Nevertheless, is the East Midlands becoming another premier commuter belt, rivalling that of London’s? Let’s discuss!
The East Midlands is Close to Business Hubs
With proposed upgrades to transport links between the East Midlands and Leeds, we’ll see two of the UK’s emerging commercial hubs better connected.
This is ideal from the perspective of the centrally located East Midlands, which will soon have a long list of major cities with which it shares realistic proximity through public transport.
Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds will all be within commuting distance for East Midlands residents, while London could even be a possibility for those only working in the office once or twice a week.
This makes it ideal as a potential commuter location, especially with employees increasingly likely to seek out homes in affordable and well-connected areas while retaining job roles in bustling central locations such as London, Birmingham and Leeds.
The East Midlands Boasts More Attractive House Prices
The East Midlands also offers access to some genuinely affordable property options, with the average home valued at £216,077 as recently as May 2021.
You’ll also find a raft of new build houses in Nottingham and the surrounding areas, creating affordable and flexible options for buyers while also enabling them to customise elements of the interior design.
Of course, house prices in the East Midlands are continuing to rise, so they won’t always be as affordable or offer the same value for money.
So, you may want to consider your move sooner rather than later, especially if you want to achieve the best value for your hard-earned cash!
Working Patterns are Changing
While many thought that the coronavirus would usher in the age of remote working (or at least accelerate the transition to working from home on a more permanent basis), it’s hybrid working that has proved more popular.
This means that employees will split their time between the office and their home, usually spending two or three days at work before leveraging remote working for the remainder of the time.
Regardless, people are seeking out more flexible working arrangements, enabling them to live further away from their work and expand into more rural and quieter areas away from city centres.
They can do this without compromising on logistics, especially when they target beautiful and semi-rural areas like the East Midlands that also offer access to exceptional transport and commuter links.
