The cost of living in Tavistock

Is living in the Tavistock area more expensive than living in Plymouth? The Commission for Rural Communities and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation released a report today that suggested that this is in fact the case. Their research shows that an acceptable living standard costs up to 20 per cent more for rural dwellers than people living in urban areas.

It states that a single person living in a rural town needs £15,600 to achieve an acceptable standard of living. This rises to £17,900 a year in a village, and £18,600 for a hamlet or a remote countryside location. Urban residents require just £14,400.

Along with high energy bills, the cost of transport and commuting has been blamed for the differentiation between costs in town and countryside living. If we had better public transport in rural areas do you think this would help?

With the minim wage currently standing at £5.93, it looks like villagers will have to earn roughly twice that to be able to afford minimum living standards. Do you think this is acceptable? I know many people that have grown up in villages around Tavistock, but have been forced to move to Plymouth and other more built up areas when they’ve moved out of home due to high local house prices and living expenses. Is this fair? Can you think of any solutions to the problem?

It’s also well documented that people in rural areas generally receive a lower wage than their urban counterparts. Coupled with the new figures above, this makes us country dwellers look pretty hard done by. Nigel Carn, a local resident who has just moved to the area from the city said: “Things like broadband are a far worse service at a greater cost. Most of the providers who offer free broadband to customers actually charge rural residents around £20 for a lower quality product. In the city my 8mb broadband was free, but here my 1mb at best service costs £19 per month, and all providers would offer an identical service because the only option I have is via a BT line miles from the exchange. Travel costs more because you do it more often and rural bus fares are very high.” However when asked whether he had noticed a change in expenses he said: “Most of my costs are the same or even less than they were when living in a city. Not exactly a direct living cost but notable enough is that because they’re further away, going to the bigger shopping areas takes more effort so we go less and as a result we make less impulse buys.”

What are your experiences? Have you moved from one area to another, and if so have you noticed any differences in living costs?