Couples Who Have Crossed The Great Divide: North To South
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Your support makes all the difference.PHIL AND HELEN ROWLANDS live in Colliers Wood, south London. Mrs Rowlands, 24, works for a music publisher; Mr Rowlands, 26, is a music producer. They moved from Lancashire, where they were renting accommodation, just over two years ago. They bought a two-bedroom house for pounds 69 000, presently on the market for pounds 109,000. "We moved to London for the simple reason that there are more work opportunities for myself as a music producer than there are in Lancashire," Mr Rowlands said. They have been bowled over by the entertainment possibilities in the capital. "The options in London are amazing," said Mr Rowlands. "There is so much more choice." But not everything down South is greener: "People are less friendly and polite than in the North of England." Mrs Rowlands hopes to have children in the next few years, but would opt to do so in the suburbs. "We are in the process of moving to a larger house in Isleworth, in Middlesex. It is a lot greener there, with a better atmosphere to bring up children than Colliers Wood."
Aughton, Lancashire 1997
House: two bedroom terrace
Cost: pounds 450 per month rent
Combined gross monthly earnings: pounds 2,100
Food: pounds 220 per month
Electricity: pounds 27 per month
Gas: pounds 20 per month
Telephone: pounds 25 per month
Council Tax: pounds 55 per month
Water: pounds 25 per month
Pension: N/A
Car: Ford Escort
Monthly outgoings: pounds 822
Local amenities: Italian restaurants, pizza take-away, park, snooker hall
Colliers Wood, London 1999
House: two bedroom terrace
Cost: pounds 530/month mortgage
Combined gross monthly earnings: pounds 4,400
Food: pounds 250 per month
Electricity: pounds 27 per month
Gas: pounds 20 per month
Telephone: pounds 120 per month
Council Tax: pounds 67 per month
Water: pounds 24 per month
Pension: N/A
Car: Ford Escort 3 years old
Monthly outgoings: pounds 1,038
Local amenities: Thai and Indian restaurants, cinema, theatres and bars.
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