Interesting Facts

According to consumer watchdog Which?, loo rolls in the UK have shrunk in size. (The best selling brand Andrex has reduced the size of its Classic White by 8% (from 240 to 221 sheets per roll), but of course prices have remained the same. If they keep going, they'll just be selling the cardboard roll.)

According to the British Retail Consortium, Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings is set to be cheaper than expected this year after food prices recorded a fall for the first time since 2006. (And there is even more seasonal cheer; November was the first month alcoholic beverages experienced deflation since the index began eight years ago. It's going to be a good Christmas, for everyone but the breweries, pubs and farmers.) More about Christmas food here.

According to the ONS, the average monthly rent in the UK, for private accommodation, was £854 per month. (In Germany it's about €730. How much is it where you live?)

According to a joint report published by Shelter and KPMG, within a generation, 50% of young Brits will be living with their parents beyond the age of 30. (The main reason is Britain's acute housing shortage, and the spiraling  price of property. 100,000 fewer homes are currently built each year than are needed.  Of course, there's always the tiny house movement, but as British houses are already the smallest in Europe, they couldn't get much smaller. The report also stated that if current trends continue,  the average house price in England could double to £446,000 in 10 years.  Now that really scares me.   I'll never be able to afford to go back to the UK at this rate!)

According to Lloyds bank, Oxford is the least affordable city to live in the UK when compared to local wages. (On average houses in Oxford sell for £340,000, which is 11 times local salaries. And renting isn't that great an option either, with one-bed flats fetching around £900 a month, so to be able to afford to rent it you would have to be earning £36,000 a year. I don't think I'll ever be able to afford to move back to the UK.)