The NHS nurses being priced out of London

Working busy shifts in a central London A&E department, commuting four hours to and from rural Wales... all while pregnant. Nurse Georgie Scott, 35, says she was "'pushed out" of the capital because of high rent prices, unable to afford spending two-thirds of her salary on housing. Georgie was working in a busy A&E during the Covid pandemic when she was evicted from her flat. After searching for a new rental property she and her partner realised they could no longer afford to stay in London, particularly as Georgie was the "predominant breadwinner". "On a nurse's wage in London, it was not viable," says Georgie, who lives in a village in Neath Port Talbot. After looking at different areas, the couple made the decision to move to Wales, finding rents were "less than half of what we were paying in London for bigger properties". Georgie says her workplace was "really supportive" and would allow her to have a flexible working schedule so she could commute back and forth. But commuting wasn't easy, says Georgie. "Working in A&E is really hard. It was hard work planning it and the trains are not cheap." She says it was "bit of a kick in the teeth" having to relocate from her home town be