Commuting from Wales While Working in London A&E
Working demanding shifts in a central London Accident & Emergency (A&E) department and commuting four hours daily from rural Wales, all while pregnant, is the experience of nurse Georgie Scott, 35.
Georgie explains she was effectively "pushed out" of London due to the high cost of rent, which consumed two-thirds of her salary, making it unaffordable to remain in the capital.
During the Covid pandemic, while working in a busy A&E, Georgie was evicted from her flat. After searching for alternative rental accommodation, she and her partner concluded that staying in London was no longer financially viable, especially since Georgie was the "predominant breadwinner".
"On a nurse's wage in London, it was not viable," Georgie states.
After exploring different locations, the couple decided to relocate to Wales, where rental prices were "less than half of what we were paying in London for bigger properties."
Georgie notes that her employer was "really supportive," allowing her to have a flexible work schedule to accommodate the commute.
"Working in A&E is really hard. It was hard work planning it and the trains are not cheap," she adds.
She describes the relocation from her hometown due to housing costs as "a bit of a kick in the teeth."
Georgie believes that raising a family on a nurse's salary in London is "impossible," noting that many of her colleagues have also moved out of the capital to counties such as Essex and Kent.
"The childcare costs are expensive and your wage wouldn't cover both," she says.
London has experienced a higher rate of nurses relocating compared to the rest of England, according to NHS England data.
Data for 2025-2026 shows that 24% of nurses in London cited "relocation" as their reason for voluntary resignation, compared with 11% in 2011-12.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reports that members identify housing costs as a significant factor driving this trend.
Lisa Elliott, RCN London director, describes the situation as "worsening."
Entry-level nurse pay has increased by an average of 2.83% annually from 2015 to 2025, while London rents have risen by 3.53% annually in the same period, according to RCN analysis.
"Nurses are having to fork out much more of their salary on just being able to afford the rent," Lisa Elliott explains.
"We need to have enough nurses to provide safe good quality care. If we don't have enough nurses it impacts patients."
Nurses and midwives in England and Wales are set to receive a 3.3% pay increase in the next financial year, but Lisa Elliott expresses the union's disappointment, stating the raise is "below inflation."
Challenges Faced by Intensive Care Nurse Alicia Arias
Alicia Arias, 41, an intensive care paediatrics nurse, shares similar frustrations.
She commutes approximately one hour daily from Woking in south London to her hospital in central London; on difficult days, the journey can extend to three hours.
To manage transport costs, Alicia cycles to and from the Overground as part of her commute. She has previously campaigned for reduced transport fares for nurses.
In 2018, Alicia and her partner lived for a year in key worker accommodation, which she describes as not widely accessible and often found through word of mouth.
During her first year, she paid £895 monthly for a studio flat in Camden, which she considered affordable.
"Then Covid happened. I was lucky - they froze the rent for a year because of everything key workers were doing," Alicia recalls.
"When you first get it, you feel really grateful and think 'there's something for key workers, great'.
"But then they started increasing the rent a lot. I was in that studio for five years, and by the time I left, it was £1,150."
Alicia notes that the rent eventually exceeded that of similar privately rented studios, while her salary did not keep pace.
"They were clapping for us as heroes during Covid… but they don't want us to have any benefits," she says.
London's Key Worker Housing Initiatives
The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has introduced a plan to develop at least 6,000 rent-controlled 'Key Worker Living Rent' homes by 2030.
These new homes will be let at rents based on 40% of key workers' average net household incomes, potentially saving tenants of two-bedroom homes about £7,000 annually, according to City Hall.
Deputy Mayor of London for Housing Tom Copley states:
"We know many of the Londoners we rely on to keep our city moving do struggle to afford market rents, let alone buying a property. And won't qualify for social rent."
He adds that 'Key Worker Living Rent' will vary by borough and aims to "balance affordability with deliverability."
Despite the capital needing 88,000 new homes annually, housebuilding in London's private housing sector has declined by 84% since 2015.
Copley acknowledges the challenges London has faced, including economic headwinds such as the war in Ukraine, Brexit, the pandemic, and issues specific to the house-building sector.
"We've had building safety regulator delays thankfully now being sorted by this government, the introduction of new regulations, and rising interest rates," he explains.
Affordability Challenges for Other Key Workers
Nurses are not the only key workers struggling with housing affordability in London. Analysis by Generation Rent, a campaign group advocating for private renters, examined average full-time pay for 15 key worker roles using 2024-2025 ONS salary data and compared it with average one-bedroom rents.
The analysis assessed affordability by determining whether rents remained within typical letting thresholds (approximately 40% of income) and a stricter benchmark (30% of income).
The government states it has delivered "some of the most significant pay rises the NHS has seen in a generation," including for nurses.
It also reports building 1.5 million new homes, with a major investment of £39 billion to increase affordable and social housing, aiming to ensure working people can afford to live in the communities they serve.
Future Plans and Reflections
For Georgie, despite her commitment to nursing in London, she plans to seek employment in Wales as commuting with a young child is "unsustainable."
"As much as I love London, it will be too hard," she says.
Meanwhile, Alicia is considering leaving the nursing profession, as are many colleagues, citing high rent costs, low salaries, and burnout since the Covid pandemic.
"I love what I do. But they rely too much on us loving what we do."
Additional reporting by Jonathan Fagg from the England Data Unit.
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