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He convinced his wife and two sons to move north 18 months ago and now spends approximately £8,300 each year on three commutes a week to his media job in Soho Square.

"You've got to bear I mind that you're not living in a big house that's accumulating London prices increases, and you're paying more money to a train company," he admits.

He spends £1,000 a month getting up at 5.10am to board the ferry to Portsmouth, catch a train to Waterloo and then a tube to Bank before, a short walk later, sitting down at his desk at 8.10am in Liverpool Street.

It's a six-hour round trip - but has sometimes lasted as long as eight and a half hours due to missed connections or cancellations.