Sybil wrote: ↑Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:50 am
The population density in the UK is the highest in Europe. There isn't enough suitable building land hence the high prices of housing compared to wages.
Have you ever even been to the UK? Go drive around nearly any part of London, let alone the UK - you will think many things, 'gee, no room for houses' is not one of them.
I was 30 minutes outside the City on the Tube. Acres and acres of open land. Like, you could get properly lost. There were horses behind my house. And that's half an hour's train ride from the middle of London. There may be any number of reasons why property prices are so high in the UK, lack of suitable building land is not one of them.
And in any rate, your quote isn't true, the Netherlands are significantly more densely populated than England.
Sybil wrote: ↑Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:50 amBy the way, the immigrants will eventually need pensions and health care as they get old. I guess you would propose importing another 20 million immigrants to cover their costs.
Immigrants in the UK are more likely to be working age adults (ages 26-64), not kids and not retirement age; the majority of immigrants spend their retirement age in their home country. This is why immigrants are a major net benefit: They generally pay in to the social safety net systems, but often are not in the country when they would be of the age to receive such benefits.
Sybil wrote: ↑Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:50 am
In Japan, the GDP might decline in the future. But the quality of life will improve as cities become less crowded and housing will be more affordable.
You say 'less crowded', I say 'smaller workforce supporting an increasingly larger elderly population'. Quality of life -may- improve, but I'm skeptical that the benefits of less crowding won't be more than offset by skyrocketing costs associated with an increasingly aging society.
In any rate - housing in Japan is already very affordable: residential rent in Tokyo is half the level in nearly any major city in the US or London, and rents have stayed stable for literally decades. And you can't say it's because of a shrinking population, Tokyo's population has been growing. Nor is it because of smaller homes - average floor space per dweller is up around 30% vs 15 years ago. No, it's because Tokyo has been building more houses on a net basis (around 100,000 new homes a year). London could relatively easily tackle the housing problem if they wanted. It's more a political problem then a real estate or land problem.