I'm leaving for France

Anne-Marie O'Rourke, 28, worked at a London hospital for nearly 10 years. She gave up nursing last September and will soon be giving up London as well. Ms O'Rourke had worked at Guys & St Thomas's since 1992. Until 2000, she rented a small place in Kilburn, which enabled her to get to work on time for early shifts. Then property prices really shot up.

"The one-bedroom flat I shared with my partner became unaffordable. We moved into a tiny studio in Cricklewood, which cost £600 a month plus all the bills. But we couldn't stay there. It was so small, we just couldn't breathe."

So they moved to a house in Neasden but had to share with three other people. Anne-Marie's next home will be Rennes, in northern Britanny. "We can just walk into a nice one-bedroom flat there for £200 a month," she said.