[Xophmeister]

> is more expensive than the north of England

[emphasis mine] The Isle of Man is off the north west coast of England, so he's comparing the prices there with the nearest mainland.

[orf]

Oh right, I think it should be 'than England, to the north' in that case though? 'The north of England' is a commonly used phrase to group counties like Yorkshire, Cumbria etc so even with the emphasis I still parse it wrong.