[jwdunne]

Housing seems to be less of a problem in Germany. I've heard that the majority rent because it's just much cheaper. Another story mentioned there's constant house building, along with the regulation that demands that e.g you must build on the land and not wait for the return to increase.

That plus good infrastructure and moving around isn't that big a deal.

[TulliusCicero]

I wasn't thinking about whether housing exists there (if anything, the general rule is that it's easier to find housing in cheaper places, because the cost of land is lower), but rather whether most skilled professionals would find such a small town an attractive place to live.

[jwdunne]

That's true but what I'm getting at is German housing is significantly cheaper, with good infrastructure.

Culture counts too. In the north of the UK, the idea of living in Manchester city centre is awful compared to the idea of living in quiet rural.