Wow...I'm glad we don't live down south! I'm in Gretna, Scotland.
We pay £425 a month for a detached house with two double bedrooms, a nice sized front garden, large back garden and a garage. We're two miles from the town, 10 miles from the nearest city and our closest neighbors are half a mile away. We're paying about 25% of our monthly income.
If we had stayed in Carlisle, for the same amount of money we could have got a 2 bedroom terraced house. I don't mind the drive into Carlisle for work if it means not having any neighbors and getting a much nicer place.