A you seriously suggesting that London is great because people have nice short commutes that are stress free? Ever been on the Northern line in rush hour, or to Waterloo, Liverpool Street etc?
Yep. And I've seen the trains coming in from places like Birmingham, Nottingham, Southampton, etc, full of people commuting to work in London. People choose to live further afield, that's up to them. Most of the Londoners I know have a fairly short commute. Certainly under an hour. Remember that London is a massive city. How long do people commute to get to work in places like Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, etc? I's say it's probably pretty similar, if not longer. I'm not going to claim that London life is stress-free, because it's not. But you can live close to work here and have a decent lifestyle.
As for the pubs and beer; I can tell you that there is far more diverse range of drinking establishments than you're going to find up your way. And loooads of places selling real ale, some of it even brewed locally! Come down, I'll show you a few! 
Cheaper; yes, I don't doubt that. But that doesn't worry us, as we're so very much richer than you lot anyway! 
London has it's own stuff; other places have theirs. I love London, and am happy with what's on offer to me.
How many top class curry houses you got within a 15 minute bike ride of you? I've got a choice of loads. Plus shit loads of other food places from Algeria to Zaire.
