" I've just bought a house but till last month was renting a 3 bed detached house by a lake , surrounded by farmland and a half hour's country drive to the nearest city where I work. Rent...£500 per month."

One answer to your question about why anyone would want to London is right there: you have to drive for half-an-hour to get to the nearest city. I like cities, I live in one, and I don't drive.