We were forced out of famous UK seaside town after tourists made it way too expensive

A young couple has told of their frustration after being forced to move out of a popular seaside town due to being overrun by Airbnbs rented out by tourists. 

Alex Emmott, 27, and Gabriella O'neill, 28, say they were forced to pack up and move 30 minutes out of Scarborough to the North Yorkshire town of Filey to find a large enough, and affordable property to live in.

Alex told Express.co.uk: "We wanted to live in Scarborough but it's just more expensive and full of Airbnbs."

Gabriella said: "We struggled to find anywhere to live there because it is very touristy so people rent out their homes on Airbnb or buy second homes.

"I think that's pushed up the prices for people who want to rent or buy there."

After encountering difficulties in finding somewhere suitable to live in Scarborough, the couple settled on Filey - around a 30-minute drive away.

A report published in 2022 suggested that private landlords in Scarborough had been evicting tenants to use their properties as Airbnb holiday lets.

The report states: "The council is reliant on using the private rented sector in meeting demand, however, officers are reporting a significant drop off in the availability of private rented sector accommodation in the borough.

"We have also seen examples of private landlords evicting tenants in order to convert [them] into Airbnb and holiday lets."

As of Thursday, a quick search on Rightmove revealed that there was not a single house to rent or buy across the whole of Scarborough. However, Airbnb will return hundreds of listings to rent on a short-term and semi-long-term basis - some even up to a year.

Despite enjoying the beach and green spaces in Filey, Gabriella said there are not a lot of job opportunities compared to Scarborough.

She explained: "If you're going to get a job around here, it's going to be in hospitality.. and it's probably only going to be seasonal. Unlike Scarborough, where there are more jobs, particularly for young people."

As well as having fewer opportunities in the creative industries, the demographic is generally older in the seaside town.

Gabriella added: "I haven't met anyone in Filey who is my age.. or seen anyone. The main thing to do is meet up with older people, and they discuss their children who are my age," she laughed.

She described living in the area as a young person as "a bit uninspiring" as there are few creative career opportunities in which she is interested.

"There are a lot of community things going on for people in the older generation but less for people my age," she added.

Due to encountering difficulties in finding the sort of job opportunities she was interested in, Gabriella now has to travel around 30 minutes to work in Bridlington.

But there are some aspects to Filey that the couple both enjoy.

Alex and Gabriella, both keen surfers, said that as well as the beautiful beach, another main draw to the area is the surfing "when there are waves".