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Cost of Living in London
Summary about cost of living in London:
- Four-person family monthly costs: 3,625.89$ (2,820.31£) without rent (using our estimator).
- A single person monthly costs: 1,015.87$ (790.17£) without rent.
- Cost of living rank 28th out of 446 cities in the world.
- London has a cost of living index of 81.61.
| Restaurants | [ Edit ] | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 15.00 £ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 50.00 £ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 6.00 £ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 5.00 £ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 4.40 £ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 2.73 £ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 1.26 £ | |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 0.98 £ | |
| Markets | [ Edit ] | |
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 3.45 £ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 1.00 £ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 0.77 £ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 2.16 £ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 3.07 £ | |
| Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1 lb) | 3.07 £ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 4.05 £ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 0.97 £ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 0.48 £ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 0.92 £ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 0.99 £ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 0.53 £ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 0.52 £ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 0.76 £ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 1.00 £ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 8.00 £ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 1.55 £ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 2.11 £ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 11.00 £ | |
| Transportation | [ Edit ] | |
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 2.40 £ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 138.00 £ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 4.25 £ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 4.25 £ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 40.00 £ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 4.85 £ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 19,920.00 £ | |
| Toyota Corolla 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 20,846.00 £ | |
| Utilities (Monthly) | [ Edit ] | |
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 147.01 £ | |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) | 0.11 £ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 32.89 £ | |
| Sports And Leisure | [ Edit ] | |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 45.57 £ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 11.14 £ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 13.00 £ | |
| Childcare | [ Edit ] | |
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 1,276.54 £ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 16,649.91 £ | |
| Clothing And Shoes | [ Edit ] | |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 63.30 £ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 30.98 £ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 68.17 £ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 78.91 £ | |
| Rent Per Month | [ Edit ] | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 1,708.14 £ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 1,211.09 £ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 3,151.35 £ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 2,036.01 £ | |
| Buy Apartment Price | [ Edit ] | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 1,244.67 £ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 724.76 £ | |
| Salaries And Financing | [ Edit ] | |
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 2,579.77 £ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 3.20 |
Prices in London
These data are based on 4990 entries in the past 18 months from 713 different contributors.
Last update: November 2018
Last update: November 2018
This page in other languages:
DeutschLebenshaltungskosten in London
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EspañolCoste de Vida en Londres
100 Comments so far
Hi Davide - Thanks so much for your detailed response. Helps a lot. Lends perspective as well. I do have a few more questions. Hope that's okay.
(1) My office is in Canary Wharf. Where do you think i should stay? I would prefer a shared accommodation (not more than 2 or 3 ppl max). I am willing to spend 1K for rent and utilities
(2) In your apartment, do you have a kitchen (where you can cook), refrigerator, washing machine, etc? Or do you need to purchase them separately?
(3) On an average how much will other expenses groceries, food (i will have lunch and dinner outside), phone bill, wifi, gym (average gym), cost per month, metro rail? Will 1K suffice for all this?
Thanks,
Sashank
As I said, I’m paying £850 for the rent in a shared house: it’s an ensuite room, which means I have my own bathroom in my bedroom.
Usually in shared houses all the bills are included (water, electricity, internet, council tax) so you just have to pay for the rent.
Tv licence is usually excluded. Also to note, it’s true that the bills are included, but usually in the contract with your landlord it’s specified a fair threshold of usage, which means that if you spend really a lot, the landlord can ask you to pay for the excess (eg. for me the threshold was around £60/70 per month, which means in a house of 4ppl = £300, you will never get even close to that, so don’t worry about this).
My house is in zone 2 (finsbury park, chek on google maps), so quite central: it takes me 30/40 min to go to work in zone 1(shoreditch) with the bus, but this really depends on where you find your place/where you work. It can be faster (and a bit more expensive) with the underground.
As a general rule I think it’s not worth searching for a place further outside the town to get it cheaper, but to have to spend more on the commute (both money and time): this is true especially if you don’t have a family, so you are more flexible. With a family it can be slightly different though, so it depends on you.
The room is a good size for me:big closet, double bed, a decent desk. The bathroom is ok for me, sink/toilet/shower, I don’t need more than that :)
If you are searching for a room in a shared house (which I suggest you if you are moving to London/Uk for the first time, as you will get to know more ppl which can help you), you can easily find something decent starting from £650/700, especially now that schools already started for the new year, and so the demand for houses has gone down a bit (after the summer is the highest peak of requests, so rents can increase a bit, that’s when I found my room at that price).
For a house on your own instead you would probably spend at least £1300/1500 per month, maybe more.In this case it may be worth going a bit out of the really central places, depending on the quality of the house you are searching.
I’m quite good at managing my money, and I do not waste them, but even with quite some more expenses I could be easily stay above £2k savings per month.
Just ask if you need something else :)
Hi Davide - I went through your comment below and i am really interested. I might move to London soon and my take home salary will be the more or less what you have mentioned (4.3K). I am given to understand by my friends in London that i can probably end up saving 10-15% of my salary. However, you have mentioned that you are saving 3K!! Now i would really like to know the break up of 850 pounds for rent and utilties. What is your room size, how far is it from citi center and what is the rent you are paying? Could you please help me with this? Thanks.
Sashank
I strongly disagree with what you say.
£78k net per year means £6.5k per month, which is a LOOOOT for a single person!
Considering a 1bedroom flat of 50sqm @ £1.
5-2k per month, you are left with still more than £4k.
Even eating in restaurants every day at lunch and dinner, you would spend no more than £1.
5k.
And if you go out and get drunk each night od the week in clubs, you would spend around 100£ per night for 10gin tonics!!
Only then, doing this kind of life every single day of the month you would be able to spend all your salary.
But you would also do NOT need the flat, as you would eat and live all the time outside!
Also, an adsl doesn't cost 50£ per month, plans start at 20£.
The same for mobile plans, starting at 10£ with really good offers (I'm paying 7£ actually, and it's more than enough with unlimited calls and enough data).
From what you said you are either never been in London, or simply accepting the first offer you are proposed without really looking and getting some real info from other retailers/agencies/markets/etc.. Or you are basically blind.
A single person can easily live with a lot less than that.
My salary is £4300 net per month.
I spend £850 (all bills included) in a nice ensuite room in zone 2, residential area (Finsbury park), with nice people in a shared flat (4 in total, me + 3 other).
I spend less than £50 per month to go to work (Shoreditch, zone 1) with bus - I'm lucky in this case, but in the worst case you could spend up to 100/150£.
For lunch I sometimes bring food from home, sometimes go out (£5 to £15 per lunch).
I spend £7 for mobile plan (unlimited calls/messages, 3GB data).
I don't smoke.
Once a month I go to the cinema.
Twice a week go out with friends in pubs, drinking like average people.
I spend probably £150/200 per month on food (asda, tesco).
I buy normal food, go out to restaurants sometimes and more frequently to pubs, and at the end of the month I easily save at least £3k.
Even going out more often and with more expensive lifestyles (expensive gym, lot of cinemas, lot of expensive shopping, travelling to another country once a month, etc), I would hardly go below £2k savings per month, which would still be ok.
In order:
- white brits
- rich Russians/Arabs
- other westerners
- blacks ( brits, Jamaicans, ...)
- PIIGS migrants
- Asians(pakistanis, filipinos, ...)
- Poles / Eastern Europeans
I'm living in London for the past some time. Please feel free to ring me up on 07774646958 if you have any queries. I'll be happy to help with what information I have. I'm a bachelor here, so have got all the time in the world to clarify your queries.
You are the ignorant and ill informed. If a employer pays a gross of 39k wile employee gets (on payslip you see 35k) a net of 22k and he needs to share rent, go out as little as possible, use public transport, don't buy "expensive" stuff (ex. nice holidays) and not saving half of his net income what is the point of moving to a new country/city. To do all that gross income needs to be 50k.
@All
"Central London" it's big, most of it (except posh areas) are council estates with allot of dodgy people who live on benefits. Public transport is overcrowded (literally), especially at peak times, wile most infrastructure is old, some of it really old (ex. Bakerloo line), comfort it's out of the question wile prices are not cheap. Roads are full of potholes and insufficient for number of cars, most of tax in UK is spend on "vulnerable people" who have the right to vote (talk about conflict of interest), etc etc
Safety not a priority to our Socialist Muslim mayor (religious terrorism is normal according to him), we are not as bad as "gun free zones" Venezuela but it is not as safe (or clean) as other big cities (ex Tokyo).
If you need to share a flat/house (some share a room), eat fast-food like chicken & chips and use a bicycle (better to walk if possible) you are probably better off were you live now.
PS: for couples with children it's even worse
Mukesh, I am also planning to live in UK, to earn money n become rich.
Shall we go both togather n work togather?
Right now m studying about UK on Google.
If u read my message, than please contact me on whatsapp > +918888856335
I earn £2100 after tax.
Often you will find rooms to rent that include all bills, such as council tax/ water/ internet etc. I’m the centre of London ( just south of oxford street), I pay £800 a month inclusive of all bills to share a flat with one other person. Admittedly this is a very good deal and whilst you could of course pay more, generally bargain on between £600 and £1000 per month for a double room in a flat/ house share, including bills, zone 1-2. A friend and his partner live in Belsize Park ( Zone 1/2 border, upmarket area) and pay £1850 per month for a one bedroom flat, including all bills.
Transport- the underground system is expensive but actually very easy to navigate and contrary to other comments infinitely better than say New York’s subway. Zone 1-2 monthly pass; £ 131.
But: I cycle everywhere and many people do, we have a good cycle network currently being built at huge cost. Remember, London is a flat city so cycling is a great and free way to commute.
Food: Londoners in an average wage generally will only eat out max a couple of nights a weeek, the culture is more drinks related which probably is a reason why the casual restaurant scene isn’t so great. A pint ( half litre approx ) of beer will cost £3.50-5 generally.
To summarise, You can definitely live in London as a single person on approx £35k a year ( before tax) if you are happy to share a flat and go out a few nights a week. To live alone and centrally ( zone 1/2), eat out 5 times a week, good gym/ personal trainer etc bargain on 75k onwards.
Now, on the minimum wage ( currently £6.70 per hour) you will have a very hard time unless you work 60 + hours a week. You will live far out, have long commutes to work and find life more difficult. At this bracket working in central London restaurants with high customer turnover and regular tips would be your best option; you would be paid minimum wage plus if your lucky the same again in tips ( Londoners will tip 10 percent generally for good service) bringing your hourly wage to approx £12. If you are fluent in English and well presented, try your luck getting work as a lettings negotiator ( real estate) and you should be looking at £20k to £25k starting salary per year, including commission. With a driven work ethic, qualifications and even experience are often not required, plus this will rise depending on how good you are to potentially £50k.
Good luck and make the city work for you!
Rent is ridiculously high as well as everything else
I am on London Living Wage and still find it hard to make ends meet ( I earn approximately 1200 per month after tax) ...
Myanmar Rohingya militants massacred Hindus, says Amnesty
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44206372
It is absolutely unlogical even just to think the most helpless, almost annihilated Rohingya carrying out a massacre upon Hindu on top of themself almost being wiped out by Myanmar.
Myanmar should not be fooling around with other nation spreading fake and made-up news because other nations are not foolish neither to be easily cheated by the made-up news of culprit Myanmar.
Everyone should take a moment to feel in the shoe of Rohingya currently suffering helplessly who have clearly no future, thanks to the inhumane atrocities carried out by culprit Myanmar.
Time to unleash immediate punishment actions upon the greatest Evildoer Myanmar by showering it with the first punishment step of comprehensive sanctions on Myanmar.
Thousands of Rohingya rape victims expected to give birth
https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/thousands-of-rohingya-rape-victims-expected-to-give-birth-1.3939466
The atrocities happens only under the Suu Kyi government, not under the previous government so Suu Kyi should be prosecuted under the international criminal court for crimes against humanity.
While Rohingya are suffering inhumanely, shameless Suu Kyi's ministers are busy attempting to expand citis across the country including Yangon as well as places where Rohingya's land and houses were confiscated illegally to accommodate to more probably but not certain foreign investments, mostly coming from like-minded Communist China.
It is time to undo Obama's greatest history mistake and impose comprehensive sanctions on Myanmar immediately again.
And this time China must be punished to the extent of being imposed comprehensive sanctions if China violated sanctions on Myanmar.
The greatest virtue is to save a human race such as Rohingya from almost being wiped out.
This is exactly where the leadership role of UN must be amplified that fairness and justice prevail internationally under UN.
whereas China questionable, unworthy role of the permanent membership of UN, especially standing behind inhumane Myanmar upon Rohingya genocide is hopeless for the international communities so the permanent membership of China must be reconsidered whether or not sick China is worthy or fitting of the role.
Gang-raped while pregnant, watching their sons be beheaded and burned and beaten by soldiers – brave Rohinga women tell their horrific stories after escaping the Burma purge
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5082256/pregnant-rohingya-woman-gang-raped-by-soldiers-after-they-beheaded-her-son-among-the-brave-survivors-who-escaped-the-burma-purge/
‘We’ll Turn Your Village Into Soil’: Survivors Recount One of Myanmar’s Biggest Massacres
https://www.wsj.com/articles/burn-the-houses-rohingya-survivors-recount-the-day-soldiers-killed-hundreds-1526048545
I'm living in Brazil, and I'm planing to relocate to London with my wife. I'll receive a package of approx 40k.
My wife most probably will find work when we settle.
But for start, is 40k /year ok for living well (£2,548.41 monthly)?
thanks!
Thanks in advance
I am receving a package of approx 45K.
I plan to come with my wife and a 2 year old child.
Is it worth to relocate?
Would I be able to sustain a conformable life and save decently?
I leave a message here to all foreigners moving to the wonderful city of London.
Please note that as a foreigner, you will have to pay a premium on rent!!
Make sure to have a guarantor, or at least be ready to pay +6-8 months in advance worth of rent!
Do NOT forget about the council tax! The Borough of Westminster charges GBP150 per month! Even the cheap Boroughs like Camden, Tower Hamlets charge GBP 125 per month!
Also, make sure you try to arrange with your landlord a fixed price for 2 years as typically landlords will increase the rent after one year.
I have been living in london for the past 20 years and rented for about half of that time, and it happens every single time.
It is a nice way to save money if you know you will be staying for more than a year!
For a flat larger than 50sqm , you will almost certainly will have to search outside the city. Therefore, Zone 2,3. This is for your budget.
With 50k net of taxes, you would most likely have to live outside the city, in the outskirts if you want to live unworried.
You can also look at places which they call ''up and coming'' like Angel, Islington, Shoreditch. It has a more alternative vibe and some homeless people, but if you choose the right places, you can find a good street. And/or live with other 3-4 flatmates which can be a lot of fun.
To live in london by yourself in a one bed flat you would need to make approx 75-78k net = 130k GBP per year gross.
Also take into account you will have to pay 1,400 on council tax a year! so add that to your calculations as well. Plus utilities of 200 per month more for electricity and water. Plus other 50 for internet. Plus your mobile phone plan for another 50 pounds if you choose a cheap plan.
This website is very misleading as it suggest a flat in the city costs 1,700 per month which is hardly true for a decent place and not a studio.
Can you advise on what kind of life a net (after taxes) 50k per year buys in London? What are the tradeoffs of a bigger flat in terms of distance from zone 1? Where should one look for a bigger (50sqm+), cheaper accomodation? Is it a viable option to live a bit farther but pay less for the flat? Thanks in advance!
I encourage you to check for prep school scholarships if you are coming from abroad for your children.
I myself know quite a bit as I have been living here for the last 15 years
Hope it helps!
Remember you also have to pay bills, council tax, medical insurance, retirement plan, school, etc.
For one person living alone, gbp 135 gross = 81 net of taxes would be OK ish.... without any savings.
People on minimum wage live in "housing estates" and rely on "benefits" (like child tax credits, working tax credits etc) + the "free stuff" like dental treatment :)
With the right to vote one can "outvote" the creative & hard working, tax them to death and make them pay "their fair share" to support the "democratic majority"...LOL.
UK it's socialist(Frankfurt School/Fabian) with some capitalist niche areas , now you know the truth.
PS: 6 million people (UK) age between 18-60 never worked yet they have free housing, free health, free school, etc + trillions of unfunded liabilities like state pensions (Ponzi scheme)...HEDGE accordingly.
I am receving a package of 85K all inclusive of bonus, insurance, pension etc.
I plan to come with my wife and a 4 month old child.
Is it worth to relocate?
Would I be able to sustain a conformtable life and save?
I need advice from you people.
I have offer from one company in Gatwick, can you please let me know what is average cost of living there in Gatwick, i m single but i have to support my family from there. What will be my minimum cost per month?
Do not come to London for 30k. This will be a struggle. London has very low quality of life, high stress and logn commutes.
As a person said below, you don't want to be in 30s and share rooms... or 40s even. If you want to eat Tesco meals, live in tiny dirty room, you can survive with 30k. In reality, anythign remotely close to normal life needs over 50k, likely over 70k.
For those who come from continental Europe, and are used to eg 50m flat, this is luxury in London.
I advise people to think this through... I found much better paid jobs in Germany big flat being 5-10x less expensive, food 50% price etc. Indeed, in some place you can live well for less than room price in London. Not to mention, it's clean, things run on time, less stress, savings possible at high rate.
@Moira, there is very little car idnustry in UK... go to Germany, Stuttgart area is very good.
In a nice area (usually it's NOT city center) with clean streets, no crime, good schools and live alone in a house(not flat) with your family (quality of life) you need to travel around 50-80 minutes away from job (unless working from home). A revenue of 4k a month after tax if you are employed (self employed is different) it's what you need. Employer needs to pay around 6.5k before tax (700 pounds not on the pay slip because tax man says it's "employer national insurance", LOL)...you need to be a high skilled productive employee to have that kind of wage/salary.
Our current socialist Muslim mayor wants to ban Uber and says that religious terrorism is "a normal thing in a big city" so the future is not good.
Long story short NO (2270), it is not enough , unless you want to share rent and live in a "shitty" area^
^From a "western" quality of life perspective, not 3rd world (witch we can have on most of the "planet").
I have been offered a job with T2 visa in London with annual salary 35K. Is it a good amount as I will be moving with Family. ( me + wife + 1Yr child). As I saw from many websites, my take home salary would be around 2270 after tax. Will it be too tight ?
Thanks in advance.
Akshay
I have been offered a job with T2 visa in London with annual salary 35K. Is it a good amount as I will be moving with Family. ( me + wife + 1Yr child). As I saw from many websites, my take home salary would be around 2270 after tax. Will it be too tight ?
Thanks in advance.
Akshay
am planning to study PhD in London and i want to ask if 1,000€ is enough for me?
(we can escape the cost of accommodation)
Thank you :)
I would be moving alone - so no family involved. Would you say that 35k for a young professional (26 y.o.) should be enough to start with?
Yes 30K is way too less if you are moving with your family. You will live a goof life but won't be able to save much rather none. If your salary is 40K plus then you can save some.
I was offered a job as a structural engineer in the outskirts of London. I have 3 years experience in other EU country but no UK experience. The salary is about 30k. Isn't that to low? I mean where I live now, I get +40% than national average and keep 35-40% in savings.
Every comment is appreciated :)
I would not take the offer especially now with a worthless pound. I am making 75K + bonus (single and no kids) and I am struggling to make any saving (all I save is for my vacations).
People saying 50K is enough are people sharing flats, commuting for long time and counting the pennies(I see my colleagues eating Tesco sandwiches everyday trying to save few quids a day), if this is the life you are looking for, then 50K is going to be enough.
Good luck.
The city is very dirty, public services in UK are a joke, tube is a joke...the place is full of yobs, badly behabvioured youth etc.
Unless you come from a third world country, and are desperate, do not come.
If you have any skills, you will live far better even in poorer European countries, where rents are 20x lower, and you have some quality of life. You will save more money as well.
I've lived in London for years...never again. Unless you can earn at least 100k, forget life. Many spend 80% on just rent in tiny tin can, often in crime infested neighbourhoods.
Forget buying house etc. Just about any other place is better, choose any rich continental country...London is truly a dump.
Work hours are very long, pay is low, and worker security terrible. Do not come here and waste your life like some of us did. It's a disgusting city.
Learn another language and go to a proper country, with far higher purchaisng power. Or be stuck in poverty here where bathroom can cost 1m, and you can't get a decent broadband quite often.
am looking for job in London , IT Field . Anyone can help me to get work visa . and i will buy the cost
I would say that you won't get a proper living in London with less than 50K/year.
Will it be wise to move to London with Partner and 2 kids ? Will the salary be enough for a decent life with a car one 2 bedroom apartment ?
Food in supermarkets is in my view very cheap and generally good quality.
A loaf of bread (800 grams) costs only about £0.80
A 4 pint (over 2 liters) bottle of milk is only £1
A whole large chicken is less than £5 while beef is ~£10/kg
Food in restaurants and fast food places varies a lot which is true in any city in the world. Fast food outlets are about £5 for a meal with middle of the road restaurants (still nice) are £10-15/person
People complain about rents and they are high. A good size house in zone 2 of about 100sqm will be ~£2500 while similar in zone 4-5 might be ~£1600 however if you are young and want to reduce costs most young people share such a 4 bed house between four people which means it works out to 25% each.
Mobile phone contracts are cheap you can get a good deal with minutes data and calls for just £10/month.
The main point to consider is probably not the cost of London but your own potential and wages. The average wage in the whole of the UK for a full time male is ~£37,000 per year but it is a good deal higher in London. Probably ~£45,000 per year. Of course some industries in London offer a lot more than that. Its not uncommon to work in the city of London and be on a starting wage of £100,000
Income Tax rates are also quite good vs most EU countries. As a quick guide they are roughly. No tax on the first £11k of income. Then from £11k to £42k a tax rate of 20% and then 40% above £42k. So for example if you earn £22k a year your effective income tax rate is just 10%
Personally I would recommend London. Its a great city with opportunities not available in any other city in the UK. You can earn good money in the right industry or job. Likewise you can find a partner/wife/husband who earns well as most the well paying jobs in the UK are in London
Everybody from the villages of the other EU countries wanna go there because "is cool", a pop city where you can brag about living there, no matter that you're living in 2 sqm with 3 poles and 2 pakistanis and 50km far from Zone 1 and you survive on heating up Mocha Latte in a Starbucks while your friend made a career in your home country.
Is the sensationalism of the villager that move to the city, just an amplified version.
For me I would love to afford a lifestyle in England.. When I read reports it seems that London is really a playground for the very rich and super high end internationalists who have homes in places like Notting Hill, Belgravia, Mayfair, St John's Wood, Kensington etc..
Houses and transport are the key costs to everyone else.. food can be quite affordable if you prepare your own meals and avoid spending chunks of cash at cafes, restaurants, pubs, clubs etc..
But my real dream would be to reside deep in England's leafy green countryside.. maybe West Sussex or similar..
Living and working (in zone 1) in London for 2 years now.
Single man, 40 years old, no pubs / disco friendly.
Graphic / Web designer, middle weight to senior experience.
No plans to live for long here.
With my profile, all in GBP currency.
~ 150 month travel card. Fuck yes, 40 year old noisy tube coaches.
~ 20 month cheapest gym.
~ 350 month food, take away mostly.
~ 25 month phone bill EE provider.
~ 100 month leisure, some cinema.
~ 100 month other (dry cleaners, grooming, utensils)
All ~ 750.
Living in shared house. Savings in mind. Salary should be:
~ 30,000 gross / year (1,950 net/month). Rent outside zone 1. 650 rent. You save 600 / month.
~ 40,000 gross / year (2,500 net/month). Rent outside zone 1. 650 rent. You save 1,000 / month.
Living solo. Savings in mind.
~ 40,000 gross / year (2,500 net/month). Rent outside zone 1. 1000 rent. You save 600 / month.
~ 50,000 gross / year (3,000 net/month). Rent outside zone 1. 1000 rent. You save 1,000 / month.
Living solo. No savings in mind.
~ 50,000 gross per year (3,050 net/month) to live in zone 1 border to 2. You save 200 / month.
~ 60,000 gross per year (3,500 net/month) to live in zone 1. You save 300 per month.
Living solo. Expending (as an employee, keep in that in mind), travelling, nights out.
~ 60,000 gross per year (3,500 net/month) to live in zone 1. You could save 200 per month.
~ 70,000 gross per year (4,000 net/month) to live in zone 1. You could save 700 per month.
So, as a mature person that knows how to manage the money, with my profile:
<35,000 is low for London, but you can do it.
40,000 is enough, but you live "just ok".
45,000 can be the starting sweet spot. No car. No luxury expenses. But you can live fine.
50,000 sweet spot. No car. Some luxury expenses. You live fine.
70,000 sweet spot. Car. Luxury expenses. You live nicely.
I would like to address few question below on regards costs of living in London and if it's worthwhile to come over and live in London. The simple answer is depends on your circumstances and what you are looking for but generally speaking if you are on this site (so I am assuming you are not a multimillionaire and have not received a crazy salary offer) the most likely answer is no, it s not worthwhile to come and settle in London but let me explain you why:
First and I am not saying anything new here , London is extremely expensive for everything from housing to transport and it's going to kill you off every time you decide to have a nice night out ( restaurants-pubs-clubs have insane prices compared to any other major cities in Europe - for my work I travel extensively around EU and whenever I am back in London which is my home I am literally shocked for few days). Obviously there are some cheaper alternatives but you need to be prepared to sacrifice yourself a lot, for instance living in a shared flat with other people and prepared to commute to your job for over 1 hour or more on each leg and trust me it is not going to be an easy ride every day as the trains are packed and tube is even worse ( I personally know many colleagues commuting for roughly 2 hours ). A decent 1 bed flat will costs you 1.5K included bills - council tax and utilities.
Second: you working hours regardless of what the contract is stating are going to be much longer and your employers are very demanding ( you are in london and you need to be a world class employee fully focused on your career and achieving result for your company. Again there are exceptions but this is true for the majority of my friends. Additionally and here there are no exceptions in UK social security is almost no existent which means that if you got fired/redundant you will be able to claim only 75 Pounds a week for 3 months ( essentially you are not able to pay even your foods with the money) but only in case you have worked at least 2 years ( your employer can fire/make redundant without any obligation within the first 2 years). If this is not enough your salary does not include any pension, what you get assuming you have worked at least 35 years is the statal pension of 125 pounds a week,a misery! ( in other EU countries your salary will accrue for a pension but in UK you have to make a private contribution with most employers matching your salary sacrifice).
So to answer few question about how much money and when it's worthwhile to come over here you go:
If you got a crazy offer which means 150K above then would make sense.
If you are young and looking to have some experience on your CV and do not care about sharing flat -commuting hours - pension -quality of living - weather etc.
If you are multi-millionaire and want to enjoy the London life ( if you belong to this category I think London is the best place where to spend few years or your life as you will have unlimited options to entertain yourself)
If you are desperate or coming from a very poor country and the only place where you received a job offer or can work is here.
I am afraid for the rest of the people who do not belong to the above categories I think there are much better options and I would advice to not make decision just based on a better salary offer because when you take everything into account, the money offered will look very little
I will have at my disposal around 75k GBP for everything, for the full year (rent, assurances, transportation,..all). .
I will come with my partner and a 6-month old baby.
Any idea if this kind of money will be reasonable ? Shall we be able to live in the city center, or else we should try and search somewhere outside ?
Why I hear you ask...?
Because then it will be great for inbound tourists from wealthy countries like
New Zealand, Canada, Australia, America to buy from your shops, go out to restaurants and cafes,
pay for taxi trips, rent stays at Hotels, B&B's, Air BnB's etc.., rent hire cars,
buy stuff in shops, go to the movies, theater, concerts, pubs, clubs etc....
Foreign currency into the UK will help with so many small and medium size businesses..
especially the small businesses that need it the most..
Today the value of Sterling Pound fell more than 10% to the extent of reaching 1 Sterling Pound for 1.3236 US dollar.
So consequently sold all of my Sterling Pound asset not leaving a cent with great loss today as the situation of the Sterling Pound is expected to be getting worse tomorrow onwards as well expecting the day of the value of the Sterling Pound being the same to the value of the US dollar or worse soon.
Learned a great lesson from the dishonest practice of the financial market of UK so would never touch the dishonest financial market of UK again. And would also advise business people I care about to withdraw all of their businesses altogether from UK to prevent from much more unrecoverable damage expecting to going to happen very soon in UK due to uncertainties of politic, division, no direction, no money. Yes, no more money I think the consequence of today's UK dishonesty has already stripped UK out of many trillions of the Sterling Pound which were being converted to the US dollar and transfered outside UK to the extent of UK becoming an empty shell with secret mounting debt with which UK would be crippled very soon consequently so the near future of UK might look not better than today's Greece.
The financial market of UK was long established on Trust and Honesty by many generations which were not easily earned, took many years to achieve the current status of the financial market of UK today. Not to forget the root of the financial market which is the very Pound Sterling currency.
Though the financial market is not the only bloodline of US unlike UK, US shall still do whatever it takes to protect the integrity of Dollar because US understand the contribution of Dollar in return. The Cameron's government has a lot to learn from US on how to protect the integrity of currency.
However, the Cameron's government has been victimizing and weakening the Pound Sterling thinking UK have been reaping a lot of advantages through beating of the Pound Sterling to the weakest point of value in UK history Not realizing the ability of the integrity of the Pound Sterling being able to help UK out of million of difficulties just as Dollar helped US many time before. As a result of this dishonesty, UK have been losing much more that gaining as never seen in UK history.
Not sure whether or not the Cameron's government realizes that UK have been losing her edge of the financial market as a whole to US as more and more people of the whole world are trashing the Pound Sterling and start buying US Dollar for reserve.
So it is time to act right immediately reviving and restoring the benchmark value of the Pound Sterling before it is too late of losing of the remaining hope of the trust of the whole world Or Else it is very hard to restore a healthy financial market of UK which currently inclines towards financial market collapsion with which might resulting the fate of UK no difference to Greece today which is absolutely not what the Cameron's government and UK citizen would like to see in the near future.
Londoner that was a very good post and knowledge you distributed about getting better deals and how to live more cheaply by being smart and active in finding where the better value is.
Please post more as it is very helpful and encouraging.
The cost range is getting wider as the difference between social classes since on one side are flocking to London millionaires from undeveloped countries that whoknowshowtheymadethosemoney and UK is more than happy to welcome them and let em launder the money in the british market; on the other side an army of economic migrants (mostly uneducated but even in some educated jobs like IT) coming from countries with some level of turmoil in wages like Pakistan and Poland, and they contribute to push down the salaries since they're fine with low wages, they come with no family and are ok living in 7 in one flat, sipping a cheap beer in the corner of the street and send what they can save back to the homecountry.
People have died whilst cycling in London but usually at busy this usually involves trucks and interesections. I dont feel unsafe but am vary aware of the traffic around me. You can try out cyclingbon the santander bikes available around the city. Theft can be an issue if you have to leave a bike outside overnight.
Buses are cheaper than the tube. Its a lot cheaper if you dont have to travel through zone 1 so try to live and work in the same side of London.
There are lots of genuinely free offers. For example, Waitrose supermarket give you a free hot drink each day, no purchase needed. Google 'free stuff london'. Get an 02 sim card (free online), install the 02 priority app and get free hot drinks, food and other items.
Get a card that gives you half price or 2for1 restaurant meals. Www.tastecard.co.uk or join the mailing list for special discounts at your favourite place.
Over the years I have managed to live near work and walk in 15-20 minutes to mayfair, soho, aldgate, fulham for £500pm for a room in a shared house including bills. Prices are going up but many landlords who have rented out properties for years havent increased prices if they have good tenants. The problem is there is huge competition for people wanting to rent cheap rooms. Try finding rooms on gumtree.com but make sure you know who you hand your deposit to. Scam artists often pretend to be the owner of a property when in fact its a airbnb etc flat they have rented for a few days.
Supermarkets mark down food around 7pm so you can pick up meat/veges for as little as 10p if you are lucky. Supermarkets are very competitive and have lots of specials so shop around. Organic food is more expensive so try ine of the many local markets.
Join quidco and get cashback for signing up to phone/electricity contacts that you need anyway. You can get £100 per contract depending on the offers at the time. Its also good for online shopping. I have received over £800 in cash back so far.
Check http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ for tips on how to save money. There are lots of UK websites that help you save money, compare supermarket prices etc.
The cost of living in London really depends on how much effort you want to put into saving money.
is not only about counting the pennies because is an expensive city.
If even your colleagues are expats, many of them are economic migrants (even the educated people in IT, I experienced this even in Dubai) that have no plans to stay to live in a city like London, but just to save as much as they can and then go back home and buy their house.
Just to give an example, most poles in London used to do this since 2003.
that was a really good post and makes a very worthwhile point that you can live very cheaply so long as you are flexible, tolerant and willing to co-dwell with others and share in the rent costs.
Housing is the huge expense in every major attractive city whether it's London, San Francisco, Beverley Hills, New York, Melbourne, Sydney.
So by swallowing your pride and being more adaptable by sharing your lodgings with others you can now take the pressure off and live a lot more cheaply and put some money away for a rainy day or a future in the sunshine...
Travel & Transport:
Firstly live without a car and that will save a ton of dough.
Public Transport .. From what I have read you can save a lot if you buy half yearly, full yearly or some other type ticket/pass. Use the internet to work out the best deals on saving money with public transport..
Bicycle, Moped, Walk..
Eat in and cook your own slop, if you eat out choose the cheap and cheerful curry huts and chinese takeaways..
Learn to be cheap.. find the coffee shops that offer the best deals.. always look for a bargain and a great deal.. Most important of all .. smile and enjoy life :)
However lately the rent prices are going mad. If one day I have a family I think I will really struggle, any decent 3 bed apartment in zone 2-3 starts from 2500 pounds a month, then add transportation, food and other expenses for the kids as somebody else mentioned, a good private school and maybe one car. You easily need 5000-6000 to sustain a family and provide a good education, the same standard of living you can easily achieve, let's said in Spain, with a third of income.
There is something really wrong when you are in the high street of a borough and decent houses starts from 1 million and the shops you found are cheap takeways, lidl, poundlands and the street is full of beggars. If you can afford a 1 million house, you would expect really nice and expensive shops. Another example is many of my colleagues in IT go for the cheapest option at lunch time, when you get 3K or 4K a month net and you are counting every penny, something must be really wrong.
And thank you numbeo for give us this informations.
i have a question !
I planning to go to London in september 2016, (some oportunities is waiting for me ),
but i need to finish my last year of university.
And i found a rent for 700 pcm.
maybe my sallary will be 1555 ~ 2500 per month.
it will be enought to live in London ?
Markets
Is organic food affordable for regular folks?
Transportation
Would it be practical to opt for a bike instead of using public transportation? I've once read it can be pretty unsafe.
Rent
I guess renting in the City Centre is out of the question but what if there's no alternative for me as a female on her own? I've got relatives in 3rd zone (Walthamstowe) whom I once visited and I know how unsafe those neighbourhoods can be. Plus, I've also read Zadie Smith's N-W and I highly doubt it's all fiction!
Sports
I could probably save from using the parks instead of the gym but again how safe is that going to be? The weather is another disadvantage, very unsuitable for outdoor activities.
Real Estate has become the vehicle where people lay their hopes on getting rich and so it's become
a speculative trading asset and the prices just keep going up while the deep pocketed new arrivals (and many not even arriving) buy up all the stock pushing up the prices sky high and the ordinary wage/salary earning people living locally are left renting space in bedsits and backrooms..
And if i go london to study how much money i will need ??
You'll always feel poor.
The real estate's price is crazy thanks to all the super rich people from third world country ( because they can speak english here, laundry their money & it's way easier to have a Visa than for the US)
My husband is a banker - we moved from Paris and with a six figure salary we can't buy a 3 bed flat in North London.
A 3 bed flat costs between 1 to 2 millions pounds in zone 2
It's 2x more expensive than Paris
The free school is generally really bad even in the the best neighborhoods - because there are council flats everywhere in London - you have to pay for a decent international/independent school,
It's 1500 pounds per month per kid.
In Paris, if you live in a good neighborhood, the free schools are great.
The medical system is a shame - it's impossible to see a specialist doctor - my kids never went to free doctor once here - because it's oversubscribed - if you are not in danger of dying or whatever they don't care - so we have to pay for private doctors
It's 100-200 pounds each time.
In Paris it's free.... and the quality of the medical system is great...
London is great, but if you have a family, it's not that good.
However, though the value of China currency has been falling but is still overvalued over 17% from 8(benchmark) to 5.9 against a US dollar.
It is best to always stick to the fair benchmark value to gain the utmost trust on currency value from all international holders
u can make it but living really like a student and with no whatsoever opportunity to both enjoy ur leisure time and save money.
Wherever u come from Igor think 2 times before making the move to a city like London that, despite the incredible cultural offer it has, it's every year more and more difficult to live a quality life.
If you're very young is a great choice mostly to grow up in a multicultural environment or to kickstart your career in a qualified job, otherwise I would check for a smaller and nicer city.
a full flat 40-60 sqm you cannot find nothing for less than 1200-1500 GBP till zone 2-3.
The biggest problem is indeed real estate, and the transportation is quite expensive (130 GBP month), for the rest prices are ok, but it depends a lot on your salary ...
all the experienced IT specialists I know in London they all bank at least 3000 GBP a month net, and that's enough to live well
In my driveway would be a late model Range Rover and my recreation activities would included playing Bridge on Friday nights with the local well healed town folk and Fox Hunting on horseback on Sunday mornings..
(even though I have no idea how to play Bridge let alone ride a horse... but it seems to be such a "country life" thing to do...)
I guess the biggest change has been house/property ownership and cost ..
Same thing is happening all over the world where very wealthy foreigners buy up property as a way of stock piling wealth in a safe asset .. or as someone said.. bullions in the sky...
One way to avoid this issue of un-affordable housing is to step back and move to the provenances or the countryside.. This is generally better suited to the self employed as jobs away from the big cities are less available.
if people from everywhere could stop to flock there maybe it eill become a better city
Too expensive, overcrowded, shit weather, shit houses + overpriced, racist people ( even the migrants) and the salaries for sure you don't take that easy 1900£ after tax a month you have to be a very good specialist with a lot of years of experience in a job and not any job.
In a few words in this place you can't have a normal life you can't enjoy life that much is everything about business.
In my opinion I would rather be happy with less in a smaller city out or in UK than still poor and in London cause believe is not that easy to make money in this overpriced city that doesn't offer anything special
All the best to all expats
Now London is all about the top one per cent who have ruined the London I used to know ..
They greed and the money has pushed normal working people out of London and into the outskirts of civilization and often into the treadmill of keeping their heads above water..
Give me 1966 again .. swinging London was fun, cheap and we were all in it together..
A great time for music, pirate radio, movies, TV and the High Street Experience...