Worth going to UK for more money?

southernstar

Moving to the UK for better money
Is it worth it?

I have a relatively ok job in Ireland working for a multinational. I am pretty much as far along as I can go in this role - something else may come up but this is it for time being. We have more than most - a nice house here in a nice area but are still barely managing as is.

Possibility has come up of doing a better job in the same area in the uk for the same company. I'd be making as much as both of us are here currently.

I would be able to live wherever I wanted in the midlands/ South of England.

Would you do it?


Thanks,

Duggys Housemate

southernstar wrote: »

Moving to the UK for better money
Is it worth it?

I have a relatively ok job in Ireland working for a multinational. I am pretty much as far along as I can go in this role - something else may come up but this is it for time being. We have more than most - a nice house here in a nice area but are still barely managing as is.

Possibility has come up of doing a better job in the same area in the uk for the same company. I'd be making as much as both of us are here currently.

I would be able to live wherever I wanted in the midlands/ South of England.

Would you do it?


Thanks,

Outside London. Yes

OS119

southernstar wrote: »

...midlands...

only you can make such decisions, but as an exmaple, Worcester is a small university/catherdral city in the south-west Midlands, it has a low crime rate, and its set on gorgeous countrysite. its also 5 minutes from the motorway network - you could be in Birmingham if 30 mins, Bristol in 60, Swindon in 90.

these came up in a property search - obviously i've no idea of your budget or taste...

http://http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31193959.html?premiumA=true

http://http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37841729.html?premiumA=true

nogoodnamesleft

I will be doing it. I have a job offer based outside Birmingham starting in a few months. My girlfriend also has a phd position in the University of Birmingham.

London has a premium on the price of living but by and large I find it cheaper to live in the Uk than Ireland (Im currently living in Cardiff finishing my MSc in engineering).

Personally speaking I find the money better over here (I worked in engineering before I undertook the MSc) as there is no USC and I will be earning more and paying less to the tax man.

You have to be aware that you will have to pay council tax which is dependant upon where you live and how many people you live with as its on a per household basis). Most professional house shares include it as part of the rent if you are renting with others.

I will be re- registering my car back onto its original Uk plates as I will be driving to work. Public transport is also a worthwhile option if the office is in the city.

southernstar

Yes its a personal decision but theres a fear there about going away - and we dont have to do it.

I really like what Ive seen of England though.

Thanks for opinions.

djpbarry

southernstar wrote: »

Possibility has come up of doing a better job in the same area in the uk for the same company. I'd be making as much as both of us are here currently.

I would be able to live wherever I wanted in the midlands/ South of England.

As said above, assuming you’re making decent money by Irish standards, you could enjoy a relatively high standard of living in the UK. Aside from London, salaries in the UK tend to be lower than in Ireland and, as such, the cost of living is lower.

djpbarry

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

Personally speaking I find the money better over here...

For most people the money would be better in Ireland. The average UK salary (about £26k excluding London) is pretty low relative to salaries in Ireland (average is about €36k).

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

... (I worked in engineering before I undertook the MSc) as there is no USC and I will be earning more and paying less to the tax man.

There is absolutely no way you’ll be paying less tax on income in the UK. Someone earning €36k in Ireland will pay about 21% of their income in various tax deductions, whereas someone earning a similar amount in the UK (about £28k, the weak Euro notwithstanding) will pay about 23%, a difference of about €1k per year. Then of course there's council tax on top of that.

Duggys Housemate

djpbarry wrote: »

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

Personally speaking I find the money better over here...

For most people the money would be better in Ireland. The average UK salary (about £26k excluding London) is pretty low relative to salaries in Ireland (average is about €36k).

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

... (I worked in engineering before I undertook the MSc) as there is no USC and I will be earning more and paying less to the tax man.

There is absolutely no way you’ll be paying less tax on income in the UK. Someone earning €36k in Ireland will pay about 21% of their income in various tax deductions, whereas someone earning a similar amount in the UK (about £28k, the weak Euro notwithstanding) will pay about 23%, a difference of about €1k per year. Then of course there's council tax on top of that.

The marginal is higher in Ireland, but we have better tax credits.

djpbarry

Duggys Housemate wrote: »

The marginal is higher in Ireland, but we have better tax credits.

I should have qualified my post by saying a direct comparison is difficult at the moment with the €/£ exchange rate being pretty unstable.

OS119

its also made more difficult by there being things you have to pay for in Ireland that you don't in the UK, and vice versa. i think its almost impossible to make an X/Y calculation - your costs and taxes are all decided on your very individual curcumstances, and even small variations in circumstances could have a massive difference.

that said, no one who makes a decent living in either country and who moves to an equivilant job in the other is going to find themselves living in a cardboard box and eating out of bins...

djpbarry

djpbarry wrote: »

For most people the money would be better in Ireland. The average UK salary (about £26k excluding London) is pretty low relative to salaries in Ireland (average is about €36k).
There is absolutely no way you’ll be paying less tax on income in the UK. Someone earning €36k in Ireland will pay about 21% of their income in various tax deductions, whereas someone earning a similar amount in the UK (about £28k, the weak Euro notwithstanding) will pay about 23%, a difference of about €1k per year. Then of course there's council tax on top of that.

Yeah, you pay WAY more tax in England. Way more. I have significantly less disposable income here despite earning almost the same salary I did in Ireland. That said, the UK is much cheaper in many other ways (especially food and drinks) so if you're outside London, it would probably balance out.

djpbarry

Dennis Juicy Beggar wrote: »

Yeah, you pay WAY more tax in England. Way more. I have significantly less disposable income here despite earning almost the same salary I did in Ireland. That said, the UK is much cheaper in many other ways (especially food and drinks) so if you're outside London, it would probably balance out.

Absolutely. If you're not working in law or finance in London, then chances are you're not earning much more than you would be elsewhere in the UK, but you've got a much higher cost of living to contend with.

Duggys Housemate

djpbarry wrote: »

Absolutely. If you're not working in law or finance in London, then chances are you're not earning much more than you would be elsewhere in the UK, but you've got a much higher cost of living to contend with.

For IT it seems to be about 20 percent more. Which is wiped out by rent.

djpbarry

Duggys Housemate wrote: »

For IT it seems to be about 20 percent more. Which is wiped out by rent.

Generally speaking most people will get a London allowance, which, as you say, won't come close to covering the massive difference in rent.

Procrastastudy

If you move to the UK don't forget you'll be paying council tax - it can be thousands a year depending on your property value.

jpos

I lived in the UK (Surrey) for 4 years. True, Council tax was steep-ish but you get a lot in return for it. Also things like no GP or A&E fees, pretty decent road network and public transport. Also I found it much cheaper on a day to day basis. The change in my pocket seemed to be worth more than here. Plenty of airports and ferries for a quick trip home if you fancy.

Procrastastudy

Actually I should have mentioned that - cost of living is much cheaper!

djpbarry

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

If you move to the UK don't forget you'll be paying council tax - it can be thousands a year depending on your property value.

The average is about £1,400.

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Actually I should have mentioned that - cost of living is much cheaper!

Outside London.

Procrastastudy

There are elements to the cost of living which are cheaper even in London. I'd be spending about a half of what I do here on food in the UK.

A lot of people also over look the fact that you can commute into London from a fair distance. Bicester is over 60 miles from London but still in the commuter belt, the journey time is now just shy of an hour from Banbury to London which is even further but served by an express service.

djpbarry

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

There are elements to the cost of living which are cheaper even in London.

There are, but overall London is a very expensive city.

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

A lot of people also over look the fact that you can commute into London from a fair distance.

At a substantial cost. A friend of mine commuted from Coventry to London for quite a while (just under an hour each way). His annual ticket was £7,000.

Procrastastudy

Coventry is an extreme case - Bicester is £4060 a year, there are places closer to London which are still cheaper than living in Dublin. Only the OP can work out whether this is better value than his current travel arrangements to be fair. A few thousand on petrol driving to work in Ireland wouldn't be out of the question. The difference in the UK is that the public transport (in some limited scenarios) is actually faster than driving.

Pebble on the Beach

My other half and I returned to Ireland a few years ago after spending a good few years in the UK and it's hard to compare as there are too many considerations but there are pros and cons to living in both places. In the UK you will have to pay Council Tax to the local authority (Council) but this money is used to pay for local services (bin collection, roads/kerb maintenance, public transport etc). The local authority also allocates an amount for upkeep/maintenance of public leisure centres/swimming pools - and these facilities are generally far more readily accessible in the UK.

I do miss the NHS though (which is funded through National Insurance contributions) with free doctor/hospital appointments, and prespriptions charges are also relatively low (free in some cases). Dental check-ups/treatments are subsidised and the children's dental health service is excellent (this is something that is lacking in Ireland). It may not be something that concerns you but education in the UK is also completely 'free' in state schools - all coursework books, workbooks, excericse/copy books etc are all included - and there's no extortionate outlay for school uniforms (as can sometimes be the case here in Ireland). The cost of living generally tends to be lower in the UK though (clothes/food/electrical goods all relatively lower in price).

I can't tell you if it's a good idea for you to make the move, only you can make that decision but hopefully after reading some of the comments it will give you a better understanding and help you make up your mind. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you chose to do!

Duggys Housemate

Any discussion on cost of living in Ireland vs UK should take into account it's not 2006 anymore. The inflation in the UK has been about 5% since and potential major outlays - i.e public travel has had inflation busting increases. The result is that real income has declined in the UK.