Moving To/Living In London Megathread - ALL QUESTIONS TO GO HERE

zweton

would one get by in london on a 35k sterling salary? renting a room at 200 per week.

rainbow kirby

Depends on what sort of lifestyle you want! I'm on a hair more than that and able to fund my wedding without debt on it without having to make huge cutbacks, put it that way.

zweton

ah ok, thats pretty good. It would be pretty low key, few beers the wknd.

BrokenArrows

zweton wrote: »

would one get by in london on a 35k sterling salary? renting a room at 200 per week.

Ya I'm on only slightly more and pay 550 rent and i basically never look at my bank account or worry about what i spend and usually have plenty of savings left over. I also have to run a motorbike which is probably nearly 200 a month with fuel, insurance a tax.

So you will be perfectly comfortable on 35k

Grandpa Hassan

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Ya I'm on only slightly more and pay 550 rent and i basically never look at my bank account or worry about what i spend and usually have plenty of savings left over. I also have to run a motorbike which is probably nearly 200 a month with fuel, insurance a tax.

So you will be perfectly comfortable on 35k

You're earning slightly more but paying £310 a month less rent. I'm not sure I'd say that someone earning 35k and paying 200 a week rent would be 'perfectly comfortable'. I think you could get by as long as you lived a reasonably quiet lifestyle. But I think you'd you've to watch your bank account.

Whether you have to travel to work would make a big difference to the equation. Add £120 a month into the mix for a travelcard, and I'm not sure I'd call the lifestyle 'comfortable'

Edit: okay....tax calculator says net pay is 2200pm. I thought it would only be 2000. That does make it a little more comfortable

enda1

Monthly...

Net: £2230

"Fixed" Out:
-Rent £867
-Council Tax, Elec, Gas, Water (shared house with 2 others) £120?
-Travelcard £120
-Phone £20

Life Out:
-Groceries £200
-Lunch and daily out snacks £100
-Eating out £150
-Drinking out £150
-Cinema/Theatre/etc. etc. £25
-Clothing etc. £50

Savings and Unforeseens
-£ the rest

So total in = £2230
Total out = £1802 + £428 potential savings

Obviously this is rough and ready and highly dependent on circumstances. Ideally you'd have more "savings" to pay for holidays and perhaps regular flights to Ireland but yeah it's certainly doable.

BrokenArrows

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

You're earning slightly more but paying £310 a month less rent. I'm not sure I'd say that someone earning 35k and paying 200 a week rent would be 'perfectly comfortable'. I think you could get by as long as you lived a reasonably quiet lifestyle. But I think you'd you've to watch your bank account.

Whether you have to travel to work would make a big difference to the equation. Add £120 a month into the mix for a travelcard, and I'm not sure I'd call the lifestyle 'comfortable'

Edit: okay....tax calculator says net pay is 2200pm. I thought it would only be 2000. That does make it a little more comfortable

I'm paying less rent but even if I was paying the same rent I'd still be comfortable. I'm out most weekends and sometimes during the week. My motorbike costs are more than the travel card and I still do pay as you go oyster as needed.

If you're not comfortable on 35 maybe you have expensive taste.

Grandpa Hassan

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I'm paying less rent but even if I was paying the same rent I'd still be comfortable. I'm out most weekends and sometimes during the week. My motorbike costs are more than the travel card and I still do pay as you go oyster as needed.

If you're not comfortable on 35 maybe you have expensive taste.

Yeh....the 'life out' numbers in Enda's calculation would not meet my lifestyle for sure. I'd struggle to rein in my spending to those levels. And I am not extravagant by London standards....at least compared to my friends

But, yes, it looks doable

ioc

Monkey61 wrote: »

Have you had a look at Rightmove or SpareRoom.co.uk or Gumtree even? It will give you an idea of what you can expect from your budget and then you can come back and ask about the areas that you can afford. It might be an easier way to get specific advice. I'm not too sure how easy short term rentals are to get. Also if you don't both already have jobs lined up, finding accomodation might be difficult without paying for the whole 3 months up front. Consider as well that it might take a little while to find a job once you get over here.

Also is that £225/week each or both of you together?

cool excellent were browsing daily to check the avail places so far north london highbury area appeals most not sure what that area is like in particular ?..looks nice tho there are a few student accommodations around there i have emailed about ...225 would be for both of us..you think we could manage reasonably?

DuchessduJour

Hey everyone,

I'm thinking of moving over to London at the end of the year and would love any general input/advice on the idea! I know that it's difficult to give an accurate insight based on generalities, but really any opinions would be very much appreciated

My degree is in law and I'm going to be applying for training contracts with law firms in the City over the summer. If I'm successful I'd be starting the Legal Practice Course in February 2017 and working with the firm from August/September 2017. The thing is, I really would love to go over sooner and have pretty much decided to move at the end of this year or the very beginning of next year, whether I have a training contract lined up for 2017 or not.

I suppose the main things I'm wondering are how difficult in general it might be to find a job, and roughly how much money you'd need to have to fund yourself until you sort a job out. Again, I know that's a really vague question but any thoughts would be welcome! Also, any tips on finding work when actually in London as opposed to just looking online would be wonderful.

Thanks so much

Killer_banana

Currently living in York but will unfortunately be laid off the end of June. Love this place but I do stand up comedy and so want to go somewhere bigger where there's more opportunities. London is the best choice but I'm worried about cost of living. Planning on finding a new job and staying here and saving for the summer and then moving come September. Thing is my employment experience is mainly in hospitality and catering so I'm expecting to be on minimum wage. Is it even possible to live in London on minimum wage? I'm willing to scrape by if it means more stage time but is scraping by even an option if I end up with an employer who doesn't pay the London living wage ? I don't want to move and end up having to go somewhere else after only a few months.

Edit: Also is it possible to find a place to share without going to an agency? A lot of properties here are rented by agencies and while the fees can be absolutely crazy sometimes so imagining it could only be worse in London.

BrokenArrows

Killer_banana wrote: »

Currently living in York but will unfortunately be laid off the end of June. Love this place but I do stand up comedy and so want to go somewhere bigger where there's more opportunities. London is the best choice but I'm worried about cost of living. Planning on finding a new job and staying here and saving for the summer and then moving come September. Thing is my employment experience is mainly in hospitality and catering so I'm expecting to be on minimum wage. Is it even possible to live in London on minimum wage? I'm willing to scrape by if it means more stage time but is scraping by even an option if I end up with an employer who doesn't pay the London living wage ? I don't want to move and end up having to go somewhere else after only a few months.

Edit: Also is it possible to find a place to share without going to an agency? A lot of properties here are rented by agencies and while the fees can be absolutely crazy sometimes so imagining it could only be worse in London.

Personally I wouldn't be able to live in London on the minimum wage but then again Ive never tried. My housemate did for 10 months last year. Still managed to make rent and bills but did little else with his time.

Yes a lot of places are put up through agencies but you can find some which aren't. You might have better luck putting up Wanted adds on sites like HouseShare.com

I think you would be better off staying where you are until you find a job. Once you have the job sorted you can move down. No point in wasting money on rent and living expenses of london until you are sure you will be living here.

Killer_banana

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't be able to live in London on the minimum wage but then again Ive never tried. My housemate did for 10 months last year. Still managed to make rent and bills but did little else with his time.

Yes a lot of places are put up through agencies but you can find some which aren't. You might have better luck putting up Wanted adds on sites like HouseShare.com

I think you would be better off staying where you are until you find a job. Once you have the job sorted you can move down. No point in wasting money on rent and living expenses of london until you are sure you will be living here.

Cheers thought as much. Oh yeah plan to find a job and then move down - would never move down not knowing I'd be staying there.

Blured

Bit of a strange one - hoping to move back to Ireland at the end of July. Currently living by myself in a one bed flat in East Dulwich for £1100pm, only problem is the flat has been sold and I have to be out by the start of June.

Anyone have any experience of short term lets? Looking for a one bed/studio for 2 months, not much about and I really dont want to pay much over £1500 pm

alee251

Hi all,

Just wondering if i could get some advice. I came back from Canada last year and decided to finish off a degree I had started in Construction Management which i will graduate from this year. Now looking to get working in London or anywhere in the UK really so i can gain some experience. While in Canada I worked in the bar scene but really dont wanna go back to it. So I would be pretty much looking for entry level work as a junior engineer/surveyor or anything really. Tried loads of jobs, recruiters and am on linkedin but not getting any response really. If anyone has any tips or help they could offer it would be great?

Thanks in advance

chancer12

This is a random plea in case anyone can help. My DS works in St Martins Lane, not far from Leicester Square. Its his birthday on Friday and I want to have a cake delivered to his work. Does anyone know any bakers/shops in the area who might take a telephone order and deliver?

How so Joe

chancer12 wrote: »

This is a random plea in case anyone can help. My DS works in St Martins Lane, not far from Leicester Square. Its his birthday on Friday and I want to have a cake delivered to his work. Does anyone know any bakers/shops in the area who might take a telephone order and deliver?

You might try Hummingbird, which has a branch in Soho, and does online ordering, if that's any good to you?

whatawaster81

Guys,

I'm thinking of moving over as things just aren't working out for me here job wise. I have good qualifications and would be hopeful of picking work up fairly quickly.

Was wondering how much I'd need (ballpark) to make the move and get set up.

83ste

Depending on where exactly you're planning to live, you're probably looking at the thick end of two grand sterling to move in somewhere initially (flight over + first month's rent + deposit + fees if you use an agency). And obviously it would be wise to have more in case you don't end up getting work straight away.

UnawareCaesar

I'm moving over to London with my girlfriend on Sunday week and starting work on Monday. We thought we had a place sorted out but it fell through yesterday.

Where could we stay that will be reasonably cheap and flexible about move out date if we find somewhere quickly.

BrokenArrows

UnawareCaesar wrote: »

I'm moving over to London with my girlfriend on Sunday week and starting work on Monday. We thought we had a place sorted out but it fell through yesterday.

Where could we stay that will be reasonably cheap and flexible about move out date if we find somewhere quickly.

Any short term accommodation is going to be expensive. Hostels/Airbnb or hotels.

You might get some luck putting a Wanted advert online in houseshare.com, spareroom.co.uk, gumtree. Just say "Wanted: Short term accommodation for a few weeks". You might get lucky that someone has a room free for a few weeks and wants to make a quick buck.

exiledelbows

You could try flat-club.com. I registered with them recently as was looking for something short term but we ended up staying where we are. They fill a gap as reasonable short-term properties are impossible to find, but have their drawbacks (eg, you pay for viewings). Might be worth getting in touch with them

chancer12

Hi guys, heading to London tomorrow and went to buy the Stanstead express rail ticket to liverpool street. Am returning on Friday, is it possible to purchase a return ticket, the website would seem to indicate that you can only have a return on the day. Do I have to buy two single tickets?

rainbow kirby

You should be able to get a return ticket for tomorrow - it is to be used within one month of activation which should be fine for you and costs £32.

You could also consider using National Express or Terravision coaches if that's more than you feel like paying out!

chancer12

Rainbow Kirby, thanks for that, much better option. However, I notice that you have to specify a time, what if the flights late? Can I buy my tickets at the airport on arrival?

BrokenArrows

chancer12 wrote: »

Rainbow Kirby, thanks for that, much better option. However, I notice that you have to specify a time, what if the flights late? Can I buy my tickets at the airport on arrival?

Yes you can buy them at the airport.
I think its the same price anyway unless you get one of the special offers online.

chancer12

Thanks so much for all that

whatawaster81

Hey guys,

Sorry for the a bit clueless but what type of salary is decent or manageable to live on for a single person?

As 25k there is 34k here.

BrokenArrows

whatawaster81 wrote: »

Hey guys,

Sorry for the a bit clueless but what type of salary is decent or manageable to live on for a single person?

As 25k there is 34k here.

To be comfortable in a shared house in London £34k would be ok. Assuming £550 rent.

To get a good 1 bed apartment you're going to pay £1500 at least.

whatawaster81

Cool thanks, shared will be fine. Actually better to begin with I'd imagine.