# How much is 30K Pounds in London



## INDIANGUY (Sep 7, 2012)

Hi,

I am a married Indian guy and may be offered a job by HM Treasury and have 7 years of work experience. The pay is between £27000 to £35000. Its a fixed Term appointment of 2 Years. Can I rent a 1 bedroom apartment somewhere close to London (maybe 30-40 min travel) on this salary? We are not the party type...simply like to watch TV, watch movies, eat out etc...We do like to travel around though...

Let me know if I should at all be excited about the offer. I am pretty comfortably placed in India and want to be sure before I take this up.


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## DPK (Nov 11, 2011)

That is quite a variation of salary? I think you should ask for clarification.

The simple answer is yes, you could rent a one bed flat on that salary, which ever figure it is.

The size of the flat and the area will depend on how much of the net income you wish to allocate to housing.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Typically, where a government position such as this is offered, the salary range is progressive, with new entrants starting at the bottom and working their way up the scale. If you've not worked within government before, you will likely start at the lowest range (this is non-negotiable) which would ordinarily be incremented by 1 or 2% each year towards the maximum. I say 'ordinarily' because government departments are currently on a 2-year pay freeze, and the next round of increases for departments coming out of that freeze have been capped at 1%, so chances of reaching even £28000 in two years is unfortunately nil.


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## INDIANGUY (Sep 7, 2012)

2farapart said:


> Typically, where a government position such as this is offered, the salary range is progressive, with new entrants starting at the bottom and working their way up the scale. If you've not worked within government before, you will likely start at the lowest range (this is non-negotiable) which would ordinarily be incremented by 1 or 2% each year towards the maximum. I say 'ordinarily' because government departments are currently on a 2-year pay freeze, and the next round of increases for departments coming out of that freeze have been capped at 1%, so chances of reaching even £28000 in two years is unfortunately nil.


Thanks for letting me know. Can we survive on 27K a year or am I better off in India?  I am ok to travel by public transport but would like to save atleast 5000 a year?


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

I think it would be a little tight, to be honest. London (and any place commutable to London) is expensive, and £27000 isn't a high salary for living in London. 

That said, you don't seem to be seeking a lavish lifestyle and so I'd say it rather depends on what you hope for ultimately as a longer-term goal. If you one day plan to live in the UK, then whilst a government position isn't typically highly paid, it sounds like you'll be employed in one of the middle-management grades and the Treasury is one of the more senior of Whitehall departments that will give you future opportunities for other Whitehall departments.


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