# Living and working in London, what to expect?



## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

There is a big chance that i will be moving to London in the near future for a job. 
I have a few questions about this and i was hoping to find some answers on this forum:

1) I don't want to live in the center of London. I rather go by train/metro each day and have a flat with 2 bedrooms than share a house or pay 1000£ for a small studio. Can you guys suggest a region around London that is not to far by train and which is nice to live? I have looked a Guildford which seems fine and it has a good connection to London. Can someone suggest other places? 

2) I know that i will have to pay around 1000£ for a decent flat with 2 bedrooms. I want to make an estimation of my earnings and costs. What fix costs do i have in the UK? Can you put an average amount on it? 
Basicly I want to compare my earnings in the UK with what i have in my home country. How are the tax rates in the UK? If they give me an amount/year, how do i calculate what i get on my bank account? 
I just want to know what i have to earn to:
1) have enough to pay everything but can't do anything extra
2) have enough to pay everything and go to a restaurant once a while
3) have enough and take the eurostar back to brussels once a while to visit my family
4) have enough so i don't have to worry about anything  

Hope to get some answers here
Thanks.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Not easy to estimate, but with UK costs being high, you'd probably need to earn about £4000 a month net (after tax and NI, probably around £5,500 gross) to live a decent level. You have council tax and train fares which will be your biggest expense after your rent and to be comfortable you need to earn a fair bit - London and the home counties are expensive

Jo xxxx


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

jojo said:


> Not easy to estimate, but with UK costs being high, you'd probably need to earn about £4000 a month net (after tax and NI, probably around £5,500 gross) to live a decent level. You have council tax and train fares which will be your biggest expense after your rent and to be comfortable you need to earn a fair bit - London and the home counties are expensive
> 
> Jo xxxx


That much? This means I have to get 66000/year to have a decent live. 
I guess the companies in London know this and they will adapt to it? 
Than it's up to them. If they don't pay enough i won't make the move but i expect they know thing in London aren't as cheap as elsewhere  

can you use this argument on an interview when you are discussing the pay? 
I hope they don't ask me "what do you want to earn". Hate that question  

And what about traveling cost for an interview? Can you ask the company to pay for will it give a bad impression if i ask if they want to pay for my travel cost if they want to interview me on site?


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

The average salary in the UK is £25,000-30,000 with London being maybe slightly higher. Like anywhere else, pay grades depend on the industry, applicant experience, etc.. 

Here is a link to an after-tax pay calculator:

UK PAYE Income Tax Calculator 2011 salary calculator UK. Updated for 2011 / 2012 tax year. Calculate wages pension national insurance and student loan repayments online.

Your expenses will include:

Water-cost will depend on whether or not it is metered
Gas
Electric
Phone
Internet
Cable/Satellite
Mobile
Rent
Commuting into London-£2,000-3000/year
TV licence-£12/month
Council tax-varies from borough to borough but roughly depends on the size and value of property-could be £80/month, could be £300/month
Food
Entertainment

Some property websites so you can get a realistic idea of rents:

Primelocation: Homes & Houses For Sale, Estate Agents, Property Search
UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent
FindaProperty.com Houses for sale, rent, estate agents & house prices

On-line grocery websites:

Groceries
Waitrose - Online Grocery Shopping | Free Delivery | Recipes | Wine | Party Food


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Not sure how anyone could live on £25,000 a year in the UK, certainly not in London or the home counties! That would be less than £2000 a month after stoppages??? I guess in a cheaper area, if theres only one of you. Or if you are eligible for benefits............. but it would be very tight IMO

Jo xxx


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks.
Meanwhile i found a site: paywizard.co.uk (not yet 4 posts so i can't link to it...)
and noticed that just by setting the option from "living in london" from no to yes, you get around 15k/year more than when not living in london. So the companies in London do pay more than somewhere else? 

What is the general behavior in London for paying back transportation cost? For example here in Belgium, all the companies pay a large amount of the train/bus cost. They pay around 2/3th of the total cost. Is there something similiar in the UK or do they don't care and have you pay it all for yourself or does it just depend on the company? 

Are their parts of London that are not safe and that i should avoid? 

How about paperwork. What do i need to work in the UK? Is there some guide for this? Being a European citizen i imagine this won't be a big issue?


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

jojo said:


> Not sure how anyone could live on £25,000 a year in the UK, certainly not in London or the home counties! That would be less than £2000 a month after stoppages??? I guess in a cheaper area, if theres only one of you. Or if you are eligible for benefits............. but it would be very tight IMO
> 
> Jo xxx


Nonetheless, that is the average pay in the UK and as I said, slightly higher in London, so obviously many people manange.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Passero said:


> Thanks.
> Meanwhile i found a site: paywizard.co.uk (not yet 4 posts so i can't link to it...)
> and noticed that just by setting the option from "living in london" from no to yes, you get around 15k/year more than when not living in london. So the companies in London do pay more than somewhere else?
> 
> ...


Again, average salaries are slightly higher in London but it's going to depend on your industry and experience.

I think it would be very unusual to find a company that subsidizes commuting costs.

London is 659 square miles so if that is where you want to live, you need to come up with a few parameters. This website should help you do some neighborhood evaluation:

UK house prices, property, crime, local neighbourhood & schools | UpMyStreet

As an EU citizen you have the right to live and work anywhere within the EU.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

jojo said:


> Not sure how anyone could live on £25,000 a year in the UK, certainly not in London or the home counties! That would be less than £2000 a month after stoppages??? I guess in a cheaper area, if theres only one of you. Or if you are eligible for benefits............. but it would be very tight IMO
> 
> Jo xxx


Just to give a little back up, according to the Office for National Statistics, the average annual salary in 2010 was £25,900.

Best paid jobs: A guide to UK salaries and wages 2010 | This is Money

National Statistics Online - Earnings


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## gunner_nav (Jul 4, 2011)

London is a tricky city to figure out. If you work in London then you will earn more than outside of London. This isn't always the case but most companies follow this. The problem with working in London is that you would normally want to live in London too. The price of living in London is far more than living outside the M25 area.

If you find a job in London and live outside London (commute via public transport or car) then you'll be much better off financially. The only problem with that is you will lose a lot of time commuting. You need to find the right area outside of London to settle down, North, South, East or West, entirely upto you. Commuting will cost you money but not as much as the rent difference or the drop in wage if you worked outside London.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

nyclon said:


> Nonetheless, that is the average pay in the UK and as I said, slightly higher in London, so obviously many people manange.


Actually if you live with a family in the UK then you are able to claim many benefits and family credits. Which you are eligible to do if you earn under £40,000 a year. I certainly wouldnt want to come to live in London or the UK on anything less than that as it would mean living on a shoestring, scrimping and saving - which I dont think is the object of the exercise judging from the OPs comments. My nephew lives and works in London and he earns £60,000 and gets by nicely, but wouldnt want to live on much less. He's just taken out a mortgage on a little flat in North London, commutes into the centre for work. So from what I can see thats a good income for a single person

Jo xx


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks for the advice everybody. This is really helpfull. 

I am looking at some areas to find a house.
Just wondering... When i'm looking for houses in Surbiton, i find many but when i look in Islington, there aren't much. Just a few. Is there something wrong with this area? 
Islington is close to where i will work. 

What about Greenwhich?


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## gunner_nav (Jul 4, 2011)

Islington is a completely different area to Surbiton. It's more central than Surbiton which makes the area more desirable and property is most likely more expensive in Islington.

Surbiton is an area which is further away from the London centre, hence making it less desirable. Theres many reasons for more property for sale in Surbiton, ie: Kingston University is close to Surbiton, more houses in the area, cheaper property etc.

Surbiton is still a nice area, I lived there for 2 years whilst I attended University.


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

I've seen a lot of people saying Surbiton is a nice aera. I might check it out. 
I'm really exited about going to the UK. The more i think of it, the more i wil like it i guess. 

Another question (sorry for al those questions but i want to know so much  ) 
How is transport from cities outside London to London like Reading or Guildfort? I have been to Reading a few times and it's a nice city. Really loved the town center. How would that be if you have to go to London all day?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Passero said:


> I've seen a lot of people saying Surbiton is a nice aera. I might check it out.
> I'm really exited about going to the UK. The more i think of it, the more i wil like it i guess.
> 
> Another question (sorry for al those questions but i want to know so much  )
> How is transport from cities outside London to London like Reading or Guildfort? I have been to Reading a few times and it's a nice city. Really loved the town center. How would that be if you have to go to London all day?


Train and/or tube would probably be the best. Trains are expensive tho, I was quite shocked the other day as I had to do a 40 mile journey to London and it cost me £27 for one way AAAAGGGGHHHH!!! However, I'm sure that you'd get some kind of season ticket (Bulk buy for regular trips) that offers discounts!!!

I'm not a great fan of London or its surrounding suburbs. I used to work around Surbiton and Kingston and I'm sure that it would be considered pleasant and possibly fairly expensive as its quite an affluent area. Have a look on google at properties, prices etc

Guildford is just about far enough from London for me (sorry, I'm a country mouse), My nieces and nephews went to university there and would tell you that, again, its an affluent area so probably quite expensive. Theres a nice ice rink there!!!

Jo xxx


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## Passero (Jul 5, 2011)

I've looked at the Surbiton and it seems ok to find a property that fits my needs and budget. As far as i can see, Guildford is about the same price range as Surbiton but Surbiton is closer than Guildford so that might be better for me. Closer is cheaper in transport cost  

Every time i look at London on google maps i'm amazed when i see the scale to see how big London really is... especially if you come from Belgium


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Passero said:


> I've looked at the Surbiton and it seems ok to find a property that fits my needs and budget. As far as i can see, Guildford is about the same price range as Surbiton but Surbiton is closer than Guildford so that might be better for me. Closer is cheaper in transport cost
> 
> Every time i look at London on google maps i'm amazed when i see the scale to see how big London really is... especially if you come from Belgium


London is huge! Really, the most sensible thing to do would be to come over and spend some time looking around and doing some proper fact finding. Make lists of what you need to know, maybe make some appointments to view properties. That way, you'll know where everything is and how it would suit you. As I say Guildford is a nice, affluent town, its not particularly near London, so its not a cheap commute. Maybe find work there????????? Sorry, as I said I'm no fan of London, to me its either a grey depressing, austere and miserable collection of historic buildings, or its a slum - but thats only my viewpoint!!

Jo xxx


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## ClaytonP (Apr 15, 2011)

Make sure to check Gumtree for housing prices as well: 

Gumtree London | Free classified ads online | Buy and sell in London

And this is a good cost of living page: 

Cost of living London


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