# Cost of Living on London



## Erik (Jul 2, 2008)

I want to know what is the cost of live in London or arround it ? some body could help me with this info ?


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Hi Erik, 

Welcome to the forum. 

Give us an idea of what sorts of costs that you are after... 

Regards,
Karen


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

Erik said:


> I want to know what is the cost of live in London or arround it ? some body could help me with this info ?


Hi and welcome to the forum.

As Karen says, we really need more information if you want help. How many people are there in your family? What job you have? What area you want to live in? etc. The prices in London vary greatly from area to area and it depends on what sort of living you want i.e. do you want to eat out a lot, go to the theatre etc. 

Regards

Michelle


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## Erik (Jul 2, 2008)

*Cost of Living at London*



MichelleAlison said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum.
> 
> As Karen says, we really need more information if you want help. How many people are there in your family? What job you have? What area you want to live in? etc. The prices in London vary greatly from area to area and it depends on what sort of living you want i.e. do you want to eat out a lot, go to the theatre etc.
> 
> ...


I am living in Monterrey Mexico, so I will be working and living in Hounslow (near to London) It will be useful that u can send me a factor of cost of living in order I can use it to make a calculation of the compensation pakage that I will need. Also if anybody know, I would like to know what is the salary that a Business Relationship Manager (BRM) (IT Proyects) thank you in advance.. best regards !


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

Sorry I don't have any idea of the costs in Mexico so I can't help with a factor, and I don't think it's that simple since there are so many costs and the factor would vary. 

For salaries have a look at some job websites such as Online job search and click on UK flag.

Regards,
Karen


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

kaz101 said:


> Sorry I don't have any idea of the costs in Mexico so I can't help with a factor, and I don't think it's that simple since there are so many costs and the factor would vary.
> 
> For salaries have a look at some job websites such as Online job search and click on UK flag.
> 
> ...


He means the costs in London..............

Michelle


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

Erik said:


> I am living in Monterrey Mexico, so I will be working and living in Hounslow (near to London) It will be useful that u can send me a factor of cost of living in order I can use it to make a calculation of the compensation pakage that I will need. Also if anybody know, I would like to know what is the salary that a Business Relationship Manager (BRM) (IT Proyects) thank you in advance.. best regards !


Hi Erik,

This link will help you with regard to rental properties UK Estate agents with homes, houses & property for sale on rightmove.co.uk

Michelle


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

*Londres es muy caro.*



Erik said:


> I want to know what is the cost of live in London or arround it ? some body could help me with this info ?


Estimado paisano,

London is one of the most expensive cities in the world, many people prefer to live outside London and then travel by train every day to their office in the capital (train trips between 30 minutes and one hour are the norm).

Housing is the most pressing issue: I am paying £1400/month (that is a whooping 28000 pesos!) for housing (2 bedroom apartment just outside central London), many people, specially young professionals, are forced to share accommodation with others in order to meet the expenses (this is easier than it sounds, since the market is serviced by agencies and websites with this in mind).

Use websites like Rightmove - UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent to give you an idea of what are the costs of housing in different parts of town.

Transport is something to take into consideration as well, the cheapest fare in the underground, bus or light train is £2.00 (40 pesos!), if you live outside London it gets worst (I pay £7.30 to get to one town in the suburbs, 160 pesos, per single trip, pretty much robbery  ). What most people do is to buy a weekly, monthly or annual ticket that covers all their transport needs, very often London based companies give their employees a free interest loan to help them to manage the cost (an annual London ticket costs around £900 (18000 pesos) for the central zones, a ticket from the suburbs can be quite pricey, last time I needed one it was £3000 (I will not mention the amount in pesos, it is obscene  ).

As for food and regular shopping you could check supermarkets' websites to get an idea about prices(Sainsburys, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons are all well known names). I always encourage people to try to fill up their weekly shopping using one of these websites to get an idea about how much they will need.

Last but not least, keep in mind that the average household salary is around £30000/year , anything under that and you would be struggling a bit (you should not accept anything under £20000, secretaries earn around £16000 for example), anything above £40000 is good and above £60000 you can consider yourself posh 

I hope this gives you some ideas, if you would prefer to discuss in Spanish please let me know, London is a great place to work and live, you simply have to come with open eyes to avoid surprises.


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

Hola jlms,

You forgot to mention the dreaded council tax and utilities. As you appear to be in London, maybe you can give some estimates. I have have been out of the country for a couple of years now and I know that they have gone up a lot. Also the dreaded petrol saga continues and of course the TV licence fee which no one knows about before they arrive.

Saludos

Michelle


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

*Council tax, utilities.*



MichelleAlison said:


> Hola jlms,
> 
> You forgot to mention the dreaded council tax and utilities. As you appear to be in London, maybe you can give some estimates. I have have been out of the country for a couple of years now and I know that they have gone up a lot. Also the dreaded petrol saga continues and of course the TV licence fee which no one knows about before they arrive.
> 
> ...


Quite right, council tax is around £100/month (give or take depending on band, borough, etc), the TV licence (a compulsory tax) is a few pounds a month, no biggie.

Utility bills are manageable once housing, transport and food are dealt with, I pay around £60/quarter for electricity, which is not bad. Phone is insanely cheap compared to Mexico, one can get get a package that includes phone, cable TV and Internet for around £25/month or less.

Petrol will be a shocker for somebody coming from Mexico. We pay around 25 pesos/litre, which is three or four times more than what is paid in Mexico.


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

jlms said:


> Quite right, council tax is around £100/month (give or take depending on band, borough, etc), the TV licence (a compulsory tax) is a few pounds a month, no biggie.
> 
> Utility bills are manageable once housing, transport and food are dealt with, I pay around £60/quarter for electricity, which is not bad. Phone is insanely cheap compared to Mexico, one can get get a package that includes phone, cable TV and Internet for around £25/month or less.
> 
> Petrol will be a shocker for somebody coming from Mexico. We pay around 25 pesos/litre, which is three or four times more than what is paid in Mexico.


You are right, the TV licence is not too much, but if you don't have it, it can become a big issue. As you say, it is compulsory...........

The reason the telephone package has become so cheap in the UK, is because of the competition.


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

MichelleAlison said:


> He means the costs in London..............
> 
> Michelle


He was asking for a factor between Mexico and London and since I don't know costs in Mexicio I can't give one 

Regards,
Karen


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

kaz101 said:


> He was asking for a factor between Mexico and London and since I don't know costs in Mexicio I can't give one
> 
> Regards,
> Karen


Hi Karen,

I have to disagree. In Erik's first post, he only asked about the cost of living in London. It was only after you and I pestered him about his whereabouts, that he mentioned Mexico. This is how I read the posts anyway. 

Not important really. Jlms has given a good run down of figures, which will be useful for a lot of people.

Regards

Michelle


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## beatriceuk (Jun 17, 2008)

it's very expensive!
If you want to share a flat, it's about £400/month.
Monthly travel expenses are about £110/month.
So you need to have a job!
B.


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## andries82 (Aug 1, 2008)

In west london council tax can go up to 150 £ per month!


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

andries82 said:


> In west london council tax can go up to 150 £ per month!


Council tax is probably more or less the same all over London


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## morten bonde (Jul 30, 2008)

Hiya!

As the other people have said, the cost of living greatly depends on what kind of life you will be living (hobbies, transport, house etc).

A simple way to get a good idea is to use the cost of living calculator/converter on Culture Class website. For a short time, you can access the information via the link on the front page of the website. It is free and you do not have to sign up to anything.

Simply go to Welcome to Culture Class UK - Culture Class and click on the Cost of Living in the UK link in the top of the screen.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Morten


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