# Budget for living in London



## paulica (Feb 9, 2011)

Hello everyone,

I received an offer for 42k net to work for a company in the SE1 2BG postal code in London and I appreciate any help you may be able to offer:

1. I will need to put aside about 23% for the US taxes so that leaves my family of 3(2 adults and 1 baby) with about 2.6k pounds to live
2. We would like to find something that would not cost more than 800 pounds per month in rent - hopefully cheaper if there is public transport connection of no more than 30 minutes 1 way commuting to work

Is this doable and can my family have a decent(albeit modest) life?

Thank you in advance,

paul


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

paulica said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I received an offer for 42k net to work for a company in the SE1 2BG postal code in London and I appreciate any help you may be able to offer:
> 
> ...


800 pounds a month to rent in London isnt do-able IMO, certainly in the decent parts you'd be looking at 800 pounds a WEEK. You also would need to pay council tax on top, not to mention utilities etc. Even in the suburbs, 800 would probably only get you a smallish flat or terraced house and then you'd have transport fares to pay for


Jo xxx


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## paulica (Feb 9, 2011)

*Wow!*

Thanks a lot Jojo - it was my understanding from reading these threads that one 3 member family could live with a budget of 2.6k pounds per month - your reply makes me think that we need double just to survive = I wonder what do people that make less than this survive :confused2:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

paulica said:


> Thanks a lot Jojo - it was my understanding from reading these threads that one 3 member family could live with a budget of 2.6k pounds per month - your reply makes me think that we need double just to survive = I wonder what do people that make less than this survive :confused2:


2.6 a month is do-able but the rent of 800 isnt in London, certainly the half decent parts are expensive. Now if you were to live in a town in the north of England it would be easy or maybe the south it would be ok. Rental prices, council taxes and the cost of living vary widely in England. Have a look at possibly renting in a town (north or south) with good rail connections to the city/london and work out the prices of rental/travelling/council tax etc. Many people commute to work every day

Jo xxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

paulica said:


> Thanks a lot Jojo - it was my understanding from reading these threads that one 3 member family could live with a budget of 2.6k pounds per month - your reply makes me think that we need double just to survive = I wonder what do people that make less than this survive :confused2:


Say you were to live in Balham (SW12). That's about a half hour commute on the tube in a nice part of south London. You could probably get a two bed apartment to rent for about £250pw (£1083pm). You would then have to pay for an oyster travel card from zone 3 which is £123.70 per month. You will then have your council tax, electricity/gas telephone/internet and living expenses. You probably could manage of £2.6K, but it would not leave room for much else... Hope this helps x


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## arrested development (Feb 12, 2011)

If your going to working in SE1 on that wage with a family, your best of living in Kent, Essex or Hertfordshire


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