# UK Salary



## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

Just wann acheck if it will be a good move to UK for a salary of 30000k British Pounds a year , will I survive and be able to save some ?


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## Rachel_Heath (Mar 16, 2008)

Lilly,

A lot will depend on where abouts you are thinking of living. London for example is a great deal more expensive than pretty much anywhere else.

According to government figures for last year, the average British salary was £23,764 pa.

What area are you looking at and what sort of job you targeting?


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Lilly said:


> Just wann acheck if it will be a good move to UK for a salary of 30000k British Pounds a year , will I survive and be able to save some ?


Yep you will be fine on that as long as your sensible ..


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## marc (Mar 10, 2008)

i doubt you will have enough for saving - but if you do save it wont be loads!, as others have said the main thing of course is where you live, rents are very expensive


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## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

hi Rachel
Thanx guys, I'll be in Southampton, Hampshire, working as a Facilities Manager, but I have MBA,

Lilly...


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Lilly said:


> hi Rachel
> Thanx guys, I'll be in Southampton, Hampshire, working as a Facilities Manager, but I have MBA,
> 
> Lilly...


Southampton is not the cheapest place to live propertywise tbh Lilly, but it depends on what your accomodation is going to be like. You're going to rent I guess?


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## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

Hi Strav...

Thanx a many Dear,
well I will share with my Fiancee there, he's in Computer science, it's just that I did not want to be a burden to him 100%, a gal would like to have some savings of her own.

keep smiling..


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Lilly said:


> Hi Strav...
> 
> Thanx a many Dear,
> well I will share with my Fiancee there, he's in Computer science, it's just that I did not want to be a burden to him 100%, a gal would like to have some savings of her own.
> ...


Well if you're only paying minimum rental then you should be fine on that salary, although you will look at your pay slip every month and curse that nasty horrible Mr Brown for taking a lot of your dosh away. You'll still be in the lower tax brackets though, not enough yet to go onto 40%!


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Well if you're only paying minimum rental then you should be fine on that salary, although you will look at your pay slip every month and curse that nasty horrible Mr Brown for taking a lot of your dosh away. You'll still be in the lower tax brackets though, not enough yet to go onto 40%!


Not sure if I am right, but I would say that in the UK on a 30,000 pound a year salary, the government help themselves to 25% (tax and National Insurance). This is what I seemed to lose every month when I was teaching there (2 years ago).

Michelle


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

MichelleAlison said:


> Not sure if I am right, but I would say that in the UK on a 30,000 pound a year salary, the government help themselves to 25% (tax and National Insurance). This is what I seemed to lose every month when I was teaching there (2 years ago).
> 
> Michelle



Yes, thats what I said. There is no longer a 10p tax rate as its just been abolished and is causing the govt problems at the moment. The higher 40% tax rate kicks in at £34600. Prior to that it is 22% now. Tax and NI are a separate thing. NI is an additional 11% on that level of salary.


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## freesiarose (Jan 13, 2008)

Depending on what part of the Uk you are moving to, the cost of living in London and surrounding counties tends to be higher than in other parts of the country.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

freesiarose said:


> Depending on what part of the Uk you are moving to, the cost of living in London and surrounding counties tends to be higher than in other parts of the country.


You can say that again. I dont know how anyone affords to live in London. Rentals / property is horrendous and everything just seems to cost so much more than further North


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> You can say that again. I dont know how anyone affords to live in London. Rentals / property is horrendous and everything just seems to cost so much more than further North


did you notice how much most things have gone up on your recent UK visit Srav ??


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Big Pete said:


> did you notice how much most things have gone up on your recent UK visit Srav ??


I always do.


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> I always do.


thought so , i am noticing literally weekly little things are creeping up and up and up  

last shopping trip i fancied a ploughmans so i checked out the cheese  was like a £ 5 for a nice bit of extra mature cheddar . then i grabbed 1 nice plump tomatoe and a few other bits , chucked them in the trolley and did the rest of the shop , get to the till that 1 Tomatoe was 68p  1 single Tomatoe !!! a joke .. 
heck they grow in dirt dont they ? not man made from synthetics , its a seed in dirt with rain water and sunshine , how the heck can it be 68p ??

same thing on a mushroom a while ago 29p for 1 little mushroom , they grow in dirt and are just fungus for christ sake 

Frightening nowdays , and seems to just keep going up


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## clubJWP (Apr 29, 2008)

iam a lwyer with 5 years experience. what are my chances?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

clubJWP said:


> iam a lwyer with 5 years experience. what are my chances?


Ooh, don't give Big Pete an opening line like that without expecting some stick!  Chances, I suppose you mean, at finding a job in the UK...

OK, five years experience in what? Corporate law and you might have a fair chance with a large international company - though it would probably go better if you worked for them for a time in the US and went over as a corporate transfer or on an exchange of some sort. (Let your employer worry about the visas and other paperwork!) Criminal law or something specific to the US and it's going to be a bit tougher. 

As with any immigration situation, you need to be able to show a potential employer that you have something that isn't available in the current crop of job candidates locally. Any sort of international experience is usually a good start. A foreign language or two (other than American legalese  ) is another selling point. Just remember that it costs an employer big time to hire a foreigner - what do you have to justify that expenditure?
Cheers,
Bev


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## AustinWong (May 21, 2008)

I live in London on an income of about 50k a year before tax, which is about 3000 a month. Literally half of this goes on accomodation and the remainder supports my wife and 4 children. We still get to save about 300 a month if not frivelous.

So I think on 30k compared to me you will do just right and dandy.


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## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

Dear all,

Thanks for your kind responses to my question about salary and living in UK.
Thank you so much Austin, Can you then tell me about the education costs as I will be bringing my 2 yrs old and later my 14 yrs old, though I will be staying with my fiancee in Southampton I do not want to put a strain in our relationship, I need to meet him halfway or vice versa. I like to have some responsibilities around the house. 

Lilly


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## damian george (Jun 2, 2008)

Hi Lilly,

Dont count on your MBA getting you a higher paid job - i had one and found i was better off leaving it off my CV. My first job in the UK paid me £25kpa and i left a six figure job in Sydney. 

But £30k should keep you ok if its a second income


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## AustinWong (May 21, 2008)

Schooling is free if you go to government run schools (called state schools here). Private schools are called public schools and I don't have an idea of their costs. Ranges.

If you are Anglican ot Catholic you may be able to get into a religous school which is still state but may provide a better standard.

Be aware that where you live affects which school you get into and parents here in general are quite obsessed about having the best schools. 

I feel if the school provides decent standard of education, has a good principal (head teacher) and not a rough school, kids will find their own way.

Children start school at 4 called nursery, usually a half day but possibly a full, not sure about the full day and highschool at 12.

Feel free with anymore questions.

L


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

AustinWong said:


> Schooling is free if you go to government run schools (called state schools here). Private schools are called public schools and I don't have an idea of their costs. Ranges.
> 
> If you are Anglican ot Catholic you may be able to get into a religous school which is still state but may provide a better standard.
> 
> ...


Just want to clarify one thing. There are three types of schools in the UK, state, private and public. Public schools are the elite schools such as Eton, Harrow and Rugby. These cost around US$50,000 per year, per child. My sister sends her two boys age 10 and 12 to a private catholic school and pays US$20,000 per year, per child. This apparently is an average priced private school.

As has been said, state schools are free, although if you send your child to a faith school, you will be expected to contribute towards the religious education. These are called voluntary aided schools and parents only pay if they can afford to. Faith schools expect the family to practise their religion in order to get a place.

Children start school the September after they turn 4 and they usually go all day. Many schools now have their own pre-school nursery from the age of three, and this is also free of charge.

Primary school is until 11 and high school is from 11-16 with the option of two more years until age 18.

It is true parents are obsessed with school catchment areas and even pretend to live in the area of the school.

Once you know where you are going to be living, you can check the local council regarding schools and e-mail them directly.

Michelle


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## AustinWong (May 21, 2008)

Spot on Michelle Alison.


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

AustinWong said:


> Spot on Michelle Alison.


Thanks - I put my three children through the UK state system and I also went through it myself, but I won't say it is the best system in the world, but we went to voluntary aided faith schools, so it was better than the average state school, especially inner London state schools.

A lot of people check out the state schools prior to deciding on which area to live. Even so, nobody is guaranteed a place at their nearest state/faith school, as quite often the best schools are very over subscribed.

Michelle


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## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

Hey D,

thanks 4 the advise, It was just another way of marketing myself, but if you are suggesting so then it's ok, Yeah it should not be that bad because I have a strong support system from my Fiancee, but I 'd hate to wait for to but bread and some little stuff, because he's already paying the mortgage and he will soon take over the kids school fees. I just do not want to be a stay -home mommy . Every little thing that you guys drop here, helps a great deal, atleast one knows what to expect,

Take care !


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## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

Hi there Austin & Michelle,

I really appreciate your effort guys for taking me through the whole schooling system, it is rather one of the sensitive issues that we tend to ignore once we get a good paying job, thanks many to you both , I now have an idea where to start. 

It sound a bit tricky though, but I am sure I will find my way through. I had a job interview in the CITY OF WESTMINSTER COLLEGE, ( still waiting ) but I need to be closer to where I will be staying that is in SOUTHAMPTON, HAMPSHIRE. I have stayed apart from my Fiancee for a very long time so atleast I need to be close by. I would not like the kids to travell that much so as myself especially in the first year or so. 


God Bless you !


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

Hi Lilly,

Do you mean you are planning on working in London and living in Southampton? If so, it sounds tricky to me, especially getting the kids to and from school etc.

Michelle



Lilly said:


> Hi there Austin & Michelle,
> 
> I really appreciate your effort guys for taking me through the whole schooling system, it is rather one of the sensitive issues that we tend to ignore once we get a good paying job, thanks many to you both , I now have an idea where to start.
> 
> ...


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## Lilly (Sep 11, 2007)

No Mitch, I mean getting something closer to Southampton


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