# Moving to London from Delhi



## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi,

Me and my wife are planning to move to London from Delhi. I want to get some idea regarding cost of living and other expenses in London.

In Delhi, we save around 1,40000 INR per month and have a decent enough lifestyle. How much should we earn in London to have a reasonably good lifestyle with a double saving, i.e. 3,00,000 INR or 4200 British pound per month.

I have googled a bit and found that city of London is the highest payee area for me and my wife. Is it possible to live outside of London with a little cheaper apartment and travel to London on daily basis?

It will be great help if you can give the name of the city @ 45 minutes to 1 hour distance from city of London.

thanks a lot in advance!


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## Li Xinyi (Jul 28, 2010)

*cambridge might be an option*

as my research goes, Cambridge might be an option, with a 45-minute train ride away. the problem is that living cost is no less expansive.

seems that we are in the same situation, living a decent enough lifestye in home country. If things are harder in london,we may just as well go back! no big deal, mate. cheers!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

dumpy14 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Me and my wife are planning to move to London from Delhi. I want to get some idea regarding cost of living and other expenses in London.
> 
> ...



Hi

I am not sure if I have correctly read the amount you want to save per month.
I would say if you want to save 4200 sterling per month then you will need to be earning a huge salary and if we are talking about these amounts I would think the cost of living wouldn't really worry you.

maiden


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## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Hi
> 
> I am not sure if I have correctly read the amount you want to save per month.
> I would say if you want to save 4200 sterling per month then you will need to be earning a huge salary and if we are talking about these amounts I would think the cost of living wouldn't really worry you.
> ...


Hi Maiden,
Thanks for the reply!. Yes I mentioned 4200 sterling. It will great if you can still guide me for a decent cheap living area near London which is easily commutable on daily basis.

One more question- Can I opt out for National Insurance? I hope that I have to pay an extra (11+1)% for National Insurance. So seems like I will paying back around 50% of my salary in Income Tax and National Insurance, and thts a huge sum. 

thnx


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## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

Li Xinyi said:


> as my research goes, Cambridge might be an option, with a 45-minute train ride away. the problem is that living cost is no less expansive.
> 
> seems that we are in the same situation, living a decent enough lifestye in home country. If things are harder in london,we may just as well go back! no big deal, mate. cheers!


Hey Li,

Can you please help me with whatever research you have done so far ?

thnx.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dumpy14 said:


> Hi Maiden,
> Thanks for the reply!. Yes I mentioned 4200 sterling. It will great if you can still guide me for a decent cheap living area near London which is easily commutable on daily basis.
> 
> One more question- Can I opt out for National Insurance? I hope that I have to pay an extra (11+1)% for National Insurance. So seems like I will paying back around 50% of my salary in Income Tax and National Insurance, and thts a huge sum.
> ...


No you cant opt out of the NHS. The amount you pay in tax and NI is calculated on how much you earn and theres no legal escape from that. The more you earn the higher percentage you pay. 

As for a decent place to live near London, it really depends on where abouts you're working in London, which side of the city!?? Towns and villages in Surrey/Sussex with train stations are popular with commuters who work central and south london, but they're not particularly cheap. But you get what you pay for and cheap areas tend to be cheap for a reason?????

Jo xx


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## Li Xinyi (Jul 28, 2010)

dumpy14 said:


> Hey Li,
> 
> Can you please help me with whatever research you have done so far ?
> 
> thnx.




try "London commuter towns" in google, might get some idea.


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## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

jojo said:


> No you cant opt out of the NHS. The amount you pay in tax and NI is calculated on how much you earn and theres no legal escape from that. The more you earn the higher percentage you pay.
> 
> As for a decent place to live near London, it really depends on where abouts you're working in London, which side of the city!?? Towns and villages in Surrey/Sussex with train stations are popular with commuters who work central and south london, but they're not particularly cheap. But you get what you pay for and cheap areas tend to be cheap for a reason?????
> 
> Jo xx


Thanks Jojo!
Probably I will be working in Central London. I am okay to travel for 45-60 minutes to reach office. Me and my wife would be earning around 120,000 before tax and NI. 

Can you please guide me how much I would get after all deduction(just a rough idea is enough) and the general cost of living in London or in surrounding area (Surrey/Sussex/Whitechapel) ?

I live a OK type life with 2 outside dinner and no alcohol! 

thanks


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dumpy14 said:


> Thanks Jojo!
> Probably I will be working in Central London. I am okay to travel for 45-60 minutes to reach office. Me and my wife would be earning around 120,000 before tax and NI.
> 
> Can you please guide me how much I would get after all deduction(just a rough idea is enough) and the general cost of living in London or in surrounding area (Surrey/Sussex/Whitechapel) ?
> ...


I dont know exactly how much, I'm sure someone will come along with a more accurate figure, but a rough, "ball park", "rule of thumb" is to deduct a third, altho you'll be in a higher income bracket so it maybe more. 

I have a house in sussex, which isnt particularly cheap. The nearer to London or a trainline you go, the more expensive it will be. However, if you and your wife are going to be earning that sort of money, I dont think you'll have a problem!! You really have to try it and see, maybe take a short term rent a smallish flat/house/apartment in an area thats just on the outskirts of London, near a station (look at pictures/google map, speak to agents to find somewhere that looks like it will suit you) and see how you manage. Once you've tried it and are more familiar with how things are, you can then fine tune your living/lifestyle arrangements!

Jo xxx


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## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

jojo said:


> I dont know exactly how much, I'm sure someone will come along with a more accurate figure, but a rough, "ball park", "rule of thumb" is to deduct a third, altho you'll be in a higher income bracket so it maybe more.
> 
> Jo xxx


Thanks for help Jojo!

You said deduct one third or more. But I think it would be more than half, what I got to know that 40% Income tax+ 11~12% NI , so an approx of 50~52% and thts a huge cut :-|. Is this true ?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dumpy14 said:


> Thanks for help Jojo!
> 
> You said deduct one third or more. But I think it would be more than half, what I got to know that 40% Income tax+ 11~12% NI , so an approx of 50~52% and thts a huge cut :-|. Is this true ?


I'm hopeless on the tax/NI situation in the UK. I've not been there for a few years and the rules have just changed with the new government. I'm sure there are tables on google and maybe someone else on here knows more than I do???!! But rest assured, if yours and your wifes joint gross income is 240,000 pounds pa, you'll manage just fine!!! That is a very good income


Jo xxx


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## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

jojo said:


> I'm hopeless on the tax/NI situation in the UK. I've not been there for a few years and the rules have just changed with the new government. I'm sure there are tables on google and maybe someone else on here knows more than I do???!! But rest assured, if yours and your wifes joint gross income is 240,000 pounds pa, you'll manage just fine!!! That is a very good income
> 
> 
> Jo xxx


No the joint gross income is just 120,000. Thanks!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

dumpy14 said:


> No the joint gross income is just 120,000. Thanks!


Sorry I misunderstood!! But even thats not bad!!! 

Jo xx


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## VADXB (Jun 4, 2009)

dumpy14 said:


> No the joint gross income is just 120,000. Thanks!


Dumpy

You will do perfectly fine with a combined gross income of 120k. Few things to keep in mind, UK is not cheap but offers good life style, travel opportunities etc. I'd say take off approximately 45% for tax and other deductions, rest leaves you with say 66K on hand which is about 5500 per month. 

I'm not sure about your life style but i'd say a figure of approx 2000-2500 per month (including rent) would be sufficient for a decent life. This should give you some kind of an indication.

Just as an FYI, average family income in UK is something like 32k, you are almost four times the average 

Cheers


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

*Some comments about tax and transport.*



dumpy14 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Me and my wife are planning to move to London from Delhi. I want to get some idea regarding cost of living and other expenses in London.
> 
> ...


I have read in other comments you are uncertain about the amount of tax you have to pay, try this calculator: tax calculator - from workSMART.org.uk

It will give you a rough idea.

I don't know why you are guessing a tax burden of 50% (unless you are considering VAT, council tax , TV licence and other stealth taxes that you pay after your income has been taxed), this is not Sweden after all 


As for living out of London, beware, season train tickets are very expensive, I used to live out of London and had to pay £3000 for an annual season ticket, and then you have to add all the costs to having a car (because out of London public transport is not good, and you can't ride taxis all the time, just too expensive).

When one adds road tax and costs of owning a car then that cheap place out of London may not be as desirable.

With the kind of money you are talking about you can live almost anywhere in London if you are sensible: you will pay for a 2 bedroom flat as much as you would pay for a house in the suburbs.

My suggestion would be to live as close to your job as possible, within walking distance of both a big supermarket and a tube or train station that get you to your office, that way you can ditch the car, which is horribly expensive to maintain.

If your job requires you to flight frequently you should consider that into the equation, since going to the airport from London in a regular basis would try even the hardest travel warrior.

I let a 2 bedroom flat in Greenwich for £1200 a month, that is 10 minutes door to door to Canary Wharf, 30 minutes to the City of London (the old Financial District) and 40 to 50 to most of the West End. With the kind of money you are talking about a similarly priced property should not be an issue, get a bit further away from Central London and you may get a bigger place....


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## dumpy14 (Jul 29, 2010)

jlms said:


> I have read in other comments you are uncertain about the amount of tax you have to pay, try this calculator: tax calculator - from workSMART.org.uk
> 
> It will give you a rough idea.
> 
> ...



Thanks to all of you for valuable suggestions.

Love this forum! Indeed!


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