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What is a decent, liveable wage in the UK?

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Originally posted by: preslove
At 12,000 pounds in London you will DEFINITELY need to share a flat.
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I won't be making only 12K and I am definitely NOT sharing a flat, unless it is with a girlfriend.

Still very preliminary anyway, just researching.

KT
 
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Just trying to get an idea of what someone would need to gross in the UK in order to live somewhat decently, i.e. decent-sized (for the UK) flat near London (close enough so you're not commuting a tonne of hours each day), can go out to eat/drink a couple of times per week (not somewhere insanely fancy), and a little extra cash leftover to sock away after all bills/groceries, etc. are paid.

Anyone have a clue? I tried a UK salary generator thing and it said something like 12,000 pounds, which is only around 24K and near the poverty level, so I have no idea what the hell was going on there. Also tried searching other job sites, but didn't find much in the way of salaries, so I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for any ideas/help! :beer:

KT
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My brother lives in London as an (junior) System Admin contractor and earns about 25 pounds an hour, but does not get paid for sick leave/annual leave. So that's about 50k pounds and he is making very good savings. He said if he took a permanent job rather than contract it will drop to 30-odd though. Cost of living is higher than anywhere in the US though, incl New York City.

London is *the* accounting hub of the world, so make sure you don't sell yourself short. Unless you're doing really entry level stuff, you should be looking at 30k pounds plus I would think.
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Well I'm in management right now, so I reckon I should be able to swing something over 30K, but who knows.

I'll have to scour some more job sites to see what's out there and also see the visa/work permit situation.

KT
 
I will tell you. my home is in nyc, i have been working in london since 8/18 and I will be here for 1 year.

the cost of living is rought 40-50% higher than NYC. when I go to supermarket, all the price is like the supermarket in ny, except you are paying it in pounds! it took me awhile to get used to it. in here, I had my most expensive mcdonald meal which was 5lb.

a flat in london can easily exceed 1k pound a month.

a subway montly pass in NYC only cost $83. in here, it is 93 pounds for zone 1-2 travel. that's more than double for commute.
 
Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
I was just there. Anything over 35,000 pounds is pretty good. I went there on business and was dealing with engineers and for what ever reason the subject of pay scales came up.

Probably because we were talking about hte housing bubble which also exists in the UK.
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Housing bubble just started to pop here in the UK.
Lowest house sales for 30 years, predictions of 25% drops in prices, with 7% drop so far this year, mortgage lenders reducing the cost of borrowing etc.
 
Originally posted by: DaWhim
I will tell you. my home is in nyc, i have been working in london since 8/18 and I will be here for 1 year.

the cost of living is rought 40-50% higher than NYC. when I go to supermarket, all the price is like the supermarket in ny, except you are paying it in pounds! it took me awhile to get used to it. in here, I had my most expensive mcdonald meal which was 5lb.

a flat in london can easily exceed 1k pound a month.

a subway montly pass in NYC only cost $83. in here, it is 93 pounds for zone 1-2 travel. that's more than double for commute.
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That's kind of what I figured. Did you make equivalent wages? Not looking for numbers, just wondering if it was the same or lower in a strict numbers sense .

KT
 
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Just trying to get an idea of what someone would need to gross in the UK in order to live somewhat decently, i.e. decent-sized (for the UK) flat near London (close enough so you're not commuting a tonne of hours each day), can go out to eat/drink a couple of times per week (not somewhere insanely fancy), and a little extra cash leftover to sock away after all bills/groceries, etc. are paid.

Anyone have a clue? I tried a UK salary generator thing and it said something like 12,000 pounds, which is only around 24K and near the poverty level, so I have no idea what the hell was going on there. Also tried searching other job sites, but didn't find much in the way of salaries, so I'm a little lost.

Thanks in advance for any ideas/help! :beer:

KT
Click to expand...

My brother lives in London as an (junior) System Admin contractor and earns about 25 pounds an hour, but does not get paid for sick leave/annual leave. So that's about 50k pounds and he is making very good savings. He said if he took a permanent job rather than contract it will drop to 30-odd though. Cost of living is higher than anywhere in the US though, incl New York City.

London is *the* accounting hub of the world, so make sure you don't sell yourself short. Unless you're doing really entry level stuff, you should be looking at 30k pounds plus I would think.
Click to expand...

Yeah, contracting is the way forward. I?m on just over £300 a day.

People I work with who are slightly higher up the food chain are on around £550/£600 a day.
 
Originally posted by: TroyEade
Have a look here: Cost of Living

If you need any other help, PM me. I don't live in London, but do live in England.

Cheers.
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Nice, thanks a tonne!

Between the four areas listed (East, West, etc) are there any that are considered less safe than the others, or the areas large enough that there are decent spots in each? I think I kind of know what East London looks like, which is where I assume Eastenders is made?

KT
 
Wow, renting a tiny a 1 bedroom flat in London costs almost as much as the mortgage on my house!
I wonder what it would cost for a little 900 sq foot ranch (with a full basement though) over there ....
 
Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Originally posted by: TroyEade
Have a look here: Cost of Living

If you need any other help, PM me. I don't live in London, but do live in England.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Nice, thanks a tonne!

Between the four areas listed (East, West, etc) are there any that are considered less safe than the others, or the areas large enough that there are decent spots in each? I think I kind of know what East London looks like, which is where I assume Eastenders is made?

KT
Click to expand...

Whilst eastenders is not what the east end is like (have to hear the bow bells to be in the proper east end) it gives an idea what the housing is like, though it doesn't show all the tower blocks and concrete jungles what is there, just typical Victorian era housing. The east end is currently undergoing a lot of investment and regeneration to be ready for the Olympics in 2012.

Like all big cities, all parts of it have safe and dangerous areas. London has its fair share of gun crimes, just have a regular look at the BBC News web page to see, though at the moment its only when teens got fatally shot that it gets a mention. Most of it is linked to either gangs or drugs and doesn't make headlines as it happens all the time. But don't let that put you off, otherwise no one would visit London if it was that dangerous (e.g. Same as NYC).

As a general rule, the more rent you pay the safer it is. Same as anywhere in the world. If you want to cut down on travel time (and save money) then try to get near the central part, then again the rent will be more. Don't bother with a car as the public transport is very good in London, when i go i always use the tube. However a tube journey will cost more compared to USA, then again everything here costs more, lol. Then again it could be worse, i currently work every so often in Norway where it's £6.30 (~$13) a pint of beer!

If you find a few areas that you are interested in (e.g. Brixton, Crotdon, etc...) then drop me a PM and i'll have a word with my mates in London and can let you know what the area is like.

HTH

Troy
 
I live in London so any questions then fire away.

rent : If you want to share a flat/house you can get a bedroom for around £400 - £600 a month. This is within Zone 1/2. Further out you get the cheaper it gets.

If you want to live on your own then it will obviously increase. From my experience.

Zone 1 - Studio : £900+, 1 Bedroom. £1200+
Zone 2 - Studio : £700+, 1 Bedroom. £1000+

I live in Zone 3 and pay £1050 for a nice sized 2 bedroom flat.

Travel :

If you are going to live and work in London then an Oyster card is essential. For Zone 1/2 I think it's around £90 - £100 a month. check on www.tfl.gov.uk

This will give you access to as many buses, trains or tubes for each month as you need.

Like I said any questions just ask away.
 
I should probably answer your main question actually.

Livable wage for london would vary depending on what zone you want to live in and if you want to share or live alone.

For sharing I'd say you would get away with £22,000, but this would heavily depend on how much you go out to eat and drink 🙂
 
Great stuff, thanks all! I'll try and do a little more research this week and let you know if I have any specific questions.

Cheers. :beer:

KT
 
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