Cost of Living in London

Hello Jericho_Expat :cheers;

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> Cost of living in London

Regards
Kenjee
Expat.com

Thanks kenjee....

Yes i already did.

This is a very, very difficult question to answer.  The cost of living really depends on the type of lifestyle you're after.

If you choose to rent a flat anywhere in zone 1-3 you could easily be spending £1600 a month on rent alone. EASILY. If you rent a room you'll obviously spend less but you'll be in a situation where you're sharing facilities and may have to deal with sketchy room mates. The housing situation here is tough and is one of the most expensive in the world. I've read that Londoners typically spend 3/4 of their income on rent!

YET, the pubs are full, restaurants are busy, shops are busy...people are out enjoying their lives. 

You should check out numbeo.com It allows you to do comparisions for various cities. I find that in some regards it can be not quite right...but it depends on your personal preferences.

Food... groceries CAN be relatively inexpensive. It depends on where you shop and what you want to eat. The world over rice and beans is going to be cheap. If you go to Waitrose and buy organic meat and £3 appples you're going to spend a whole lot more.  If you eat out at restaurants or pubs YOU WILL SPEND A JILLLION DOLLARS A YEAR. Seriously.

Alchohol is VERY expensive. My husband and I, if we're not careful and order mixed drinks can easily drop a couple hundred pounds. It's brutal.

Entertainment... London is labeled as one of the great cities in the world for a reason. There are so many things to do here. Like...a ridiculous amount of stuff.  Most of the museums are free and they are incredible. You can see some pretty amazing things at the museums and it's a great and cheap way to spend an afternoon.  We have great markets of all different kinds, super cool neighborhoods, free events...etc etc etc. You can always find something to do, no matter your budget. If you DO have money to spend then even better! Plays, concerts, shopping, touristy stuff...it's endless.

Anyway... you'll find that London is not cheap. It's expensive and there is no way around that. But it's so worth it. Seriously. I love this city.

Thanks ChowBella,

Numbeo was helpful.

1600 GBP on a rent is like my entire salary. Me and my wife are nurses and we dont get much, anywhere in the world, as you know.

Forgot to mention that I'll be working in Chelsea area, while she'll be in Denmark Hill area.

Hopefully we could get more information on good residential areas accessible to those locations.

****Cant wait to experience London..

Hi,

The 2 hospitals you mention, one is south and the other north of the River Thames.  As has been mentioned previously, housing in London is in short-supply and very expensive.  I'd recommend looking further out as the housing is cheaper the further away from the centre you are.  Public transport in London is pretty good to get to work, but as nurses, unless you're working in GP surgeries, you'll be on shifts, so you need to check it runs at the times you want.

My daughter worked at both hospitals while doing her nursing training and used to commute in from North East London (Enfield).

Personally, I was brought up in London, but wouldn't move back if you paid me; it really can get manic there and paying a lot of money for a season ticket on the underground tends to grind after a few months of standing up for an hour before you get to work.

Perhaps look at Hospitals further north?

Best of luck in your move.

Thanks cynic....

We still start asking around for accessible and good areas...

Hi! As you probably know London is the worse place to live in all UK (at least in what concern to monthly expenses). I would say that living in London with less than 3000 pounds after Tax per month it's not very good, but I guess you can handle it with 2300.
One advice: The UK is full of good cities to live in and if you are nurses you'll be working anywhere you want. Get out of London the soonest as possible.

It's kind of been covered by the others, but it's worth emphasising in brief.
In my view, there are three reasons why London is expensive:
1. Transport.
2. Rent/property prices.
3. Going out (especially alcohol).

Otherwise, you won't find that the same supermarkets or fast food chains are any more expensive than they would be elsewhere in England.

thanks Fvargas

yes, just like what my friends who live there said.
I guess that really is the scenario.

can hardly wait for the move.

#THANKS everyone......

You are very welcome.