Living in London

bmi92

bmi92

bmi92

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1 Jan 2010
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Hey guys,

Moving to Londonn in 13 days to start University. I'm currently compling my budget, and I'm pretty stuck when it goes to living costs.

How much do you guys think the following would cost for a student living in SE London:

Groceries
Entertainment (2 nights out a week max)
Gym membership


I have to travel 5 miles to get from where I am staying to where I am studying each day, what are the tube prices like?

Any help would be great, cheers.
 
alright mate,
just did a year at Westminster Uni in London, and let me tell you its not gonna be cheap!

Erm probably £10-20 a week for food depending on how much you eat/ if you have coffees/McDonalds/BK, ect

An average night out in London clubbing is gonna run you to £25/35 incl. entry (not including pre drinks), If your thinking about the cinema forget it cos they will charge you upwards of £10 pp for a non 3D film.

I paid £110 for 3 terms gym membership at my uni gym, so look into your uni gym prices.

I got a student oyster card which saves you 30% on travel tickets, then got a zone 1-2 month long travel card for about £70, which is the cheapest and most convenient thing about London!

Dont forget to enjoy yourself though and try not to worry too much about money, I did and had a really **** time in London, hence me moving to Portsmouth Uni!
 
As a student I spend about £30-40 a week on groceries, but I tend to buy takeaways a lot because Im lazy and I never buy value food from supermarkets, if you wanted to you can easily get groceries for under £20, if you shop around you can get cheap meat from Iceland, cheap toothpaste and things from poundshops etc.

Night out in London about £30-50 I guess, depending on if you're going to student night or not, or getting a taxi there and back. Cinema's about £8-12 for a student in London.

Gym membership can be really cheap or ridiculously expensive, my uni gym is £44 a year but an old gym I use to go to charged £60 a month. Find out how much your uni gym is otherwise budget for at least £40 a month.

Tube prices for a 5 mile journey is going to be about £2-3 each way depending on the zones you travel through and whether is peak times or not, get an Oyster card to save money and check out the prices here http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx
 
Last edited:
M0NSTER said:
Groceries
Entertainment (2 nights out a week max)
Gym membership
Click to expand...

Groceries will cost you the same as a non-student - prices at major supermarkets don't seem to be much different in London compared with the rest of the UK - so basically no change to what your current costs are unless you consciously decide to switch to just eating beans and pasts etc..

Entertainment is a bit different, I didn't go to uni in London but did initially accept a job with a low basic when I first moved here. Entertainment is expensive in general though doesn't have to be - student nights will be cheaper as will your union (though my non-London uni was prob a bit cheaper still) and there are plenty of free events around the capital.
 
I have no idea how students do it in these parts, I'm doing ok but don't seem to have much spare cash for nights out! Definitely sort your student oyster out asap, will save you some serious money over the year.
 
As a student you will probably be hitting up the midweek student nights mainly. Weekends are for hall parties, house parties etc because central London is very expensive on Friday/Saturday.
 
I reckon about £25 a week on food if you don't go mad. You can eat well on that budget with the occasional takeaway and bottle of wine.

If you decide to use a bike to get around I heartily recommend Freecycle, learning how to use your spanners and invest in decent locks. That way your bike won't let you down and it'll always be there waiting for you :)

The gym is likely to stiff you. See if there's one at the university you can use or get some weights like someone mentioned.

Edit: and I'd think about living in north London if you're studying in Stratford. It's a mission to get there from SE.
 
cravin penut said:
alright mate,
just did a year at Westminster Uni in London, and let me tell you its not gonna be cheap!

Erm probably £10-20 a week for food depending on how much you eat/ if you have coffees/McDonalds/BK, ect

An average night out in London clubbing is gonna run you to £25/35 incl. entry
Click to expand...

**** me! was that in the 60's?
Where the hell do you go to only spend £25-35 on a night out clubbing?
 
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