FAO Londoners - salary to live in London (and enjoy yourself)?

TS7 · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:00

I spend a lot of time in London, I love the city, the constant stream of things going on, the choice of food and restaurants, venues, architecture etc etc

I'd quite like to live in London for a couple of years while I'm young and get it out my system so to speak. I'd always like to live near London or in Greater London but realistically, in the long term when / if I get married / children - living in central London and spending obscene amounts on a mortgage to live in somewhere tiny is not something I want.

Now here comes my question, what's a realistic salary to aim for as a minimum to live in London approx Zone 3 area, 1 bed flat/studio and also be able to enjoy yourself in terms of actually utilising what London has to offer (I know this is a bit vague, but you get the gist; restaurants, theatres etc).

Are there costs that I'm not taking into account?

SPG · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:02

30k + half your soul.

Is it worth it.....

grudas · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:03

in before crazy amounts.

but I'd say 35-40k should allow you to live comfortably.

Freefaller · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:06

I was sharing a flat and living in London and still having a good time for around 30k. Living solo for that amount is possible but money will be a lot tighter after bills etc...

Buffman · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:07

I assume you mean rent, as you'll struggle for a mortgage but I'd imagine 40 to 50k+

(to be honest I'd want 20+% more than that though for the pain of living in London.

Efour · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:10

Flat share and 30k or 40k would be awesome for a few years, you'll be a wreck after 5 years

Camden Islington around that area I'd go for. If you work in the city or docklands it's an easy reverse commute

TS7 · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:12

Freefaller said:
I was sharing a flat and living in London and still having a good time for around 30k. Living solo for that amount is possible but money will be a lot tighter after bills etc...

Good point; having a partner would make things easier as splitting rent/bills etc. But at the minute these plans are for a solo move.

The Craig said:
I assume you mean rent, as you'll struggle for a mortgage but I'd imagine 40 to 50k+

(to be honest I'd want 20+% more than that though for the pain of living in London.

Yep I meant rent.

ttaskmaster · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:13

You probably won't want to live actually in London itself. Somewhere on the outskirts, like certain parts of Harrow or something, probably. It'll take some trawling, but you'll find affordable places to rent that won't kill your salary.
£30k sounds good, assuming you're single.

TS7 · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:14

Efour said:
Flat share and 30k or 40k would be awesome for a few years, you'll be a wreck after 5 years Camden Islington around that area I'd go for. If you work in the city or docklands it's an easy reverse commute

By flat share you mean you have your own room but kitchen and bathroom, living room all shared? Living in shared accommodation at uni has really put me off this and I at least had an ensuite! ; not a very good experience at all. However I suppose if I could find similar professionals / normal people it could work and I'd save a lot of money..

Efour · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:20

Well yeah it's not for everyone. If you thought halls was bad then skip my suggestion. The area is still very cool though.

FurryLemon · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:21

Uni students are retards though. Sharing with grown ups should be easier.

covenantuk · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:26

FurryLemon said:
Uni students are retards though. Sharing with grown ups should be easier.

No. It's really not.

If you get a **** person AND they can't be kicked out of Uni for misbehaviour they're even worse.

I had one flatmate with impeccable references who stole the last 5 cheques out of both of my cheque books (so that I wouldn't notice them missing) and cashed them fraudulently then left without paying the rent.

XeNoN89 · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:28

Can scrape it on £30k but you will need to keep an eye on finances!

enigma27 · 31 Jan 2017 at 13:39

I have worked in London and lived on the outskirts for the past 8 years (Woodford, Harold Wood Areas)

I now live out in Essex. Best part of London is the leaving every night. Cant stand the place.

Tunney · 31 Jan 2017 at 14:00

*summon London-haters*

Oops, too late.

Tone1979 · 31 Jan 2017 at 14:08

if you want to live on your own, £50K+

Freefaller · 31 Jan 2017 at 14:08

I don't know why people "scrape" with 30k and some suggesting 40-50k+

If you're really bad with money then yes... but if you're in a flat with others, or even just 2 of your sharing, a reasonable flat in relatively central london can be had around 1200pcm. If you're willing to be slightly out of london (and by that I still mean on the tube map) the rents can drop off to around 1000 if not less. If you rent a room in a house, you can get it for less than 500 pcm. Sure it's not ideal, but you know what? You get to meet interesting people and make new friends. And, ultimately, you're living in London and not spending a huge amount on rent. Doing that in your 20s when you're young and having fun is great. Of course if you'd rather your own place, than it is still doable, but you just have slightly less disposable income.

It's more than doable. Sure you can't go out and drink every day/night. But if you're sensible you can still have a good time.

With 2 of you - earning 30k is MORE than manageable in London.

chroniclard · 31 Jan 2017 at 14:16

Myself and a friend shared a flat for 5 years in Ealing, little far out but not too bad, cost us £1500 between us. Both on 30k at the start. Was fine.

Great city.

Scam · 31 Jan 2017 at 14:27

Freefaller, I think your numbers might be a little out of date. This map of average one-bed flats within 1km of a tube station suggests most zone 3's are above £1000. Certainly the case where I am in west London.

I've always lived in zone 3, west London. Started out sharing a house with 5 guys on minimum wage (£13k). Did that for a few years. At that time my girlfriend one-bed flat round the corner was costing her £900 fyi. It's more like £1200 now. We now rent a two-bed flat together quite comfortably between ourselves (I've obviously had massive payrises since then

)

I'd suggest living solo in London is not as peachy as it sounds. Find some nice flatmates and you'll be far more comfortable. It's do-able. There's a lot of normal people out there.

dl8860 · 31 Jan 2017 at 14:27

For a fairly normal person, zero dependents/other unusual circumstances.

£Min wage - Baffles me how people manage
£15k - Poverty existence
£20k - Tesco value everything, 1 or 2 pints a week. No luxury items
£25k - Pretty passable for most people
£30k - Decent living, can enjoy lots of parts of London but still need to keep an eye on things
£35k - Can get by well without worrying too much about finances
£40k - Might even by able to enjoy life AND save some money
£45k - Able to get as much as most people would want out of London
£50k+ Happy days