Whats the average cost of living in London?

Question

I live in birmingham right now but in about 6 months to a year, when I have more experience in my job I want to move down to london, how much on average would it cost to rent a small flat somewhere in london? between 2 peeople.

It doesnt have to be anything luxurious, just some where to live.

Answer 1

a helluva lot

Answer 2

with everything about 800 to 1000 GBP

Answer 3

well I don't know exactly but its more expensive that up north in Birmingham, but then I guess It depends on which part you want to move to in London.

Answer 4

1 bed flats are at least £200 a week for anything halfway decent.

Answer 5

I've lived in London for 6 months now, and it wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought it would be.

Depending on where you live, rent will usually run £240-£500/month (this would be $480-$1000 USD/month). I've never seen a room for more than £280/week ($560/week). But then again, I look at places that are aimed at people like me (the unposh). £280/week is the most I would ever pay for a room, because there are really nice rooms that go for well below that. Anything lower than £60 is either in a really far away place, council housing (poor housing), or both, so I would stay away from those. I'm not that kind of unposh.

Food (if you shop at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Lidl, Asda) will probably range from £50-£100/month depending on how much you eat.

Clothes are cheapest at Primark and H&M, and it's pretty good quality. A dress shirt will run about £4-£15 ($8-$30USD), and pants, coats, accessories won't hurt your pocket too much.

Taxes suck if you're working. But, if you're a student you're exempt from paying taxes. They're not totally unreasonable, but depending on how much you make, it takes at least a couple of hundred pounds out of your gross pay.

There's a thing called VAT (I forgot what it stands for) that's basically a consumer tax on goods. However, if you keep all your receipts, when you leave the country (at the airport) there's a VAT refund center where you can get all your VAT tax back.

JD Wetherspoons is a chain in the UK. You can get a beer and a burger (with chips) for under £5 (under $10). JD's are almost everywhere, and go by different names (Moon Under Water, The Misty Moon, Wetherpoons, etc.)

Honestly, it's really not that expensive unless you blow your money on whatever floats your way. And unless you're super posh, you probably wouldn't be spending your money on overly lavish things.

So, in USD terms, and in the highest terms:

Rent: $1000/month

Food: $200/month

Clothes: (you would probably bring most with you, but let's say you spend $200 on clothes...though I don't know who does that in a month)

Beer/Alcohol: Probably around $200/month

Taxes: $50

Total USD: $1650

Total GBP: £825

If you have a job that pays less than this, then go with the low end of the scale and you get a monthly cost of about £400-£600.

The biggest thing will be rent, which is less expensive the more you leave the city center. Zone 1 and 2 are more expensive than Zone 3 and 4, and so on. Zone 1 is the toughest to get a room in.

Also, I forgot to factor in transportation. The tube, for a monthly pass, is £90 ($180). The buses are least expensive (about a pound per ride).

I would check out gumtree.com for rooms.

And I just realized I cannot compare with New England. I can compare with the Midwest though, and by the way I live, London was more than reasonable. If you're highly posh though, then I would assume money isn't a concern for you anyways.