london salary | The Coffeehouse

Jaz
From the depths of Wales I come

Hey all.

Whats a good salary to live reasonably comfortably in london for 2 people, 1 who would be working, the other not working for at least a few weeks (or till a job found) and unable to claim benefits of any sort?

didn't know where else to ask this.

Cheers

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

Well it depends on where you live. You could probably live south of the river in a zone 3 area in a tiny flat for around £45k - but don't expect transport links to be decent.

Jaz
From the depths of Wales I come

In reply to blowdart

#May 25th @ 5:36 AM

so struggling on 30k...

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to Jaz

#May 25th @ 5:49 AM

I'd say so. You need transport costs, which will rise the cheaper your rent is, as the cheaper rent is further and further out.

Rent is generally going to be more expensive than anywhere else, even in this market.

The cost of living is higher anyway, if you fancy a night out then take the price in Wales and triple it.

If it was only for a few weeks and you were flat sharing you might do it on £30k. Don't plan for a place of your own.

ManipUni
Proving QQ for 5 years!

Might it not be cheaper to live outside London and commute by train?

I mean it will cost you a few hundred a year but save you perhaps thousands.

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

In reply to ManipUni

#May 25th @ 9:14 AM

It'll cost Jaz a few thousand for an annual train ticket into London, and commuting is hell.

There's a better solution: don't get a job in London in the first place. I'd never want to live there, it's too London-y.

May28th2018
May 28th, 2018

If you are a software developer with any experience, do not accept anything under 80k USD, or 50k pounds in any major city.

UK gas prices are currently 4 pounds a gallon, or $6.34 a gallon. We pay 1/3 of that here in the US. Even with the recession 80k is the minimum salary for a developer with any seniority. If there wasn't a recession it would be 100k.

You have to consider that if you are ever terminated at 30k pounds, your unemployment checks will be super low. Too little to live on in any area. I recommend finding a better job first.

You should also seek an employer that lets you travel on their expense tab, and pays for your laptop, pda, cell, outside training and conference admission fees. This is not extraordinary but normal for any mid to large sized company. Don't cheat yourself by accepting a lesser job.

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to May28th2018

#May 25th @ 9:24 AM

That's incredibly unrealistic, especially in this market. I know people with huge amounts of banking experience who are applying for banking roles and they're hard pressed to ask for £70k. Consultancy is the same, and those two areas are the big payers. The contract market is now offering £200-£300 a day unless you're very specialised, and even before the recession the average salary outside of banking would have been £50k-£55k in London for media or general coding roles.

You're assuming the same roles that the US plays by work in the UK.

Unless you travel for work purposes your travel expenses will not be met in the UK, and if they were it's a taxable benefit. Petrol costs don't matter in London as it's not a city to drive in. Your salary rate does not affect unemployment benefits in the UK.

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to ManipUni

#May 25th @ 9:14 AM

A few hundred? I'm looking at taking a new permanent role in central London. To travel from where I live, 30 miles outside London the monthly season ticket is around £360. And I'm not in a cheap to live area either.

PerfectPhase
"This is not war, this is pest control!" - Dalek to Cyberman

In reply to blowdart

#May 25th @ 9:45 AM

Yes, a seaon ticket for me (45 minute trip to Kings Cross) is ~£4000/year.

vesuvius
Das Glasperlenspiel

In reply to blowdart

#May 25th @ 9:45 AM

I left London over a decade ago, 'cause I was spending 2-4 hours on the daily commute, from North West London to West London - dare I say Hanger Lane Gyratory?

I've now taken up a job in Lancashire, so will be migrating from Yorkshire A.S.A.P.

Thing is, I could have doubled my salary had I moved to Londinium, where the bus, train and car take the same amount of time wherever you need to get to. Yes you have the glitz-and-glamour of the 'City', but half-the-time you never get an opportunity to enjoy it. I'll try find some cosy village, and live a humble and simpler life, but "mind-the-gap, stand clear of the doors please!" isn't something that'll be ringing in my ears on a daily basis. I'll have cows and ducks and horses and fields and daffodils and fresh air instead!

Jaz
From the depths of Wales I come

In reply to vesuvius

#May 25th @ 10:08 AM

yey the job, should i ever get it, actually comes with a bike loan and/or a travel season ticket. so i don't need to pay transport. costs

my g/f wishes not to flatshare (but i tend to think flatsharing is the way forward) but really need to know the areas around london as whatever happens it'll be a big downgrade for us.

whatever really happens though i have a lot to think about, if the company i'm already with sends me packing to singapore i might forget about the london dream, though no harm in some interview experience. who knows what happens, shall keep you all posted (as i know you're dieing to follow my adventures)

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

In reply to Jaz

#May 25th @ 10:19 AM

On that salary, supporting the two of you, a flat share is going to be the only reasonable way.

May28th2018
May 28th, 2018

In reply to blowdart

#May 25th @ 9:39 AM

Don't take this the way it sounds, but you all should move to America.

Pimlico Flats

This may sound stupid, but the salary you need will depend on your lifestyle. Most people seem to spend half their salary on accommodation, and people on low salaries can get Housing Benefit to help pay their rent, so we have tenants who don't earn a lot more than they pay in rent, yet have a reasonable lifestyle. Also it depends on how you rent your flat - flats rented from private landlords tend to be 10 - 20% cheaper because they pass on the saving of the Letting Agents fees. We rent flats in one of the most desirable parts of London - SW1 which is Zone 1 for transport. Further for most of Central London it's as quick to walk as to take the bus/tube! Our current vacancies suitable for a couple are £850 Studio Flats (that includes all bills and free Broadband), so that would mean a Salary of about £20K +

zoobar

People work in London for minimum wage. Otherwise who would serve you your McDoanlad's hamburger? So depends what you mean by "comfortably".

TheGnu

In reply to PerfectPhase

#May 25th @ 10:04 AM

You're not joking, I've a house in Ipswich but working in London makes the commute financially ruinous (in excess of £500 a month) so I have to stay in a shabby area of outer London and let my house out. Jobs in that part of East Anglia either don't exist or are involved in farming. Not entirely in jest. BT's labs at Martlesham keep laying off people and the other big employers seem to have upped and gone.

£30k Jaz? I've 20 years as a senior networking professional and unless you've got seriously rare skills these days that's the most they're willing to pay. I've applied for several jobs recently where the job has been withdrawn only to appear a week later paying 5 grand less... and repeat...

Just how they expect folk to commute, pay mortgage and afford food is beyond me at the moment.

Sabot
My name is Dave Oliver. I'm a Technical Architect.

10 years back I was a VB coder in the City and the wife worked in a call-centre for a travel company.

We needed to live in/near London, after doing our homework we settled on living in Woking, Surrey. Transport to Waterloo is easy, 25 mins fast train, usually 12 trains an hour, to and from, so not allot of waiting. The only issue is that at peak times you may be lucky to get a seat.

Our first house was 100K and I had to save up 20K for a deposit which took a year on my 25K salary and Lou 17K salary whilst we house shared. We did eat allot of rice that year !

I have no regrets now ... we got on the houseing ladder and had some good times because London really is the place to be and Woking is close enough to take full advantage.

Raghavendra_Mudugal
This is how it feels when you do not upgrade to the latest technology...

In reply to Sabot

#May 28th @ 7:35 AM

Woking?

I was there for a week in month of feb, really really nice place.... and the snow at that time... oh Boy!.... the night i reached there was plane and clean... the next day i woke up Expressionless 1 feet snow and did'nt had a snow shoe with me... so tied plastic bags upto knee length Embarassed It was really a weird moment for me... i went to peacock's and in adidas sports bought a nice pair of shoe on a good bargain. Phew! my confidence came back.

Those were the most best times ever I had in my life. Hmmmm... even now and then I see the photos I took and refresh memory. I miss being in UK. Woking is really a nice place and neat. Peacock's was the place i used to hang around for hours in the evening. Then go to auberg (i guess i spelled it corret) and have nice chilled Blackthorn.