How much do you need to earn to live in London?
Discussion
Crossflow Kid said:
okgo said:
a cheap bottle of wine is £18.
No it isn't. A cheap bottle of wine is three quid.An £18 bottle of wine is only cheap when compared to a £5000 bottle of wine.
Believe me...I've tried!
okgo said:
Ok. I shan't bother anymore, that comment is nearly as farcical as claiming flat iron is a proper steakhouse.
Go into ANY pub and it's £4 a pint minimum. My local in zone 6 is 4.50 for Meantime and £5 for peroni.
okgo said:
Ok. I shan't bother anymore, that comment is nearly as farcical as claiming flat iron is a proper steakhouse.
Go into ANY pub and it's £4 a pint minimum. My local in zone 6 is 4.50 for Meantime and £5 for peroni.
Steak (not rump) in an ok restaurant £20+, add starter, dessert and coffee and you're looking at £40 per head before wine. So £100 for two is about right
About a decade ago - so prices have changed - I had this conversation with a friend of mine who was living in London.
At the time, he was on 60K a year, and paying for a family home back home in the West Country.
His employers as part of his deal provided accommodation and paid his travel for work and to and from home when he needed it.
60K with the normal deductions for his life at home in the West Country was more than enough.
That was without factoring in the true cost of renting and travel. The flat he had - shared with a work mate - was rented by his employer, it was a very big, posh modern flat in Docklands.
Once we took that into account, we reckoned 100k would give you a very nice life in London.
So, 25K, shared flat, the hassle of travel in from the suburbs. Possible, but tight and not much fun.
At the time, he was on 60K a year, and paying for a family home back home in the West Country.
His employers as part of his deal provided accommodation and paid his travel for work and to and from home when he needed it.
60K with the normal deductions for his life at home in the West Country was more than enough.
That was without factoring in the true cost of renting and travel. The flat he had - shared with a work mate - was rented by his employer, it was a very big, posh modern flat in Docklands.
Once we took that into account, we reckoned 100k would give you a very nice life in London.
So, 25K, shared flat, the hassle of travel in from the suburbs. Possible, but tight and not much fun.
okgo said:
Ok. I shan't bother anymore, that comment is nearly as farcical as claiming flat iron is a proper steakhouse.
Go into ANY pub and it's £4 a pint minimum. My local in zone 6 is 4.50 for Meantime and £5 for peroni.
It's not as if pints cost £1.50 everywhere else in the UK though!
Drinks in restaurants is not a great example though, you're generally looking at 300%+ mark-up. So some cheap £5 Chilean plonk will be £20 house wine. Even a Weatherspoons will charge you £15 for some Aussie Gallo piss. There are lots of good and cheap wine places to drink if you care to find them. I'd rather drink decent stuff at home though.
BJG1 said:
Other than the dozens of Sam Smith's and Wetherspoons, you mean?
Yes, other than those, as they're mostly places you don't go. The White Horse FYI is about £4 a pint, and cheapest wine I can see on their site is £15 per bottle, and its only a s
tty pub.I know I'm not wrong as I've tried to do it for years, when spending my own money it doesn't matter, but when I have a guideline to stick to then I've found increasingly that with a few drinks £50-£70 per head is about common place now, outside of the all you can eat that the other poster went to obviously.
This whole thread seem to hinge on what different people class as a decent standard of life, and the assumption that you eat out regularly. I suppose London does have a wider range of restaurants than most towns but do Londoners generally eat out more than people elsewhere?
Restaurants in general seem pretty expensive in London, went to Rabot 1745 (owned by Hotel Chocolat) the other day and it was an ok meal but I've had better in decent pubs for a lot less cash. Then again there's a lot of back street places that do really good food for not much money.
Restaurants in general seem pretty expensive in London, went to Rabot 1745 (owned by Hotel Chocolat) the other day and it was an ok meal but I've had better in decent pubs for a lot less cash. Then again there's a lot of back street places that do really good food for not much money.
okgo said:
BJG1 said:
Other than the dozens of Sam Smith's and Wetherspoons, you mean?
Yes, other than those, as they're mostly places you don't go. The White Horse FYI is about £4 a pint, and cheapest wine I can see on their site is £15 per bottle, and its only a stty pub.I know I'm not wrong as I've tried to do it for years, when spending my own money it doesn't matter, but when I have a guideline to stick to then I've found increasingly that with a few drinks £50-£70 per head is about common place now, outside of the all you can eat that the other poster went to obviously.
http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-knigh...
and not so much so... but not bad.
http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/penderels...
Knights Templar is 80% lawyers, 10% Kings Students and 10% people who know about it, the ruffians don't know about it, so I can send my man servant to the bar and know the peasants piss known as the Isle of jura is only £4.50 for a double (like to live dangerously), or any one of the guest ales is only £3.20.
There I admit it now, I have been to a wetherspoons and enjoyed it.
Although if it didn't have the name plastered on the menus, you would never know.
Yes people do eat out a lot I think.
You will find restaurants out in the suburbs that are empty 4 nights a week, but I bet if I went to a few places in town tonight they would be buzzing, and I don't mean the big tourist traps either.
@ dupont, yes I know that one, I work nearby. Not too bad. But equally there are plenty of other 'normal' pubs round there that are priced as I mention, they're not flashy places.
You will find restaurants out in the suburbs that are empty 4 nights a week, but I bet if I went to a few places in town tonight they would be buzzing, and I don't mean the big tourist traps either.
@ dupont, yes I know that one, I work nearby. Not too bad. But equally there are plenty of other 'normal' pubs round there that are priced as I mention, they're not flashy places.
I think this thread is going a bit O/T here, yes it can be pricey to eat and drink but it's the same anywhere! I ate at a restaurant in Reading the other day and it was £140 for two with a bottle of wine and a few after dinner drinks, so it's not solely a London thing. Likewise, not everyone is going to go out all the time. I like to go out a fair bit, I have friends that don't but they are ploughing money into hobbies - mountain bikes, weekends away camping, climbing equipment, golf club fees etc.
You don't have to be in London to be spending out lots of money on having a good time. The main issue in London is the cost of housing, nothing else. And that is offset, in a way, by salaries, cheap transport costs due to not requiring a car etc. I have worked outside of London for most of my working life but always been able to afford to live here, so it is doable. You don't have to go out 6 nights a week, as tempting as that may be
You don't have to be in London to be spending out lots of money on having a good time. The main issue in London is the cost of housing, nothing else. And that is offset, in a way, by salaries, cheap transport costs due to not requiring a car etc. I have worked outside of London for most of my working life but always been able to afford to live here, so it is doable. You don't have to go out 6 nights a week, as tempting as that may be
RizzoTheRat said:
Restaurants in general seem pretty expensive in London, went to Rabot 1745 (owned by Hotel Chocolat) the other day and it was an ok meal but I've had better in decent pubs for a lot less cash. Then again there's a lot of back street places that do really good food for not much money.
Well that's the thing, there plenty of hugely overpriced restaurants in London (Aberdeen Angus Steak House, OXO Tower, most restaurants in Covent Garden) but there are also amazing ones at any given budget.Nowadays with Google, Opentable, etc. at your disposal if you go to an overpriced restaurant it's your own fault really.
Shaoxter said:
Well that's the thing, there plenty of hugely overpriced restaurants in London (Aberdeen Angus Steak House, OXO Tower, most restaurants in Covent Garden) but there are also amazing ones at any given budget.
Nowadays with Google, Opentable, etc. at your disposal if you go to an overpriced restaurant it's your own fault really.
You say that, but generally its either that they're a rip off and nobody who lives or works in town goes to them, like Angus, OR they're good and expensive to boot Clos Maggiore, Goodmans, J Sheeky etc, OR they're cheap and good but you can't get a fNowadays with Google, Opentable, etc. at your disposal if you go to an overpriced restaurant it's your own fault really.
king table for love nor money as they're in Shortlist every week, Flat Iron, Foxlow etc spring to mind.I remember living in east London on 65k per annum (circa 2006-2008). After tax it wasnt a huge amount per mth...about 3.6k net per mth iirc. Rent on a pretty small one bed place in Wapping was about 1.2k a mth (incl bills). So that leaves about 2.3k per mth net per mth for everything else. Missus didnt earn much so with essentially one income.....didnt seem alot.....especially if you are trying to save for a deposit for a place.
JohnSW20 said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
One of the greatest benefits of living in London is walking thru London. Fabulous parks, a wonderful river, a vibrant street culture, a landmark on every corner, amazing architecture, history galore. I walk a lot in London and never get bored. At the moment, it's still free, and I am not aware of a pedestrian congestion charge coming into play any time soon.
I agree 100%, there is no place like it to just wonder around and see where you end up. When I first moved here a friend told me to avoid using the tube as I would miss out on so much and not get a feel for where everything is. That's the best bit of advice I could offer anyone. Just walk round or jump on a bus at the weekend. You might even find a place selling food at less than £250.00 a plate full.We often stay a night (despite being only 30 mins away) just to have a weekend wandering and feeling like we are 'away'. Always find new things to see and do despite growing up here.
bigunit00 said:
I remember living in east London on 65k per annum (circa 2006-2008). After tax it wasnt a huge amount per mth...about 3.6k net per mth iirc. Rent on a pretty small one bed place in Wapping was about 1.2k a mth (incl bills). So that leaves about 2.3k per mth net per mth for everything else. Missus didnt earn much so with essentially one income.....didnt seem alot.....especially if you are trying to save for a deposit for a place.
I am obviously a massive tight arse because £2,300 a month after rent seems very very doable! I never spend close to that after the mortgage has been paid. Saving for a deposit at the same time fair enough if you want to save £1k+ a month but without doing that and with a £1200 rent, that should be loads surely?!Edited by vescaegg on Tuesday 19th August 16:53
RizzoTheRat said:
I suppose London does have a wider range of restaurants than most towns but do Londoners generally eat out more than people elsewhere?
I would wager Londoners work longer hours. Less time to cook/shop so end up eating out more.I am not saying the rest of the country is a bunch of slackers - it's just that MANY of the London-centric professions have a terrible rep when it comes to hours.
Examples - the law, finance, accounting, consulting etc...
walm said:
RizzoTheRat said:
I suppose London does have a wider range of restaurants than most towns but do Londoners generally eat out more than people elsewhere?
I would wager Londoners work longer hours. Less time to cook/shop so end up eating out more.I am not saying the rest of the country is a bunch of slackers - it's just that MANY of the London-centric professions have a terrible rep when it comes to hours.
Examples - the law, finance, accounting, consulting etc...
Or maybe the diversity of culture that it has compared to your average city, they all need to be catered for.
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