London living costs (exc. rent)

[Art0ir]

Had an off the record discussion with the boss today and he mentioned a position coming up in London similar to my current role. Based within a hundred metres of Bank station but with regular travel between a few dozen locations around the city. No idea yet whether this will be in a vehicle or public transport. Nothing official for a few weeks so no figures were discussed.

They will provide accommodation.

Whether I take a car over depends on location obviously but I'm just looking to get an idea of other living costs (food, drink, essentials, entertainment, etc). I hear London is very expensive all the time but with rent out of the equation, is it any worse than other major cities? I'll have to do the maths when he gets back to me with some figures but I'd like to have an idea of what I would need to make it worth my while ahead of that.

Thanks.

Edited by Art0ir on Tuesday 25th February 14:47

[Art0ir]

V1DL3R said:

I have living in London for 6ish years. It is expensive - you should get paid more but in my experience you will be at a net loss. All depends on how close to the center you want to be but then you need to factor in cost of travel (money and time) into center if your working at Bank. A travel card from Zone 4 - 1 could be more expensive than the extra rent. If you want to rent in zone 2, a 1 bed flat you will need to budget over £1200 pm, if you want to rent a room think between £500-700pm - obviously there will be cheaper and more expensive options. East is cheaper than West as a general rule but IMO West is much nicer, it's just less stabby. My advise would be to spend time fining the right place, London can be amazing but it can also be a lonely city for new people, it sucks if you don't like where you live and it can change your whole outlook on the place so take your time.

There'll be an increased wage + accommodation + "living away from home" allowance. Having accommodation paid for should already see me quids in as it is - I gather this is the most expensive part of living in London.

The accommodation will most likely be a shared house/flat with people in other parts of the company. Will keep the areas in mind, "less stabby" is desirable...

Do the travel cards work 24/7? If I had one for a particular zone for example, could I use that to get around in the evenings and weekends?

[Art0ir]

Brilliant guys thanks. Will have to wait and see if it's worth taking a car over/buying something local. Baby steps at this stage, will update when I have some more details

[Art0ir]

Kudos said:

I fly from belfast every week to London. Very do-able if that's an option for you

That was certainly the intention. I think they pay for flights home every fortnight for other guys in the company.

[Art0ir]

Perfect, thanks for the advice.

I would absolutely push for the travel card as I would be travelling around the city often with work. Haven't really had time to discuss it any more to be honest, busy time at the minute but hope to get some clarifications in the next few days.