Moving out for the first time

[Wild Swordfish]

Hi all,

I am moving up to Harrogate for a new job. I am currently still living at home with the parents rent free, so I have no idea what the cost of living is.

Ideally, I don't want to live in a dump and have a relatively nice house, with some nice things such as sky.

I have also been looking at some house shares which are £400-500 ish a month with all bills included (obviously no food included). Not sure if this is good value either.

Could anyone just provide a rough outline of costs for things such as rent, council tax, water, electric etc.

Thanks

[Rotary Madness]

Its cheaper to live in Leeds and commute to Harrogate every day. You also have a lot more choice in regards to what kind of accommodation you live in with Leeds, Harrogate appears to be all converted houses.

Im moving out next month to Leeds too, Headingly area so I can catch the train in after a 2 minute walk to the station, and im close enough to all the unis to letch on the girls

[Simpo Two]

When I needed to find a place to rent for my first job, I called the company's HR dept (Personnel in those days) and they had a list of approved places ready to go.

But those were in the good old days when they'd give you the home address of the blonde in the typing pool

[Lotusevoraboy]

Really?

Get on right move...numerous places from £395 to £500 per month, based on 1-2 bed studios and apartments.
Minimum council tax will br £100 a month, budget £100 a month for electric and gas too. Also, don't forget £50 pm for TV, phone, broadband. You might also want insurance for your contents at around £20 per month. Also budget for furniture. You will pay more for furnished accommodation, but might prefer this if you are viewing Harrogate as short term thing.

About £650 a month will cover a roof over your head if you want to live alone, otherwise house share as you suggest. Food will be £50 a week ish...depends how much you eat!

[LooneyTunes]

Wild Swordfish said:

Hi all,
I have also been looking at some house shares which are £400-500 ish a month with all bills included (obviously no food included). Not sure if this is good value either.

Could anyone just provide a rough outline of costs for things such as rent, council tax, water, electric etc.

Couple of things to bear in mind:

1. The cost of utilities doesn't increase massively with each extra person in a house - you'll pay more living by yourself than paying a 1/4 share on a 4 bedroom place.
2. If you get bills included you'll be paying a bit for knowing your costs are fixed (and you can then not really give it a second thought if you want to crank the temperature up / run lots of electrical kit).
3. If it's "+ share of bills", be ready to deal with the issues around different levels of energy use (especially if there are women in the house, who will want the rooms heated to at least 400oC and still complain it is cold). And make sure you're not liable for the lot in the event the others scarper in the night.

Personally, I'd be tempted to find a shared house initially - more as a way of meeting some people from outside work than anything else.