Working and living in Aberdeen Scotland:Cost of living

[mzi]

Hi all,
Need advice on cost of living in Aberdeen,Scotland.I am a Malaysian and have been offered a job in an oil and gas company in Aberdeen with GBP38k per annum salary.
I am married with no kids.So I will bring my wife along.

After tax,is the nett salary enough for me to live comfortably?I also need to send back around GBP900 back to Malaysia for my financial comittments here such as my home loan and other loans plus credit cards.I calculated roughly I will have around GBP1500 to live on

I would like to know how much is the following cost:

1)Rental plus local council tax
2)Utilities (water,electricity and gas)
3)Car lease
4)SkyTV (cable TV) and internet
5)Mobile phone
6)Petrol
7)Groceries
8)Food and drinks
9)Clothing

Thanks in advance for all incoming answers.

[Wanderer]

I'd say, ball park figures for two people:

1)Rental plus local council tax - 400 + 80 CT
2)Utilities (water,electricity and gas) - 35, 50, 50
3)Car lease - 250
4)SkyTV (cable TV) and internet - 50 + 20
5)Mobile phone - 35
6)Petrol - 50
7)Groceries - for two I'd think 75 a week but depends on ur tastes!
8)Food and drinks - difficult - say twice a week, 50-100? per week
9)Clothing - difficult again, 200?

Don't forget car insurance, you'll have no UK driving record so I guess u'd pay full price, say 80 a month.

Road tax for car (if not in lease) 175 pa, landline, 60 a quarter, house insurance 40 a mo, TV licence (needed even if u have Sky/Cable) 120 pa.

Also don't forget to allow for deposit and months rent in advance, usually two months rent as u move in.

Salary of 38k would net u around 27k, equates to 2250 a month, less ur 900 is 1350, i think it leaves you a bit tight if u have an unexpected expense.

Send the wife out to work!

Welcome to expensive UK!

Steve

[nizamm]

HI MZI,

Few days back i also got an offer for TEXACO, this guy is fake.
So make sure dear.

[mzi]

I'd say, ball park figures for two people:

1)Rental plus local council tax - 400 + 80 CT
2)Utilities (water,electricity and gas) - 35, 50, 50
3)Car lease - 250
4)SkyTV (cable TV) and internet - 50 + 20
5)Mobile phone - 35
6)Petrol - 50
7)Groceries - for two I'd think 75 a week but depends on ur tastes!
8)Food and drinks - difficult - say twice a week, 50-100? per week
9)Clothing - difficult again, 200?

Don't forget car insurance, you'll have no UK driving record so I guess u'd pay full price, say 80 a month.

Road tax for car (if not in lease) 175 pa, landline, 60 a quarter, house insurance 40 a mo, TV licence (needed even if u have Sky/Cable) 120 pa.

Also don't forget to allow for deposit and months rent in advance, usually two months rent as u move in.

Salary of 38k would net u around 27k, equates to 2250 a month, less ur 900 is 1350, i think it leaves you a bit tight if u have an unexpected expense.

Send the wife out to work!

Welcome to expensive UK!

Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your reply.But for rental,is that for a one bedroom apartment?Normally how big is the apartment?I need at least 600square feet.

For Petrol to commute to work are you sure it will be only 50quids per month or per week?Maybe my questions should ask these expenses per month.Sorry for missing out the details.

So could you post again the estimated figure for monthly usage.

Many thanks.

[John]

Mzi, why not use a website such as www.rightmove.co.uk where you can search on the available rental properties. You will see that in Aberdeen you can rent from £240 per month to £3500 per month!!!!

As they say .... you pays your money and takes your choice!

Petrol? How can anyone possibly answer that without knowing the distance between your home and work locations.

[Wanderer]

I'd say, ball park figures for two people:

1)Rental plus local council tax - 400 + 80 CT
2)Utilities (water,electricity and gas) - 35, 50, 50
3)Car lease - 250
4)SkyTV (cable TV) and internet - 50 + 20
5)Mobile phone - 35
6)Petrol - 50
7)Groceries - for two I'd think 75 a week but depends on ur tastes!
8)Food and drinks - difficult - say twice a week, 50-100? per week
9)Clothing - difficult again, 200?

Don't forget car insurance, you'll have no UK driving record so I guess u'd pay full price, say 80 a month.

Road tax for car (if not in lease) 175 pa, landline, 60 a quarter, house insurance 40 a mo, TV licence (needed even if u have Sky/Cable) 120 pa.

Also don't forget to allow for deposit and months rent in advance, usually two months rent as u move in.

Salary of 38k would net u around 27k, equates to 2250 a month, less ur 900 is 1350, i think it leaves you a bit tight if u have an unexpected expense.

Send the wife out to work!

Welcome to expensive UK!

Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your reply.But for rental,is that for a one bedroom apartment?Normally how big is the apartment?I need at least 600square feet.

For Petrol to commute to work are you sure it will be only 50quids per month or per week?Maybe my questions should ask these expenses per month.Sorry for missing out the details.

So could you post again the estimated figure for monthly usage.

Many thanks.

Here in Leeds a one bed is about 600 quid a month. Nice, modern but small. My mate has one (on HSMP here). Look at Johns link to get more info, housing is unbelivably expensive in the UK, including renting.

I rent a five bed house for 750 a mo, but I'm right out in the suburbs.

As for petrol costs, I drive to work and do 500 miles a week, and I spend about 60 quid a week on diesel, if my car was petrol I'd up that to 75/80 quid a week. U can work out ur figures from that I reckon.

Steve

[mzi]

I will stay around 10miles max from my office which will make 20miles per day or 150miles a week.

So if I were to drive a 2.0 liter automatic car such as a Ford Mondeo 2.0,how much will my fuel cost per month/week?

[John]

So if I were to drive a 2.0 liter automatic car such as a Ford Mondeo 2.0,how much will my fuel cost per month/week?

Fuel costs do fluctuate a bit but in the UK if you work on the basis of say 85p per litre then you should be able to get an idea now much your fuel cost will be per month.

Do appreciate that Aberdeen has a reputation for being one of the most expensive places to live in the UK, thanks to the oil industry and the fact that many top executives can easily afford to pay huge amounts for their housing, and that forces the whole market upwards.

[Wanderer]

I will stay around 10miles max from my office which will make 20miles per day or 150miles a week.

So if I were to drive a 2.0 liter automatic car such as a Ford Mondeo 2.0,how much will my fuel cost per month/week?

I reckon 25/30 quid a week.

Steve