Regarding cost of living in UK

[RichM]

Regarding cost of living in UK

For singles:

Rent: £300 – £450 per month Max depending on the type of room.

A decent good double room without sharing should cost you around 400 – 425.
You can get a room on sharing basis even for 250, but its bit hard to stay in such rooms and suggestion is do not go for small rooms. Small rooms are really depressing and can not stay in it after coming from India.

Food: Maximum £75 - £100 Max
Assuming you will be preparing at home most of the times
If you are eating out its £5 -8 for each time

Travel: £ 50 assuming you will be going to central London once every week for an interview

Phone: This is a killer, can range between £25 to £75 as UK mobile is very expensive and initially you can not get a mobile contract without UK bank credit cards

India Calls: This will be cheap compared to UK calls, better to use SKYPE which is free. Cost: £10 - £ 25


So total expense for single person should not be more than £600 per month assuming you want to stay comfortably.

For Family


Rent: £600 per month Max depending on the type of room in a PG accommodation
You can get a cheaper option but avoid it as you will not have privacy

If you go for a independent house, it will cost you minimum £ 800 which includes gas, electricity, council

Food: Maximum £100 - £125 Max
Assuming you will be preparing at home most of the times

Travel: £ 75 assuming you will be going to central London once every week for an interview and do some bus travel

Phone: This is a killer can range between £25 to £75 as UK mobile is very expensive and initially you can not get a mobile contract without UK bank credit cards

India Calls: This will be cheap compared to UK calls, better to use SKYPE which is free. Cost: £ 25 - £ 40

So total expense for family should be in the range of £900 – £1200 max assuming you want to stay comfortably.

[PaperPusher]

Where is the television licence, medicine, clothes, other bills such as a broadband connection and water rates, insurance, flights home to see family, entertainment such as the cinema, setting up home costs such as bedding unless you are happy to use other people's, children's clothes and shoes (they grow up quickly), school books, school uniform, newspapers, toiletries, holidays and trips out to the country, children's toys, remittances to Mum and Dad, electrical goods such as a computer or television, school meals for the child, satellite payments to get channels from home, and so on?

£25 for food for a family for a week is ridiculous, one large bag of rice costs that much. Even a vegetarian would completely struggle to feed a family on £25.

The rental estimates are optomistic even if they don't include bills.

Council tax can easily be £100 for a house each month.

Living costs in the UK are high, a takeaway coffee and a sandwich can be £8, one cinema ticket can be £8.50 or even £15 or more in Leicester Square.

So total expense for family should be in the range of £900 – £1200 max assuming you want to stay comfortably.

I disagree, total expenses for a family will be around £2000 or much more if you want to live comfortably, with rent or a mortgage taking up the biggest part of someone's living expenses.

I doubt a single person could live comfortably on £600 a month for any length of time even in Northern cities and towns.

Expenses should be realistic, it is possible to live somewhere on not very much for a certain amount of time, but after a while people will need a new suit, new shoes and so on. It also gets boring staring at walls, fun is important even if it is just a walk to the park and an ice cream.

[push]

Where is the television licence, medicine, clothes, other bills such as a broadband connection and water rates, insurance, flights home to see family, entertainment such as the cinema, setting up home costs such as bedding unless you are happy to use other people's, children's clothes and shoes (they grow up quickly), school books, school uniform, newspapers, toiletries, holidays and trips out to the country, children's toys, remittances to Mum and Dad, electrical goods such as a computer or television, school meals for the child, satellite payments to get channels from home, and so on?

£25 for food for a family for a week is ridiculous, one large bag of rice costs that much. Even a vegetarian would completely struggle to feed a family on £25.

The rental estimates are optomistic even if they don't include bills.

Council tax can easily be £100 for a house each month.

Living costs in the UK are high, a takeaway coffee and a sandwich can be £8, one cinema ticket can be £8.50 or even £15 or more in Leicester Square.

So total expense for family should be in the range of £900 – £1200 max assuming you want to stay comfortably.

I disagree, total expenses for a family will be around £2000 or much more if you want to live comfortably, with rent or a mortgage taking up the biggest part of someone's living expenses.

I doubt a single person could live comfortably on £600 a month for any length of time even in Northern cities and towns.

Expenses should be realistic, it is possible to live somewhere on not very much for a certain amount of time, but after a while people will need a new suit, new shoes and so on. It also gets boring staring at walls, fun is important even if it is just a walk to the park and an ice cream.

Agree - Rent for a two bedroom flat itself is around 900-1500 pm. If you move to the outskirts of london then not only the commute time will increase, the monthly travel bill will rise too and there will be a need for car as well. GBP 2200 pm seems a realistic monthly expenditure for a family of three.

[RichM]

Let me clarify few things... This cost was for a person coming to UK on Tier 1 for initial few months, when he is still finding a job.
I do not think a person will be planning to take television licence, clothes, cinema tickets, car at leaset till he gets his first job

You can easily get a descent 2 bedrrom flat for rent of 800 per month in Zone 4/5 of London which is Hayes, Southall, Eastham
Not sure which area of London you have to pay (900-1500 pm for a 2 bedrrom flat unless you want to stay in Zone 1or 2 )

Monthly pass from Zone 4 does nto cost more than £150.

If you are looking at expenses once you settled...

House: 800
Council: 100
Elec+Light+Water 100
Travel 150
Food 250
TV License, Zee, 100
Broadband, BT phone,
India Calls,
Contract Phone
Car Insurance, Petrol 100
Others (1200 per year) 100
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Total: 1700
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You can check with any of your friends who come to UK on an onsite assignment, how much salary they get by top Indian IT firms. Its average 1800 - 2400 per month. All these guys are able to save around £500 - £1000 comfortabley with families. If the cost is above £2000 no one would come on an onsite assignment to save couple of hundreds.

I have seen most people on onsite assignement staying in shared accomodation (400 Per month) or families in a 1 bed room flat (max 700 per month). If person is getting above 2500 per month then only he can afford house in the range of 800 - 1000, and still can save atleast 500.

http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Cou ... dom/Salary
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/in ... 954AA4pkqj