Planning to move to london??

kyllle

Hi all planning to move to london next year with my girlfriend, we are both recent graduates and hope to start in jobs around the £25,000 per year mark and work our way up experience wise and money wise. The thought of this move scares me to death as I know that London is so expensive but Im not entirely sure how expensive its going to be?? Can anyone shed some light on this for me like anyhthing I need to know or advice etc. I will be moving from northern ireland and plan to search for a job once there so obviously il need savings which i have none of right now.

I would just really love to have things a lot clearer in my head so i kinda know what to expect or what steps to take cause as iv said im super scared.

Kyllle

SGE1

If you and your girlfriend share a one bed flat, you can live very conformably on a joint income of 50k.

Myself and my partner share a small but nice 1 bed flat in zone 1, rent is £1130/month, and bills, insurance (shop around for these) and council tax come to just under £200/month (that's including telephone line, broadband, utilities, tv licence etc).

One word of caution though, I would bring along plenty of savings, as:
1) it may take you a while to both find a job, especially in the current climate. I would prepare as much as you can before you move, do your research before you arrive.
2) you'll need to pay a landlord a fee, probably, and more importantly, a deposit - something like £1500, so factor that in too.

avantra

Why is it graduates in this country think that they can start on 25k?, In my line of work I have to interview a lot of them and the sense I get is that 'starting from the bottom' ie 15k to 20k is a no go area.

In my humble opinion paycheck expectations had a long inflation period.

skintchick

Are you sure you can get jobs paying 25k? The streets are not paved with gold in London.

tanith

I met many graduates when I was working in London who ended up temping cos the the job they wanted didn't want them... it might not be as easy to earn 25k as you think it is.. and if it takes a few months to find a job then you are going to need mucho savings...

olly300

If you can for a while as you don't have jobs I would try and find a house share that allows couples to share a double room. That way your bills would be lower particularly the council tax. Most people work out they can afford to live on their own or as a couple until they add on the council tax and travel costs to the other side of London. In addition one of you could end up working on the outskirts of London while the other works in zone 1.

House shares can either be a sublet, directly with a landlord or via an agency.

Also be warned lots of landlords will want to know what jobs you have or how you are going to pay the rent. Agencies will charge you huge fees, credit check you and may demand rent up front if you don't have a job.

If you want to stay in a place for a short while i.e. 3 months until you work out what part of the city you need to live in to have a short journey to work then subletting even though it has difficulties is the best.

I suggest you use a site like the gumtree but:
1. don't give anyone any money until you have seen the place.
2. don't give anyone anything but basic information about yourself
3. don't do any money transfers and then someone see the receipt
4. if it looks too good to be true it is
5. go on to the house prices board and read the tenants guide to renting.

Naomim

Hi,

Does it have to be London? I work in London but live in Surrey. It's just on the border, takes me half an hour to get into work and is hell of a lot cheaper!

Look at the outside of London and save yourselves money straight away.

Naomi x

botchjob

It depends on what calibre and subject your degree is in, along with the work experience under your belt, but I'd echo others who say that £25k is a FAT starting salary. Are you basing this on starting salaries for your chosen career + degree? If you have a proper degree from a proper uni then it's very possible. But then you'd have done the milkround and have irons in the fire already...

That aside, my advice would be to set up interviews before moving to town and travel up, and stay in b&bs, as necessary. Far better - and cheaper - to spend money on train fares and cheap hotels, than have to fork out thousands in deposits and rent in advance, without any proper prospect of a job. Once you get a job, do what everyone else does - live on air for a few years while having a fabulous time. Come to London! The streets may not be paved with gold but it's a great place to live.

beingjdc

avantra wrote: »

Why is it graduates in this country think that they can start on 25k?,

Probably because these days even Lidl's graduate training scheme starts at 28k

Stinkybell

Try to get a job before you get here! My OH did a series of telephone interviews from Dublin, before having a final round interview in London (in IT). The company even paid for his flights! He then rented a room off a random Nepalese couple via Gumtree for 4 months before I finished my course and came to join him. Things only started getting expencive when we went to rent a nice flat - shelled out around £2k in deposits etc and then had to go furnish it!

As for living off £25k... I can only afford to live comfortably because OH earns double what I do so he pays 2/3 of the rent and buys nice things for us! (That said, I do drive to work so running my car costs me at least £1500 pa)

phil_b_2

£25k really isn't a big wage. I don't see what is so unrealistic about expecting it (or there abouts) as a graduate starting wage in London.

I beleive everyone has the capacity to earn at least £40k without a big fuss. You just need ideas, ambition, beleif in what you're worth and to get your thumb out of your butt and have a go.