£20000.00 higher pay with new job but may be not worth it?

djcat

Hello, I got a job offer that would give me £20K more gross salary, but I am strongly thinking it may not be worth it. On the other hand I don't know if I would be dismissing a great opportunity. I am on a good salary now, but can't really save as much as I wanted to and I am not living life like there is no tomorrow...

I am 35 and live in Reading right now and would have to move to London. I would have a longer and more expensive commute, plus lets don't even talk about the rent and car insurance in London...

On the other hand, of course it would look good on my CV, I would be in London where chances for a better job for my partner would also happen. Plus, its always better to have a higher base salary negotiation basis.

I am in a stable relationship, no kids (yet) and my main goal is to save money and work on my career.

Still, can anybody please let me know what good it is to get a GBP 20000 pay increase if one half of that is eaten up by taxes and the other half by higher cost of living?

"Consumer Prices in London are 3.64% higher than in Reading
Consumer Prices Including Rent in London are 21.79% higher than in Reading
Rent Prices in London are 62.44% higher than in Reading
Restaurant Prices in London are 2.50% lower than in Reading
Groceries Prices in London are 11.05% lower than in Reading
Local Purchasing Power in London is 17.89% lower than in Reading"

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=United+Kingdom&city1=Reading&city2=London

What would you do?

notanewuser

djcat wrote: »

Hello, I got a job offer that would give me £20K more gross salary, but I am strongly thinking it may not be worth it. On the other hand I don't know if I would be dismissing a great opportunity. I am on a good salary now, but can't really save as much as I wanted to and I am not living life like there is no tomorrow...

I am 35 and live in Reading right now and would have to move to London. I would have a longer and more expensive commute, plus lets don't even talk about the rent and car insurance in London...

On the other hand, of course it would look good on my CV, I would be in London where chances for a better job for my partner would also happen. Plus, its always better to have a higher base salary negotiation basis.

I am in a stable relationship, no kids (yet) and my main goal is to save money and work on my career.

Still, can anybody please let me know what good it is to get a GBP 20000 pay increase if one half of that is eaten up by taxes and the other half by higher cost of living?

"Consumer Prices in London are 3.64% higher than in Reading
Consumer Prices Including Rent in London are 21.79% higher than in Reading
Rent Prices in London are 62.44% higher than in Reading
Restaurant Prices in London are 2.50% lower than in Reading
Groceries Prices in London are 11.05% lower than in Reading
Local Purchasing Power in London is 17.89% lower than in Reading"

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=United+Kingdom&city1=Reading&city2=London

What would you do?

I'd acquaint myself better with taxation for a start. You'd pay 40% tax and no extra NI, so that's £12k extra in your pocket. If you salary sacrificed some of the £20k into a pension you wouldn't pay so much tax and you'd be bettering your pension provision = win win.

Some people love London, some hate it, and for others it doesn't matter where you are because your day is no different wherever you are (get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed, repeat).

Dunroamin

If you move to London you could save a lot of money by not running a car.

Miss_Havisham

is moving to London the only option, could you commute from further out ?

Personally I worked in the City of London for 35 years and absolutely loved the hustle and bustle of it, wouldn't have worked anywhere else. For 15 years I had a 90 mins to 2 hour each-way daily commute but that's because I like living in a smaller town and afford a nicer property.

Big decision - make one you don't regret. What does your OH say ?

Miss H

Savvy_Sue

djcat wrote: »

What would you do?

I'd discuss it with my partner and reach a decision with them. If you'd both be happy living in London that's obviously in your favour, if you think you'd hate it, then less incentive to move!

Very few decisions are JUST about the money, and you've already worked out that this isn't one of them ...

djcat

Thanks for your answers. My other half would not be making more money in London, but she would have more chances of getting a job she likes. For her it would not be about the money, but about getting up at 6 or 7 instead of 5...she said I am the money maker in the house and we will do whatever I decide.
And I decide to only go if she is happy of course!
Well, per online gross to net calculator, my extra net in my pocket would be between 8 and 11 thousand, but I would spend another 7200 on rent, too. I can not be bothered to spent 2 hours in a train every day and spent 3600 to 4000 for commuting costs, either...plus I can not work if I am falling asleep in the office so I like to get my 7 or 8 hours (its priceless to me).
Car: I have to ferry my elderly parents around and I travel to Europe quite a bid by car for work and privately, so I need it.
I guess I thought I would have more to save up when I applied for the job, now I need to see if the other perks for living in London make up for it, too.

djcat

Miss_Havisham wrote: »

is moving to London the only option, could you commute from further out ?

Personally I worked in the City of London for 35 years and absolutely loved the hustle and bustle of it, wouldn't have worked anywhere else. For 15 years I had a 90 mins to 2 hour each-way daily commute but that's because I like living in a smaller town and afford a nicer property.

Big decision - make one you don't regret. What does your OH say ?

Miss H

I had planned to move to Richmond initially, as it seems to be a safe, nice and clean place and be reasonably close to the city. However I know that there are “cheaper” places to live in London, that may not be unsafe. Can you recommend any place to look at within 8 to 10 miles from the City?

getmore4less

djcat wrote: »

Well, per online gross to net calculator, my extra net in my pocket would be between 8 and 11 thousand,o.

What calculator and numbers give that range, tax and NI is 32% or 42%

I think if you are allready in the 40% bracket(>42,475) and struggling to save it's spending you need to look at not earnings.

getmore4less

djcat wrote: »

I had planned to move to Richmond initially, as it seems to be a safe, nice and clean place and be reasonably close to the city. However I know that there are “cheaper” places to live in London, that may not be unsafe. Can you recommend any place to look at within 8 to 10 miles from the City?

You need to look at travel times to the specifiv location rather than distance get the right route and you have a chance to sleep on he trains.

why look at west london when you are traveling to east london/city

Dunroamin

djcat wrote: »

I had planned to move to Richmond initially, as it seems to be a safe, nice and clean place and be reasonably close to the city. However I know that there are “cheaper” places to live in London, that may not be unsafe. Can you recommend any place to look at within 8 to 10 miles from the City?

You're moving to London, not Sodom and Gomorrah!

notanewuser

djcat wrote: »

I had planned to move to Richmond initially, as it seems to be a safe, nice and clean place and be reasonably close to the city. However I know that there are “cheaper” places to live in London, that may not be unsafe. Can you recommend any place to look at within 8 to 10 miles from the City?

Richmond is EXTREMELY expensive and a good 1.5 hour commute to the City in rush hour (by train and tube).

Lots of nice places with good access to the M4 and good transport links - Putney, Barnes, Wandsworth, Clapham, Fulham........