how much would you need to earn to live in London, comfortably?

tanith

Lived in London all my life and I agree with others who say 30K for a single person my daughter earns a bit less than that and due to circumstances is living with us while she saves up her deposit to rent a studio locally in West London within reach of her work.. I feel sorry for all my young family members who want to stay where they have lived all their lives, near family and jobs but can't afford anything and are still living with parents or family , quite unsuitable accommadation..

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Everyone's definition of "comfortable", "necessity" and "luxury" is different.

For reference, I started off in London on ~16k. That was 12 years ago when I was in my 20s and didn't mind flatsharing in cheap n cheerful places. Rent will consume the largest chunk of your income so it depends how fussy you are about where you live (and whether he wants his kids to stay over in a house share). How you get about is also a big financial factor; cycling is free, running a car is a massive expense with parking a daily hassle.

There is lots of free stuff in London (museums, galleries, lectures etc) but on 18k you are going to be living fairly frugally. Suits some, but unless that salary is likely to increase substantially it doesn't sound like a sensible long term move.

Bargain_Rzl

I've been in London since I was in my early 20s and temping for a pittance, and always lived within my means without external support sources (e.g. bank of mum & dad), managing a busy if frugal social and cultural life (cheap standby theatre tickets, etc). I suppose I started feeling "comfortable" within my means as a single person when I was on about £20k (I still couldn't afford my own place then, but was happy sharing) Things have gone up since then, so probably upwards of £25k now.

AFTER your accommodation, travel/commuting costs and essential bills are paid, London can give you a lot of options for stretching a limited disposable income. There's so much choice - for example, you have the pick of supermarkets, specialist shops and street markets for shopping around and keeping down grocery costs, whereas somebody in a rural area might only have one supermarket. Also, if you're commuting from an outer zone to a full-time job in Zone 1, you've probably bought an unlimited season ticket Travelcard to cover your commuting costs, which gives you all your leisure travel within those zones without having to factor in extra cost. And most people don't need a car, at least in central and semi-central London.

TeamMCS

I wouldn't even consider it for less than 50k. And that's assuming you dont want to own a house here. It's bloody expensive

tanith

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

I don't know anyone past 30 who lives in London and is on less than 100K.

What planet are you on:D No one in my family earns anywhere near that kind of money and we all live in London:rotfl:

Guest101

Dude, how many 'good' ideas do u have? I swear every post is so unrealistic

GL

[Deleted User]

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

I don't know anyone past 30 who lives in London and is on less than 100K.

You can't have a very wide social circle then

Jhoney_2

tanith wrote: »

Lived in London all my life and I agree with others who say 30K for a single person my daughter earns a bit less than that and due to circumstances is living with us while she saves up her deposit to rent a studio locally in West London within reach of her work.. I feel sorry for all my young family members who want to stay where they have lived all their lives, near family and jobs but can't afford anything and are still living with parents or family , quite unsuitable accommadation..

Does she need to live in West London? Transport links everything to central London so that is often a choice of location. No offence intended as maybe you daughter does for whatever reason. However, it one of the most expensive areas of London to rent/buy.

I watched a Kirsty allsop programme last year (the one she does by herself) and there was a professional couple of 28ish in good health with great jobs and v.gd salaries - and KA was sooooooooo sorry they couldn't afford to furnish their posh Fulham flat bought for over 3 or4 x the national average- well didums to them.

It had to be lifestyle choices often combined with the 'trendy' location preferences within London that they cannot afford.

I cannot remember the salaries but if you google it, you'll see what I mean.

I do not begrudge them their choice, but that's what it was in that instance.

notanewuser

Hubby and I were on £100k+ between us when we first moved to London. That was pretty comfortable.

Jhoney_2

It's a question of priorities. Buying high end clothes, electronics, holidays, eating out in gourmet restaurants costs money. If that's what you want to do -okay, but don't complain that you cannot afford a place to live and need to go back home to parents. What did they do to provide a roof?

I have never earned the salaries discussed here, have worked hard and reduced spending to gain what I wanted. I live in London and have my own home. It can be done, but not if it's a case of a few streets/places in zones 1 or 2.