Cost of living in the UK

mem79

Hi all,


Not sure if this is the best place to post but has to do with moving. We currently live in Sweden (me, my wife and 3 Children who are all under 7) and we are finding it difficult financially. I'm the only one working at the moment and my wife is studying. We are both from the UK (I'm half Swedish) and have lived here for four years.


I'm wondering about if we would be better off moving back to the UK but I have a feeling even if I would earn what I earn over here that we would still struggle. I have checked the website minimal living wage (I think it is called that) and that states a minimum salary of at least £43,000 for a family of five similar to what I earn now. Obviously it does depends where you live etc but would be good to know what other people think of a minimum for a resonable lifestyle (nothing extravigant but be able to eat out once in a while and be able to go on holiday)


Thanks in advance.

MrJB

Depends where in the UK you were going to live as you say - if it's London or South East you're not going to live a life of luxury on 43k per annum - after tax it equates to around £2,600 you maybe entitled to benefits which will boost this figure somewhat. Housing costs are going to vary dramatically depending on the area - it may be as little as £1,000 in parts of the North which would leave a sizeable chunk for other things (but generally you will earn less as a result).

By way of example, I live in Suffolk which being approximately an hour and 15 minutes from London on the train isn't hugely attractive for commuters, a 4 bed detached house here can be purchased for 300k(ish). I was in a similar position as you - earning the same money, and my partner was training as a nurse and we found it pretty tough going and that's without the added cost of kids. Although now she is qualified life is significantly easier!

Grenage

Hej, Hur är det?

It's always going to be tight with a family of that size, unless you've got two reasonable salaries; the north is a bit better, but the salaries generally lower.

I would be skeptical about you being better off by moving here - your standard of living could easily decrease.

[Deleted User]

Would this help? http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Sweden&country2=United+Kingdom

What is your rent/mortgage like? That's pretty much the biggest outgoing for most people, and would reflect in your cost of living the most.

AnotherJoe

mem79 wrote: »

Obviously it does depends where you live etc but would be good to know what other people think of a minimum for a resonable lifestyle (nothing extravigant but be able to eat out once in a while and be able to go on holiday)

Where you live has a massive effect because house prices (and thus payments) could be a factor of 10 different from one place to another.

So without knowing where you'd live and the price of house you'd buy, everything else is very second order or even irrelevant.

With a couple pf provisos, from what i recall from trips there, other than housing and from what i read child care, it would be cheaper here. Tax here is less i think as well.

bouicca21

Bear in mind that the sort of money that got MrJB a 4 bed detached in Suffolk will buy you no more than a 1 bed flat in suburban London.

mem79

Det är bra tack!


Thats what I thought , it might be a struggle with a family of five and a salary in that range. Thinking back when we lived there there were only 3 of us and we had a house rented out so we had extra income, that house is sold now. So seems like that it would be a struggle with three children (we always look back in rose tinted glasses...)


Just looking at childcare costs (we pay approx £200 a month for 3 Children full time) they could be as much as £700-1000 for nusarey and after school clubs......

mem79

We pay about £550 a month for a 4 bedroom detached house. The interest on the mortgage is deductable against you income tax so it ends up that we sont have to pay the equivalent of concil tax and sometimes get tax back, was 200 last year.

Guest101

mem79 wrote: »

Hi all,


Not sure if this is the best place to post but has to do with moving. We currently live in Sweden (me, my wife and 3 Children who are all under 7) and we are finding it difficult financially. I'm the only one working at the moment and my wife is studying. We are both from the UK (I'm half Swedish) and have lived here for four years.


I'm wondering about if we would be better off moving back to the UK but I have a feeling even if I would earn what I earn over here that we would still struggle. I have checked the website minimal living wage (I think it is called that) and that states a minimum salary of at least £43,000 for a family of five similar to what I earn now. Obviously it does depends where you live etc but would be good to know what other people think of a minimum for a resonable lifestyle (nothing extravigant but be able to eat out once in a while and be able to go on holiday)


Thanks in advance.

A family of 5 can survive on much less than £43,000, however presumably your wife will be working to, so 1 £30,000 and 1x £13,000 seems fairly doable.


What's your job sector?

Guest101

mem79 wrote: »

Det är bra tack!


Thats what I thought , it might be a struggle with a family of five and a salary in that range. Thinking back when we lived there there were only 3 of us and we had a house rented out so we had extra income, that house is sold now. So seems like that it would be a struggle with three children (we always look back in rose tinted glasses...)


Just looking at childcare costs (we pay approx £200 a month for 3 Children full time) they could be as much as £700-1000 for nusarey and after school clubs......

One of you could do a part time job? Until children all in school, then a flexi job?

fairy_lights

mem79 wrote: »

We pay about £550 a month for a 4 bedroom detached house. The interest on the mortgage is deductable against you income tax so it ends up that we sont have to pay the equivalent of concil tax and sometimes get tax back, was 200 last year.

I think you'd struggle to find a 4 bedroom detached house for that price anywhere in the UK, unless maybe you have a huge deposit to begin with.
How much longer will your wife be studying for?