Is a 60k salary in London ok to get by?

Ybe

Am I right in thinking that a 60k salary is plenty to get by in London renting a decent place, having a good social life (going out 3-4 times a week to average price places) and having savings for holidays and occasional other purchases (clothing, phone etc)?

welly_59

Probably wrong forum for this question, but London rents are insane

lisyloo

It depends where is London you are living and what you consider decent.
also London is a big place.
some people might mean Westminster, others Croydon.
I would say in general yes - but living in say zone 4 and having a commute.

You need to make a compromise in London.
most people make a distance compromise, but you can also compromise on space (if you want to be central) or you compromise on cost or standard (they are some grim areas to live).

when I was there we compromised on space, price and standard.
most people compromise on distance and live in the outer areas.

where are you thinking of living?

we paid £1625 per month for 1 bed centrally.

bouicca21

Well put it this way, a 1 bed flat round my way (zone 4) costs about £1200-£1300 a month. Then it’s just over £2k for a 4 zone travel card.

400ixl

Where do you define as London.

There are large parts of London where i wouldn't have thought that £60k would allow you to rent solo and live that level of social life. Yes, there will be other parts of outer London where it could well do.

Ybe

400ixl said:

Where do you define as London.

There are large parts of London where i wouldn't have thought that £60k would allow you to rent solo and live that level of social life. Yes, there will be other parts of outer London where it could well do.

Anything out to zone 4/5. 

lika_86

£60k with a 5% pension contribution but no student loans means £3500 a month take home.

I used to rent a one bedroom flat (no outside space) in Whitechapel which was walking distance to the City so minimal travel costs. Before the recent rise in costs, that was £1450 a month. 

So, £2k left after rent. Then there's bills, £100+ for council tax, let's say £50 for internet, £200 a month for other bills, that's £350 total for essential bills.

So £1650 left. Assuming you live alone then £300 for essential food, maybe some bought lunches, £50 a month for a few tube journeys. 

So, £1,300 left. Take off £60 a month for a mobile phone and say £80 a month for a gym membership or whatever hobbies/charity donations/takeaways float your boat.

£1,150 left. Let's say £500 for long term savings, £200 for holiday savings.

£450 left. That's just over £100 a week for going out. Bottles of bog standard wine/fizz in a central London but not fancy places we've ended up at after work/in an evening can be £30+.

It's very doable but certainly not the high life that that salary would get you elsewhere in the country. I'd say a lifestyle of going out three or four times a week would mean compromises elsewhere. 

Obviously if you were to live in either a house share or with someone then a lot of essential costs then go down because they're split.

Ybe

lika_86 said:

£60k with a 5% pension contribution but no student loans means £3500 a month take home.

I used to rent a one bedroom flat (no outside space) in Whitechapel which was walking distance to the City so minimal travel costs. Before the recent rise in costs, that was £1450 a month. 

So, £2k left after rent. Then there's bills, £100+ for council tax, let's say £50 for internet, £200 a month for other bills, that's £350 total for essential bills.

So £1650 left. Assuming you live alone then £300 for essential food, maybe some bought lunches, £50 a month for a few tube journeys. 

So, £1,300 left. Take off £60 a month for a mobile phone and say £80 a month for a gym membership or whatever hobbies/charity donations/takeaways float your boat.

£1,150 left. Let's say £500 for long term savings, £200 for holiday savings.

£450 left. That's just over £100 a week for going out. Bottles of bog standard wine/fizz in a central London but not fancy places we've ended up at after work/in an evening can be £30+.

It's very doable but certainly not the high life that that salary would get you elsewhere in the country. I'd say a lifestyle of going out three or four times a week would mean compromises elsewhere. 

Obviously if you were to live in either a house share or with someone then a lot of essential costs then go down because they're split.

This is living in zone 1 right?  Zone 4 is fine. Looking at zone 4, rent is well under 2k. I can see 1200-1400 on rightmove. 

Ybe

Ybe said:

lika_86 said:

£60k with a 5% pension contribution but no student loans means £3500 a month take home.

I used to rent a one bedroom flat (no outside space) in Whitechapel which was walking distance to the City so minimal travel costs. Before the recent rise in costs, that was £1450 a month. 

So, £2k left after rent. Then there's bills, £100+ for council tax, let's say £50 for internet, £200 a month for other bills, that's £350 total for essential bills.

So £1650 left. Assuming you live alone then £300 for essential food, maybe some bought lunches, £50 a month for a few tube journeys. 

So, £1,300 left. Take off £60 a month for a mobile phone and say £80 a month for a gym membership or whatever hobbies/charity donations/takeaways float your boat.

£1,150 left. Let's say £500 for long term savings, £200 for holiday savings.

£450 left. That's just over £100 a week for going out. Bottles of bog standard wine/fizz in a central London but not fancy places we've ended up at after work/in an evening can be £30+.

It's very doable but certainly not the high life that that salary would get you elsewhere in the country. I'd say a lifestyle of going out three or four times a week would mean compromises elsewhere. 

Obviously if you were to live in either a house share or with someone then a lot of essential costs then go down because they're split.

This is living in zone 1 right?  Zone 4 is fine. Looking at zone 4, rent is well under 2k. I can see 1200-1400 on rightmove. 

Also one does not need to spend £60 on phone bills, £80 on gym membership or £50 on internet. These costs are excessive. 

lika_86

Ybe said:

Ybe said:

lika_86 said:

£60k with a 5% pension contribution but no student loans means £3500 a month take home.

I used to rent a one bedroom flat (no outside space) in Whitechapel which was walking distance to the City so minimal travel costs. Before the recent rise in costs, that was £1450 a month. 

So, £2k left after rent. Then there's bills, £100+ for council tax, let's say £50 for internet, £200 a month for other bills, that's £350 total for essential bills.

So £1650 left. Assuming you live alone then £300 for essential food, maybe some bought lunches, £50 a month for a few tube journeys. 

So, £1,300 left. Take off £60 a month for a mobile phone and say £80 a month for a gym membership or whatever hobbies/charity donations/takeaways float your boat.

£1,150 left. Let's say £500 for long term savings, £200 for holiday savings.

£450 left. That's just over £100 a week for going out. Bottles of bog standard wine/fizz in a central London but not fancy places we've ended up at after work/in an evening can be £30+.

It's very doable but certainly not the high life that that salary would get you elsewhere in the country. I'd say a lifestyle of going out three or four times a week would mean compromises elsewhere. 

Obviously if you were to live in either a house share or with someone then a lot of essential costs then go down because they're split.

This is living in zone 1 right?  Zone 4 is fine. Looking at zone 4, rent is well under 2k. I can see 1200-1400 on rightmove. 

Also one does not need to spend £60 on phone bills, £80 on gym membership or £50 on internet. These costs are excessive. 

That's Zone 2 (hence only £50 on travel), of course you'd be looking at closer to £2k now. You can get cheaper rent the further out you move but commuting costs go up. I always used to walk to and from work and could walk to Shoreditch etc. Taxis home etc for the odd time you need them are also cheaper. London is a case of balancing rent vs commuting costs and time.

I didn't post this as an invitation to criticise the spending breakdown. These are fairly reasonable costs (good luck getting super fast internet, needed for wfh, for much less than £50) for things that most people do have but which could easily be replaced by whatever you spend money on (clothes, nights out etc). The point is, it's indicative of a not lavish London lifestyle and a breakdown of how quickly a decent salary can go on 'normal' things. If you think that these are excessive, I'd suggest you do a similar breakdown based on what you spend money on and see how feasible the life you want is.

Ybe

Also £30 for a glass of wine is not normal. This is a very lavish lifestyle.