Hi everyone,

My wife and I are moving to London soon (from South Africa), and would just like your help/advise on whether our budget looks reasonable.

My net salary should be around £3400, which from reading here seems to be high, but we will be completely new to the country and have no idea what to expect. My wife will start job hunting as soon as we arrive.

Rent – £1500 (alot more research needs to be done here, but we are hoping to find a two bedroom flat with good transport links to the city center. A one bedroom will be fine as well ).

Bill’s – £200 (council tax, water and electricity, is this sufficient?)

WiFi/sim cards – £50

Groceries – £300

Transport – £250 (we’re not sure where we will be living yet, this would be for traveling to work in Central, as well as for us moving around on weekends)

Home – £700 (sent back to SA, we both need to support our parents)

Miscellaneous – £300 (household items, pet food, eating out)

Is there anything I’ve missed? Any feedback, I guess the only thing we can’t change at the moment is the amount we send back home.

11 comments

  1. Bills will probably be more like £300 than £200, depends on council tax in what borough you live in. Groceries can be more or less than that based on your diets and shopping habits. Nothing else stands out.

  2. I think you’re underestimating bills and wifi/phone fairly significantly.

    Bills will vary a lot based on the apartment, but you could be looking at closer to £400 or £500 with some bad luck.

    For internet, you’re probably looking at £30 a month for mediocre or £50/month for good.

  3. Bills will certainly be more I reckon. My council tax is 145 a month, my gas and electricity combined is 192, my water is 45. I’m in a 3 bed house in Wales but was similar when I had a 1 bed flat in London.

  4. You need to do more research. £1500 is possible for rent, but it’s on the low side, particularly if you need somewhere nice, central or in a hurry. Bills will be more like £400-500. Assuming you commute daily, a Zone 1-2 monthly Travelcard is £150 each. You could easily spend £50 or more each travelling around the UK at weekends, and don’t forget hotel costs if you do so. £300 is one good birthday blowout-type meal for two. Even more modest places are going to push £100 if you drink. A pub meal with drinks could easily come to £40+. Your only possible area for savings is groceries – you could halve that if you’re prepared to budget carefully.

    I would think twice about bringing your pet. Most landlords don’t allow them so it will make the already challenging task of finding a flat even harder. Plus if you need a garden for the pet that will push up your rental cost.

  5. If you’re not restricted to areas you might be able to keep a central two bed in your budget.. but consider travel.. a monthly oyster card (for public transport) is £150 for a couple of zones.. the more zones you need to travel through (the further out you are) the more that is.. so you may wish to up your rent budget.

    I’m not in London, but my city centre council tax is over £100 on its own, for a 2-bed apartment. Gas and electric are rising like crazy.. and you’ll be arriving here towards winter.. so have a good look at bills budget as you may be underestimating.

    Groceries are what you make them and eat i guess.. but again, costs are rising like crazy.. if you don’t have a pet you’re bringing, I wouldn’t get one yet.. my cat food prices are also growing atm.. and I’d see where you are first.. vets appointments etc.. not just food..

    And.. London is crazy expensive.. you’re easily looking at £8 a pint .. but look for deals and you’ll be fine.

    With the salary you’ll get and then your wife’s wage, you’ll be more than fine.. people survive on a lot less.. it’s one expensive city but it’s one of the best in the world!

    Good luck in your search and hope you find a little gem and you’re really happy here 🙂

  6. Bills will be much higher, sadly:

    – council tax can be easily around 150/month (that’s what we pay). it very much depends on the council tax band your property is

    – Utilities are running very high right now, both electricity and gas because of the current (shitty) economical situation the UK is going through. We’ve been on a fixed contract since last year, so thanks God we’re spared from the crazy hikes that have been going on lately, but if you start a new contract now you’ll probably have to shell a few hundreds pounds/month only for electricity/gas from what I can see see. Try to gather as much information on this beforehand and if that’s the case see if your company can give you some kind of “relocation-package” assistance on this just to cope with the first few months of utilities expenses (that would be ideal)

  7. I think you’re out by a fair bit. Double the amount for bills, food is likely to cost a bit more too. You won’t get Wi-Fi and sims for that either

  8. £200 alone for gas electric £150 council tax so you are way out with bills. Plus you will have phone , internet, water , insurance just to state a few. Bills will be very high.

  11. £10 a day for food seems low for two people. It’s possible but you would be eating very cheap food.

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