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I thought I'd start this thread after reading another one currently going on, started by someone looking to move to London from the States.
That poster had a budget for accommodation of around £1000 per month, and wanted to know what would be available. 'Not much' seemed to be most people's advice; 'try looking out in zone 4 or 5, somewhere like Dagenam', suggested another.
Here is a link to two bedroom flats currently available in the SE19 area of London, which is to the south in zone 3:
As you'll see, many flats are available for £950 to £1000 per month. They may not be palatial, but I immediately recognised some streets and buildings as places I know and would happily live. SE19 - aka Crystal Palace and environs - is a leafy inner suburb, not posh but probably on the trendy side of normal, with good train links to the rest of London.
The broader point I'd like to make is that I think people on modest - or rather, typical - incomes, visiting this site, could be wrongly put off coming to London by the incorrect impression that it is purely a city for the rich. There are often threads started by people with questions like 'will a salary of £85,000 per year be enough in London'. The fact is, the median income here is somewhat under £30,000.
London is an expensive city, and there is a real fight going on to stop it becoming ever-more so. But for the time being, it is still somewhere where many pretty ordinary people enjoy a great standard of living - if you can accept the sacrificises of big-city life, you'll also find there are many things to enjoy that don't exist anywhere else.
London is a wonderful city but the "real" London (or center if you will) exists inside zones 1 & 2. You can find accomodation for the prices you mention but most people find that they can get more for their money in towns outside London with commutes that are just as easy as living in zone 3. Life in central London is very expensive mainly due to the cost of housing, which has become insane. It barely dropped, if at all during the recession. The cost of entertainment and dining isn't bad and is comparable with any other major city.
I have friends who make great salaries in London but will never ever afford any space there. I lived in Crouch End for a while and loved it, but in the end found that the cost just wasnt worth it.
It's a great place for apartment living but property ownership (for anything other than a small apartment) is now reserved for the super rich.
I thought I'd start this thread after reading another one currently going on, started by someone looking to move to London from the States.
That poster had a budget for accommodation of around £1000 per month, and wanted to know what would be available. 'Not much' seemed to be most people's advice; 'try looking out in zone 4 or 5, somewhere like Dagenam', suggested another.
Here is a link to two bedroom flats currently available in the SE19 area of London, which is to the south in zone 3:
As you'll see, many flats are available for £950 to £1000 per month. They may not be palatial, but I immediately recognised some streets and buildings as places I know and would happily live. SE19 - aka Crystal Palace and environs - is a leafy inner suburb, not posh but probably on the trendy side of normal, with good train links to the rest of London.
The broader point I'd like to make is that I think people on modest - or rather, typical - incomes, visiting this site, could be wrongly put off coming to London by the incorrect impression that it is purely a city for the rich. There are often threads started by people with questions like 'will a salary of £85,000 per year be enough in London'. The fact is, the median income here is somewhat under £30,000.
London is an expensive city, and there is a real fight going on to stop it becoming ever-more so. But for the time being, it is still somewhere where many pretty ordinary people enjoy a great standard of living - if you can accept the sacrificises of big-city life, you'll also find there are many things to enjoy that don't exist anywhere else.
Lmao!
That's if you consider living beyond zone 3 as "living in London".
Central London, and MAYBE zone 2 is real London, and nobody can afford to live there.
I lived in many European major cities (Vienna, Paris, Munich) and always lived in what would be the equivalent of "central London" (zone 1), without it costing an arm and a leg and living in shanty houses with 5 or more flatmates (Bearing in Mind I have what would be considered A GOOD JOB)
The only benefit to this city is if you want to be a banker or if you genuinely like living there even in overcrowded flatshares. Some like it. Mostly artists and so on.
Personally I cant wait to get out. Its just not worth it to me.
And from my experience most English people (not Euros like me) cant wait to get out aswell (and buy reasonable property in other UK cities).
Most of the questions about London come from Americans. Most Americans from outside the larger cities would be surprised by the size (and to a lesser extent condition) of the cheaper flats. You can get much nicer and bigger places the further out you go. But that is just accommodation, there are also food, transport and entertainment costs, which are also very high. But anyone with an 85k salary is not going to do too poorly anyhow.
We want to move to London with family, family of 4, 2 kids, me and my husband. How much a person should earn monthly for a normal living? My husband is coming there on a student visa. Can he afford a family, Please help me out
I thought I'd start this thread after reading another one currently going on, started by someone looking to move to London from the States.
That poster had a budget for accommodation of around £1000 per month, and wanted to know what would be available. 'Not much' seemed to be most people's advice; 'try looking out in zone 4 or 5, somewhere like Dagenam', suggested another.
Here is a link to two bedroom flats currently available in the SE19 area of London, which is to the south in zone 3:
As you'll see, many flats are available for £950 to £1000 per month. They may not be palatial, but I immediately recognised some streets and buildings as places I know and would happily live. SE19 - aka Crystal Palace and environs - is a leafy inner suburb, not posh but probably on the trendy side of normal, with good train links to the rest of London.
The broader point I'd like to make is that I think people on modest - or rather, typical - incomes, visiting this site, could be wrongly put off coming to London by the incorrect impression that it is purely a city for the rich. There are often threads started by people with questions like 'will a salary of £85,000 per year be enough in London'. The fact is, the median income here is somewhat under £30,000.
London is an expensive city, and there is a real fight going on to stop it becoming ever-more so. But for the time being, it is still somewhere where many pretty ordinary people enjoy a great standard of living - if you can accept the sacrificises of big-city life, you'll also find there are many things to enjoy that don't exist anywhere else.
I agree. There are too many people who think that London is the most expensive English city. They're all wrong.
Lol @ Alan, it barely feels part of the UK in places!
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