The Cost of Living in London

Warning: if you don't want to think about how expensive London is or you don't care to know how I'm dealing with being a grown-up, don't read this post.

Obviously I've been struggling a bit with what this blog is and why I write it, but one of the things I know for sure - and am proud of - is that this is a resource for current and future expats.  Because of that, and even though I know that Nana will disapprove of this, I'm going to share some of my finances with you so that you - you who might be contemplating a move to London in the near future or are already here and are trying to figure all of this out - might gain some insight into what it's like to live in London from a financial perspective.

RENT: £390/month
Luckily, my rent is extremely low, in part because I'm one of four people in a three-bed flat.  Three things to keep in mind when renting in London: south of the river is cheaper than north, flat-sharing is cheaper than living on your own, and up-and-coming neighborhoods are cheaper than trendy ones.  I check all of these boxes, and therefore am not bled dry by my rent payments.

COUNCIL TAX: £37.50/month
Council tax is essentially a property tax used to fund social services in the borough in which you live.  Things to keep in mind about council tax: if you live in a house/flat inhabited only by students, you don't have to pay - but if there's even one non-student in the house, pay you must!  Also, it's important to note when flat-hunting that council tax varies by borough.  Wandsworth, where I live, has the cheapest council tax in all of England.

TRANSPORTATION: £106/month
Friends with cars argue that driving through London is cheaper than taking public transportation, even with the congestion charge that was added recently.  I'm tempted to agree with them.  Public transportation costs vary based on which kind of travelcard you use (I have an Oyster, which I would recommend to anyone living in London) and in which zones you travel (I generally stay within zones 1 and 2 - basically, central London).  It's really a necessary cost of living in a city, but one that makes me grit my teeth every time I pay it!

GAS/ELECTRICITY: £15/month
Our next gas/electricity bill will be much higher per person per month as this figure is based on what we've been paying August-December and therefore doesn't include the serious months of oh-my-God-it's-so-cold-and-we-need-the-heat-on-all-the-time gas usage.

INTERNET: £10/month
I had nothing to do with setting up the internet in our flat, so I can't tell you anything about what the options are or why we chose whatever it is that we use!  Sorry.

WATER: £10/month

TV LICENSE: £36.10/year
If you watch or record TV programs as they're being shown on TV, you must, by law, be covered by a TV license, no matter what device you're using.  For more information, click here.

MOBILE: £30/month
As I mentioned before, my Blackberry came free with a £30/month contract.  Actually, this month's bill came to £39, but that's because I called internationally more than usual.  (What, it was Christmas - I wanted to speak to my family!)

HEALTH INSURANCE: free!
Except for the snafu with my face, I love the NHS.  Thank you, socialism.

HOME INSURANCE: £4/month

Other expenses - food, drink, entertainment, etc. - will vary based on your desired lifestyle, so I won't post them here as we all have different priorities.

Please keep in mind that all of these costs are just what I personally pay; depending on where you are or what your standard of living is, your costs will change.  Also, please don't take this as struck in stone!  This is just meant as a guide to what sort of costs you might come across while living in London.  I hope it's useful!

(If you have any questions, please leave me a comment - and if you live here and have insights, please do the same!  I'd love to start a dialogue about this.)

Shameless plug: my friend Adam runs an amazing website about investing - check it out if you want to spend and save more wisely!