70k in London

Old Jun 29, 2015, 8:41 pm
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70k in London

Hello Everyone,

I know this has been asked before, but the last thread I ran across was from 07. My company is willing to send me over to London with a salary of 70,000 pounds a year. I currently live in Chicago making the same in USD. I don't know how well this would translate to London and how my quality of life would be? Is that a good wage for London?
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Old Jun 29, 2015, 10:50 pm
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Welcome to Flyertalk.

Yes, it is pretty good. Effectively a 50% increase on your US Salary, although London is more expensive than Chicago in terms of food, clothes etc. Rent will be your biggest expense, and that varies by how far you are prepared to commute to the office.
Less than 2.5% of UK household earn that much.

This may help as it shows industry specific averages - http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/n...l-average.html
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Old Jun 29, 2015, 11:56 pm
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It's a take-home of about 3700/month, assuming normal tax and a decent pension contribution. And yes, you can live well on that, but as Markie points out, rent will be by far your biggest expense.

Note that, if you do live further out, v you should look at commuting expenses too, particularly of you're considering living outside greater London. I have a great, fast train to take me to London (30 minutes non stop) but I pay 4300/year for the privilege, and that doesn't even include the tube...
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 1:51 am
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I think this is a nearly impossible question to answer without more detail -

Do you have family?
Where is your office going to be?
What are your spending habits?

For somebody young, single, and highly mobile, it is probably a good salary. For somebody older and married, possibly with kids and an appreciation for the finer things London has to offer, I don't think 70k is going to go very far. As everyone else has mentioned, rent is a killer. So are the taxes, for that matter.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 2:02 am
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For what it's worth, this report has the average pay in London as being 40k. Of course there are astronomical differences in pay in London.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 3:56 am
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Yes, 70,000 is a good salary for London (assuming you are not supporting other dependents). As others have stated, finding an affordable place to live will be the most difficult aspect and also present the most significant outlay.

The following website provides statistics for weekly average rental prices for different sizes of properties (ranging from one room in a shared property, to studio flats to multi-room houses) - this should give you a rough idea of what your likely weekly outlay would be for an 'average' property of the type you would be looking for, and in the areas you might be likely to consider:

https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities...home/rents-map

It is probably worth cautioning that an 'average' property may be below the standard that you would ideally want to consider - but this would depend on so many different factors as to what you personally are looking for or would accept.

Last edited by Gulliver_UK; Jun 30, 2015 at 4:01 am
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 6:05 am
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You'll live fine on that. It won't be super luxurious but a good lifestyle is possible. As others have commented rent is a big expense and council tax, utilities will easily add 200 on top. If you are only coming to London for a couple of years my advice would be keep the commute simple and quick even if costs more and gives you a smaller flat. Nothing will dull the joy of London faster than a 1h15 min each way commute on bus, train and tube. Mine is 40mins, half of which is walking and that just about works for me.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 6:17 am
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Don't commute. You may even want to try to walk to work if you can - it is easier than it was as more offices become apartments.

If you do commute, stick with the tube and avoid overground National Rail. Whatever you do, try to avoid having to change trains. If you assume that 10% of underground lines have a major failure every morning, you are doubling or tripling your problems if you use 2 or 3 lines to complete your journey.

A monthly rent bill of 2,000 would get you something decent (assuming you want your own place) - you'd get a decent one-bed in a 'nice' central area for that.

Ignore everything else you read about London being 'expensive'. It doesn't matter if Starbucks is 10% more expensive here than Chicago or that a luxury restaurant meal costs 15% more. That isn't an issue on 70k. These sums are all totally irrelevant compared to your rental bill - focus on that and then don't fuss ever again over the price of anything else in London.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 7:14 am
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Originally Posted by Raffles

Ignore everything else you read about London being 'expensive'. It doesn't matter if Starbucks is 10% more expensive here than Chicago or that a luxury restaurant meal costs 15% more. That isn't an issue on 70k. These sums are all totally irrelevant compared to your rental bill - focus on that and then don't fuss ever again over the price of anything else in London.
+1. In fact, so much of that is completely out of date. I find many things to be cheaper in London than in California (I have homes in both), sometimes significantly cheaper.

I also would agree wholeheartedly with the suggestions to live centrally - but keep it in a residential area, rather than in an area that is so commercial that it's dead at night. Part of the fun of London is about being able to do just about anything, every night of the week, and just jump on a bus and be home in 20 minutes - you can't do that if you are in the 'burbs.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 7:30 am
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
.... just jump on a bus and be home in 20 minutes - you can't do that if you are in the 'burbs.
And if you've never lived in a place with proper mass transit, remember that you may be able to live very comfortably in London without the expense of owning a car.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 7:40 am
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70k before or after taxes?

Might be an important consideration.

This LINK states it's 40% for incomes ranging 31,786 to 150,000.

42k in income has some different considerations versus 70k IMO.

Also, if you're a US citizen/expat, you'll be responsible for filing with the IRS as well.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 7:53 am
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Originally Posted by rwoman
This LINK states it's 40% for incomes ranging 31,786 to 150,000.

42k in income has some different considerations versus 70k IMO.
Not quite that simple. The 40% only applies to the earnings above 31.8k, with lower tax rates applying to different bands below that. But then you have National Insurance to pay as well. Typically, an estimated or standard rate will be deducted by default before you get the money (although HMRC often get this wrong, so you really need to check it yourself).

I've never seen a salary in the UK quoted after tax - always before. 70k pre-tax would be roughly 48k post tax/NI - but that will depend on any taxable benefits, and whether you need to pay NI if it's a limited term placement.

Oh, and definitely agree re public transport. You may find owning a car is more of a hindrance than a help (I certainly did when I was in London - just parking it is a hassle and expense in itself!)
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 7:59 am
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Originally Posted by stut
Not quite that simple. The 40% only applies to the earnings above 31.8k, with lower tax rates applying to different bands below that. But then you have National Insurance to pay as well. Typically, an estimated or standard rate will be deducted by default before you get the money (although HMRC often get this wrong, so you really need to check it yourself).

I've never seen a salary in the UK quoted after tax - always before. 70k pre-tax would be roughly 48k post tax/NI - but that will depend on any taxable benefits, and whether you need to pay NI if it's a limited term placement.

Oh, and definitely agree re public transport. You may find owning a car is more of a hindrance than a help (I certainly did when I was in London - just parking it is a hassle and expense in itself!)
Thanks for clarifying!

While I live here in the UK, I still fall under US taxation/filing.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 10:58 am
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
Part of the fun of London is about being able to do just about anything, every night of the week, and just jump on a bus and be home in 20 minutes - you can't do that if you are in the 'burbs.
You have heard of Uber?!

Haven't been on a nightbus for 20 years and I doubt our 70k man will ever have the pleasure (luckily) in the new Uber-verse.
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Old Jun 30, 2015, 11:00 am
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Originally Posted by rwoman
Thanks for clarifying!

While I live here in the UK, I still fall under US taxation/filing.
Every day there is a line at the US Embassy here of Americans waiting to renounce their citizenship and so avoid the joy of global taxation. As long as you can find a non-US citizen to marry and thus take their citizenship, you may want to join them.
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