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Would it be cheaper to live in central London?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Ok, I have just finished my degree and I am currently living in Kingston upon Thames.

I pay £375 per month rent and earn £6.50 per hour.

I'm living in zone 6.

Now I think that moving to central London would work out the same, if not cheaper if I can find a decent place. Council tax is high in my area and whilst property values are high, there aren't many jobs and the pay is really poor.

A week on peak travel card to central London from zone 6 is at least £46 per week.

So to get a good job, especially one not related to my degree I would have to go to central London (or inner London). I may as well pay just over £400 per week, as the transport from my zone is so expensive.

Also, I get back past 7pm each night from my current job because the bus is so slow... At least if I worked in central I may actually do a job I enjoy, pay less transport, maybe a bit more rent and enjoy my life (I have no social life here as everybody I know is in central, as are all the things I enjoy... I just stayed here after uni).

Has anybody else been in my situation?

What are the pros and cons of living in zone 3-1?

Where is affordable and enjoyable?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You pay £375 a month rent atm.
    £46 per week travel... so thats £559 a month if you add it to your rent.

    £400 a week to live in london will be £1600 a month, and you will still have some travel expenses, so it looks to me like it will work out much, much more expensive.

    If you find a better paying job though that can cover that you could go for it, because if you are earning enough you dont want to spent four hours every day commuting (two there, two back - maybe?).

    If it was a typo and its £400 a month in central london just go for it for the extra £25 :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I live in zone 3 and it isnt cheap, and the tube is still £110 a month. I would think carefully about this. As a general rule the closer you get to central london the more rent you pay.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would do it. You can find a flatshare for even less than a hundred pounds a week (I've come across a few) and less in transport both regarding money and time... And then there's the social aspect.
    If you find a place cheaply, then it doesn't seem as if you have anything to lose.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Dear Wendy wrote: »
    I would do it. You can find a flatshare for even less than a hundred pounds a week (I've come across a few) and less in transport both regarding money and time... And then there's the social aspect.
    If you find a place cheaply, then it doesn't seem as if you have anything to lose.

    Thats certainly why I'm looking at living as close to central London as possible. I'd rather be near to where I work than have to spend ages on public transport.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I live in Kingston and work full time in central London.

    Firstly, you can get some money off your travelcard if you get monthly instead of weekly.

    Having lived in central London for three years while I was at uni (Bloomsbury, Islington, and Camden), I'd say its considerably cheaper to live in Kingston. Apart from rent, food/booze/stuff generally is cheaper here, and you have the big Asda and Sainsburys so supermarket shopping is cheaper and easier than in zones 1-3.

    However, council tax is higher here than in most central London boroughs and commuting in to central London every day is a bit of an arse.

    I'd say the biggest "con" of living in central London as opposed to Kingston is the general "background" quality of life. Its much nosier, more polluted, you hear sirens every 5 minutes day and night, you get less space and greenery, there is less courtesy/community. Plus you don't get the ambient "niceness" of much of Kingston; the river, trees, parks, etc, although you can find these in central London with a bit of effort.

    The biggest pros are that its quicker to get to places, its an exciting place to live while your young, theres more diversity of people, more stuff to do, more bustle and sense of being alive. Also, if you want to go on nights out in London, its much better to be living in the centre because you can easily get the bus home or walk, and thus you can stay out later. If you're living in Kingston and have nowhere to stay in the centre you have to face the nightmare that is the N77 nightbus from Trafalgar square, which takes fucking ages and goes through some of the roughest areas of south London.

    I'd say give it a go if you think you can afford it/stand the noise and pace of lifestyle, as theres nothing like living in central London; and if you don't have any committments (kids etc) its worth doing now while you can enjoy it. But I reckon you'd end up moving back here in the end, everybody does. ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    You pay £375 a month rent atm.
    £46 per week travel... so thats £559 a month if you add it to your rent.

    £400 a week to live in london will be £1600 a month, and you will still have some travel expenses, so it looks to me like it will work out much, much more expensive.

    If you find a better paying job though that can cover that you could go for it, because if you are earning enough you dont want to spent four hours every day commuting (two there, two back - maybe?).

    If it was a typo and its £400 a month in central london just go for it for the extra £25 :p
    Ooops typo!

    I have seen places under £400 a month. :p

    ETA: I wanna do this for only a couple of years, to be closer to friends and to get a better job and enjoy being young, single and not having commitment. Living in Kingston also prevents me from getting involved with projects I am interested in which are in North London, as it takes around an hour to get to a lot of the places.

    I plan on moving out once I have some cash saved up and/or doing a TEFL and moving away.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i would do it it's much more convenient for everything really, i used to live in zone 4 but even that's a bit far away. you can get decent double rooms in zone2 for £110/week bills inc if you look hard enough. i can recommend clapham or greenwich and camden/angel's alright if you really want to go north of the river..
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