Living and working in the UK....?

[STALLED]

Hey,

The idea of potentially working in the UK mid next year has been raised and I was just wanting to know just a bit about London specifically to make sure it's worth considering?

Whats the average wage in the UK - Could you live comfortably in London? I mean comfortable in the sense that you don't have to scrounge spare change for a beer or a meal out - that kind of thing like that and to be in the situation to have money in the bank at the end of the week? From all accounts London is expensive compared to the rest of the country?

Whats rent like (share accomodation with professionals) - This would be within the M25 and the idea of working in Croydon has been raised...? Whats Croydon like exactly? I Wiki'd it and i got the feeling that it was the second CBD to the city? Is it dodgy? I wanna be somewhere safe!

Probably got some more questions as they come to mind...

Cheers

Joel

[mjb]

Average wage was about £23k last time I looked, and you don't want to try living around London on that kind of money.

[Welly]

I think this country is very expensive to live in. Council Tax, Utility Bills, Food, Petrol, Road Tax, and even if London sounds appealing then it will soon fade once you're there trying to get to/from the daily grind tourists love London - but they don't live there!

Oh - and its cold and rainy

Not trying to put you off fella honestly but all I would say is that this country has got some really good stuff and you can have a nice life here but YOU NEED THE MONEY for sure. Don't do it if there's a possibilty of struggling, especially in London, as you will be out on your arse in no time - and we can't have that can we?

[Eric]

You could live a bit further west along the M4 corridor, Swindon for instance may not be the prettiest place in Britain but has easy access to London at much lower living costs.
Bristol is another option but isn't "that" much cheaper than London and has a fair drive to commute (120 miles.)

[STALLED]

You could live a bit further west along the M4 corridor, Swindon for instance may not be the prettiest place in Britain but has easy access to London at much lower living costs.
Bristol is another option but isn't "that" much cheaper than London and has a fair drive to commute (120 miles.)

Do people seriously commute 120m to work each day - somthing like that is totally unheard of here?!?!

[steve_earwig]

Oh god yes, I met quite a few living in Brighton when I worked in London. The housing prices in the UK are insane.

[mbell666]

Do people seriously commute 120m to work each day - somthing like that is totally unheard of here?!?!

I used to do 110 mile a day round trip to work and back. Before that i did about 130 but i used the train for that (which took twice as long as the 110 mile drive). Now i walk 15 mins

[mjb]

Do people seriously commute 120m to work each day - somthing like that is totally unheard of here?!?!

I did around 120 miles a day in my last job. One guy working there did over 150 a day, but he went by train

Now I'm an hour's walk away, and if it ever stops raining I'll start walking/riding in... Thankfully Stoke weather means my laziness ain't going to end anytime soon ;)

[teamster1975]

You wouldn't have to live that far out from town, farnborough is a cheap area and right on the M3, 5-10 mins drive to the M25 (depending on amount of lead in right boot )

[STALLED]

It sounds rather expensive and I don't think I'll be earning good money as its a "trainee" position for my tertiary field which has a work experience component as part of the degree.

Owning a car would be nice but that would mean selling the 406 here to fund somthing over there....and shipping it back...it all adds up!

I guess I have to think about it some more!

Does anyone know what Croydon is like?

[mjb]

Owning a car would be nice but that would mean selling the 406 here to fund somthing over there....and shipping it back...it all adds up!

"something"? Plenty of 406s to go around over here

[teamster1975]

Does anyone know what Croydon is like?

It used to be a bit of a sh1t hole to be honest but they are improving it. Watch out for the wardens, I went 1 minute over at 11PM(!!!) and the bastards ticketed me.

[Captain Jack]

I am traveling around 90 miles round trip to work near Bristol, so definitely a commuter country. But since Bristol is relatively cheap (compared to London) I'll be moving there next year.

[teamster1975]

I am traveling around 90 miles round trip to work near Bristol, so definitely a commuter country. But since Bristol is relatively cheap (compared to London) I'll be moving there next year.

You should look around Chippenham area CJ, some friends moved there a couple of years ago, the property is dirt cheap and it's a short hop to Bristol!

[Captain Jack]

Yeah will definitely look there, although it's hardly a short hop - still 30 - 40 mins drive at rush hour:(

STALLED, I really wouldn't bother moving to UK. As Welly said, everything is SOOOO expensive, you'd need to be on a fairly decent wage to live here. Especially in London. My ex lives in Croydon and, having been there many times, I can tell you that it's an absolute hole. Really, don't bother with it. I'd say you'd need at least around £35k wage in London to live "OK". Other places are not as demanding obviously.

But... why you'd want to move to a cold, rainy, expensive country from Aussie is beyond me (although, I am afraid of lots of creepy crawlies that you have there). Especially as so many Brits move TO Aussie-land...