London Based Mumsnetters - Can he live on £2100?

[BruthasTortoise]

I was hoping for some advice please. My son has been offered an amazing paid internship in London with a leading media company. It's the sort of opportunity he would never get here in Northern Ireland and we really want him to take it. Is it possible for him to live and work in London on a salary of £21000? That would be loads for a starter / internship salary at home but I've heard horror stories about London prices and I dont really know where to start. He's not fussy about where he lives (although i would obviously like him somewhere safe) but would need to travel into the city centre for work. We could afford to sub him 150-200 most months. Could anyone recommend areas to start looking for accommodation and any other tips please? Thanks so much!

Yes it will be fine. He will have to be in a house share (which is what most young people in London do) and he won't be dining at Le Gavroche but he will do fine.

One thing to be aware of - Hammersmith bridge is out of service for motor verhicles for approx 3 years so no buses from south of the river there, and travel over Putney Bridge is slower due to congestion.

A room in a house in Castlenau would be very quiet with a short walk over Hammersmith Bridge to work. However at some point pedestrians might be prevented from crossing Hammersmith Bridge - so beware!

Yes, I did an apprenticeship 2017-18 (2 years) and was on 17k first year and 20k second year.

I was lucky to have somewhere to stay but my apprentice colleagues all rented rooms and survived just fine. You have to scrimp a bit but they still came out for drinks or meals every so often.

£21k is what a lot of starter jobs are in London, it's a very good apprentice wage.

He'll be fine if he gets a cheapish room to rent (5-600pcm).

Yes, definitely. I make more than that in London (not at all at grad level!), but after £700 in commuting and travel expenses, it’s plenty to live on and I have 2 dc (1 in ft nursery). Obviously I have a dh so all expenses are shared, but surely he’ll have housemates.

Lucky location, no need to commute into zone 1 every day.
Plenty places he can live where he can walk to work.