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Original poster

Can I live alone in London on £26,500?

26 replies

londonlivinggg · 10/01/2022 16:18

Single female in my 20s. Need to move closer to London, currently earning £26,500. I work near Shepherd's Bush.

Really don't want to relocate to London but my current commute is 2 hours even though I'm only in the home counties.

Is it possible? Where is safe/good? Or would I be better off living outside of London and commuting in?

OP posts:
Comefromaway · 10/01/2022 16:26

Dd is living in London on considerably less than that in Ealing. (less than £20,000.)

She does have a room in a shared house. Her rent and bills are about £600 per month (though I'm expecting bills to rise when their fixed rate ends)

Kpo58 · 10/01/2022 16:27

I think that you would struggle to live on your own with that kind of wage anywhere in London. Most people would be looking at a renting a room in a house share.

itwasntaparty · 10/01/2022 16:30

I think you'd be looking at a house share.

Justkeeppedaling · 10/01/2022 16:31

It would be difficult.
DD is renting a room in a 4 bed house for £750 pm, Camden.

The rent was £900, but the LL has reduced it because people are moving out of London in droves.

Isn't there any opportunity for you to wfh? Even just a few days a week.

JorisBonson · 10/01/2022 16:32

I earn more than that and live and work in London, and I would struggle to live alone.

MrsPsmalls · 10/01/2022 16:34

What do you mean by living alone? DS had a room in a (fine) shared house in Croydon for £800 per month. Shared kitchen and bathroom though. He was earning a bit more than you though at £31k

VanCleefArpels · 10/01/2022 16:34

DS has a studio flat in SE London commuting in on Thameslink to the City in 20 mins. He earns about that and it’s tight but do-able. Studio flat about the same as a room in a shared house but obviously more private

MayThePawsBeWithYou · 10/01/2022 16:36

What sort of job do you do, your travel costs must be high, have you worked out your outgoings to see what you could afford. You may only afford a share unless you are a keyworker.

Motnight · 10/01/2022 16:38

I think that you are looking at a house share.

Original poster
londonlivinggg · 10/01/2022 16:42

I'm private sector, office-based working in PR

At the moment we are WFH, the company used to be office-based 5 days per week pre-COVID, we were back up to 2 days/week when I started which was do-able money and time-wise.

I'm currently living with my parents and wanting to move out. I could get a nice apartment in my hometown but it's a gamble in case my company makes us return to the office full-time.

I should hopefully get a pay rise and promotion this year, fingers crossed

OP posts:
Original poster
londonlivinggg · 10/01/2022 16:44

I'm not sure whether to just stay put and live with my parents until things are more settled with COVID? They wouldn't mind, but I do feel like I want some independence

OP posts:
TheHoptimist · 10/01/2022 16:46

London rentals are through the roof at the moment apparently.
Agent says they are going to best and final offers as so many want each flat.

(we are not renting- we are buying but agent does both. Sales are low- rentals are high)

titchy · 10/01/2022 16:54

Why can't you house share? Great way to meet new people and fun at your age!

saltandpepper234 · 10/01/2022 16:55

I lived alone in London in 2015 on £25k and it was a struggle and I feel like your salary won’t go as far as my £25k did 7 years ago due to all the cost of living rises.

I rented a one bedroom flat in Highams Park (so not even London London iyswim) for £800/month. I saved absolutely nothing and I was often running out of money at the end of the month.

Most letting agents will only say you can afford places if you earn 30x the monthly rent which on your salary would mean about £875/month. Your options for places to live alone would therefore also be limited as the £800 I paid was on the cheaper side for zone 4 even then.

A room in a shared house you would be fine but I understand how miserable that can be.

Comefromaway · 10/01/2022 16:58

My daughter loves her house share.
I did forget about council tax so add an extra £50 per month onto her costs.

House shares in Shepherds Bush/Ealing/Acton are approx £550-750 per month. Ealing & parts of Acton are nice. Chiswick is too but more expensive.

Rosey1334p · 10/01/2022 17:01

I would say no I live alone in London and earn more than that and sometimes still struggle towards the end of the month, and i did help to buy so have a mortgage which is probably less than half the cost of what a one bed flat would be to rent.

Before that i rented with a friend both earned over 30k and we struggled a lot even with all the costs halved.

MayThePawsBeWithYou · 10/01/2022 17:03

How much money do you bring home each month, you will have to pay rent, bills, food, travel, utilities. I would stay put and book myself into a central travelodge for a weekend each month to get out a bit.

TheHoptimist · 10/01/2022 17:11

@MayThePawsBeWithYou

How much money do you bring home each month, you will have to pay rent, bills, food, travel, utilities. I would stay put and book myself into a central travelodge for a weekend each month to get out a bit.
not sure how a weekend sleeping on a Travelodge rubber mattress protector is getting out a bit?
MayThePawsBeWithYou · 10/01/2022 17:14

Oh I like travelodge's, when I lived at home I would spend a weekend in London and book myself in for a couple of nights, gave me and my parents a bit of a break. I would then just spend the weekend doing what I liked, going out, eating out, shopping, seeing the sights.

LondonWolf · 10/01/2022 17:17

I lived on far less than that when I first moved to London, 20 years ago though…

I had an en-suite attic room in a shared house - was fab actually and a bar job, as well as my main job. The bar job actually took care of most of the rent. That was in Shepherd’s Bush too Smile

Exhausteddog · 10/01/2022 17:30

I lived in a shared house in London suburbia (zone 5) when I moved out of home and I was on crap wages, over 20 years ago . I made good friends, (some of whom I'm still in contact with)

However I think wfh in a shared house would potentially be quite miserable.

LittleBearPad · 10/01/2022 17:35

@LondonWolf

I lived on far less than that when I first moved to London, 20 years ago though…

I had an en-suite attic room in a shared house - was fab actually and a bar job, as well as my main job. The bar job actually took care of most of the rent. That was in Shepherd’s Bush too Smile

So it was 20 years ago, you shared and you needed 2 jobs to manage…
TwoBrownSugars · 10/01/2022 18:07

I'd expect the only options are house share, plus maybe a part time job!

OhWhyNot · 10/01/2022 18:45

You may need to pay some upfront or have a someone as a guarantor

I think it’s unlikely even for a studio

I enjoyed house sharing

Tealightsandd · 10/01/2022 20:03

If you're fully WFH, I'd stay where you are for now - because it's probably nicer doing it from your parents than a cramped houseshare.

When things hopefully get a bit more back to normal and if you need to return to the office, then you can look at moving to London. Either a houseshare or your own studio/1 bed depending on how much your payrise is. (At your age and new to living in London a houseshare might be better than living on your own.)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

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