To think we could live in London on £55k?

[Londonline1]

DH has been offered a job in London on a salary of around £55k. I'm mainly a SAHM; I do some pt work from home earning around 4k a year or so, but we're about to have baby #2 and I've no idea if I'll get back into it / if the work will have dried up etc.

We currently live in the North East and survive comfortably on an income of around £50k (including my earnings and CB). We have a fairly modest lifestyle and put most of our money into our mortgages which we were hoping to pay off early - we don't do holidays other than to visit family elsewhere in the UK; we live in a small house in a cheap area, and we have a flat we rent out in another city (income from that adds towards paying off the mortgage so it's effectively building up a savings pot but I haven't included that in the £50k above).

My question is whether we could realistically relocate to London with a £55k budget. Would expect to have to downsize and rent. Would prefer not a crazy commute for DH (to Battersea). Don't need to live anywhere fancy, but would like to feel safe and have some green space nearby for kids.

Please feel free to tell me it's ludicrous. I genuinely have no idea.

55k is eminently doable if you're already on the London housing ladder and therefore have equity etc. Not so much if you're starting from scratch. It's pretty rubbish really. DH and I both earn about that (well I would, except I'm PT) so have a combined salary of about £98k. We live in a reasonable area in greater London in a three bed semi. We are comfortable, children do a lot of activities, we don't generally worry about money for food etc, a few short breaks around the UK a year, we overpay our mortgage. We drive a 20 year old car (though don't rely on it as public transport is good) and children go to state school. I feel very fortunate but a large part of that is luck and the fact I managed to buy a one bed flat through shared ownership (actually in Battersea) when I was first starting out, on considerably lower salary. It was why we were able to stay in London, though definitely not in Battersea (managed till DD was 3 in our flat then it became very tight for space and we moved further out). Definitely look at Mitcham/Sutton sort of area. Commuting costs to Battersea from there aren't hideous either. But you need to figure out housing to see if this is actually doable or not for you, and it all depends on things like whether you have equity in current home etc and whether that can be used, rather than the figure £55k which taken out of context just isn't that meaningful...

I think you'd be mad to do this there would be a massive decrease in your quality of life.

To make a move to London financially feasible you need a BIG pay rise unless earning mega bucks already.

That said, your earning potential probably much higher in London long term, but it would be serious short term pain for possible slight long term gain.

I wouldn’t recommend doing that with children. Bear in mind if you had children you want to live in a decent area with good schools. That is going to cost. Certainly not worth the bit extra your DH will earn, and don’t forget he will still need to pay for travel which will cost a lot too

Everyone I know who moved to London, stayed for a few years for the experience, then moved back so they could afford to have a house, car and decent lifestyle. Your standard of living will fall but it could be a nice temporary experience for DC if they’re old enough to remember it. I wouldn’t move permanently unless our income was six figures though!

I wouldn’t move to London in your situation. You would be much better off to keep paying off your mortgage and building up savings instead of downsizing while renting. If you want to relocate, could DH apply for jobs in another major UK city which would be cheaper to live in than London?

Also take into account that a commute under 1 hour is considered short for London, and that everything is more expensive (childcare, going out,.,.) or barely available (30 hours free childcare, ...)
For comparison, my SIL and husband are on similar salaries as us. they are in Leeds, we surrey
They: 2 nice new cars, 5 bedroom detached, several holidays abroad per year, brand clothes, loads going out
Us: 1 small car, tiny terrace, 1 holiday in uk, clothes rarely and often second hand, 1 pub meal
and 1 take away per month. and we earn more than 55k

Not necessarily because property prices tend to rise faster and higher in London than the NE

While I agree with that statement overall, current figures suggest that this isn't the case at right now as affordability in London is very stretched, also Brexit uncertainty and because other parts of the country haven't seen the recent massive gains that London has, it's now catching up - in some areas, it's literally only in the last 2 or 3 years that prices have caught up to pre 2007 levels. Also in London especially, you've got higher buying/selling costs that will impact if buying and selling in a short period of time.

So in terms of getting in and out of the housing market, the next year or two might be the worst time to move from London to other parts of the country.

You need to get on salary calculator to see what the take home will be., Factor is losing child benefit and your salary. Work out how much you will have in the account after pay day etc compared to now.

Then get on Rightmove and look at the housing costs to see if it is feesible and then add on commuting costs.

We live in Surrey in a commuter area and DH's train ticket is £300 approx a month.

Also going out in London costs a bomb!! As does childcate etc.

Our family income is a lot more than yours and I don't think we could afford to live more centrally unless we were prepared to live in a bit of a shit hole.

Some info for your sums.

I live in a zone 4 south east suburb. We spend on average £200 a month on TfL. That's wirth me cycling to work and back and my husband often cycling to the nearest Zone 3 station.

Could you go without a car? Public transport is so much better in London, so it is possible, but it can be awkward. Even with a generous taxi and car rental budget you can save money this way.

Childcare costs varies hugely throughout London. In my area it's about £55 per day per child. In the more upmarket area of North London that my sister lives it's £75 per day per child.

I advice picking particular potential areas to live and doing your sums for each area. That way you'll know how rent, travel and childcare will play out.

Moving to London for a £10k salary increase would be madness. Financially you will be much worse off. I live in London and my family are in the north east. The cost of living is dramatically different.

You will also face other difficulties that I suspect you don’t have in the north east like mad competition for school places, terrible air quality, being far away from family etc etc.

EVERYTHING in London costs more especially housing and childcare (which is significantly more - our “cheap” nursery is £85/day).

Public transport doesn't cost more. Isn't it £1.50 on the bus and free for DC in London? In Leeds the minimum adult fare is nearly twice that and you have to pay half price for DC too. Plus they probably won't need a car, or at least only one, so they save the running costs and purchase price. Council tax is often cheaper too.

I agree they won't be flush, but the OP says they are fairly frugal, and have small DC, so won't be out at the expensive bars that often anyway. But obviously a lot of it is down to whether they can find somewhere to live that leaves the disposable income they need. The point about whether or not the move is likely to lead to new, higher paid opportunities is also relevant.

We have just done the opposite and moved up to the NE from Wiltshire (not London I know), but our money goes so much further I would never consider swapping back!

OK we know the finances but we don't know the why.

How old are you and your dp op? Is this a ground-breaking career move to an opportunity that will springboard your dh's career for life? A bit of short term pain is worth the gain but questionable otherwise.

Clapham Junction Station is actually in Battersea. I suspect the job is within a 15 minute walk. CJ is a remarkable London hub and I suggest you have a look at destinations 30 mins away on the train to see what is viable.

I think we need to know much more about the why to advise. £10k more with not much why, no I wouldn't. If it's a move that may see earnings double in a short time and mean he coukd eventually earn far more in the NE then I'd go for it.

I would not do it. London is VERY expensive. We live here, but DH has a very good salary, and even we wish for money. But of course if others knew his salary they would think we were crazy. London is expensive though and you have families making over 100k who struggle. The reason is rent is so high and salaries are taxed a lot. So after tax you have just over half your salary, rent is crazy here, then expenses for the kids...even if you send them to a free school, there is the extra activities you pay for. I would only move to London for a substantial pay increase, as there is a big cost for moving as well. But I guess there are also many families who can survive on 20k in london, but you don't want to just survive? You want a nice life.

I wouldn't unless you were in a position to get a job straight away and earn a second income of a minimum of £18-20k, that would be enough to to make up the difference we have found as a double income family. You can't do sahm in London with a solo salary below £100!!! Impossible unless you have social/subsidised housing.

But given you're pregnant, that is unlikely.

So I would advise against it.

In short in a family situation the lower earner will need to take full advantage of the tax free personal allowance and basic tax rate to compensate for the high livings costs.

OP my current set up is very similar to yours but imo I would be completely mad to move to London. London's just a brand. Like ppl who pay £4/5 for Nurofen when you can buy the shop own pain relief, which has the exact same active ingredient, for 20p.

My 4 bed detached in London area would be worth millions, but the reality is I would only be able to afford a tiny 2 bed if I moved.

My DH has friends in the same industry in London,who are expected to work 12hr days min. My DH works 8hrs, so has plenty of family/hobby time.

We live 20mins from a city with all the high street brands and an hour drive from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, the Lake District. Liverpool is 90mins away and Manchester 2hrs. So plenty of accessible cities/outdoors for culture. Any time I've been in London area it takes an hour just to drive short distances .

So for me to move to London would result in a far smaller house, less family time, less money for social activities/holidays, more travel time. Why would I trade all that for the capital. Madness imo.

Probably not. We live in probably the 2nd or 3rd most expensive city in the UK on an income of 80k and that doesn't feel like a lot. Not long ago our combined was about 67k and it didn't feel like enough.

To be fair whenever we have holidayed in the UK: Cornwall, Devon, Northumbria, N Yorks, Norfolk, etc, I have been desperate to get back to the buzz.

The shopping is limited, eating out is limited, cinemas are limited, little theatre, almost zero opera and very little re Museums and galleries.

London is awesome and I guess quality of life comes in different forms. We had to stay because dh's job and spwcialism doesn't exist outside London.

It is possible, my friend's husband is earning around £40K (as self-employed carpenter) and she is a SAHM to two small children - and they are in worse situation than you career wise as neither of them speaks English and their job prospects outside construction / cleaning are quite limited. They were able to save for a deposit for a nice 4 bed in another big city. They had to house share with another family in similar situation for a couple of years, but their share of rent was very affordable (around £800), and the house was very decent.

Haven't RTFT, but we live on London on £45k and it's comfortable. We part own a 2bed house and garden, near a park, great bus and transport links. We're about 20 minutes on the bus from Elephant and Castle tube. I love the area, lots of community events.

Compromises: we will be moving further south for schools, mainly because the risk of my boys getting caught up in gang culture when they're older is not one I'm willing to take.
We don't spend money on takeaways, lots of clothes, lots of treats or expensive hobbies, but we never did anyway. I always have money to buy items as needed.

I'm SAHM at the moment, not through choice but as pp said childcare is crazy expensive for 3 kids.
We got the house when we had two wages, so things are a bit tighter than they used to be, but still manageable. When they're older I'll go back to work and the extra money will go towards a bigger place further south near to some family.

I would move directly to Battersea so he could walk to work. I would live right next to the huge park. Walk everywhere (perfectly doable) to save on travel and do the million free things London has to offer.

This flat is 2 minutes from the park, walkable to work and the closest primaries are all good. It's a very safe area.

Summer in the park and on the 'beach' and along the south Bank are free.

You're not going to be rich, you ARE going to have a great time.

Damn it, posting photos is not working on the app - it's the 2 bed maisonette in Lurline Gardens for £2000 per month.

I'd agree with previous posters that a lot will depend on how big a job this is, the prospects and future impact on career. Unless you particularly want to be in London, it would make no sense to take such a significant drop in quality of life. But if it's going to be a big stepping stone to progress, that would need to be factored in. No brainer otherwise.

I also think I would rent at least initially. See how Brexit pans out before committing your equity from two properties even if you do decide to stay permanently.

You can't do sahm in London with a solo salary below £100!!! Impossible unless you have social/subsidised housing.

Absolute nonsense. I'm a sahm...we live in London and our income is well below 100k. We don't live in social/subsidised housing. We own our home.

Strange ideas on this thread.

Public transport doesn't cost more. Isn't it £1.50 on the bus and free for DC in London?

Yes and if you get two buses in one hour, they charge you £1.50 rather than £3. If you get multiple buses in one day, they charge you £4.50 (I think)...so if you get ten buses in a day, its £4.50 rather than £15 iyswim. It's fantastic. They are incredibly frequent too.

Yes, kids are free.