Could I survive on this?

[Oatypancakesforbrekkie]

Live abroad, thinking of returning to the U.K. with toddler Dd.
It would be just her and I.
The salary I’ve seen is for £25 thousand, how would we be able to live on that amount, would we be ok? I have no idea of prices of things, bills etc, nowadays.
I imagine an average mortgage would be £800? then with bills, food etc.
My position would be a lower one than my qualifications, but would fit around my Dd at school etc by then
Would you get any help for being alone and on that salary?

What area of the U.K. would you move to? This will massively affect the cost of living.

I will say that many people have to get by on much less than £25K so it is doable

I think you’d get tax credits for that; you can go on the government website for that.
Have you also checked online what you would be left with after tax and national insurance?
It then depends on if you have to pay childcare and mortgage very much depends on the area you live in and size of your home

Completely depends on where you want to live and on childcare situation.

London with no childcare help - very very hard.
Smaller northern town with more accessible social housing /lower rents and your mum living around the corner - totally manageable.

How much if a deposit do you have?

I think you’d need to work out what you could buy, how much you’d need to borrow etc.

Then we can help you with bills and you can see whether it works.

You could get an idea of a food shop by making an Asda account at a fictitious address and putting lots of things in your basket.

I lived alone and earned less than 15k. I received around £200 tax credits a month and managed fine. I was in ranted accommodation though and I live in the North East. As a PP mentioned where you plan to live is a factor. 25k up north will go further than it would down south.

It would be either the North west or South west. Dd would be starting school by that stage, no childcare needed, hours of work are school hours.
We’d sell our house and buy over there, my aim would be no more that £800 on the mortgage per month.

Well considering I’m raising three kids alone on less than £20k a year, yes that’s more than doable.

I think you need to do some proper research instead of just asking on mumsnet.

I would look into the implications of having been abroad.
My brother lived abroad for quite a long period and despite having a huge deposit, getting the mortgage was a real faff.
It might also effect benefit entitlement.

You may not be able to get a mortgage - look into that first

I should have a good sized deposit. My wages should be higher in the future. I’m
thinking of accepting a higher level teacher assistant job, but am a teacher. I’d like to settle in initially, without the demands and stresses of teaching

Wages seem lower than I expected? What type of occupations earn over 30k? Not much in my field!

It's not just about the deposit, it's having a UK address for credit score, usually expected to have 3 years I think.
My brother had maintained a UK bank account and that's who gave him a mortgage. No other lenders would

@ArianaDumbledore Not even with a sizeable deposit?
So, the alternative would be renting for a few years? Opening a bank account on arrival etc?

OP, if it's likely that your wages will rise, might it be worth renting for a little while whilst you get settled? Then you can go for a mortgage when you have a higher wage, and if you've been back in the U.K. for a while it will probably make getting a mortgage easier too.

So £25k for part time hours?

£800 is a large mortgage. Esp in the north.

Mine is £265 but I admit its low because Im 50yo.

Do you have deposit?
How much is 25k per month take home? 1800?
My bills - phone / internet, 3 mobiles, gas electric, water, council tax, milkman (optional), home insurance, home insurance, car insurance, car tax, altogether come to £334 per month.
People cut their jib according to their cloth.

But I own 3 bed house and live independantly as single mum on around your income and I think of myself as quite rich with 1200 per month spare.

A lot of MN are keen savers but I dont really believe in that. Ill have less outgoings at age 60/70 so Ill worry about that if and when the time comes.

The wage gap seems to be a lot of low level wages and then a leap to those on six figure salaries. I earn a smidge off £30k as a full time admin for a local council. It's a niche role with 8 years experience.

Isn’t the southwest very expensive to live? I’m in the north west in a major city and rents/house prices are crazy.
I’m not sure OP would qualify for tax credits coming from abroad? I would say it would be tricky to have a good standard of living on that salary.

So many factors - rent / mortgage, council tax band, utility costs, travelling to work / school, to name a few.

I think it's been mentioned upthread but you may need to live on the UK for a certain amount of time to reflect on your credit score, to enable you to even get a mortgage

TA posts are often paid pro rata based on hours worked. I would be surprised if you could get as much as 25k for a 5 hour day term time only.

I would think that would be a huge struggle based on where I've lived in the UK previously but I've no experience of the areas you describe. I think it depends a lot on things like your current standard of life, and where exactly you'd be.

So - you say a large deposit. But, you'd presumably need a permanent contract to get a mortgage, so realistically I imagine you'd need to rent for at least 6 months/a year till you were past probation. You'd also want to check your eligibility for things like the NHS, tax free childcare, universal credit - as a UK passport holder moving back permanently your'e probably fine but always important to make sure. And you'd really need to know if you'd need to run a car, and what local childcare costs look like, and most importantly the availability of local childcare.

I think saying '800/month' for a mortgage is a bit random. Pick an area, look at right move, work out what a mortgage repayment on the amount of house you'd want minus your deposit would be. Bear in mind your age will influence over how long a term you can borrow.

I will agree that setting up a bank account in the UK can be absolutely hellish. You need so many proofs of ID/address etc. Its all manageable, but its not easy.

Where in the SW,Cornwall well the nicer areas are very expensive,rent also high and high demand.Do you have family to stay with until you settle in the UK?I think you will be surprised how expensive housing is but having a decent deposit is great off course.Rightmove is good to get some idea when you decide on an area.Will you get child support from your child’s father?Good luck.

TAs are very underpaid.
Teacher around £2000 per month take home
TA around £765
You could do supply £120 per day. But not if you need mortgage.

TA 25k is pro rata.

Depends where you are thinking of living in the south west. In my area of south east Cornwall rent is around £600 - £800 for a decent sized house if you can find one. You would need to be inland to find a good amount of rental properties.

I think you need to contact a mortgage broker about your chances of getting a mortgage without a credit score, or post on the mortgage board of money saving expert when there are lots of brokers who will advise you.