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?

I'm in the south east and would struggle on £25k to be honest.

£25k is net pay of approx. £1700 a month. Taking off £800 for mortgage that leaves £900 a month for everything.

My apartment is 100k (with garden) and I pay £400 ish mortgage on a salary of between 18-26k (varies)

A few points:

• Your situation is probably a lot more achievable in the north.

• In the SW it really depends on where you're looking. You're going to need to give a town/city to get a better idea. Parts of the SW are very expensive - Bath and its surrounding towns and villages, for example, and many parts of Bristol. The cotswolds, coastal areas in Cornwall etc are also high.

In Bath a 2 bedroom flat will be around £200k - £250k for something pretty basic, probably in one of the outer suburbs. You can look on Rightmove but be sure to remove the retirement properties and 'park homes', which are cheap but come with special conditions (like you can't live there all year, or you only own the structure not the land, and even then only for x many year, or you have to be a certain age), and be aware that the cheaper houses may be 'shared ownership' which can be useful but has conditions and means you only own part of the house, the council owns the rest and you pay them rent, usually. You can't rent a 2 bedroom flat for less than £1100 a month, and a house would be more like £1400+

Bristol has more variation, so there are cheaper areas where you could get a 2 bed flat for £850/month, or to buy £160k +

• The salary you mention sounds high for a TA. Check it's not pro rata and actual hours (and pay) are lower.

• If you're hoping for your toddler to get free education within the private school, then I'm afraid very few private schools cover all of the fees of their staff's children. It's more likely to be a % off the usual fees, and the size of that percentage varies wildly. You can also find that some private schools might not class a TA as being eligible for this kind of package, only teachers. So definitely check.

[quote Oatypancakesforbrekkie]@icedcoffees It’s 25k per year with all holidays covered, not pro rata. Believe me I’ve made sure of this as wouldn’t feel comfortable committing on less than that[/quote]
The holidays are highly, highly unlikely to be paid. It may be 25k per year that won't include 13+ weeks of paid time off.

[quote Oatypancakesforbrekkie]@icedcoffees It’s 25k per year with all holidays covered, not pro rata. Believe me I’ve made sure of this as wouldn’t feel comfortable committing on less than that[/quote]
Wow. I've never, ever heard of a school support job like that.

Usually the £25k is the full time equivalent salary. Then reduced for unpaid holidays (although you are still entitled to statutory holiday pay of 5.8 weeks or thereabouts, that leaves 7 weeks unpaid) but paid over 12 months. Then reduced for actual hours worked, say 8.30 to 3.30, with an hour unpaid lunch rather than 9 to 5 hours. You do get paid in August but it's the yearly wage spread out over 12 months.

I'd be double and triple checking that. Is your child guaranteed a place at the same school? In-year transfers are a complete minefield in my area (North West) and schools cannot unilaterally provide a place if they are oversubscribed or they have a waiting list. Is it a private school, will they charge you fees?

That's a great package for an HLTA. Are you having to pay school fees too? That could change a lot. Around here only teachers get any reduction and it's only 25-50% which means even on 2 teachers' salaries we couldn't even consider it.

We're a double-income family of 5 who makes less than that combined and we do just fine.

Although in the OP you state you have seen jobs at £25k, later posts state you have been offered two roles at this salary. For that to happen you have expressed an interest, applied and been interviewed and screened. That’s a long way down the line to be asking about where you could live and how much it would cost.

That is also two exceptionally high job offers, allowing for private school and specialism.

Don’t they expect a decision and commitment to start ASAP?

If you’ve been offered a post as HLTA which is genuinely (not pro-rata) 25k with your child’s school fees covered in the same school then that is an astonishingly high offer that you should get confirmed in writing.

If holidays are paid, are they expecting you to work through them?

Hi, recently retired HLTA.

Check the job description carefully as most HLTAs I know were teaching more and more and a lot of it is last minute, no planning given instead of spending money on supply. It is also to cover PPA on a regular weekly basis. I was teaching about half the time when I left. I was getting near that amount pro rata. Some areas are 32.5 hrs and some are 37.5 hrs. Those saying that TA won’t be getting that type of wage are incorrect but there is a wide variation across the country. HLTA are paid more than a TA and usually have several qualifications including at least one Level 4. I had three L4 and an NNEB Dip plus other courses like Makaton, Autism etc. Please include a union fee. Unison is the main union for TAs but there is one that now covers both teachers and TAs.

My DD was living in the South West during and after Uni and it is expensive but doable depending on area and type of property. Most people are saying the North West is cheaper. It is near where we live but places like Manchester and the Lake District are not cheaper. York would be another. Other areas like Lancaster, some villages in Yorkshire and Cumbria are cheaper. Colder up here so more spent on heating.

Good luck you have a lot to think about.

My brother had over 50% deposit in an expensive area, and still had a rather healthy amount left in savings. It really was the being out of the country that was just an absolute no for most lenders. He was back living in the UK and working with a secure job. He lodged rather than rented, you might run into issues with renting as well.

I'm not trying to be negative btw but it was quite mind blowing that even with hundreds of thousands it was not a straight forward process. Though definitely the kind of problem I'd rather have!

I would take the job in the area you want to live long term, and get advice on MoneySaving Expert forum on the best approach with securing a mortgage.

Just going to add that a school near here has children boarding during holiday weeks and is often only empty in the long summer holidays so you may need to work some of those days. It is mainly supervised trips and sport. One of DDs friends went to the school and many of her classmates were from the Far East so didn’t return home in half terms and some holidays like Easter.

Depends where in the country. If the north west then it would be tight but doable.

If the south west it would be a miserable existence but again, doable.

You'd have to assess other factors. Do you receive free health care abroad or do you pay into a private scheme? Do you drive? Do you pay for her schooling? Do you pay more or less for housing? What are energy prices like? Do you eat out more? Spend more on days out?

Vs

Do you have a support system in the UK? Would you be better off on a lower wage but without the expense?

I suppose it's all relative. Would you need childcare to a degree? How would you cover school holidays etc? Do you receive any payments from DD's other parent? Are their parent involved? Are they in the UK if so? Would you have to financially facilitate her visiting if you are the one to move?

That being said however, you're a British citizen and you can always come home.

Seen you're a qualified teacher but only seeking a TA position? Is there a reason for this? Could supply teaching be more profitable financially?

I appreciate you would need to arrange childcare but if you could commit to a full time role in certain areas you could add at least a third of that £25k to your salary for supplying.

If you have been offered jobs then you know the area you will be moving to, so if you can share that, we will be able to help more - I am in the SW and houses in some parts are orders of magnitude more expensive than you would be able to afford. So are we talking central Bristol or Dartmoor? Exeter or mid-Cornwall? Cotswolds or Forest of Dean? Houses in one of these areas might be three times the cost of the other in each pair.

You also need your salary details in writing before committing to anything - all the PPs here talking about pro-rated salaries know what they say is right. Don’t be fooled by a generous sounding offer which turns out to leave you short on your living costs.

If you have a profit of £100k you can probably buy outright in NW and not need a mortgage at all, especially if you're only looking for a 2-bed.

Hello OP.. a rough example from personal experience ..
26k salary ..£1700 a month
£500 mortgage monthly (2 bed). Worth approx 170k, mortgage of 95k.
Council tax.. £100 a month
Gas and electric .. £130
Water.. £30
Food .. £200
Bus travel for work .. £100
Mobile and internet .. £60
House ins .. £25
TV license.. £10

Your mortgage/rent payment and any child care costs will be the main factors in affordability really

With that salary the max you'd get mortgage wise is £125k (and that's already very generous) that translates to around £400pcm. I don't know how big is your deposit, so it's all down to that.

@icedcoffees I don't understand? Why would a job advertise as 25k if you don't actually get paid 25k??

As others have said, it really depends on where you'll be living.

Also bear in mind that tax, National Insurance, and possibly occupational pension costs will all have to come out of that £25k - if you'd like to work out what that will leave you with, then look at www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php which lets you play around with figures. I think you are probably in for a bit of a shock. Years ago at work we had some American colleagues visiting and they couldn't believe the cost of living compared to the salary levels, and it's got worse since. They lived and worked in Washington D.C. as well, so it's not like they were from a cheap part of the US!

To get an idea of what flats or houses will cost, rightmove, zoopla etc are good places to check out; for shared accommodation, spareroom.co.uk will give you some ball park figures. In my experience even when renting the cheapest of flats you will need in the region of £1.5-£2K to cover deposit, first month's rent etc. Without an address history in the UK you are also likely to find it difficult to get a mortgage.

I think you should probably get child allowance (or whatever it's called these days), but I thought tax credits were being phased out anyway? (Someone else can confirm or refute that).

Bear in mind that the cost of living in much of the UK is extortionate these days. Especially in the south, including the south west; hideously expensive these days and many tourist spots have 6 month rental contracts through the winter if you're lucky and then kick you out so the owners can make megabucks during the season. It isn't just the mortgage either, there is also gas/electricity, water, council tax, and other compulsory bills to take into account (e.g. TV licence) and they can easily be another £800 a month. I'm in absolute awe of the PP above whose council tax and everything else is around the £330 mark! I think the amount we pay is closer to the average, though - and that's before taking food, clothing, transport including car maintenance, and leisure into account.

In Cornwall (and most of the south west, even Bristol, Exeter, and Plymouth) you are also likely to find it very difficult without a car or other mode of transport, the public transport is really pretty rubbish when it turns up at all (I've lived a bit further north than that in the West Country since 2005, with a 2 year break, and even though I hate driving there's not really much other option - I have visited Cornwall regularly and our only option has been to drive).

Depending on the area, £25k will go a LOT further in most of Scotland or many parts of the north of England (not York, Harrogate, Ripon, Chester, some bits of Northumberland or the National Parks in Yorkshire, or some other "posh for the north" bits, though - I'm from Newcastle originally and there's no way I could afford to live in any of those areas I've just mentioned. You could afford to have quite a decent although not plush life somewhere like Newcastle or several other Northern cities/locations on that salary.

I just got a mortgage after being out of the uk in the last 3 years, returned at the end of 2019, some mortgage providers would not lend to me at all, even with a 66% deposit. I didnt get the best rate due to this however i did get a mortgage in the end that i was happy with, with santander. L&C helped me

@Oatypancakesforbrekkie where are you living now?

I think you might find you need childcare. You've mentioned breakfast club and after school club because your child will be in school with you, but firstly, is that free for staff, and secondly, what if she doesn't get a place at the school you work at?

SO much doesnt add up in this OP. I've never heard of a TA (even HLTA) getting paid that much for pro-rata hours, and certainly never heard of a private school providing fee free places to children of support staff

[quote wallysally]@icedcoffees I don't understand? Why would a job advertise as 25k if you don't actually get paid 25k?? [/quote]
Because most school jobs are term-time only and the pay is advertised as "25k pro rata", which means if you were working full-time hours, all year round, you'd earn 25k, but as it's term time hours, you actually earn much less than that.