How much to live in London as a single person, 2024?

[Eggsandmarmalade]

In the early 2000s, I lived in London. I worked in publishing, starting off in the low £20Ks and finishing on £30K. I was mostly single and lived alone, in a tiny studio flat the size of a very small study bedroom (single bed, hot plate, bar fridge, chair and tiny counter top). The floorspace was the size of a yoga mat. Looking back, I can't quite believe it was legal, and my friends couldn't believe I lived there, but living alone was important to me. The mini-flat was centrally located, and I could walk to work. I had money to travel, which was also important to me. Even if I'd saved it all, it wouldn't have amounted to anywhere near the deposit I'd need to buy a place on my salary. Eventually, I gave up on London and moved north. I couldn't see any prospect of improving my standard of living.

I go through phases of London nostalgia and often feel as if I'm missing out by not living there. I still work in publishing, with an average salary. A short rummage on Rightmove sets me straight fairly sharply.

How do single people on average salaries live in London these days? Are middle-aged singletons who don't work in finance all living in house shares in Zone 6 or on houseboats?

How much would a single person, car-free, need to earn to live reasonably (not luxuriously) in London these days? That is, 1BR flat in a reasonable neighbourhood, (non-five-star) travel, being frugal but not counting every penny?

Just curious. Obviously people have very different ideas about 'reasonable' and very different bottom lines.

I would say about £80k at a bare minimum

I think if you're not fussed about a professional house share, you could get something pretty decent in Zone 2/3. Rightmove/Zoopla is enough to put anyone off, but if you're happy to rent, SpareRoom may be a better option to get a realistic outlook on where and how much you'd be happy parting with.

Based on what?

Ds lived there as a single person in 34k.

You can do it too.

Yikes! How do you calculate this?

Thanks Tricky, but I've aged out of house-sharing. How far from central London do you have to go to find 1BR flats that are affordable (rent or buy) on an average salary? The Midlands?

How long ago was this? I'm guessing he was house-sharing.

You can still get a 1 bed flat in zone4 (maybe Wembley or Alperton) for £1300 a month if you look carefully, and aren't too fussy. To cover rent, all bills, food & a social life I think you'll need at least £35k probably closer to £40k.

Based on friends who are in a similar position to the one you described above. Rent, bills(!!), travel (work and holiday), social life, food, clothes, toiletries and so on. It all adds up :-( Otherwise house shares are the done thing, lots of 30-somethings doing this.

Based on my DS friends. Most are paying between £1700 to 2k a month for studio or one bedroom flats. Everyone who isn't a couple is house sharing. They are all working and on 30-50k. Even then it's really hard finding anywhere to live. He reckons it's the number one problem for young people in working London.

Not sure what salary would count as average, but a friend (40s, single man) rents a 1 bedroom flat in London.

Not central London but an area with decent public transport to central. I don't know his exact salary but I do know his landlord wanted a tenant on at least £35K.

He'd rather leave London and buy somewhere else but he's from London and has elderly parents there.

I assume for lower paid middle aged single Londoners it's shit tbh. Easier when young to cope with (or even enjoy) housesharing.

As you say OP it's often difficult when older. I loved house-sharing when I was young and living away from home was a novelty but I'd hate it now I'm older.

There are the lucky few who have social housing. Very hard to get in London even for the most vulnerable. Especially for single people.

£50,000 will give you a comfortable life style - a holiday, some savings, all bills paid.

That said, I assumed you're still renting where you currently are and were planning to rent if you moved to London.

Do you own your home now? Would you want to buy in London if you moved there?

If you're looking to buy in London, you'd probably need a salary higher than my friend's which I'm guessing is similar to yours.

Unless you currently own and have enough equity plus maybe a reasonable sized deposit.

Where my friend rents, 1 bedroom flats sell for around £300K. It's not the very cheapest part of London though, so there might be cheaper areas.

However if you're planning to rent, are single without children, and don't need to rent in zones 1-2, you won't need as high as £80K salary as suggested by a previous poster. You'd probably manage on £35-40K.

Btw my friend is either zone 3, 4 or 5 (I can't remember which, sorry) but near good public transport and only about 20-30 mins by public transport to central London.

Sorry one final thing.

A previous poster mentioned rents of £1,700 - £2000 pcm. My friend is paying less for his 1 bedroom flat. I think it's around £1300pcm.

Having your own flat bumps the price up massively. My niece has a gorgeous flat share in a close to the tube, zone 3 flat. She's earning £28,000 p.a. and manages to have a holiday each year. For a one bed flat though, it's around £1,700 + a month. Crazy money!

How do single people on average salaries live in London these days? Are middle-aged singletons who don't work in finance all living in house shares in Zone 6 or on houseboats?

The thing is, most of the forty something singletons I know (who mostly work in average public sector type jobs) bought flats or small houses in zone 3 or 4 in the early 2000s, on salaries equivalent to yours, after a few years of sharing in houses so grotty I don't think anyone would live like that these days. That is what I did too. We accepted that we couldn't afford to live centrally or rent alone, and we learned to love places at the wrong end of tube lines.

I would guess that what you really miss is the excitement and promise of youth, especially in London, which was really awesome at that time - and still is TBF. But renting a central flat without sharing was basically out of reach for average people then let alone now.

The thing is, most of the forty something singletons I know (who mostly work in average public sector type jobs) bought flats or small houses in zone 3 or 4 in the early 2000s, on salaries equivalent to yours, after a few years of sharing in houses so grotty I don't think anyone would live like that these days.

Sadly there's more than a few who do have to live like that. Many weren't able to afford to buy even a couple of decades ago. Those on lower salaries were actually priced out of buying in the early 2000s. My friend is one of these people.

There's loads of low paid (but still important) jobs that people do, including in London.

There's also disabled people, people with health issues that limit earning ability or prevent working at all. And carers. And divorce/relationship breakdown (including DV).

Some leave London. Others can't so easily do that. Eg. Some have elderly family to help care for or are vulnerable themselves and need to be near family for support. And if on the lowest incomes, they're not eligible for social housing outside their "local area".

It's a terrible situation for older single lower income Londoners - and actually this is something that needs to be addressed. Perhaps by providing more 1 bedroom social housing aimed at over 40s?

But anyway that's not (I don't think) relevant for OP? Depending on what she means by average salary, if it's similar to my friend's salary, she should be able to rent a 1 bedroom flat for around £1,300pcm.

For a studio? 😧

Thanks for your thoughts, Windchimeandsong. I finally bought my own non-London flat at an age when other people have finally paid theirs off. It was such a relief, and I'd hate to revert to renting. In my ideal return-to-London scenario, I'd buy a flat in zone 3-5 with good public transport links to the centre. Realistically, I'd need a significant salary increase, which is not going to happen in my current profession!

Yes, 1700 for a one room flat is not uncommon in central London. It's terrifying how expensive it is.

Back in the early 2000s, I just missed out on applying for (not necessarily getting) a 100% mortgage. Remember those? I made an appointment with Nationwide when my salary went up a notch, and they'd withdrawn that mortgage the day before. I'm still not sure if I was really unlucky or if I dodged a bullet.

I don't remember shared ownership being a possibility. When did that come in? The fact that the properties are new builds is very off-putting, given the quality issues.

Thanks, DadJoke. £50K seems to be the minimum for a solo dweller.

Oh yes, I remember the 100% mortgage! But I had a deposit so I got a "discount mortgage", also from Nationwide. They really did hand them out like smarties, but I suppose that was part of the whole 2007 debacle.

You can rent a one bed in zone 4/5 for £1200 a month. 25 minute train ride to London Bridge or Charing X. SE London. You can buy a flat in somewhere like Hither Green for £330K. Or a small house for £350 in Sidcup. Not a central London vibe but ok places to live and very easy to get into town for nights out/weekends socialising.

@Eggsandmarmalade I personally wouldn't sell up to rent (unless desperate or specific circumstances that made it the only option). I don't live in London but I can understand why you might miss it, and I'm sorry if it doesn't currently look feasible for you. UK as a whole but London in particular is ridiculous for house prices.

I don't know much about shared ownership but I think there's often high service charges (that increase annually).

How frustrating for you missing out so narrowly on the 100% mortgage! Although maybe you're right about dodging a bullet.