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Original poster

scared about the cost of living in scotland

13 replies

nunuca · 06/09/2006 17:32

hi there

my family (husband and two daughters - 2 years old and 6 months old) and i are moving from brazil to edinburgh next month. i am a little concerned about the cost of living there... my husband will earn about 22 thousand pounds. at first we thought that was an excellent salary but now i have some doubts. would that be enough to pay rent (2 furnished bedroom flats cost between 550 and 650) and all the other basic stuff like electricity, water, tv, internet, phone, food etc.? i am a bit scared about all the taxes that we will have to pay (ï have read that it is about 22%). i am thinking about looking for a job but i am afraid that would meant i would have to spend over 10 thousand for daycare?!? would we get tax discounts because of our children?

sorry about the all small caps, baby is asleep in my arms

thanks in advance

OP posts:

HRHQueenOfQuotes · 06/09/2006 17:34

£22k should be ok to live on - even with rent of £600.

Original poster

nunuca · 07/09/2006 12:24

that´s good to know

OP posts:

purplemonkeydishwasher · 07/09/2006 12:37

will you be living in edinburgh? It's definitley more expensive to live in the city that in the smaller towns within commuting distance. but then you have to factor in the cost of commuting.

Original poster

nunuca · 07/09/2006 15:42

my husband will have to go to the univ. of edinburgh everyday, he is willing to go by bike (not sure how he will handle the winter lol) if we are not too far away. i have to research the cost of commuting...

thanks!

OP posts:

oliveoil · 07/09/2006 15:44

Expat lives in Edinburgh, she will be around soon I think

I know that she does say it is quite expensive however.

HRHQueenOfQuotes · 07/09/2006 15:45

it is quite expensive compared to living out of town - but on £22k a year should be managed quite comfortably (unless you have very expensive tastes in shopping!).

mellowma · 07/09/2006 15:53

Message withdrawn

expatinscotland · 07/09/2006 15:57

It's not a cheap place to live by any means.

Where you can get stung is by council tax. So when you go to rent a place, find out what 'band' it's in for council tax.

We're in Band C - it goes from A-H. And it's £134/month w/a 4% hike next year.

So you'll need to pay this on top of your rent b/c council tax is paid by the tenant. If the flat sits vacant, the landlord doesn't have to pay the full whack on tax.

bogwobbit · 07/09/2006 16:06

Hi nunuca,

I used to live in Edinburgh but moved 3 years ago and commute into work.
The biggest expense is definitely housing, rent or mortage and also childcare, if you work. An annual salary of £22,000 would give you around £1378 per month so after your rent has been taken off you would have about £778 left. I don't know whether you would need to pay Council Tax if you rent, but if you do then that might be about £80 - £100 (current rate is £96 per month for a Band D 'average' property. Water rates are included in the Council Tax. Gas and electricity - obviously varies greatly and prices are rising at a great rate at the moment! Also, if you and your daughters are at home all day during a Scottish winter (or Spring or Autumn or even Summer ) then your bills might be quite high. Phone and internet - shop around for the best deal (same with gas and electricity). TV - apart from buying a set, the only cost is TV licence (about £13 per month...ish) unless you want Sky or Cable. Travel in Edinburgh is actually quite reasonable - bus fares are £1 for any journey within the local bus company's limits (the whole city plus) but once you move outside this, the prices rise. Children under 5 are free. Train fares are imo extortionate!
My gut feelings are that you would be able to manage on your husbands wages but that you wouldn't have a great deal left over for things other than the basics.

expatinscotland · 07/09/2006 16:12

Bog, they've raised the council tax A LOT since you've left.

Here's a schedule of bands that's current:
counciltaxbands

Remember that your water, sewage and rubbish costs will be rolled in on top of your council tax, so you will wind up paying more per month than these bands, which just show council tax, indicate.

For example, we are in band C and pay £134/month for council tax + water/rubbish/sewage.

A bus pass for unlimited travel for one person is about £35/month - direct debit.

Power is sky high! Both gas and electric providers are raising their rates sharply.

I agree w/bog, you'll get by on that wage, but it's lean for life here, tbh.

Original poster

nunuca · 07/09/2006 16:39

thanks a lot everybody!!! i am really glad i have found this board.

OP posts:

bogwobbit · 07/09/2006 20:45

That's the figuers I used, expat.
Is 1152 / 12 not £96 per month? (puzzled emoticon) - actually I didn't realise though that that figure didn't include sewage, water etc.
Nunuca, hope you enjoy living in Edinburgh

mawbroon · 07/09/2006 21:39

Hi Nunuca. I lived in Edinburgh for 15 years and moved to West Lothian a couple of years ago because it was too expensive for us in town, however I wasn't earning anything like £22k. As others have said, you will be ok on that amount of money, but you will have to be sensible about it.
Wish I was moving to Edinburgh though

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