Living in London - on 15K salary

Hey,

That's what I and everyone else who work for my company earn and live on in London (I work in retail). You won't have loads of extra cash but it's grand. I work in Zone 1, live in Zone 2, have nights out, definitely don't starve etc.

It all comes down to what you are used to though. I don't grocery shop in M&S, get regular haircuts, go out for dinner etc - whereas some people would think it normal to do that every week. Obviously I am a lot worse off now then when I lived in Dublin and worked in retail - due to much lower wages in comparison to the price of rent and travel expenses - but I am used to it now. I wouldn't consider myself to be living on a tight budget at all. I never run out of money or anything. But then, I have housemates who earn twice what I do and they complain of being strapped for cash - I haven't a clue how. My biggest bug bear is that I can't get a mortage or save very much - but that wouldn't really concern you if you were only doing it for a year or so.

If you live near work you will save a fortune on travel expenses and you should be able to get a flatshare in Richmond or nearby for a reasonable enough price.

You can live very cheaply in London, or you can live very expensively. You can choose to go to the pub where you can get a bottle of wine for £5 or you can go to the one where a glass of wine costs £10. It is such a big city, with so much to do for all budgets that no matter what you earn you can live well on it in different ways.