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Thread ID: 35929 2003-07-26 00:45:00 OT: Living costs in London? nomad (3693) Press F1
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162881 2003-08-01 09:30:00 I have resisted reading this thread as I have no idea about the living cost in London.

I have to say this though Misty....
What a very helpful post!! Keep up the good work.

> Hi Nomad
> Rent will depend a lot on area. If you are able to
> identify an area then I will send an email to our
> PressF1 member "kitty cat" who lives over there. She
> is in Wimbledon but that is relatively expensive.
I have always wanted to be a Womble. Could I live on "The Common" in a tent do you think? Just joking but it would be good. After all, certain citizens here in NZ live in tents on Public grounds. Myself included. I usually use DOC forest parks as opposed to Parliament grounds though.

> Are you looking for an area where there are lots of
> Kiwis and Aussies ? It would probably be a good
> idea then you get lots of support and pointers.
> Also they tend to live in less expensive areas I
> I believe.
That's good too. When I went to Aussie for twelve years ( as it happened ) I went to Sydney and linked with English people in Manly. We stayed in Manly six months then moved to Terrey Hills and got on with our lives there. It was good to have an initial contact with someone who could put us wise.
>
> Initially it is a good idea, unless you have someone
> particular to go and stay with, to what is called
> "doss" at one of the flats for a short while. It is
> quite standard practice and usually means sleeping in
> the lounge or some corner somewhere. It is expected
> that you will contribute five pounds sterling per
> night. I have just checked and that is $13-76 at
> today's rates (great homepage is
> http://home.nzcity.co.nz/ )
Yep.... The one I use and have done for some time now.
>
> Let me know about area, etc. Will not be able to get
> a reply until Tues (our time) as "Kitty cat" usually
> only uses internet at work.
>
Hope that person has no one looking over the shoulder like the NZOOM ad.
> cheers
> Misty
And you too!!!! :-) 		Elephant (599)
162882 2003-08-01 10:07:00 > Well, still need to secure a job via the net, prob
> via a telephone interview or such ...
OK... I can understand that.

> What a learnt; there are ways of cutting down costs
> and having clearer understanding of the costs. Hope
> the potential flatmates are good, enof hot water :D
I can understand that too.

> I could just get dialup with minimal hours - emails u
> see. Some forum work too and current affairs. It is
> a pretty $$ place to live. Wages does not really
> increase by much as the living cost ....
>
> Living off a boat over winter is not a good idea ;)
>
> Oh, a question if I could! Would anyone have ideas
> of regions which a fresh grad could get some
> reasonably price accom?:| I do not mind travelling,
> jus hope the subway/train caters the routes.. Just
> one condition, I do not want coronation street type
> accom :^O

Here's my point.
If you read Mistys' post AND get the job then you know what you are up for.

Why not live in Coronation Street anyway?

I live in Tokoroa where the houses aren't glued together. Quarter acre section. Two bedroom house where my Wife ( whom I love dearly ) and I live. Rent at $80.00 per week and has been for the last six years.

We now have Wireless Broadband Internet access here and I signed up for it after years of using Xtra Dialup. I might add that I had no complaints with Xtra and if you want to stay with it then fine by me.

Cost me $60.00 + GST for them to install.
$50.00 + GST per month for all the internet I want. No capped Megabytes.

If you are still here in NZ then go and have the OE. It won't hurt that much.

When you get back then consider Tokoroa maybe. 		Elephant (599)
162883 2003-08-01 11:59:00 hey..
i know i promised to get back to u on this...i know it took a while but here i am...

heres his reply..the NZ$$ amount is in brackets...



I've tried to give a rough guide to costs of living here, but there are so many variables to take into account that i'll give a general amount, which you may find lower or higher depending on what you want or get.

Rent:
Depends which part of London, and the property type but generally you can get a double sized room near all amenities for around £120-£200 ($360-$600) a week, house prices here have tripled in the last 2 years! so this has had an impact on rent prices, and you may find it is even more expensive than this, that's why I still live at home ;), to get cheaper rent you have to live further out of the city, but we have pretty good commuter links anyway.

Supermarket:
Depends how much you eat!, but for everyday items, (milk, tea, bread, butter, eggs, sugar, sandwich fillings etc) will be a around a £8 ($24) for the week, and just add on to that £1 ($3) per item of food, generally Supermarkets tend to be cheaper than the little "corner shops" that we have all over the place here, a weekly shop at the supermarket would cost you no more than about £35 ($100) and you would be able to get a wide range of food there too.

Transport:
Again does depend whether you live in central London or out in the suburbs, suburban travel to central London is more expensive, but a weekly Travelcard for most parts of London including the centre is £28.40 ($85.20) and entitles you travel on Tube, Overland Train, the Docklands Rail, Bus and Trams, and is very good value when bought in weekly or monthly formats.

Monthly:
Internet connection 56k unlimited dialup around £10-14 ($30-42)
Broadband/DSL from £18 ($54)

Landline:
Depends what operator you subscribe to but generally in the £10-15 ($30-45) range for actually having the line, plus your calls

Mobile Phone:
To pay as you go (no monthly contract) a phone costs from as little as £50 ($150) to buy and then we have four different operators charging different tariffs and are all different prices, but for normal usage i would estimate £25 ($75) a good starting point for monthly topup.

Electricity:
Is usually included in the rental of rooms, but sometimes isn't and you have to use a meter, generally, electricity is very cheap here anyway around 7p (21c) a K/W (1 K/W can power a light bulb for 10 hours)

Cinema:
Cinema tickets cost from £4 ($12) for local cinema, but if you go into central London or one of the big multiplex ones expect tickets to cost from £7 ($21), food and drink in cinema's is notoriously expensive, around double-triple what you would pay outside!

Resturants & eating out:
again, different establishments tend to charge different prices, but expect to pay around £20 ($60) per head for a good meal with a couple of drinks, add another £10 ($30) for starters and desert, and takeaway starting from around £2.50 ($7.50)

I hope this gives you some idea of the cost, but I know it is very expensive for kiwi's to live here because of the exchange rate.


hope this helps...
Cheerz 		csinclair83 (200)
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