Quanto costa vivere a Londra? 
Are you planning to move to London? Do you want to know what it costs to live in London?! Well, you are in the right place! Especially if you want to live here, it’s better to have an idea of what it is like to live in London, from someone who has been here since forever!
Rent.
£1500. What is this? Price for a return ticket to Australia plus hotel for 10 nights? Nope. this is the average price Londoners per month. Of course this does not mean that we all pay that amount of money, it is average after all. But with this you might get an idea of how expensive it could be to live here.
The closure you live to zone 1 (central London) the higher the price, of course. To get a lower rent you must move outside zone 2, possibly from zone 3 out. At the same time, you must consider commuting time, but I tell you more about transports in London later on! Basically, there’s no point in moving in zone 5 to pay a lower rent and then having to commute to central London (if you work in there!) and spend a fortune in transports.
LONDON SPAREROOM | RIGHT MOVE LONDON
I don’t intend to scare you away now, so now let me tell you that if you are planning to share a flat with other people, rent might be in between £500 and £700. Depending on the area and the zone. Yes you can find cheaper rooms than these, but they are not always the best ones. Also it is possible to get ensuite room and the price, in this case, can be in between £700 and £850. I have seen ads for ensuite room at £1000. Sometimes it also depends on the building, new stylish modern buildings might have higher prices.
Please bear in mind that the above mentions rents often do not include bills. So, yes, you should add that up too. Bills, of course, are based on a long list of different factors, but just to give you an idea: electricity you can expect £20 per month if you are flat-sharing, or £60 per month for your one-bedroom flat. Plus Internet (£20 average) and gas. Council Tax is included in the rent for flat-sharers but you have to pay it yourself if you are renting the flat. It can be £100, easily. Per Month!
Phone
I am talking about mobile, cell phones. Of course, you are going to need one, so you will have to pay it. (What a surprise!). If you decide to get a pay-as-you-go option, the average in £20 per month, and it includes up to 20GB, depending on your Mobile Phone Company. personally, I am with Vodafone and I pay £20 per month with lots of GB!
Transportation
here we go. Let’s talk about the other very scary thing to pay in London (rent being the other one!). You can check TFL Website to have an idea of how much it is going to cost you, I can give you a very quick example. If you live in zone 3 and work in zone 1, you are going to need a monthly ticket which costs £158.4. Yes, you read that right! Add this up to everything else and things are starting to get a bit scary, I know. That’s why, like I was saying above, you need to figure out if it is actually convenient to rent in zone 4 or 5 and pay a lot of money for transport. Do your maths.
Food Shopping
Ah, my favorite topic! I have no idea why and where this idea that in London food is very expensive. It is not! I am talking of course about living here, not going out for dinner every night like you’d do if you were here on holiday. If you actually live here, you will soon find out that going to the supermarket can be cheap and affordable. Also because it is really up to you if you want to buy very expensive food or medium price ingredients but good quality ones. Waitrose and Whole Food Market can be a little bit more expensive, but affordable anyway. But you can use Tesco, Sainsbury’s and many more. Plus, you will find any kind of food from all over the world in different price range. You decide how much you want to spend, and believe me quality will be good anyway.
Don’t forget about the local markets! That’s where you can find affordable and good fruit & vegetable. Most of the supermarkets deliver your shopping at home. Going out for dinner is very similar. Avoid touristic areas, and in zone 2 or 3 or even 4 you will find more affordable restaurants, better food, and nice vibes 🙂 Average cost for a dinner out is £25. Of course you can spend less and a lot more than this. £25 is just average price, so if you consider going out at least twice per month, add £50/70 to your expenses.
Cocktails & Drinks can be expensive, although I have visited places in Europe where the prices were pretty much the same and in smaller cities than London. Even in this case too, the price changes depending on the venue. Local Pubs, for instance, have cheaper prices. A Cocktail in Central London can cost you £14/15. Yes. A beer in a central London Pub can cost you £5-7, and £3 or £4 in a local pub not located in Zone 1 or 2.
Cinema. yes this one is definitely not cheap if you decide to go during the weekend. But you can find good prices and special promo on weekdays. The weekend ticket can be £15/20! Weekday ticket can be £7-ish.
I did not write this article to put you off moving to London, but it is always good to have a general idea. Of course, salaries are very often matched with these expenses, so it will not be that difficult to survive 🙂
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