Moving to London but salaries??

[Anonymous]

Coming from nyc, thinking of a move to London.

However, the very low salaries despite them being from jobs at top companies that would pay 4x as much here in US.

How are they so low and how do people get by in London like this, despite being up in their career?

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in the UK and was struck by the low standard of living- unless you come from money.

[Anonymous]

Be prepared for a tiny, old, far from luxurious existence. No car. No frills.

Americans are accustomed to an upper middle class lifestyle that is very different from the typical London lifestyle.

Don’t make the move unless you are ready to dramatically adjust your expectations.

[Anonymous]

Adult DS lives in London now, coming from DC and is shocked how cheap almost everything is. Notable exceptions are gas and heat.

But day to day things like groceries, clothing, toiletries, tickets to plays/concerts, alcohol, etc are much less. Medical care is essentially free. Rent is par for a like-kind neighborhood (though the flat itself isn’t as luxury, like PP said)

Uber is cheaper- I assume coming from NYC You wouldn’t try owning a car anyway.

The tax situation can be complicated, depending on whether you are an expert or a UK passport holder I am told that citizens of the UK pay a whole lot more in taxes than someone like my DS

[Anonymous]

ExPAT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adult DS lives in London now, coming from DC and is shocked how cheap almost everything is. Notable exceptions are gas and heat.

But day to day things like groceries, clothing, toiletries, tickets to plays/concerts, alcohol, etc are much less. Medical care is essentially free. Rent is par for a like-kind neighborhood (though the flat itself isn’t as luxury, like PP said)

Uber is cheaper- I assume coming from NYC You wouldn’t try owning a car anyway.

The tax situation can be complicated, depending on whether you are an expert or a UK passport holder I am told that citizens of the UK pay a whole lot more in taxes than someone like my DS

Yes, citizens pay way more taxes. Rishi Sunak’s wife got into hot water politically for that reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adult DS lives in London now, coming from DC and is shocked how cheap almost everything is. Notable exceptions are gas and heat.

But day to day things like groceries, clothing, toiletries, tickets to plays/concerts, alcohol, etc are much less. Medical care is essentially free. Rent is par for a like-kind neighborhood (though the flat itself isn’t as luxury, like PP said)

Uber is cheaper- I assume coming from NYC You wouldn’t try owning a car anyway.

The tax situation can be complicated, depending on whether you are an expert or a UK passport holder I am told that citizens of the UK pay a whole lot more in taxes than someone like my DS

Does your kid understand the conversion rate? GBP is stronger than USD ($1.25 usd equals 1 GBP). So it might seem cheaper but it really isn’t.

London is very expensive. Always has been.

When I travel there for business and stay in the business district (away from the tourist areas where everything is marked up), prices are typical city prices (like nyc)—which is still quite costly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adult DS lives in London now, coming from DC and is shocked how cheap almost everything is. Notable exceptions are gas and heat.

But day to day things like groceries, clothing, toiletries, tickets to plays/concerts, alcohol, etc are much less. Medical care is essentially free. Rent is par for a like-kind neighborhood (though the flat itself isn’t as luxury, like PP said)

Uber is cheaper- I assume coming from NYC You wouldn’t try owning a car anyway.

The tax situation can be complicated, depending on whether you are an expert or a UK passport holder I am told that citizens of the UK pay a whole lot more in taxes than someone like my DS

Does your kid understand the conversion rate? GBP is stronger than USD ($1.25 usd equals 1 GBP). So it might seem cheaper but it really isn’t.

London is very expensive. Always has been.

When I travel there for business and stay in the business district (away from the tourist areas where everything is marked up), prices are typical city prices (like nyc)—which is still quite costly.

DP - how patronising. I’m sure this kid understands the exchange rate. I’m from London. Day to day items are cheaper (except utilities and gas). Real estate is more expensive per square foot, whether buying or renting. Of course there are cheaper and more expensive areas to live. Quality of life in the US is generally higher but not having to pay for health care, save for college, etc can make day to day living a lot cheaper. Even things like vacations can be done much cheaper than in the US, with cheap flights all around Europe, Airbnbs etc.

[Anonymous]

Why does London, despite being a world city with top industries just like NYC has, offer way lower pay as the latter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Coming from nyc, thinking of a move to London.

However, the very low salaries despite them being from jobs at top companies that would pay 4x as much here in US.

How are they so low and how do people get by in London like this, despite being up in their career?

Can you give us a range of what a ‘very low’ salary would be? On DCUM, that can mean many things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adult DS lives in London now, coming from DC and is shocked how cheap almost everything is. Notable exceptions are gas and heat.

But day to day things like groceries, clothing, toiletries, tickets to plays/concerts, alcohol, etc are much less. Medical care is essentially free. Rent is par for a like-kind neighborhood (though the flat itself isn’t as luxury, like PP said)

Uber is cheaper- I assume coming from NYC You wouldn’t try owning a car anyway.

The tax situation can be complicated, depending on whether you are an expert or a UK passport holder I am told that citizens of the UK pay a whole lot more in taxes than someone like my DS

Does your kid understand the conversion rate? GBP is stronger than USD ($1.25 usd equals 1 GBP). So it might seem cheaper but it really isn’t.

London is very expensive. Always has been.

When I travel there for business and stay in the business district (away from the tourist areas where everything is marked up), prices are typical city prices (like nyc)—which is still quite costly.

Idiotic post of the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be prepared for a tiny, old, far from luxurious existence. No car. No frills.

Americans are accustomed to an upper middle class lifestyle that is very different from the typical London lifestyle.

Don’t make the move unless you are ready to dramatically adjust your expectations.

Huh? I have plenty of friends with nice lifestyles in London.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adult DS lives in London now, coming from DC and is shocked how cheap almost everything is. Notable exceptions are gas and heat.

But day to day things like groceries, clothing, toiletries, tickets to plays/concerts, alcohol, etc are much less. Medical care is essentially free. Rent is par for a like-kind neighborhood (though the flat itself isn’t as luxury, like PP said)

Uber is cheaper- I assume coming from NYC You wouldn’t try owning a car anyway.

The tax situation can be complicated, depending on whether you are an expert or a UK passport holder I am told that citizens of the UK pay a whole lot more in taxes than someone like my DS

When I lived in London as a non-citizen, I paid exactly the same taxes as any citizen.

[Anonymous]

Do the math before you jump ship. And definitely compare apples to apples. ICYMI: everything you google about cost of living or groceries in London vs NYC neglects to do the conversion. When you do the math, you’ll see the groceries are actually about the same—but your salary will be a heckuva lot less.

Presumably the op isn’t planning to live in London forever, so things like healthcare and saving for college aren’t as relevant. (Although how easy will it be to save for college and retirement on a lower salary in the UK if you ultimately plan to come back to the US?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the math before you jump ship. And definitely compare apples to apples. ICYMI: everything you google about cost of living or groceries in London vs NYC neglects to do the conversion. When you do the math, you’ll see the groceries are actually about the same—but your salary will be a heckuva lot less.

Presumably the op isn’t planning to live in London forever, so things like healthcare and saving for college aren’t as relevant. (Although how easy will it be to save for college and retirement on a lower salary in the UK if you ultimately plan to come back to the US?).

Would very much like to see an example of this claim. If I Google "cost of living London" it gives me information in GBP and USD at the first link, with the conversion noted.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/London