Living in London – Cost of Living

Living in London – Cost of Living - Image by jamesmorton via Flickr

You are now living in London and are still working out how to use pounds instead dollars when ordering a Big Mac and wondering whether it’s cheaper here or in the US. London is not a cheap city in contrast and living there you will realise that your biggest expenditure is your new London apartment.

Food prices vary depending on where you buy for example a week’s groceries will cost you about £40. A MacDonald’s meal is around £4; a restaurant meal could cost you £15+ and a pub lunch £8-15. The same goes for drinks and entertainment where a pint at the pub can cost you around £3.50 and buying at the off-licence at six pack of lager you could spend between £5-£6; supermarket wine goes for about £6. So it’s best to consider your options on where to buy when doing your shopping.

Living in London can be costly depending on the area or location you choose to live in. Rentals on apartments or houses will obviously vary from city to city as well as the size of the property. So again it is important to do some footwork and also check out ads for suitable areas. Clothing is also often reasonable, but again this depends on whether you’re wearing the local brand or Gucci. International fashion brands are very expensive because of import so sticking to locally made clothing and other products is often the way to go.

If you are looking to go for a night out on the town then be aware of how much entertainment in London will cost you. If you just want to relax in front of the big screen, movie tickets are from £5–£15, or if you have a hankering for going to a gig then you should look at parting with £15-£30. Since you will needing transportation to paint the town red then you will be spending £2 for a single bus journey and for a taxi or minicab it can be anything from £5 – £34 depending on the meter reading or agreed fare.

Living in London is a venture worth experiencing and by shopping around for the best deals you can make your stay there worthwhile and worth every penny!

For more information on calculating cost of living in London to ensure your London job salary foots the bills, please also see our post, “Cost of Living in London – Calculating COLA.”

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Related posts:

1. Living in London – The Real Cost Of Food in London
2. Living In London – Renting Property 2
3. Living In London – “I’m An Englishman In New York”
4. Living In London – The Best Places For Expats To Live In London
5. Living In London – The BIG Move

Tags: England, flats and apartments to rent, flats to let in london, fun facts about london england, learning about london england, London, london move, London relocation specialist, McDonalds, Moving to London, moving to London England, Moving to London from US, United States
This entry was posted on: Saturday, March 5th, 2011 at 2:17 am and is filed under Moving to London: Tips & Culture.
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