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[Kathy]

Hi all, I've just been offered an associate director position in London for 41,000 pounds.  This is a significant drop in pay for me since I make over $92,000 (dollars).  I would like to rent a studio or one-bedroom in Chiswick and take the tube or bus to Baron's Court where the job is located.  Will I be able to live decently on 41,000 pounds?  Rent with tax and utilties will eat up 60% of my take home pay whereas here in the States it only eats up 20%.  Ouch!!  It's hard to judge relative salary levels.  Any help would be much appreciated.

[WhoCares]

*Will I be able to live decently on 41,000 pounds?*

considering the fact that many survive off of less than $2 a day in most parts of the world, you'll live.

[chocky]

I suppose it depends what you are used to. Personally, I would be thrilled with 41k! But my experience is that salaries are generally higher in the US than the UK, even allowing for fluctuations in exchange rates. You will earn less in real terms than you earn now, with larger outgoings. So it sounds like you will feel significantly worse off financially, plus your income will fall into the highest UK tax bracket. According to http://www.hmrc.gov.uk, if you are single with no dependents you will not be taxed on the first 4,895 you earn annually, and after that you will pay tax at the following rates on your earnings:

on the first £2,020 10% (the starting rate)
on the next £29,380 22% (the basic rate)
on any income over £31,400 40% (the higher rate)

Having said that, you might find you are reasonably comfortable compared to many single friends and colleagues in Britain, so I suggest you don't don't compain too loudly! So it doesn't sound like such a great move financially, but I think you need to ask yourself a question: do you have other, non-financial reasons for wanting it that outweigh these issues?

[%sig%]

[Happy Camper]

> Will I be able to live decently on 41,000 pounds?

No. London is ridiculously expensive. 41,000 pounds over there is approximately equal to 41,000 USD in the US; coming from 92k$ that's a steep  downfall.

I made pretty much the same move four years ago and regretted it: London is not fun when everything there is to enjoy is too expensive.

[Kathy]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and useful response.  The website you pointed me to is great!  I had not come across it.  I am currently in the process of putting a spreadsheet together that tries to do a cross-walk between the two salaries taking into account taxes, health insurance, retirement contributions.  

I am willing to give up some finances for the experience (both work and cultural) but am now 35 and have long-term financial stability to worry about.  I don't have a house to sell/rent and need to think about buying soon.  Also, I plan to stay in the UK only 3-5 years so I will not be able to get any of my pension contributions to the UK system.

I can live cheaply but do wish to have some $$ left over at the end of the month to do some travelling and experience the country.  

*sigh* I should have done this when I was much younger!

[Kathy]

That's what I've feared.  I just got back from spending a wk in London interviewing and found the prices of food, rent, transportation to be only marginally less than what I currently pay (Washington, DC area).  

I've been told that the average senior manager only makes 50-55 pounds/year so I was thinking that if that is the norm maybe I'm being a little paranoid!

Kathy

[Kathy]

Happy Camper:

I'd like to ask you a few questions off-line since you've been thru the Big Move.

Please contact me at K_Lizotte1@hotmail.com if you are willing to help out a fellow American.

Thanks!

Kathy

[%sig%]

[Harimad]

Kathy

You should be able to claim some of your taxes back when you leave. Also, you won't need to pay health insurance as the NHS is comprehensive. (You would pay £3.50 per prescription; everything else should be free.)

[Harimad]

"Rent with tax and utilties will eat up 60% of my take home pay".

I don't think so: it will be more like a third of your take home pay.

Signed

Has lived in London for the past eight years

[GreenEyed Lady]

I think the NHS prescription price has gone up to something like £6.50

[Zara]

Current NHS charges are not 3.50 but 6.50 per item. You would also need to take out private dental insurance and might want to take out supplementary private health insurance as well, so be warned - healthcare is not as free as you might think.

41k for one person would be fine in London. You wouldn't live luxuriously, but that's a significant salary here, much more than the average salary for the UK. London is expensive, but you would find plenty to do and see on that pay level.

Zara


Harimad wrote:

> Kathy
>
> You should be able to claim some of your taxes back when you
> leave. Also, you won't need to pay health insurance as the NHS
> is comprehensive. (You would pay £3.50 per prescription;
> everything else should be free.)

[UKtoUS]

I came over about 4 years ago, and was honestly a bit shocked at the cost of living.  Your money simply doesn't go that far over here.  There's no question about that.  There is a trade-off however, and that's the quality of life.  Yes, OK, I'm in a nice sleepy northern town and London will be MUCH different and much more expensive, but I personally love the fact that, for instance, shops shut at six p.m. and everyone goes home to have dinner with the family or meet for a quick drink with friends.  The public transport (although everyone complains here that it's crap) is great compared to the US to the point that many people don't have driver's licenses much less own cars.  The socialized health care system (while it too has its sticking points like long waiting lists even for major stuff sometimes) is something we should have implemented in the States ages ago.  And the media, while occasionally sensationalist, is generally pretty amazing compared to the airbrished CNN stuff we get back home.  In short, I have a great admiration for the de-emphasis on the quantity of life and the concern with quality of life here.  Sure, things could be better, but if it's a unique and rewarding experience you're looking for rather than just a good financial move, Britain is great.  I haven't regretted my own 'bad' (financial) move to Britain in the least.

[Harimad]

You're right about the prescription charge but wrong about dentistry. I live in London - and don't have private health insurance - and have an NHS dentist.

[British Person]

£41K is around about the minimum salary for a full professor, ao don't complain about it at work!

[Zara]

You're extremely lucky to have found an NHS dentist. Most do not accpet new adult patients on the NHS any more, and if you're a healthy, reasonably well-paid adult you would find it exceptionally hard to get on a dentist's list on the NHS at the moment - especially in London. Even NHS dentistry carries extra charges for appointments, treatments, etc., and it doesn't offer a full range of services - for example, white fillings, more advanced dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and so on. For those you need to pay privately anyway.

It's not essential to have private medical insurance, but the NHS, whilst excellent for primary care and GP care, does not cover many things that private health insurance does. On a salary of 41k, I would normally expect someone to have some kind of private medical insurance, possibly on offer through their employer.


Harimad wrote:

> You're right about the prescription charge but wrong about
> dentistry. I live in London - and don't have private health
> insurance - and have an NHS dentist.