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[Zed]

I'm an American.  A position in my field recently opened at the U of Nottingham.  The posted salary is £23-27,000.  My (limited) experience with the UK suggests that, while the pound is worth more than the dollar, things tend to cost as much in pounds as they do in dollars.  Friends who have lived in the UK for long periods of time have confirmed this, but our experiences tend to be with more expensive cities, like London.  If our impressions are accurate, however, a salary of £23-27,000 in the UK would be comparable, in terms of actual buying power, to a salary of $23-27,000 in the States.  That is nearly half what an assistant professor would make in my field in the States.

My questiion for the forum: Is £23-27k enough to provide a decent life for a family of three in Nottingham, especially if my SO is unable to find meaningful work?  I don't need a lot of money.  Right at the moment we live without a TV, cell phones, central heat, home internet access, office furniture, dishwasher, or 24-hour hot water.  I just want to know that this salary would be enough to some day, after much scrimping and saving, allow us to buy a house, and maybe even have hot water at the turn of a knob.

[%sig%]

[sidey]

23k - 27k in Nottingham would be difficult to support a family, but I am sure that your SO would find a decent job - it's a fairly large city.

Nottingham is a city that is significantly cheaper than London, especially in terms of housing costs etc, but still more expensive than most places outside of the UK (excluding major cities, etc.).

[science expat]

But your SO may not be legally allowed to work. For more information on this look at http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/content/ind/en/home.html and a good forum is http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=17.0

[sidey]

If this was the case, I would ask the university to try and sort out a work permit for your SO, as part of the job negotiations.   It does happen.

[english]

Nottingham is a great city. Known also as a club city. And the countryside nearby is where you will want to live...much cheaper.

[British Person]

I support a family on this salary. People do often complain about academic salaries, but they are quite high compared to most UK salaries. You just need to cut your cloth accordingly.

[sidey]

27k is hardly 'quite high compared to most UK salaries'.  When I worked in the UK my wife earned substantially more than me in a low-to-mid level admin role.

[Expat in UK]

Nottingham is a great university.

The city of Nottingham does have significant problems with crime.

The countryside is lovely and quite affordable as long as you stay away from the Peak District. OK... quite affordable for the UK... house prices here are high, but it's also quite possible to get a 95-100% mortgage


Gasoline is very expensive, but cars get a lot better gas mileage than they do in the States, so I found it was about the same cost per month.

I first moved here in 1998 and had a salary of 25,000... I found that after taxes and such it wasn't much different to what I was bringing home from my assistant prof job in the States.

My university has a scheme whereby if you travel at least 1200 miles a year on university related business you can get a lease car. This is quite easy to do if you take into account travel for research and travel for external examining duties. I've had a lease car since moving to the UK and it's helped to keep my transportation costs down.

Transportation costs are high in the UK... don't think that you'll save a lot of money by taking the train or a bus... they aren't cheap.

Food costs are much higher than the US and the rest of Europe.

Clothing costs are much higher here with the pound=dollar.
I still buy all my clothes in the US.

I enjoy living here... but I do live in the countryside (near Nottingham actually). I almost never go to London except on business.

[science expat]

Electronic costs have come down and are now comparable to the US. But, I too buy all my clothes in the States.

[nosey]

I am ex-pat American living in UK.  I've learned that it's VERY hard to figure out how to do a reliable comparison of living costs.  I also still buy clothes in the US.  But I have to say that overall my taxes seem to be coming out at exactly the same rate as my sisters - we have compared salaries after taxes quite a few times and seem to both be paying around 27%.  But one of the big differences is no health costs and very much less to save in terms of education.  (If your children stayed here for University that is).  She puts masses of money away every month as her accountant has advised her that by the time her daughter gets to college age she will need around $120K for a BA!

[sidey]

Hwever, the UK does thave that wonderful EXTRA tax - council tax - which can cost anywhere from 1000 to 1500 pounds a year - payable per household and by both owners AND renters.  That does add an extra tax burden.

[brit]

What is the difference between a council tax and a city or town property tax. Other than it doesnt apply to renters....after all cities do need revenue to maintain sidewalks and roads and bike paths!

[British Person]

The mean average salary in the UK is around 26K. Most people earn considerably less.  



<27k is hardly 'quite high compared to most UK salaries'. When I worked in the UK my wife earned substantially more than me in a low-to-mid level admin role.>

[to british person]

Sorry to quibble, but: if the mean is 26k, then I still maintain that one can hardly describe 27k as 'quite high' compared to this mean.  At best one might describe it as 'fractionally higher than'.  And regardless, the original question was about supporting a family of 3 on this (single) salary, and I suggested that this would be difficult.  Now, on two such incomes, the story would of course be different.


British Person wrote:

> The mean average salary in the UK is around 26K. Most people
> earn considerably less.  
>
> <27k is hardly 'quite high compared to most UK salaries'. When
> I worked in the UK my wife earned substantially more than me in
> a low-to-mid level admin role.>

[European in UK]

Don't forget that the lecturers' trade union (AUT) has negotiated substantial salary increases for all lecturers (you can find the details on their website: http://www.aut.org.uk). Universities have to implement this system by August 2006, but some universities have already introduced it. I calculated that it means that my salary will go up by £10,000 over the next two years (from the top of the Lecturer A scale), as my local union has successfully negotiated extra increases.

Another thing for lecturers is a hardly publicised tax allowance for working at home. You can deduct the running costs of a house (mortgage/rent, council tax, bills), divided by the number of room in your house. You can find more information on the Inland Revenue website under tax treatment of lecturers. I received money back for the last two years.