Anyone live/work in or around London???

[Captain Crash]

Eldest daughter (18yr old) has suddenly come up with the master plan of moving to the big smoke and getting a job, does anyone have a realistic idea of living costs for a single girl living/working in London.

I realise this probably seems a strange request but i would like to highlight the difference for her between her living here and paying £20 board for food, shelter, washing, cleaning, tv and internet access to living on your own in London.

I am exhausted with trying to reason with her and make her see sense, she feels this is just me trying to stop her "Living The Dream" cos i don't want her to go, clearly i don't want her to go but would feel a lot better if she was going to a good job and somewhere reasonable to live, neither of which she has.

Or am i indeed an overbearing miserable old fart ??

Chris

[trillian]

I am in a relatively inexpensive but still liveable area of town and I'm paying £450.00 per month for a double room in a house share with 3 flatmates. Then there's food, travel, etc. on top of that obviously. It would be a lot more in a more posh area or if you didn't want to live with flatmates.

[jimmyhorns]

I left london 8 years ago now.

At that stage my rent was 650pcm, and my living expenses were the same again, so it cost me about £13k a year, as a student, not having to pay council tax. This was for a one bedroom flat in north london (holloway), in a not so nice area, but it was of a reasonable size (you could get a double bed in the bedroom, the lounge was the same size, and it had a seperate kitchen.

I have friends still in london, and its pretty much doubled since then. She would need a job paying at least 20k a year (after tax) for it to make sense, and I would guess thats in a flat share.

Unless she already has friends there, its going to be a pretty lonely start

[nitros]

Anyone live/work in or around London???

I'm in Dorking myself, but I got few friends in London 2nd zone. I do pay 600 PCM for a double and my friends pretty much the same in a share house

[Liam B.]

I'm outside central london, inside the suburbs however up the hill i can see right into london. Transport is good yet OVERPRICED HUGELY considering there are always late or packed.
Liam

[Mark_T]

[QUOTE=Captain Crash;933957]Eldest daughter (18yr old) has suddenly come up with the master plan of moving to the big smoke and getting a job[/QUOTE]

I would ask her to reverse the order and get the job first.

One of my kids moved to London last year and as long as your daughter isn't too picky she will be able to exist on a gross salary of £18K+, note I did say 'exist', she will not be going out clubbing every week on that but she will not starve either.

Trying to move there first then get a job is a very bad idea, minimum wage jobs may not be too hard to find if you are flexible, but she will not be able to afford to live on that as a single person with no local family support.

If she can find a job that pays enough then she stands a chance, if she has friends already there then even better of course ...

[milly0812]

[QUOTE=Captain Crash;933957]Or am i indeed an overbearing miserable old fart ??

Chris[/QUOTE]

No mate you're just a dad. I have 4 girls myself and at 18 the grass is always greener......until they find out for themselves that it isn't. But you can't stop them trying ;-)

[Tim Procter]

[QUOTE=Captain Crash;933957]i would like to highlight the difference for her between her living here and paying £20 board for food, shelter, washing, cleaning, tv and internet access to living on your own in London.[/QUOTE]

Tell her to give her head a shake Chris.;)

It's so easy thinking the grass is greener over the fence, she is dreaming of a fantasy world that doesn't exist.:(

[dellowwarren]

Anyone live/work in or around London???

I live and work in London, I stay in Barnet which is right next to Arnos grove tube station... My rent a month is £990 ex council tax, bills, etc etc

We flat share (well its the wife and my sister and her bf) and we spilt everything so it's very cheap and good but would so rather have just me and the mrs...

Best thing to do is have a job over 20k a year before tax and have a friend else you wont make it in London...

Took me 6 months to try get a job, the mrs is still trying to get a job so it's def not easy and the debt you get from trying to find a job, I'm still trying to pay off mine

[Jamin_00]

Trying to stop her will no doubt reinforce her decision even more?

Can she come home if it fails?

I say go for it if she wants it bad enough. Do it while your young as its a lot harder when you got a family to up and move. Good luck if she goes for it :)

[Tommy]

Just say to her "why do you think there is so many homeless people in London"

[debrooker]

i would encourage her, just outline a few rules, like regular calls (reverse charge if necessary) etc, it is character building and i think she'll soon appreciate the sacrifices you have made providing a roof over her head.

I left for university at 18, leaving a home where i was waited on hand and foot, soon taught me to buck my ideas up and plus had some of the best times of my life

[kroozing]

And the one thing that is guaranteed to work........
Find her a bloke up your way, that way she'll not want to leave.

[tourerjim]

Tell her she can go & wish her all the luck but on conditions she picks that phone up the moment she's ready to come home & then give her some thinking space, good chance it'll idea fizzle.

[Biggles]

I live in Lincolnshire but commute to London a few times a week. I love London....Would I live there???..... nope. Why???? Because the price of living is just pointless. I can earn serious money in London and LIVE in the cheap northern parts of the country. Would I work north of Lincoln....err nope. London and south is where the money is. Besides....nightclub in London or nightclub in Hull?????....I can see the appeal for moving. Kids gotta grow up sometime....let her go...It will either work or it won't besides the more you say no the more she will want it!