What Does it Cost to Live in London? | Living in London Series 

Don’t be afraid to live in Zone 1/Central London. For me, I only seem to be paying about £300 a month more in rent for a comparable flat in zone 2/3 but I have £0 transport costs where as someone who lives in zone 3 may be around £200 a month in railfare. So all said and done, I probably pay an extra £100-150 a month but also don’t have a 30+ minute commute on a packed subway each way. I’m a 6 minute walk. :-)

Why on earth am I watching this? I live in England!! Lol

I'm an Amerian, and I will be attending Richmond the American University and your videos have been helping me out a lot! I'm nervous but yet excited as well because I will get a great education over in the UK

Wow Jess! This video is fantastic! I can confirm that your price ranges are amazingly accurate. Really well done and totally honest. Thanks so much for your help! Great job! Love and cheers! 👍💗😘🇬🇧

It’s amazing how much passion you have for London. I was born in London and I’ve lived in London all my life, I wish I had the same admiration for the city as you do.

Great info! Jess, can you do a vid on your process of moving from NYC to London? A longer vid? Thanks so much! ❤️

Hi Jess, this is very good information. I moved from Atlanta, Ga in 2005 to London (intercompany transfer) and have been here since and still loving it. Not missing the USA but great to go and visit family & friends.

That was pretty straightforward and honest video, not many people would go into exact numbers. I've made some little tweaks to my budget plan sheet, so this was very helpful.

this feels much more nuanced than usually these types of videos are. thanks for making it and being efficient and thoughtful!

Thanks so much again for doing this series. I have a running checklist of things for us to figure out and you’ve helped me a ton!!

omg the cost is mindblowing, just freaks me out!! but i wanna do that and live in london for a year once in my life cuz it just feels so fun and exciting !!

Thank you very much for these videos :D

Really help us alot👍🏻 thank you

Thank you so much for making this video. Planning on moving to London from Cape Town in the next two months and you just made it easier for me. Keep up the great work

Love your videos, so helpful.​ I am currently planning to move to London. Visited London about three times.

Thanks Jess as always for the advice!

I'm moving to London next month from Manchester and my god, I've been to London a few times so I am very aware of the costs but the costs for going on nights out is crazy! Compared to what it's like up here, £5+ for a pint of beer, it's like £2 here hahaha. Great video, thanks for taking the time to create a series out of this!

London is super expensive. Couldn't believe how pricey everything is there.

Thanks so much for your insight on the cost of living. My daughter and myself will be relocating from Seattle, WA in two years, and your videos are extremely helpful.

i lived in a flat less than a five-minute walk from Trafalgar Square for a bit, and it was brilliant! the flat was small, but really lovely. just down the street from the Sherlock Holmes pub, and a lovely bookstore and Boots druggist. i could pop into a mini Tesco or M&S. 15 minutes walk to Regent Street, and a quick dash to portrait gallery. i felt so lucky to be so central to everything.

Thank you. I definitely needed this for my move

Hello, I love watching your videos! Thank you for doing all the videos! It is very interesting and helpful. I am from the Czech Republic but currently living in Canada. I am thinking about moving to London. May I ask you why did you choose London?

Great videos, highly informative stuff about London! Earned yourself a sub! ^^

I've lived in the south and can relate to the expense in rentals. I can say in most central cities rentals can range to £1200 pcm, depending on type of property. I was supriced the last time I visited Brighton, rentals in city central are over £1000 pcm and that was for something basic. However, everything else... food, transport and even eating out was cost effective. The water rates are on average, it's £4 difference. Energy/broadband, (if you have a BT landline) this can improve credit rating. It's odd, but certain providers can contribute to credit rating. London, you have to be doing something because it the central of everything. The property boom here had an impact.

Currently thinking about moving to London. Your videos are really helping, thanks!

People usually let other rooms from the flat or house to other housemates which makes the rent more afordable.

You are helping a lot to your subscribers with your excellent content. God bless you!

me: i want to move to london when i first move out london rent: hi bank account: u sure?

hi, I currently live in the US, i have been trying to figure the living cost for when i move to the UK, and this is really helping know more that i did not find in my initial research on renting a flat, thanks for posting these videos

This video has helped me A LOT I'm planning to move to London for it is where my love resides. This has helped me so much anx I was really nervous at first. But this video has calmed me down and helped me a lot so I'm confident I can bring my girl to a safe home and happy life.

I’m looking to move plus 3 people . Will he relocating for work . My job will be located on the south of London.

Thank you very much.Very useful information

Very interesting about the council tax. Lots of Europeans comment to me about how annoying it is that in the U.S. we charge sales tax on top of the list price, so you never really know what it's going to cost.

Use supermarket comparison site to check food prices before you buy. Whilst Aldi & Lidl are fairly cheap, they are not as cheap as they once were & other supermarkets can be cheaper or on on a par depending on what you want to buy.

In which place is the room amount is very less and it's also safe + there should be normal less price grocery and supermarkets with good quality. How to make good money in London.

Hi! I recently found your channel and subscribed even before I ended watching the first video I found! You provide great information that no one tells you when you are interested in living in London! Absolutely the best idea for a RU-vid channel! Loved it! In my case, I have a thing about London and I'm absolutely in love with it! But I do have a question and I don't mean to be intrusive or nosy in your personal life, but you mention that you liven the outer edge of zone 2 which is pretty good! May I ask (if possible) in which area do you live? not your address of course LOL, just the area so I can check on it on the map and look for rentals too! Thank you so much! and once again great videos!

Hey, your website isn't letting me get the guides :( Just says "Submitting" forever

Even hotels at London is so expensive. London is expensive really. Goodluck. Hello from Philippines. Ive been to Uk last 2019.

I want to move to UK after grad school

Crikey! I live in the north of England, and my rent (in a 2 bedroom semi detached with 2 gardens) is £280/month.

Hello, just wanted to say thank you, it’s a really helpful video. My girlfriend and I will make the big move in the next 2-3 months!

Very helpful👍

thanks for this really thanks

Great tips!

I live in Canada and have no plans to move to London, but your videos are so informative and thoughtful that I find myself watching even your videos that don't apply to me! Lol.

For 1.5k a month in central London you might get a shoe closet. As the lady says, if you want cheaper the further outside of the city lights you go the cheaper it gets. Not all suburbs are equal though and anywhere on a commuter belt with quick access to London won't be cheap. I grew up in South London (Brixton, Tulse Hill area) and properties have boomed since the gentrification of the area. For instance, the house I grew up in - a Victorian three story property in between Tulse Hill and Brixton Hill, was last valued at £1.2 million. Rent in that area, in a similar house to the one I mention above can cost anywhere from £1,276 a month for a two bedroom apartment to £1,900 per calendar month for 2 bedrooms plus of course, Council Tax and maintenance charges. Commuting is fairly easy but very stressful and expensive.

Keep dining in central London and keep us up-to-date pls

thanks, it was very useful.

Excuse me, are there any chemical companies in London or near London? Just to look for a job a chemist

Jess thank you very informative. Great video

Sweetheart please tell me what that song called used on the background . Who made it. I like it

You give a lot of good information! I’m from the US and lived in London four years and I loved the experience. I shared your video to some coworkers currently thinking about moving to London. Thank you for all your info.

With your videos l am practicing my english, good place to live.

London so expensive but amazing place someday can we meet ❤️

Hi, can you talk about if it’s hard to look for a job in london if you are a immigrant?

Another interesting fact about renting in London. We pay on average an extra £6 per day on rent just to get an extra 10 minutes sleep every morning.

Amazing guide

i lived in London, zone 3, in the late 90s as an expat and even with inflation factored in it costs way more to live there now

i would have thought even higher than again i'm used to south florida prices

I'm glad I moved out of London. Now I'm renting 1-bed flat in the old town of Vilnius and pay £600 a month, while still working in the UK and getting UK's salary.

Very informative series, thanks!

Foreigner wants to move to London.. *watches this video and sees how expensive it is* Nah..

One thing you forgot is there are some places that are outside central London such as Richmond, Twickenham, Chiswick, Ealing (where I live) you look at rents that equal rents, equal council tax, but with added higher public transport costs. But very informative video

Hi Jess. How are you, is it possible to talk about Prefabricated Homes in London.?thanks in advance

Dont forget you do not need cable TV in the UK. Freeview is broadcast free and can be picked up by aerial and has well over 100 channels including all main networks and radio stations, plus movie, history, drama, comedy, documentaries and lots more. All UK TVs can receive Freeview, but whatever service you have, you need a TV licence by law at £154 per annum. Still much cheaper than Sky or Cable.

My husband and I rent a 1 bedroom apartment in Boulder, Colorado with amazing mountain views for $1600/month, BUT......I would trade my apartment in a heart beat to live anywhere in London!🌃

can we use gif gaff in italy and france too?

Do you use Groupon or other coupon/discounts where you are or is that not done in the UK?

Does people on work visa can buy house in London?

Rent is the big one in London

Whats up with the salary gap between US and UK. A PT can earn $80k in the US but only £25k in the UK???

£1555 is that in Chelsea or old Kent road, elephant and castle, Peckham etc is cheaper

nice video!! Do you have any reference on the cost in london for a family with a small child?

Great site, I'm hoping to move this spring. Are there any cheap but safe old hotels near central, that rent monthly? If so do you know the average monthly cost?

There's no better place than London ☺

Is it possible to still get a copy of your The Cost of Living in London Guide?

I live in Moscow, prices on rent in London are 3 time more

the rent is just insane.

I am moving soon & so excited about this. Yet, the gigantic rental numbers are out of this world! Compare this to the $500 I used to pay for a central cozy studio in Istanbul & you will get the 'rental' shock here! :)

Great info!! One of my favorite cities. Are short term rentals available?

I paid 850pcm all in for a room in Barons Court, central 15mins away, holland park 15 min walk etc

I hv bn researching cities outside u.s. to move wn my son is older. I pick this one. Lol Public transport is so much more efficient in London. Car note plus insurance combined is 700 per month, plus 900 for apt rent. To be able to sell the car n not hv that 700 to pay for a car per month......col will equal out to the same. I can't wait.

I live in a two bedroom end of terrace house in Catford (with a HUGE garden) and I pay £430 per month! (London and Quadrant Housing) The government need to build more affordable housing so that private landlords don't get to rip people off with their crazy rent charges. Rant over..

I'm getting Monica Geller vibes

If I ever hit a huge lottery... I'm gonna buy a flat in London. As it is, I'll just have to visit and use AirBNB!

When you talk about money can you use both American dollars and UK ??? Very hard to understand thank you love your videos

Wow! When I left England, a few years ago now, a good pint of beer cost me 22p! 😀😀

Hi nice Vlogs really very very informative, and hey I don't know if anyone's complimented you, but you resemble Kate Middleton aka Duchess Catherine a lot 😊

Nice🤩😍🤩😍

You forgot to mention about having to pay the annual TV licence fee (applies to the whole of the UK and currently £150.50) - completely separate to cable/satellite subscription fees. I'm a Londoner but when I first re-located to the States many years ago and asked if they had a similar thing, I got very weird looks...understandably!! Total rip-off but thought it should be brought to your attention as it's illegal not to have one. You're spot on with your information, by the way!!

This particular hairstyle suits you well dear Jess !! Regards Gwenn Gomes Goa India

Looks like I’m not leaving Pittsburgh PA for a good decade.

Just slightly more expensive than what it costs to live here in Orange County, California.

Harrods also does groceries 😂

Any houses or flats in Hampstead Heath in zone 2, Wimbledon in zone 3, Richmond in zone 4 are notoriously expensive to rent or buy even though they are not close to central London. Don't forget about the TV licence fee. Colour TV £150.50 and black & white TV £50.50 a year. Maximum penalty is £1000 if you are caught watching TV without a TV licence in London and other parts of the UK.

I want to move out of the USA how much would I need to save up, and how do I start to look for a job would my kids have a hard time getting in a public school?

I find it interesting to see so many people say London is expensive. The only things that can be seen as expensive are rent, travel and possibly restaurants depending on where you go. Personally, most people I know that lived outside of London and live below the midlands/south of England, pay about £650 pm for a room plus bills. They drive a car, which they had to buy, insure, pay for petrol and pay parking costs. Restaurants are the same price pretty much. I actually calculated it was cheaper for me to live in London than anywhere else in the south of England. To put this into perspective , I'll give you a breakdown: Rents for living in zone 3 over a 5 year period (2015-2019) all in modern well-maintained shared houses and including bills and cleaning products - £325 pcm , £350 pcm, £500 pcm. Travel card zone 1-3 about £135 pcm (probably gone up now) Food, phone bill, misc expenses and going out/eating out expenses - same as anywhere in the South of England unless you decided to go to really posh places or you drink a lot of alcohol. For example, a pint is about £5 (but in South of England you would expect about £4 anyway), cocktails in central London could be £8-15, a posh meal out with 3 courses could be £35-50. For all my my time in London I bought pretty much all my lunches out and ate out 2-3 times a week for dinner or equivalent in takeaway. I pretty much lived on under £1000 when I calculated it, I was surprised how little I was spending. The BIG thing you need to do is make sure you get the ideal location of your rental property, I got such low rents because I researched areas, decided how long I would be happy for my commute to be, and acted quickly when I saw a room I wanted to rent so I could get the low rents. I also must say that my rooms that were around the £300 mark were tiny one beds, but I lived in a house with 2 lounges, a big kitchen and a garden at that time, and only shared with 3 others.

It is pricy - but I was talking to a recruiter this week with some openings in Dublin. The salary was great, but then I looked at the cost of living there... makes London look affordable!

£29 for the internet a month? I currently pay £42 a month in Nottingham and it keeps getting higher every bloody year. What provider do you use?

Hey! It would be cool if at some point you did a updated video about this cos obviously costs change 🙂