Traveler20

Hello all,

I am being offered GBP 92k by my current employer to move from Toronto to London. I am married with two kids (5Y & 6month). Is this a resonable salary for single income simple life in suberban London? Royston, Hitchin…etc. I am only required to be in the office once a week or once ever two weeks, so I don’t need to liver close to city and I am ok commuting 1.5 hours once a week to London. My estimated monthly take home post 5% pension contribution and NI is around 4.9k. I have brokendown my expected expense based on research. Could someone let me know if I am over/under estimating or missing anything?

-Rent 1,500
-Council Tax 150
-Electricity & Gas 250
-2 cell phones and Internet 100
-Car Insurance & Petrol 200
-Commuting 200
-Grocery 600

Total 2,900

Is 1.5-2k enough to enjoy a normal family life? Kids activitis such as piano lessons, gymnastics…etc? We don’t drink and don’t eat out that much.

Thanks in advance

christmasoompa

It's a good salary and that would be plenty for a nice life if you do have that amount left over each month.

But I'd say a couple of your figures are a bit low - rent you may need to up a bit for a bigger choice, depending on what kind of place you're after. Your electricity/gas may need to come up give the current prices. And your car insurance and petrol I think is low, but again depends on the kind of car.

In terms of other expenses - tv license and other insurances (life, contents/renters insurance). And you don't have any amount for putting something in to savings.

HTH, good luck.

Traveler20

Thanks@christmasoompa for the quick feedback. My cooworkers in London recommended rightmove for housing, and i was able to find 3bd 2 floors modern townhouses in Royston anywhere from 1,350 to 1,500. Any thoughts what i should resonably budeget for electricity and gas? Also, I will be looking to purchase a small to mid size sedan, something like Toyota corolla/prius, VW Jetta - maybe passat or the equivalent in the UK. What do you think is a resonable insurance/petrol budget? In Canada a full tank in my corolla lasts us close to two weeks.

Savings is going to be 350 monthly through company stocks and whatever is leftover at month-end. Group insurance should be no more than 40 a month if not less, i beleive that includes life insurance.

How much is renter’s insurance? In Canada i pay $25 a month.

Thanks again!

tdrinker

Council tax is a bit low.

£92k is well above the average salary or household income, so you will have a good life with £2k monthly disposable income. You have to compare this to what you have currently, however, to determine if this will improve your lifestyle or savings capacity.

If you are only in the office 1 day a week or fortnight, you could consider additional locations.

Be aware that the UK rental market is very competitive currently, so nice rentals you see on Rightmove probably get several offers.

Traveler20

Thanks tdrinker Good point regarding rentals markets, it’s exactly the same issue in Toronto if not even way more atrocious than London including suburbs. I’ve considered other locations as well e.g. Northampton, but let’s see. I’ll be staying for two month at a rental provided by my employer so this gives me time to search and understand suitable communities. The wife and kids will make the move next September, so i will likely look for a temp bachelor or 1bd until then.

The primary reason for the move is not to increase my savings capacity, but rather to be close to family and also for personal career development. I am more than happy as long as I maintain my current savings and lifestyle, which looks like I could if all the numbers are approx correct.

Re. Council Tax I looked up the tax for band C and D in Hertfordshire and Northampton, the max was around 1,800 annually or 150 monthly. Am I missing anything here?

Many thanks for all the feedback!

tdrinker

For a family place, plan on band D council tax. If you're alone, you might get a smaller place, band C. And if alone, you're entitled to a 25% discount. That said, newer places often appear to be higher rated than older places, so new build 1-bed flats can (not always) be band D. I believe a 5% increase in council tax is coming. All that said, don't let the council tax influence your choice of location or property.

If you're going to look at widespread locations before the family arrive, consider basing yourself somewhere close to good transport links. If you'll be using public transport, you may be best to base yourself close to central London (budget permitting) so you can quickly access the train network to go in any direction (otherwise, somewhere with a fast train into London).

tdrinker

Rail maps.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stati...rail-maps.aspx

Google maps good for road network.

Traveler20

tdrinker Much appreciated for all the details, thank you!!

dean350

As others say 92K is a very good salary. If you are interested in saving something for the longer term maybe do some research on salary sacrifice. The plus is that you can get yourself out of paying a lot of higher rate tax. The minus is that the money has to stay invested until you are 57 - which wont be for everyone.

btar

I echo what others have said but note that you may also be charged for:

Water supply/disposal. In 2020, our combined bill was about £200 per year. If renting, it might be included in the rent.

Medical? Perhaps the company will pay? NHS is brilliant but you should also consider a private medical scheme which supplements NHS services Alternative Private Healthcare Cover | Benenden Health is such a scheme which we found excellent. NHS dentists are as rare as hen's teeth so budget for that too - charges seem to be similar to those here in BC. Optician too perhaps, ditto for charges.

Generally rail links and services are excellent if a little more crowded than those in Toronto but note that lines into London terminate at different stations so you may need to budget for any onward journey.

Credentials - everyone will want proof of who you are and where you live so the sooner you get paper evidence of where you live the easier life becomes. A Council Tax bill in your name with your address is particularly valuable as are bills or correspondence from utility companies such as gas and electricity.

HTH.