Is 45K salary enough for a single person in the UK (Not London)?

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sqkz69oioi@reddit

I know alot of people are saying it's more than enough but there is an enormous difference between Reading and north of England, reading is very close to London so it will still be quite expensive, may I ask what you think your rent/bills will be roundabouts? I think if you intend to save a decent amount, as well as heading into London at the weekend and going out for meals etc you will have to be careful with your money but it's possible

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

Thanks! That’s quite an honest answer. And I don’t actually have an idea of what my rent or bills will be like. This will be the first time I would be moving to the UK! And yes, I definitely would like to go out for dinner and stuff or even travel over the weekends

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sqkz69oioi@reddit

No probs! Go on the Rightmove website and look at rental properties in reading then you can have a better idea of what you might have available, reading is a commuter town for London so the prices are higher than the average town in the uk Also look into UK tax to try and get a better idea of what your disposable income will be at the end of the mth A quick search it looks like you will have around £2940 per mth after tax and national insurance For a very small apartment to yourself it looks like you'll be around £1400-£1700 (anything less than this is absolutely tiny), and it looks like around 800ish in a house share in similarly small living spaces Add on £200ish for bills (they are crazy expensive atm, could even be more) So let's say £2000 to be safe for a moderate standard of living on your own in a half decent property, and £1000 in a house share in a slightly less nice place with housemates With £940 you can take out £200 for groceries, leaving you with £740, if you want to really get out and explore you will definitely have to be a bit cautious, it will also be tricky to save money here With £1740 in a house share you will again have £1540 after bills, you could save 500 per mth and have a grand left to explore London abd the surrounding areas, this feels a hell of alot more manageable. The downsides to this of course is you never know who you might end up living with, however you could maybe end up with a friend for life, it could go either way! Please also note this is coming from someone who doesn't live a particularly frugal lifestyle, I am definitely more in the middle, I don't live extravagantly by any means though! I am probably safe to assume one of the attractions for you to move over is to really explore and get immersed in the culture and nightlife etc, otherwise you wouldn't be taking such a brave leap, so therefore you would want a bit of disposable income! Another thing to consider is London is very much a world city, and a career in PR with your experience, your next role after this one could be an absolute game changer and the sky really is the limit With the figures above in mind, I do think it definitely makes sense for you to take the job and have a bit of an adventure regardless Good luck! 😁

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

Wow. That’s incredibly detailed!! Thank you so much. Really gives me a lot to think about

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Professional_Mud7704@reddit

Family of four surviving on that, here.

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El_Rompido@reddit

Yes, if you want to live in a flat share. No, if you want to live solo.

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

Fair enough

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MycoMacro@reddit

Enough to survive? Yes. Enough to have luxuries or do anything exceptional? No

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

Ahh. That explains it well I guess

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krunchwondelta@reddit

I'd be willing to bet you could actually buy a leasehold flat in Reading on that salary, rather than renting. I make 5k less than you and got a solo mortgage a year ago in Bristol, which is probably similar in property values.

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

Oh wow that’s impressive!

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Susuwatari0@reddit

I think so! I’m a single person on £39K in Manchester and I feel very comfortable. 45K for me would be insanely cushty. My rent + bills come to £900. I put £600 in savings every month. And I have ~ £800 left after to do whatever I want with, most of which I don’t even dip into, cause I’m pretty frugal. I have saved up a healthy 5 figure sum since COVID and I was on £37K until 2 years ago.

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0J0@reddit

I'm impressed with those savings. You've made a random internet stranger want to do better with their finances. I need a think.

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foreverrfernweh@reddit

Is £600 a lot to put into savings?

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Susuwatari0@reddit

In comparison to £0 yes, but in comparison to £1000 probably not. It works for me.

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DarkusHydranoid@reddit

Would you feel comfortable putting that in an ISA or something like investment? I ask because after my first time getting a steady income I thought I'd be way more comfortable and save a lot of it, but turned out having to burn through a lot x__x

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

That’s amazing. Kudos to you on the savings! Is Manchester more or less expensive than Reading?

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SlightlyMithed123@reddit

Reading will be more expensive for accommodation but everything else will be pretty much the same. You’ll be fine with £45k.

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Susuwatari0@reddit

Thanks mate. I have absolutely no idea about the cost of living in Reading so I can’t say, but I’m sure some Reading residents might be able to offer you some advice.

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lalalolamaserola@reddit

Also, what's your take home after taxes?

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Susuwatari0@reddit

~£2300 after income tax, NI, plus my salary sacrifice.

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lalalolamaserola@reddit

That's pretty good. Thanks for answering!@

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lalalolamaserola@reddit

Where in mcr do you live?

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Susuwatari0@reddit

Cornbrook

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AdjectiveNoun111@reddit

You'll probably still have to flat share, especially if you want to live in a nicer area, or close to central London. To put it into perspective the monthly take home (assuming no student loan) will be £2939. A 1 bed flat in, say, hackney is approx £2000 a month, and that's before council tax, service charges, bills e.t.c So the choice is, live further out, live in a less pleasant area/flat or share.

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BringBackFatMac@reddit

45k is very comfortable almost anywhere outside of London, and would be liveable even in London.

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gregsScotchEggs@reddit

Probably not. Even 50-60 is a bit of a stretch. Maybe if you don’t mind sharing a flat with multiple people

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Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit

There aren't many places in the UK you can't get at least a 2 bed by yourself on £45k.

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boldstrategy@reddit

That is a really good salary mate, well done! Outside of London you will be fine, if not great.

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Spiritual_Pound_6848@reddit

I’m a single person on 44k, not London but in the south. Mortgage is about to double and while I can afford it with all my other bills, it’s gonna be a squeeze.

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

Hmm. Is Reading as expensive as London?

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AwkwardObserver97@reddit

It's as expensive as London, no. But the South of England is usually always more expensive than the North. That's why I moved up north. I had a little look out of curiosity and was able to find 1 bed flats to rent for around 750. After all bills, you'd be looking at around £1200, leaving you about £1600 leftover still. That's a very comfortable amount to live on.

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Aromatic_Flight6968@reddit

Single, I’m on 30k and thats more money than I actually need….

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Scattered97@reddit

Er, yes. At the moment, the most I will ever earn (without taking a job in senior leadership) will be £46k. You're *well* above average.

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AwkwardObserver97@reddit

Outside London, you'd definitely be fine. The average salary in the UK is about 35k-40k. So you're comfortably above that, and most don't earn much more than minimum wage, which would be around 22k. 45k is enough to live more than a reasonably comfortable life in the majority of places outside of London. For context, my partner and I earn about 40k in Yorkshire. We have a much bigger property than you'd need, thus spending far more on our regular expenses. And we still have about 1.5k leftover each month. With a smaller property, thus smaller rent, and smaller bills for everything else too, you could probably find somewhere and have all your expenses paid with 2k leftover.

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

That’s fair enough. This job is in Reading. Any idea about that? I’ve heard rent is pretty high there too

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AwkwardObserver97@reddit

Reading is on the outskirts of London, so you'll be paying nearer London prices. I'd still expect you to find somewhere with at least 1000+ leftover each month, which is still well above many peoples disposable incomes.

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

That’s helpful. Thank you!

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4LKqE6nFn7Sz@reddit

Good god yes.

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Alarmed_Crazy_6620@reddit

Kind of depends where. Edinburgh won't be great if you want to rent a bigger flat alone. The less crazy rent cities will be fine, probably

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Clean-Ad4235@reddit (OP)

It’s in Reading

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