Cost of living in UK?

[aj_foxrider350]

Suppose I want to live in the UK for one year after I finish Uni, how much money would I need to earn to be able to live and train over there?

Assume I have a degree in Computer Science & Commerce, as well as experience in security work... would I be likely to get a job in one of these fields to earn me enough money to be able to live?

I can get a UK passport 'cause my dad was born over there, so I don't need a working visa or anything, basically just a job and a place to live and some form of transport.

 

[MicheleW]

The component costs vary considerably depending on where you live, how you live and what you want to train. Wages vary, too.

Tell more of your plans/hopes.

Rgds,
David

 

[rapjew222]

Ar, I dunno, close to YODA so I can train with him hopefully

Training as much as possible of course!!

Just want somewhere to sleep with internet access...

 

[HiO]

north west is pretty cheap comparded to the south. i reakon circa 15-20k pa would see you alright up ere(north). although you could live off as little as 9 or 10k if your a humble fella.

where are you now cyph? you could always come and claim assylum and get everything the tax payer can afford - new house - new furniture - plenty of benefits etc.

 

[JustinTheGreat]

Down South here, so long as you don't want to stay in London, you can live off £12000 a year. That's literally just living off it though, no luxuries, all of the money going onto food and rent. In Wales and Scotland its quite a bit easier, if you avoid the cities I think it drops as low as £6-7000, again, just subsistence living.

 

[NicSkid]

Cyph, have a look at this website http://www.bunac.org

I'm not sure if they operate in Oz, but the basic idea is you take a working gap year during/after your uni degree. They help find you a job, arrange a flight, find someone to live, things like that. It might mean you have to do a more menial job, but its a cheaper way of doing it. If they don't run in Aus, there's bound to be a similar scheme, ask at the uni.

LBR, I think 6-7,000 is a bit low for Wales, even for basic living. I'd say more 8-9,000. Up North is the cheapest area to live in the UK I'd say.

 

[liko]

Yeah, you can get by on £14.50 a week and a bottle of irn bru...get a grip other MAPPERs, whilst scotland certainly isn't as expensivea place to live as london , it's not a third world country....that would be France.

£12-14k a year , and you could survive easily.

any less than that , and your neighbours probably got there cardboard boxes from the same place as you!

(Course it does depend on you own expected standard of living!!!)

 

[LindseyRice]

Fraser, things are cheaper up here, its just that we have higher standards too

Col

 

[MyDreamsNeverComeTrue]

Cyph, one thing you could try if you are serious is get in touch with some of the tempoing agencies over here for your IT knowledge, to ascertain if they have any call for your experties (a little while ago the papers were reporting the UK inviting foreign workers in to fill various roles including IT related posts).

You may find you can earn some good bucks over here - a few years ago a friend of mine from South africa was earning £19 per hour doing very basic IT stuff, and it will be higher now.

Also, some fellow MAP people may even offer to put you up for a bit.

 

[iggaboo_who]

Cheers, guys! Thanks a lot!

Shade, I won't have any experience unless I get some between now and then, I'll just have a degree. What are my chances of landing a job? Over here, you're generally hard pressed to find a job in the IT industry unless you have experience - I chose CS hoping it would pick up over the next few years for when I graduate!

Kgirl, there seems to be an organisation in Australia! sweet

Would I be likely to land me a job so I can earn enough and train with a commerce or computer science degree, or security experience?

 

[Julene8]

Bet Cooler could get you a job on the door if you asked him nice.

You'd also get your training for free as a result.

 

[VerrueckterKomponist]

ooh, sweet... I'll keep it mind. Is security work enough to live on for a year?

 

[Tiara]

Not according to Cooler.

 

[AlQ]

To rent a 1 bed flat in london-accessible areas (ie within M25) would cost about £600 a month excluding bills and food. Not in anyway luxurious. A single rented room may cost about £70 a week (could be a bit too low tho). Then there's cost of travel etc. I doubt £12k is enough to live within the M25 unless you dont mind eating crap food and stay in all the time.

 

[CobaltDaisy]

lol....france, a third world country....

 

[kinderwhoree]

i do hope this turns into a france bashing thread

anyway, why would you wanna come and live here? don't we have the most taxes per capita in the world?

in france though, you have to pay tax on how many frogs are in your garden pond and how many times you get a bath.

 

[pspea]

Training with YODA is a noble plan

Pity YODA doesn't teach martial arts at the moment

Ya never know what the future holds though - you'd be most welcome up here in the NW and there are MANY quality clubs to train at!

 

[LizzyB]

That'd be Switzerland actually. Britain's fairly average tax-wise.