Salaries/ Cost of Living

Hi everyone!
My S.O. is a UK citizen and just landed a good job... BUT, the salaries in London seem to be a lot lower than the US (or the US salaries seem to be inflated). I've looked at salaries for my industry and they look to be significantly lower (even after the conversion rate). My S.O. tells me that grocery, rent, food, drinking, etc. are a lot cheaper than in the US, including health care so I guess that makes up for the difference?  I've lived in NYC and he tells me that the cost of living in London is cheaper, which sounds great since London is a nice metropolitan city like NYC but I'm just shocked at the lower salaries.

Are there any US professionals now living in London with a lower salary that can comment on the cost of living and whether it nets out?

Until someone comes along with practical experience of both, you can check out the cost of living London vs NYC here. 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=United+Kingdom&city1=New+York%2C+NY&city2=London&tracking=getDispatchComparison

Hesitant to put this here because it can paint the experience as more of a negative one but please keep in mind that this is somebody else's personal experience and it's different for everybody (and, as you can see on this forum, many people love living over here just as you will find people with bad experiences - there are just so many different factors). But here's a link to something a previous expat as written after returning to the US : http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=90364.0

I thought it'd be fairly relevant as it's recent and this person went from London back to New York and they mention in their second point about pricing. Obviously it's not going to be the best as there are still some factors missing like salary/job title in one place vs the other (it might not have been an exact transition in jobs, for starters) but I believe it's mentioned a few times about the different costs for things, not just on the original post.


Again, take it with a pinch of salt in the sense that it's a personal experience being shared that doesn't necessarily mean you'll feel the same. For example, Lalala mentions the stress of living in London as it was vastly different than where she had come from. You might find that you're already use to fast-paced city life or you'll be living outside London in somewhere like Reading where you'll commute in so it will be a different experience. Sorry to derail your original question, but I felt like I had to share that disclaimer first as I don't want you to go into this decision with your partner thinking the worst from the start but I did instantly think of that post as she did move from London to NYC and costs were definitely mentioned from my memory throughout the post.

I having not lived in NYC or London, I probably shouldn't be responding.   

I would be cautious in believing that it costs much less to live in London than NYC.  Any savings will probably not be significant compared to the loss in salary.  But you do get used to a more simple life here.  I rarely ever eat out here (once a month), no air conditioning, dryers (rare), dishwashers (not common place), help to reduce expenses.

But of course life isn't all about money.  You have to look at the whole picture.

If it helps, I'm happy in the UK. I like it, but I don't love it.  I'd also be happy in the US (and was!) but I don't know that I would love it there anymore than here.  I do miss having a life during the week.  Things close early here (countryside) leaving the weekends only for 'fun'.  I used to have fun everyday!   

Having lived in both London and NYC I think there are a lot of things that are cheaper here in the UK, although London is the most expensive place to live here so now that I live outside London I'm not sure I'd ever go back.  (I was a student when I was there anyway.)

Your wages do seem to go a little farther here in the UK, although keep in mind I live in one of the home counties now so it'll be cheaper than in the center of London.  I earn the same amount per hour that I did back in the US (as in, just change the $ to £) but I am on a zero hour contract.  Even though I get good hours they're not guaranteed.  Also, full time at my old company was 40 hours, and in my new one it's 37 hours, although with the exchange rate I have the potential to make pretty much exactly the same.

The tube costs more than the subway, but I think it's a *slightly* nicer system.  I never had to wait 45 minutes for the tube and I had to wait that much at LEAST when I was commuting on the subway.

Housing is similar but maybe a bit cheaper in London.  When I was in London I paid £700 for a room in a 4 bedroom shared house in Zone 2.  At the same time (so I don't have to adjust for inflation) my friend in New York was paying $1100 per month for a room in a 3 bedroom shared flat (but with no living room) in Inwood in Manhattan.  So I was paying slightly less as the bills were included in my rent and weren't in hers.  Right now our energy bills are a lot lower than my family's in the US, but we don't have a clothes dryer and dishwasher, and are generally more careful.

Groceries are a LOT cheaper here.  In NY my family of 3 adults would spend at least $150 per week on groceries.  This week, our grocery bill was £32 for me and my husband for a similar quality of groceries.  We'll spend maaybe £10 more topping up on milk, crumpets, another loaf of bread for lunches, etc throughout the week but that's the most. 

Eating out is cheaper in the US in my experience, but drinking is a little cheaper here.  Or maybe I'm just used to Manhattan prices. 

Health care is a big one.  In the US, at LEAST a third of my paycheck would go toward health insurance.  I lived with my parents and there is NO way I would have been able to move out on my own while paying for health insurance.  I would have been spending almost 40% on health insurance and ALL the rest on rent, leaving nothing for food or transport or anything else.  Here we pay NI tax which is a much much smaller percentage of our paychecks, and there are no copays when you go to see an NHS doctor.  Some prescriptions are also free, such as birth control pills.  (BC is free because of Obamacare in the US, but I remember before that, and mine was kind of expensive.)  You can also get free prescriptions if you're of a certain age or have certain conditions, I believe, but even if you don't qualify for the free prescriptions there's a cap on how much they can charge per medication (£8.60, might be free outside England??).

And then there are other things that cost less in the UK but are not mandatory.  Theatre tickets are significantly cheaper on the West End than on Broadway, and same goes for regional theatres.  Many museums are free, especially (but not limited to) London, while similar ones in NYC cost $20-$30 to visit. 

I hope this is helpful.  The other thread raised a lot of interesting things although I definitely don't agree with 100% of what was said over there.  For example, I find London and New York to be equal levels of stressful.

Even though I get good hours they're not guaranteed.  Also, full time at my old company was 40 hours, and in my new one it's 37 hours, although with the exchange rate I have the potential to make pretty much exactly the same.

Just wanted to also mention that more than likely you will have much more paid annual leave factored into your work package as well (obviously depending on what you were doing in the US and what you plan on doing here in the UK) and you are actually allowed to take it (because I've heard that people in the US have actually been seen as crazy for wanting to take their paid holiday!!). That is another perk to factor in when looking at job/salary package comparisons.

What kind of work do you do?  Some areas, like IT are highly valued and you are likely to be compensated well.  Other areas, like teaching are vastly under valued and you will be lucky to make minimum wage. 

What kind of work do you do?  Some areas, like IT are highly valued and you are likely to be compensated well.  Other areas, like teaching are vastly under valued and you will be lucky to make minimum wage.

He's a solicitor but doesn't have UK qualifications, which will be tough.   

While I get *slightly* more annual leave here, I work WAYYYYYY more hours.  I know many other Americans feel the same.  But I'm salaried and I've got to work until the job is done.  My contract says 37.5 hours a week but that's rather humorous!

He's a solicitor but doesn't have UK qualifications, which will be tough.   

While I get *slightly* more annual leave here, I work WAYYYYYY more hours.  I know many other Americans feel the same.  But I'm salaried and I've got to work until the job is done.  My contract says 37.5 hours a week but that's rather humorous!

I guess everyone's experience is different because I rarely work more than my contracted hours unless there are some really unusual circumstances.   

Are you going to go part time after maternity leave is finished?

Yeah the annual leave situation I guess will vary (as will your contracted hours compared to how many you actually do and whether or not you get compensated). I get 25 annual leave days here (with additional sick days) while my family members back at home are lucky to have 2 weeks and around my office I feel like I'm the only person with the work mentality that you don't leave until the jobs done. I'm surrounded by people in my company that refuse to work an ounce more than their contracted hours unless they are getting overtime. It's mental.

around my office I feel like I'm the only person with the work mentality that you don't leave until the jobs done. I'm surrounded by people in my company that refuse to work an ounce more than their contracted hours unless they are getting overtime. It's mental.

That's generally the mentality in the UK though. Obviously it will vary depending on job sector, but most people work to live, not live to work here.

If I stay even 15 minutes longer than my shift length or I don't manage to get my full lunch break in, my boss tells me to sign for the extra fraction of an hour. If I come in for an hour-long team meeting on my day off I get to sign for an extra 3 hours of pay.

I work 12- or 13-hour shifts but am only paid for 37 hours per week... as we aren't allowed to claim overtime, we are given extra days off instead. I'm currently 3 days into my 4 days off this week (finished Saturday morning, back in work Thursday morning), and I only have 3 shifts between June 17th and June 28th.

We have a trainee at work at the moment and she's only supposed to be in the office from 7:30am until 4pm but she keeps staying until 5, 6 or even 8 pm, and she's not even signing for the hours. We keep telling her to either leave at 4pm each day or sign for the extra hours but she doesn't... her loss, I guess!

When I started my job I got 25 days of paid annual leave, plus the 8 bank holidays plus 2.5 privilege days, but this went up to 30 days after 5 years. As we work 24/7, 365 days a year, we usually work bank holidays so generally we can just take them in lieu as part of our annual leave... which means I basically get 8 weeks of paid leave per year. Last year I actually got 10 weeks because I was given an extra 2 weeks of post-deployment leave due to working so many hours while overseas and not getting allowances or weekend pay (I only got 3 full days off between mid-Nov and Jan 2nd).



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Coming from NYC to London/the UK, you very well may find that it's cheaper to live here.  I did not come from a big city in the US and I find it way more expensive in the UK.  Even my prescriptions are a little more expensive here (not that I will complain as they are pretty much my only extra medical expense).  I live an hour by train outside of London so I am sure that I would find cost of living a bit more comparable if I lived elsewhere.  It just all depends what you are used to and where you end up!

I guess everyone's experience is different because I rarely work more than my contracted hours unless there are some really unusual circumstances.   

Are you going to go part time after maternity leave is finished?

Nope, my job can't be done part time.

I do the nursery drop off (opens at and sign on at 8:30.  Work until 6 when my daughter gets home, and then usually a few more hours after she's in bed.

My husband does pickup.  He gets to work at 7am and works until 5:15.  He hates that he's the first to leave each day and usually has to walk out of a meeting.  A few evenings a week he spends a few hours answering emails at home (he can't access anything else remotely).

I'm really good about making sure my people aren't over worked.  Though it can't be helped at quarter ends.  My husband.... he has no sympathy for extra hours!  And I'm the American!

In the US, I worked a 9/80 schedule.  80 hours in 9 days with every other Friday off.  Started with 3 weeks holiday a year, in addition to the week off between Christmas and New Years. (So 4 weeks starting, plus an extra 26 Friday's).  Got an extra day for each year of service.  Hard start and finish times unless negotiating a proposal.  Writing that, I'm not sure why I left?  Oh yeah, they needed help in the UK!

That's generally the mentality in the UK though. Obviously it will vary depending on job sector, but most people work to live, not live to work here.

If I stay even 15 minutes longer than my shift length or I don't manage to get my full lunch break in, my boss tells me to sign for the extra fraction of an hour. If I come in for an hour-long team meeting on my day off I get to sign for an extra 3 hours of pay.

I don't mind the mentality but it can be frustrating when you know there's something important that needs to be done urgently but nobody else is willing to spare an extra 30 minutes so it falls on me because I'm use to the mentality of "stay until the jobs done". Luckily though we are verryyy flexible with our work hours here so if I work past my 7.5 hours for the day, I can just save it to leave earlier the next day or whenever (I keep track of them but don't usually need to show my manager as she just trusts us.

I do the nursery drop off (opens at and sign on at 8:30. 

You do the drop off at super-cool-oclock!?