I live in the West End (more or less). My household budget for a family of 2 (what I'm holding us to so we can save up to buy in a few years) is about 2000 pounds a month, inclusive of income tax. We are not suffering in any way or scrimping, but we also do not maintain a car - public transport serves our purposes. I prepare almost all our meals "from scratch" at home, but we have a snack or two out every week, and usually one pizza (or equivalent).
What it will cost you to live here is going to depend on your lifestyle. If you want an upscale flat, an expensive car, to eat out a lot, go shopping at department stores, etc., your budget needs to be higher.
We looked at a number of flats in Glasgow this past May, mostly near the University of Glasgow. There were some really lovely ones in Hyndland for about 1,000 - 1,400 a month, plus bills. The lowest price on a two-bedroom flat we considered acceptable was 850pounds (in Kelvindale) although there are plenty higher than that in the West End. Most of the flats come at least partially, if not fully, furnished, although some landlords were willing to remove their furniture. I'd suggest not renting right on Byres Road or in Hillhead, as it's student (party) central over there quite often. It would appear that the farther west you go, over towards Anniesland, the less expensive housing becomes - you get much more for your money.
Watch for the council tax rates - your water/sewer, etc., comes packaged in your council tax. CT is billed monthly, based on the value of the property and (I believe?) for the water the number of people in the flat. Google Glasgow council tax bands and there's a lookup service you can put the address into and it'll tell you the tax band. Water/Sewer doesn't get billed on how much you actually use.
For power you have a lot of options - many companies to choose from. We are in a well-insulated flat and our first full-month bill came in at 10 pounds for gas (central high-efficiency boiler, and we don't have the heating system turned on) and 29 pounds for electric for a month.
We have a pay-as-you go cellphone at 5 pounds a month, enough minutes, enough texts, for day-to-day needs (we don't use the internet on it). We went with Sky broadband and that's running us about 20 pounds a month for the first year, with a landline thrown in. Be aware that, unless you select a plan with unlimited calling, you will pay per call on your landline for outgoing calls. We actually didn't want the landline, but it came with the package cheaper than just going broadband alone. We didn't get a TV package because we have a Roku and you also get like 140 channels over the air here.
Our renter's insurance (with legal insurance included) came to about 7 pounds a month for basic cover.
If you are going to put your child in a private (not state) school, there would be that cost, plus transportation to get him/her there, uniforms, etc. If either or both of the adults work, there will be commuting expenses.
I spend about $60 (between 40 and 50 pounds) a week on food, and we are eating very well. A nice perk is that most of the grocery stores deliver for free, or for a very nominal fee.
Hope that helps!
