livable with 26k(pound) salary as a single at Bristol ?

hi, i know you guys are already tired of this kind of question.
but i couldn't find any specific information on this city/living cost.

this salary could be enough to live by myself ?
i don't want to share a flat and studio would be fine.
not much shopping, but like to travel....
please shed some light on me. 

p.s) my employer said "free medical care", it doesn't mean i don't need pay medical insurance,  just for sure ?

from what a quick search with an estate agent pulled up it appears the average rent is in the high £500 to mid £600. Remember youll have to pay council tax on top of your rent (though some places include it in the ppcm. Id say a salary of  £26k should be sufficient and keep you living a comfortable life style.

Free insurance should be just that. It will probably cover things like RX or whatever (though most prescriptions cost less than £10 with the NHS)

I can probably help - I was born in Bristol and raised in the Bristol area. I am currently a student at Bristol University and although I'm saving money by living at home with my parents, my friends are all living in Bristol and just about surviving on only £6K for the whole year!

A £26K salary will be fairly easy to live on in Bristol, although how far your money can go will depend on where you choose to live and how much you wish to spend on living costs.

Rent in Bristol can vary greatly, depending on which areas you look at. The cheapest areas are usually less desirable to live in, but much more affordable than the nicer, more upmarket areas which can be very expensive.

For a one-bedroom flat or a studio, you could be looking at anywhere from £400-£800 per month, whereas a shared room in a flat or house (although I saw that you'd prefer not to share) could be closer to £250-£300 per month.

Whereabouts in the city will your workplace be? Maybe I can recommend some suitable areas close to your job and local amenities.

Travel can be rather expensive in the UK - especially by train, so while the public transport is good and frequent, if you'd like to travel around the country, be prepared for expensive fares (for example, in 2004, it was cheaper to buy a one-way AMTRAK ticket from LA to New York, a 3-day journey, than it was to buy a round-trip ticket from Bristol to Leeds, a 4 hour journey each way!).

I'm not sure exactly what your employer means by 'free medical care'. It could mean that you will be entitled to treatment on the NHS, which comes out of your taxes anyway, rather than you paying insurance, or it could mean that the company will provide private medical insurance for you as part of your employment package. Either way, you shouldn't have to pay.

Thanks for your very nice and helpful replies.
ksand24,  what a coincidence, I am going to work at Bristol Univ, too.
if i may, i want to ask more questions.

my building would be south area of campus (close to park/perry road, i guess) 

then could you let me know which area would be easily accessible to there and nice to live ?

i like to stay closer to the campus to save transportation costs and not to waste time due to traffic. (and for fun   )
Could you recommend nice areas to look at? such as which area is desirable and safe to live,
commuting by walking/biking would be owesome. how's bus system there ?

i am going to move middle of July, is it good season to find a flat ? how difficult/how long should i expect to find a place ??

and actually i need to an unfurnished flat, because i should bring all my stuff.

thanks once again, )))   

i am so glad you answered this question, i have tons of question to you if you don't mind.

I work at Bristol Uni - you might want to look into that "free medical care" because all my contract offers me is a 35% discount on BUPA. 

What kind of lifestyle are you looking for?  Clifton is a very nice area, very close to the school, but also relatively pricey.  I live on the southern outer edge of the city - rent is cheaper and I can walk out into the countryside, but I have to take the bus to the city centre (about 15-35 minutes depending on day and time and £65 a month).  It takes me about 50 minutes to walk to the bus stop, get the bus to the centre and trek up St. Michael's Hill to work.  I could probably bike it in about 20 or 30 minutes.  Also, there's not much going on in my neighbourhood - Clifton has restaurants and shopping, pubs and bars. 

I've found neighbourhoods vary drastically by the specific set of streets you live on.  We were looking at places in Whitchurch and found some horrible areas nearly alongside nice ones.  It is a good idea to go visit the place in person before signing a lease, if you can.

Bristol Uni offers International Staff Advisers, if you do take the job. 

PM me if you have any specific questions I could help you with.

I am in the Wills Memorial Building on Queens' Road, just before it becomes Park Row/Perry Road - so not far from where you'd be at all.

As Carrie said, although Clifton is a lovely area, it can be very expensive (I just saw a 2-bedroom flat in Clifton on the market for £320,000, which is almost triple what my parents paid for our 5-bedroom, 2-kitchen, 3-bathroom house in South Gloucestershire, north of Bristol!).

To start with, I would look for places to live North/West of the campus - Cotham and Redland are fairly nice areas close to the university. Redland is about 20 minutes walk from Park Row, although many people do cycle in. The university is not technically on a campus, so you may be able to find accomodation within the university precinct, although there may be high competition for housing in the area.

My list of areas to avoid includes the St. Pauls, St. George, Easton, Montpelier areas as they have high crime/drug rates compared to other areas and are not so pleasant to live in. I personally favour the areas of north Bristol rather than south Bristol because I live 15 miles north of the city and rarely go further south than the university and city centre, unless I'm travelling down to Somerset.

Public transport is good in the city, but it can be expensive - if I were to take the bus into my department, it would cost me double what I pay for gas to drive in!

There are quite a few summer leases available from June/July-Sept, if you wanted somewhere live to start with, although I'm not sure if they are only available to students or not. Otherwise, I don't know how easy it is to find a flat in July.

I hope some of this helps

A note on free medical cover.  I get free medical cover as well, it covers private treatment in certain cases, it doesn't mean you go to a private doctor for checkups or anything.  From what I understand it means if you need surgery and the NHS has a 12 month waiting list you can bypass NHS and  get better treatment, but don't quote me on that.

It's also not completely free.  You have to pay taxes on it as it's a benefit.  If you don't have to file taxes than you can get away without paying but if you do have to file it will cost you.  In my case I pay 40% tax on it since I'm in the higher bracket, but it's worth it to me as we have a 2 year-old and my wife is pregnant so I don't want to take chances.  Also, we need medical cover for travel anyway since NHS works in UK only, don't want to be bare in the US!

Ive been living in Bristol for over a year.  You can have a comfortable life on this salary here.  You don't need to live in Clifton, there are other areas that are cheaper. 

My husband seems to think you will be ok looking in July.  Ksand24 had some good advice about areas to live, not to live.  As nice as Clifton is, I'd prefer to live around Redland/Glos Road.  Since we are moving home to SF next year we won't move from where we are now (Horfield/Filton)  But if we were staying here, we'd move to Redland.

And a bike is a good investment here!

Good luck!! 

As nice as Clifton is, I'd prefer to live around Redland/Glos Road.

Redland is nice, although I find Gloucester Road a bit too busy and I'm not so keen on the state of some of the buildings and shops as you get closer to the centre.

Since we are moving home to SF next year we won't move from where we are now (Horfield/Filton)  But if we were staying here, we'd move to Redland.

You're in the Horfield area? A few of my friends live there too - one is at the end of Filton Ave, by the Memorial Stadium, another is on Montreal Ave and my grandmother lives on Kellaway Ave.

Like you, I only have a few months left in Bristol too - I've been offered a PhD in the US and will be leaving for it in Jan 2008... although I have been living in Bristol/South Glos for 20 years (not counting the 4 years I was an undergrad), so I think it's about time to get away from the parents again!

newbristol - The Horfield/Filton area is also not too bad for living costs, but is further away from the university (you'd have to take a bus or cycle as walking would probably take more than an hour). It's a more popular area for the students studying at UWE (University of the West of England) rather than at Bristol Uni, as it is closer to their campus.

I do keep mentioning Clifton because I'd love to live there if I could afford it, although my parents are members of Clifton Tennis Club and a lot of the people in the area are rather posh and send their children to the expensive private schools.