Monthly Expenses

Looking at the value of the USD to GBP just doesn't work when I'm trying to figure out what monthly expenses would be like. Something will cost me 3 pounds, regardless of whether or not the pound vs. dollar is 2:1 or 1.3:1, so I'm trying to get an idea of how much I'd be spending per month on various expenses I'd normally find myself paying for here in the US.

I know cost changes from location to location, so I'm expecting nothing more than an average for my result. I'm also looking to find an average for these expenses in London. If anyone could provide estimates on the following items, I'd really appreciate it!

- 2 bedroom, 1 bath: 2 people and 2 dogs, roughly equivalent to 1000 sq. ft. living space (ideally with access to an enclosed small yard for dogs)
- Water bill
- Telephone
- 2 Cell Phones
- Television
- Electricity
- Home Gas? (Currently don't have gas expenses, but is this a common expense in London?)
- Transportation to/from work (Planning on using public transport, so monthly or weekly bus/tube passes, etc)
- Car Insurance: for 2 people on a single vehicle, likely a small car, not used for work
- Yearly Car Registration/Taxes
- Rough estimate on monthly grocery costs for 2 people (I'd include the 2 dogs as well, but they're on medication food which isn't a common expense)

What else am I missing that's a standard UK/London expense? I'm unfamiliar with Council Tax, but I've heard it discussed. Is this equivalent to property tax? If so, is it incurred if you're just renting?

Anything else?

Thanks very much for filling in those blanks!

Hi, this recent thread should be of some use to you, as some people have run down their expenses there- http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=50633.0 

Council tax, car expenses and the like are all discussed there as well.

Ooh, thanks!

One other question, regarding dogs. How difficult is it to find a place that will allow dogs in London? My experiences in places like LA and NYC were horrible. One dog was hard enough, but two (one being 50lbs, which put him in the medium category -- even though he's a couch potato) was really difficult, and expensive. On the other hand, in other places I found it to be a breeze, and with little to no difference in rent cost.

In anyone's experience, is this going to be an issue in London as well? We wouldn't be arriving in London with our dogs on the day we arrive, so we'd have some time to shop around, but I was curious as to what kind of resistance I might expect.

Thanks again!

We have 2 indoor-only cats and apartment hunting in central London was a little challenging.  Definitely not impossible, but we found some agents reluctant to deal with the whole pet angle -- they seemed disinclined to make the extra effort to call landlords/management companies to check on pet policies.  One guy from Foxtons told us not to mention the cats, but we were uncomfortable with that.  In the end, our offer included 2 additional weeks of deposit to smooth any anxiety about pet-related damage. 

Check with the folks in the Pets forum as to dog-specific challenges, though.