I love London.

I was born in South London (shout out Croydon) to be exact and this city has always been home for me. That is not to discount the 17 wonderful years that I spent in Birmingham and the West Midlands but I always had the intention of coming back here and spending every summer here; with either one of my nan’s, really solidified that dream for me.

That dream is now a reality. I have been living in London for two years now, firstly in Wembley (North West) and now in West Kensington (West/Central London). POSH, I KNOW. I made it, I am happy and I plan to be here for the foreseeable future. The hustle and bustle, the city lights and the liveliness are all things I love. There is always something to do here and I couldn’t see myself anywhere else at the moment.

That being said, London has a dark side.

Unless you are financially secure, ridiculously good with money, are prepared to hustle (legitimately and legally) or have family to fall back on and support you London IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU. Breathe and you will lose money here.

I suppose this is similar for any major metropolis across the globe but the cost of living from travel to renting or owning property (if you are lucky enough to be able to afford a property here) is exponentially higher than the rest of the country. Do you want evidence? Okay, here we go. For a 1 bed apartment, the cheapest you’ll be able to cop a new build property for is around £300,000. In the West Midlands, a similar type of property in size and specification will cost you around £120,000. Move a little further up north and similar properties can be found that are as low as £90,000. You pay a premium to live in London. I know what you are thinking – you can earn more in London, that covers the short fall but once you factor in travel, the price of standard commodities and council tax (if you aren’t exempt like me atm) will more than drain the remaining money in your pocket. 

I’m not saying this to dissuade people from coming to London but I am trying to say that a decision to move to the capital should be considered. This is because it isn’t easy to live here and you may not be putting yourself in the best financial situation. I tried to move to London at 18 and I am glad it didn’t work out, I would have been in more student loan debt than I am in now and the stresses of studying in London whilst also having to be financially savvy requires a certain amount of steel.

Here are a few tips I’ve learnt a long the way   

My advice to anyone is live as close as you possible to where you work, that way you can reduce your travel. Tfl links and the London Underground are an amazing resource but constant use adds up. I found a place where I have good transport links, am in a central location in relation to London’s hotspots and I can walk to work in just over 30 minutes. Food, shopping and everything else I need are ridiculously close and that helps, no end.

If you can live with family to avoid the exorbitant rent – DO IT. I’m sure everybody wants their freedom and space as much as the next person but if you can find a way to reduce your cost of living, take it. The fact of the matter is the renting market, especially for what you get in London is not only ridiculous but unsustainable for a young professional trying to build a future. It also makes it very difficult to save money – something I really recommend as deposits for houses are not small amounts of money, especially if you are planning on living in this city long term.  

If you do have to rent, you may not know people here at first, so sites like Spareroom or Badoo are good websites to start. If you are here for further study, there are often facebook groups with students looking for flatmates to move in with, who will study at their university. If you definitely have to rent, Zoopla and Rightmove are your go to sites. With regards to flatmates, I’ve found 3 is the magic number. In a place with sufficient room you get the perfect balance between space not having to wait to long to use the kitchen, washing machine or 🚽 – which sounds trivial at first but after a while can be nothing short of frustrating. 

I mentioned saving before and I think I’ll have to do another post on this, because there is so much to it. It isn’t easy to save money but it is paramount for developing a solid foundation as a young professional. ISAs are the best way to save your cash and currently the government is giving 25% extra to savers looking to buy their first home via a Help to Buy or Lifetime ISA respectively. If you like me would like to buy a property in the next few years, this is probably the best way to build a sizeable deposit but more on this another time. 

Overall, London is a beautiful place to live in, this city is amazing and if you have your head screwed on properly, it is such an enjoyable place to be, but that is the catch. If you are not careful with your money, considered with your decisions and able to plan ahead, this city will eat you alive.