Possibly relocating to London and need some help

Hi guys,

I am a 24yo primary (elementary) school teacher in Australia. I have spent the bulk of my short career teaching Kindergarten (first year of school) in various parts of Australia. I was recently contacted by an agent with an interview offer for a very successful school in the heart of London. I had my interview last night and I know I impressed the interviewer. This was backed up by an email that I received from the agent saying that it sounded as though the head teacher wanted to offer me the job.

This is obviously incredibly exciting, but also rather scary. One thing that I need to work out is whether or not it is financially viable to take this position. To this end, I am asking you guys, whether it is feasible on a salary of £28,514 - £38,807 ($43883.76 - $59712.33 USD) with such large renting costs. I am not too good at this and would really appreciate any help. Keep in mind that I will be on the lower side of the salary spectrum.

Thanks

Ugh fuckin' CSRF token error nonsense ate my post.

Basically yes that's feasible, that's like 25% more than the rest of the country earns on average, and they wouldn't offer you a salary you couldn't live off, especially if you're coming from abroad.

Where's the school? That's the main thing here. London is the most expensive city in the world so yeah you probably won't be rolling in the dough but you can make it stretch further depending on where you decide to live.

Thanks for that man :) It is encouraging to know that it could work out. As far as I can see (from google maps) it seems like it is in a suburb called Lisson Grove (?) with the closest train station being Edgware Rd (?).

Disclaimer: I live in Scotland, not London at all, but I have friends there who aren't exactly making huge bank. I'd imagine that would be doable if you're flatsharing, although I'd be tempted to try to negoatiate towards the higher end of that on the reasonable grounds that you're resettling from the other side of the world. One thing to consider is that in London the temptation to live quite far out of the city can be a false economy as the travelling costs wipe out the savings.

@deerokus: Thanks for your input dude. The salary is dependent upon experience, though I figure there might be wiggle room that I can negotiate. London seems like a right paradox - generally insane housing prices with pockets of people in seriously low socio-economic status. I hadn't really considered the cost of travel - in Sydney, it is definitely cheaper by a considerable margin to commute into the city, though it seems this isn't so much the case in London.

Is anyone able to give me an idea of the basic cost of everyday expenses eg. bread, meat, milk, fruit/veg, beer etc.

London's housing market sounds like a nightmare. I wouldn't survive on my £15k a year but your salary seems more manageable.

You're definitely good. It depends how far you want to make it go. You could houseshare and have plenty of change, but you have enough to get yourself a pretty decent apartment too. People all over London get by on 18k - 20k. It can be rough, but it's doable.

Everyday cost is pretty minimal, but it depends where you shop. Check out a grocery shop like Sainsbury's and put together your weekly food and drink.

Oof, that's right in the centre of London. You probably won't want to be living right nearby, but the benefit of it being in the centre is getting there should be easy. Edgware Road is one stop over from Paddington (one of the main stops for National Rail lines into London) if you do decide to commute in as well.

As an ex-teacher (near London) myself - I think I should offer a few words of caution:

Teaching in England may be different to what you're used to. Ask yourself why the job is being advertised to foreign workers and consider that the quality of teaching is so poor that many people in England are turning away from the profession. There is overcrowding in schools, continual government intervention, silly work-life balance and long hours, limited professional support and relatively poor pay amongst other issues.

London is very expensive and housing is a real issue. There are many scams operating regarding rental properties in London, so watch out and check up on landlords or agencies before handing any money over.

Public transport is also really expensive and congested. See how long your journey times might be from where you live to work too, as they might be longer than you anticipate. Weather and daylight hours in London are also perhaps not as good as you are used to.

Do check up on the school and look at it's Ofsted inspection reports. Remember that the reports don't review what it's like to teach at a school - only what it's like to learn there, but you may draw some conclusions from it. Also read up on what you have to teach in viewing the national curriculum for your key stage - and the school's own curriculum standards too (if they depart from the government standard - as some now can).

Best of luck to you! Let me know if I can offer more help.

Yeah that's very central, and whilst there were some real nice looking houses there when I was there recently, not sure it'll be too affordable. From a quick Google we're talking ~£1000 for a house share. £1400 for the cheapest 1 bed flat on this site. Thankfully though, you've got good transport links on your doorstep. Another quick Google and I can see £600-£900 a month for a studio flat in Kilburn, which is 5 stops along the Bakerloo line. I assume you're coming alone so a studio flat, whilst small, is probably fine for you? That's between a third and half of your take home if you're on the low end of that salary range.