What is a decent salary?

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You want to live well? Go abroad.

Until you get seriously ill, or need legal assistance, or come to rely on state support.

I think I'd rather stay here with the safety net.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 61

TimmonaPortella

Original post by geoking

As soon as you can show me how living on minimum wage in London is possible I'll retract what I said. I won't hold my breath.

I'm sure it's not in many places. That's because it's an in-demand area. If people are willing to pay more rent than you, that's not their problem or the landlord's.

Reply 62

ManifoldManifest

Original post by Old_Simon

30k these days goes no where if you live anywhere near London.

So, I live in London and make £25.5k before tax at the moment. Rent runs to £425 a month for a pretty nice house shared with two friends (large rooms, a good enough garden to have people round for BBQs in the summer). £150 a month for council tax and utilities, around £200 for a Zone 1-5 travel card (because who the hell drives in London?). Food is generally around £60 a week, so let's round it up to £250 a month. That leaves me a little over £400 a month for savings, luxuries, going out, or whatever. £30k would be more than adequate unless you want to live in Zone 1-2 by yourself or something.

Reply 63

Sherry1993

Okay, so between myself and my partner we earn around 40k a year.

We have a mortgage on a three bedroom house, the area is quite a sought after area and is NOT local authority.
Our council tax, all bills, direct debits and mortgage are around 700 a month (we did have a huge saving for our deposit on the mortgage, so our mortgage is quite low)
Our food/household shopping and petrol is around 600 a month.
We are left with a considerable amount, we go out most weekends for dinner/lunch.
Every weekend for coffee with friends, by new things without having to worry, baring in mind we do both wear branded clothing only. We also still put money into savings every month, well when I say we put money into savings, we basically just leave whatever is left from the monthly pay cheques in the account and its clearly building up.

(we pay car insurance, TV license, home insurance yearly. So we dont have these extra costs every month)

So for a single person (depending on if you want to rent just a room or rent an apartment) I would say 20k is more than substantial

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 64

PatrickB

£100k as a minimum with a family in London. (My decent).

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iP

Reply 65

Llewellyn_J

Original post by Reue

Until you get seriously ill, or need legal assistance, or come to rely on state support.

I think I'd rather stay here with the safety net.

Getting seriously ill in these places is no problem, having had it happen to me in Summer 2012. I would have died without the excellent healthcare I got while abroad in Malaysia when I fell ill. They aren't caves. Are you saying lawyers don't exist in these places? Because that's just not true lol.

Lack of state support is the only drawback. These places don't have state benefits like we do over here. But that would be solved by the fact that I wouldn't plan to live there forever. I would ideally live abroad for 20-30 years then spend the last few, most productive years (in terms of money-making) of my career back home.

It is also worth mentioning that if you are working for a large multi-national corporation out there, like I hope to do, you can get healthcare benefits and maybe even legal assistance from them, though I am not sure about the latter.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 66

geoking

Original post by TimmonaPortella

Or just paid by people who can afford it.

As soon as you can show me how living on minimum wage in London is possible I'll retract what I said. I won't hold my breath.

Reply 67

Reue

Original post by Llewellyn_J

I wasn't intending to suggest other countries are in the stoneage, but that I don't believe their healthcare and legal levels to be at the same standard as that of the UK. Maybe not specifically a lack of lawyers, but a (in my opinion) outdated legal system.

Glad to hear though that you do intend on returning to the UK just in time to work a few years and then retire on state benefits and with NHS cover. Im sure we cant wait to welcome you back :wink:

Reply 68

Llewellyn_J

Original post by Reue

LOL since when are you an expert on foreign legal systems? They must be outdated because they are not the same as ours? Wow...

I can tell you the healthcare is of an acceptable standard, having experienced it myself.

I personally think that working in the UK for 20 years plus getting the majority of my education from there plus working for and contributing to a multinational company that would undoubtedly have a presence in the UK would entitle me to state benefits, but that's not a debate I can be bothered to get into and would be hijacking the thread.

And this is would all be a moot point if state benefits as we know them are implemented in these destinations abroad in our lifetimes and/or the UK gets rid of its benefits system, which may well happen due to the amount of debt we are in. We have decades to go yet. There are too many factors to really bother having that discussion.

But yeh, you can live out your boring, predictable little existence at home where it's all nice and cripplingly expensive just to buy and maintain your own mode of personal transport and/or feed yourself, while I will be having the time of my life abroad, extremely well off and enjoying the sunshine and experiencing other cultures. It's your life, do what you will. :smile:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 69

Reue

Original post by Llewellyn_J

You specifically mentioned moving to Vietnam, a country infamous for its lack of legal representation and human rights.

Glad to hear the healthcare is acceptable though, all the more reason to not become a health tourist in your old age :wink:

You honestly believe getting an education in the UK and working for a 'multinational company that would undoubtedly have a presence in the UK' entitles you to full state benefits here having left to work a majority of your life abroad? Legally perhaps, Morally not so much.

I don't find the UK cripplingly expensive, and so see no reason for my life to be boring and predictable as you put it :smile:

Reply 70

TimmonaPortella

Original post by geoking

As soon as you can show me how living on minimum wage in London is possible I'll retract what I said. I won't hold my breath.

Didn't I answer this already...?

Original post by TimmonaPortella

I'm sure it's not in many places. That's because it's an in-demand area. If people are willing to pay more rent than you, that's not their problem or the landlord's.

Reply 71

Llewellyn_J

Original post by Reue

Infamous for lack of legal representation and human rights? What on earth have you been hearing? Having lived there myself (and I am guessing you haven't), I don't think you are entirely qualified to comment. I know what it's like there, and never did I once feel my human rights were violated. Neither has my Dad, who has lived there longer.

Working for a majority of my life abroad? Who said majority? 20-30 years will be by no means a majority once we reach the end of our lifespans. Retirement age will be through the roof by the time we reach age 65. We will probably continue working into our 70s. At least. If everything goes according to plan. I will have worked in the UK for an absolute minimum of 20 years. My conscience will be clear.

And as I said before, this whole discussion will be completely moot if either state benefits as we know them are implemented in these countries OR if the UK gets rid of its own benefits system, which may well happen due to the amount of money we are losing. The discussion on this is quite pointless.

It will be boring to me, it's obvious we want different things from life. But for many others these things are cripplingly expensive. I don't own a car now because it would be that - cripplingly expensive.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 72

95winoj

really depends on whre you are living in this world

Reply 73

Reue

Original post by Llewellyn_J

It will be boring to me, it's obvious we want different things from life. But for many others these things are cripplingly expensive. I don't own a car now because it would be that - cripplingly expensive.

Obviously

Ultimately, if you're happy in that country, that's what matters. But it is also very possible to be happy in this country.

Out of interest, what work are you intending on doing over there? And how does the salary compare to costs of living?

Reply 74

River85

Original post by Llewellyn_J

We will probably continue working into our 70s. At least. If everything goes according to plan. I will have worked in the UK for an absolute minimum of 20 years. My conscience will be clear.

The average person will be working into their 70s.

That said, my state pension age is 68 at the moment, but I expect to be working passed that, especially as I probably won't start "properly" earning until my mid-30s.

And as I said before, this whole discussion will be completely moot if either state benefits as we know them are implemented in these countries OR if the UK gets rid of its own benefits system, which may well happen due to the amount of money we are losing. The discussion on this is quite pointless.e.

We will never abolish the welfare state. Even if it undergoes substantial reform (and I mean well passed Universal Credit) it will never be abolished as such. Particularly not state pensions.

Besides, the welfare state is not as much of a burden on the economy and government's budget as aspects of this government would like us to think.

Reply 75

OHNOGEM

Male or female 30k has got you sorted

Reply 76

Le Nombre

21k's about right, I know people living on that out of London and they share nice flats with just one other person, though cars do eat up quite a bit extra so only a couple have one though most can drive.

Reply 77

Llewellyn_J

Original post by Reue

Obviously

Definitely. I am relatively happy living in the UK right now so I have no problem admitting that, but I long to return to these places in the future because the lifestyle there is different and to me, a lot more interesting.

Engineering. Lots of market expat engineers out there in developing economies, but not for graduates so I will need to work in the UK for several years before I am experienced enough to be of use (minimum 5, more likely 10ish), because that is what they always ask for. Salaries are normally paid in USD or GBP if you are working for a multinational. Figures vary, some seemed comparable, others were a third or so less, and a lot of the time the companies just list their salaries as 'competitive' or 'negotiable' so I don''t really have much of a 'sample space' to share, but from what I hear from other expat engineers at Halliburton and Arup, they pay you enough for you to live extremely well with the comparatively meager costs of living. The cost of living is a bit higher in Malaysia than in Vietnam, I think. In Vietnam, for you to live a comparable lifestyle as you would in the UK I would say it is significantly less than half. But it depends.

But engineering isn't the only thing you can do out there.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 78

Anwenfields

Wow...
I'm shocked by some of the figures on this page. Then again, I'd be willing to bet that the people with the most ridiculous numbers have never lived independently.
Minimum wage is more than enough, especially if you have no dependants - hell my sister and her financé both earn just over minimum wage combined, and they have a baby for goodness sake!

It's not about how much you earn, it's about how you treat your money; eat cost effectively, pay for things annually (avoid interests) and don't make stupid decisions! It's not hard, really.

And I thought students were supposed to be intelligent...

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Reply 79

River85

Original post by Reue

To be fair it is possible to voluntarily pay NI contributions when working abroad. Otherwise, if intending to return for just 10 or 20 years, he might well find he doesn't qualify for a state pension. Or at least the maximum state pension. Or if he needs to return to the UK earlier than expected, and claim certain benefits such as (what is now) JSA or ESA, he won't be entitled to them.

If he's smart this is what he'll do.