How expensive is it living in London as a student?

Right then, hopefully off to uni next year. I was thinking of going to Westminster to do Law.

As I'd be staying in central London, how much more expensive is it in terms of everything you'd need (e.g. food + drinking, living, transport, nights out etc)

Is it easy to get a part time job?

To clarify - your maintenance loans go up right?

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Reply 1

i360

Central London is expensive. Maintenance loan (London) is up to £7,751. Expenses would be about £200 a week (food, travel, household things, leisure, books), accommodation not included. Accommodation expenses depend on the type of accommodation and it's location.

Yeah it is fairly easy to get a part-time job if you know where to look.

Reply 2

angelfox

Original post by i360

Would you get a job at the uni or elsewhere?

Reply 3

i360

Original post by angelfox

Would you get a job at the uni or elsewhere?

Well it'd depend on when you're available for work since you're gonna have to juggle uni and job

Reply 4

angelfox

Original post by i360

Well it'd depend on when you're available for work since you're gonna have to juggle uni and job

Say you got a 10 hour job at a WH Smith at a train station?

Reply 5

i360

Original post by angelfox

Say you got a 10 hour job at a WH Smith at a train station?

Unless it's on weekends, I doubt you'd manage that every day alongside uni

Reply 6

angelfox

Original post by i360

Unless it's on weekends, I doubt you'd manage that every day alongside uni

So you think a part time retail job at the weekend would be the best option?

Reply 7

bahonsi

Well my accommodation for 42 weeks is costing £250 a week, so pretty expensive.

Reply 8

JulietheCat

I pay £500 a month on a shared house in Zone 2, and I share with six other people (not actually complaining as they're my friends but still).

Reply 9

i360

Original post by angelfox

So you think a part time retail job at the weekend would be the best option?

Again, depends on when you're available to work!

Reply 10

angelfox

Would you say it's worth it living in London for the price?

Reply 11

JulietheCat

Original post by angelfox

Would you say it's worth it living in London for the price?

Yeah, I would so say so :smile:

It sure helps if you flat/house share though - it's the perfect balance between being at home and being in halls IMO.

Reply 12

angelfox

Original post by JulietheCat

Yeah, I would so say so :smile:

It sure helps if you flat/house share though - it's the perfect balance between being at home and being in halls IMO.

I wouldn't know anyone to flatshare with though :frown:

Do you live near your uni?

Reply 13

bahonsi

Original post by angelfox

Would you say it's worth it living in London for the price?

Definitely, for what I get it fantastic a 15 mins walk to both work and university it's actually worth the cost in transport since I don't really rely on them that much, it helps to around zone 1/2.

Reply 14

returnmigrant

You need to look at costs beyond your first year. Once you are living in private rental accommodation in years 2 and 3, you have the problem of the choice between very expensive housing in central London or only slightly cheaper housing further out plus the cost of travel.

If you look here : http://student.spareroom.co.uk/ and compare the cost of a room in a flatshare in central London somewhere like Manchester, Cardiff or Leicester you'll see the difference. And yes, food and entertainment will cost more in London than anywhere else.

Reply 15

poohat

Its not going out thats expensive, its the housing costs. You will pay a lot more in rent than people at other universities do, in exchange for a much smaller room in a shared house, with a commute (which you will also have to pay for - student Oyster cards are around £800-1000/year)

In terms of going out/food/etc, London is more expensive than other places but there are enough cheap student nights going on if you look around. Its the accommodation cost that stings.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 16

i360

Original post by angelfox

Would you say it's worth it living in London for the price?

Hell yes. You will not regret it.

Reply 17

JulietheCat

Original post by angelfox

I wouldn't know anyone to flatshare with though :frown:

Do you live near your uni?

Just look for spare room ads on TSR or at your student union. You can then flatshare and choose who you're going to live with.

30 minutes away by train, so only slightly closer to uni than my parents' home. We have a neighbour who goes to the same uni as us (lucky!) and he always drives us back home from nights out as he doesn't drink for health reasons.

Reply 18

poohat

Original post by angelfox

Would you say it's worth it living in London for the price?

Depends on your other options. If you got accepted at Oxbridge, then no. If you got accepted at Imperial/LSE/UCL without an Oxbridge offer then probably yes. If you got accepted at a lesser London university and had an offer from a similarly prestigious place elsewhere (eg if you were choosing between Kings and Warwick/Edinburgh/Bristol/etc), then probably not, at least in my opinion.

You will perhaps have a slightly less fun time at university in London than you would elsewhere - its not just the cost, its the lack of a campus/community feel and having your friends like 30+ minutes away - but ultimately you are talking about 3 years compared to the rest of your life, so if you are accepted into a top place its probably worth just sucking it up.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 19

angelfox

Like I said in the OP, it would probably be Westminster that I'd go to, not one of the top unis in London. However I've always wanted to live in London.

My other realistic options would be Essex, Swansea, Hull and one more uni which I need to plan.