Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:20 am-
Francois51,
I don't agree with your comments.
First, you need to find a good job at 35/40K and it's not easy at all for Canadians. The average salary in UK is £24,000.00 and you can find a lot of jobs between £17,000 and £22,000 in the recruitment web sites. I left a job at $50,000 in CAD to find one in UK for £24,000 (right on the average) however if you add rent, utilities, etc., I don't save any £££ for my retirement!
This is my situation:
I am living in Sutton so rent are a little bit cheaper but not as Montreal (£700/mth for 1 bedroom).
Then, you need to add the Council Tax in the amount of £1200/year.
Gas and Electricity bills are around £60/month each
Water is £120/140 per year
TV License is £135 a year (I don't mind to pay the license fee if we can avoid all the commercials. Vive la BBC!)
Telephone/Broadband are cheaper in UK with more providers from £17/mth
Transport: £45 a month for a 17 minutes ride by train between Epsom and Sutton
Cafe: Average of £2 for a medium size
Food: roughly the same price as Toronto or Montreal but with more varieties in UK (and less transgenic!)
I have no car so I don't pay the insurance, petrol and repairs.
I am a UK Resident however I have no right to any allocations like unemployment before 5 years. If I want to take a course at the university, they consider me as an overseas student (I was looking to take one course at £900 but they ask me £4,000!) No way!
And of course, I am not speaking about savings for the moment: Nada/Nothing/Rien.
I took the decision to come here for a great experience and try to stay optimist but it's not easy if you compare the cost of life.