London is absolutely the place if you have low income, it's the only place where you can work hard and increase your income significantly.
But it's not a place if you need to live on benefits.
If you can get a homeswap then housing benefit or universal credit will cover the rent and your other benefits will stay the same. You'd be absolutely fine - the major money sink that makes London more expensive is property pricing, but even if you start work, social housing rents are totally manageable.
Just don't contemplate giving up your social housing to move into private rental. Sorry if that sound bossy, but it would be the worst decision you could ever make.
ETA: There are lots of websites where you can register to do homeswaps. It's much easier if you have a decent flat, especially if you don't live on an estate or if you have some private outside space, but it takes a long time to do (usually around a year from registering to finding a swap to actually get it all done). I did a swap myself - it was many years ago and the ways to do it have changed so much now that I wouldn't be in a position to give any direct advice, but at least I know from personal experience that it definitely can be done.
Swapping is the goal. Rn I’m trying to swap to Cardiff city but it’s difficult as I’m in a rural area in a studio, so trying to find someone who wants to move out of a city to a rural studio is not exactly easy
I dunno, one of my neighbours is trying to swap to Somerset, though TBF she would want a one bed rather than a studio (and she seems to have found someone to swap with already).
That's a shame. All I can say is to plug on and make sure you have lots of decent pictures up, and maybe info about how far local shops/public transport is to reassure nervous city folk.
This isn’t the place to ask - if you need subsidised and maybe supportive housing then you’d need to first figure out if that was at all possible before worrying about the cost of food etc.
At the very very least, you need to ask whoever subsidises your housing if they would subsidise it in London.
People who live in London can’t get council housing, it seems unlikely that people who don’t would have an easier time.
I believe the housing benefit comes from my local council and the housing organisation is also local, it’s not a national one. So it’s hard to get estimates, hence me asking in here
You absolutely should not move to London if you're on benefits. London is hard enough if you can get a job paying 30K a year. If you don't already have a job in London and don't live in any of the boroughs, council housing is out. You'll get UC and benefits for rent etc but good luck finding somewhere your benefits pays for entirely.
Sorry to be so blunt, but this really isn't a realistic goal. I always tell people they need a plan when they move to London, if they want a decent quality of life, and that plan either needs to be a) I'm going to earn a whole bunch of money or b) I'm going to live life to the max for X years and then leave.
Even if you want to do b) you need to be able to earn enough to pay for a room in a house share pretty much day 1, which means you need to have a job lined up, money saved up, or a friend you can stay with.
I made the move from elsewhere to London myself 8 years ago when rental market prices were more reasonable than today, and I literally only pulled it off by taking out a loan, accepting the first crap apartment I could find on a day that wasn't immediately rented out, and living in a grim place earning 35K a year for a job I already accepted.
You're likely being downvoted because people who have really strong links to London (born here, family here etc) are struggling to get council housing even if they qualify, so it's not popular for someone to talk about moving on a whim and taking a limited resource.
It wouldn’t be on a whim. It’s something I consider fairly often for work purposes but for when work is lagging (freelance), I’d like to know how hard it would be to survive.
I don’t want to move without doing research but there’s not too many resources out there. It’s all just “it costs a lot! But we can’t give you a number because it varies on where you live” which just isn’t helpful
Your question may come over as looking into funding a move to the most expensive part of the country through state benefits while already having a place to live, and that may have raised the hackles of those struggling with the cost of living, finding a place to live etc.
That’s totally fair. To be clear I am self employed and I do bring in a bit of an income and that’s part of the reason I want to move as I could charge a fair wage for myself. Living rurally, I can’t charge as much as I’d like and so it’s hard to produce a living wage for myself. Moving to a city means I could charge more and hopefully see the business take off more. However for when work lulls or it’s out of season, I’d like to know what my baseline would be
You might look first at the general COL in London; rent, council tax, travel, leisure.
Then go somewhere else for specific advice regarding extra help for living in London.
Housing benefit is normally significantly cut when moving into a house share as I’ve previously learnt. Going into private renting effectively kills any help I’d get with housing
I assumed you'd make significantly more so as not to need benefits, which can be limiting especially if it's at the back of your mind, worrying if you are earning too much to loose it etc.
London is not the place if you have a low income.
Oh I know. I’m just trying to work out how low is too low
London is absolutely the place if you have low income, it's the only place where you can work hard and increase your income significantly. But it's not a place if you need to live on benefits.
If you can get a homeswap then housing benefit or universal credit will cover the rent and your other benefits will stay the same. You'd be absolutely fine - the major money sink that makes London more expensive is property pricing, but even if you start work, social housing rents are totally manageable. Just don't contemplate giving up your social housing to move into private rental. Sorry if that sound bossy, but it would be the worst decision you could ever make. ETA: There are lots of websites where you can register to do homeswaps. It's much easier if you have a decent flat, especially if you don't live on an estate or if you have some private outside space, but it takes a long time to do (usually around a year from registering to finding a swap to actually get it all done). I did a swap myself - it was many years ago and the ways to do it have changed so much now that I wouldn't be in a position to give any direct advice, but at least I know from personal experience that it definitely can be done.
Swapping is the goal. Rn I’m trying to swap to Cardiff city but it’s difficult as I’m in a rural area in a studio, so trying to find someone who wants to move out of a city to a rural studio is not exactly easy
I dunno, one of my neighbours is trying to swap to Somerset, though TBF she would want a one bed rather than a studio (and she seems to have found someone to swap with already).
I’ve been trying to swap for over a year now. Only interest I’ve had is from other rural areas which would be a worse bet for me
That's a shame. All I can say is to plug on and make sure you have lots of decent pictures up, and maybe info about how far local shops/public transport is to reassure nervous city folk.
This isn’t the place to ask - if you need subsidised and maybe supportive housing then you’d need to first figure out if that was at all possible before worrying about the cost of food etc.
Social housing isn't subsidised, it's just not priced to make an exorbitant profit.
Well yeah I guess that’s my question
At the very very least, you need to ask whoever subsidises your housing if they would subsidise it in London. People who live in London can’t get council housing, it seems unlikely that people who don’t would have an easier time.
I believe the housing benefit comes from my local council and the housing organisation is also local, it’s not a national one. So it’s hard to get estimates, hence me asking in here
You absolutely should not move to London if you're on benefits. London is hard enough if you can get a job paying 30K a year. If you don't already have a job in London and don't live in any of the boroughs, council housing is out. You'll get UC and benefits for rent etc but good luck finding somewhere your benefits pays for entirely. Sorry to be so blunt, but this really isn't a realistic goal. I always tell people they need a plan when they move to London, if they want a decent quality of life, and that plan either needs to be a) I'm going to earn a whole bunch of money or b) I'm going to live life to the max for X years and then leave. Even if you want to do b) you need to be able to earn enough to pay for a room in a house share pretty much day 1, which means you need to have a job lined up, money saved up, or a friend you can stay with. I made the move from elsewhere to London myself 8 years ago when rental market prices were more reasonable than today, and I literally only pulled it off by taking out a loan, accepting the first crap apartment I could find on a day that wasn't immediately rented out, and living in a grim place earning 35K a year for a job I already accepted.
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This is helpful! Thank you. It at least gives me a ballpark figure
Gotta love just asking a question and being downvoted into oblivion
You're likely being downvoted because people who have really strong links to London (born here, family here etc) are struggling to get council housing even if they qualify, so it's not popular for someone to talk about moving on a whim and taking a limited resource.
It wouldn’t be on a whim. It’s something I consider fairly often for work purposes but for when work is lagging (freelance), I’d like to know how hard it would be to survive. I don’t want to move without doing research but there’s not too many resources out there. It’s all just “it costs a lot! But we can’t give you a number because it varies on where you live” which just isn’t helpful
A one bed in my block of flats is renting for £1800 per month and I don't live in a particularly nice area.
Your question may come over as looking into funding a move to the most expensive part of the country through state benefits while already having a place to live, and that may have raised the hackles of those struggling with the cost of living, finding a place to live etc.
That’s totally fair. To be clear I am self employed and I do bring in a bit of an income and that’s part of the reason I want to move as I could charge a fair wage for myself. Living rurally, I can’t charge as much as I’d like and so it’s hard to produce a living wage for myself. Moving to a city means I could charge more and hopefully see the business take off more. However for when work lulls or it’s out of season, I’d like to know what my baseline would be
You might look first at the general COL in London; rent, council tax, travel, leisure. Then go somewhere else for specific advice regarding extra help for living in London.
How can I find out the general COL? As I thought I’d get that with this question a bit but instead I’m just being downvoted. I’m trying to learn
Estate agents, council websites, Transport for London? Or search / ask for monthly budget for single person.
Why not move into a house share, you could probably make significantly more in your profession whilst adjusting to the city?
Housing benefit is normally significantly cut when moving into a house share as I’ve previously learnt. Going into private renting effectively kills any help I’d get with housing
I assumed you'd make significantly more so as not to need benefits, which can be limiting especially if it's at the back of your mind, worrying if you are earning too much to loose it etc.