Moving to London? What it ACTUALLY Costs in 2024 (& my one mistake)

[@jesslouiseellis]

Hi everyone 👋🏼 I’ve just uploaded a video about flat hunting in London, which might also help anyone watching this vid!

[@MichelleJonesKralka]

I found your channel when I searched for 'moving to London in your 40s.' I really appreciated this video! I am moving to London with my husband this summer and I'm kind of dreading the reality of the hard stuff...like packing up here in the USA, shipping our belongings, having temp accommodation, and finding a flat/house rental. This was super helpful - your transparency was great. Thank you!

[@jesslouiseellis]

Awh so glad it helped Michelle! Hope your move goes smoothly 😊 The hard stuff is always a drag but it’s so worth it once you’re on the other side. I found the packing part the worst - once the stuff was sorted I felt a bit of freedom and it made the rest a lot easier!

[@MichelleJonesKralka]

@@jesslouiseellis that’s so good to hear! 👏🏻👏🏻

[@clarestopher1797]

This is so helpful. The rent in advance thing is crazy! My husband is British and I'm American - he moved to the US on a fiancé visa, is now a dual citizen, so now we're setting our sights on the UK (he's from London, so we'll be heading there). Thank you for all of this!

[@jesslouiseellis]

Of course! So glad it helped 🙏 Yes the rent in advance is crazzzyy but hopefully you could bypass it since your husband’s from here! ☺️

[@christiecalli7144]

This was SO helpful and specific, I really appreciate it!

[@jesslouiseellis]

Awh yay so happy it helped!

[@ginty9041]

Don't forget you can also do as I did. Arrive in London having only enough for a day tube pass , find a live-in job within a day and be on your feet again in a week and ready to travel again a month later....depends on priorities.

[@jesslouiseellis]

100% - I did similar in my early 20s moving to NYC on a budget! Everyone has their own way. I was def surprised by the NHS surcharge & rent in advance, which ended up making up most of our costs, so I wanted to try make people who are planning a move more aware of it ☺️

[@ginty9041]

@@jesslouiseellis yep admittedly I was a carefree 19 year old when I moved from New Zealand to the UK and no doubt having a bundle of cash for the upfront costs on arrival does make life a heck of a lot easier!

[@sarahpuckerin6537]

Wish i could do that now😂😂

[@nativestrong7253]

Same rule as anywhere in the west applies. Never spend more than 1/4 of your net monthly pay on housing. That number will tell you where you can live and not just scrape by. There is a clear difference between surviving and living in London.

[@Devilinish]

one of the best london-move related videos iv'e watched

[@jesslouiseellis]

Thank you glad it helped! ☺️

[@jordannacummings7881]

The costs are making my head spin like crazy

[@JeremyAmandaThomas]

I'm so relieved we moved over before the NHS surcharge kicked in - that adds so much extra!!

[@jesslouiseellis]

It’s SO much to stomach for a 5 year visa for 2 people 🤢 And that you have to pay in one go upfront 🫠

[@Samantha-xr4mx]

The NHS surcharge put us off moving. Had tickets booked and air bnb for 6 weeks sold everything ready to go.. NZ$11,000.00 per person. You are lucky you did it before the surcharge kicked in.

[@Samantha-xr4mx]

Couldn't stand going into another country that has a woke left government, just got rid of Labour here!

[@marissabelle]

Hi Jess! Thank you for this super helpful video - I'm moving over with a spousal visa at the end of April, won't be in London but your tips are definitely very helpful!

[@jesslouiseellis]

Awh of course so glad to hear it was helpful! Hope your move goes well, so exciting 😊

[@davethebrave.]

If you're a New Zealander, this is the best video I've ever seen.

[@JordyRoy94]

This has been SO HELPFUL.

[@jesslouiseellis]

So glad to hear that! 👏🏼

[@ckzf1842]

I have lived in London for almost 30 years ( moved from Montreal ) . It was quite a bit cheaper then in London, but I wouldn’t move now in 2024 ( unless my employer was paying for my translocation costs - well, at least a good part of it )!

[@AnastasiaStardust]

Thank you for the detailed Video!! This was super helpful, I really appreciate it!

[@jesslouiseellis]

Of course! Glad it helped ☺️

[@thansri]

It cost 2 GBP for a bottle of water in UK. Very expensive even compare to tokyo.

[@Vivovsky]

These videos are so helpful omg, im so glad i have dual citizenship and i dont need a visa

[@tamaragee9139]

Thanks for the information ❤

[@jesslouiseellis]

Of course! ☺️

[@cashman5355]

Thank you for this video! Coming over next year aye!

[@carmenvic6294]

Thanks for that video! So helpful 🙏🤩

[@jesslouiseellis]

Glad it helped!

[@bah-bah29hinks7]

Sadly it’s very fractured socially in London. Hard to meet people or make friends. Makes you wonder what’s the real point. 🤣

[@TheSkyWarrior2]

America is getting pretty terrifying I’m thinking of moving here

[@pony0110]

Same

[@princerak8881]

Trying to move from usa

[@mc63404]

Thank you for the video!

[@jesslouiseellis]

Of course! Thanks for watching ☺️

[@PreciselyPresent]

Tbh I am 14 and in my country the 1st exam is in 9 grade and after that etheit you can leave school or continue school but I am thinking to move into my aunties house cause she gave me permission ( this year is the exam one)

[@elvisbamford2695]

I guess we’ll be applying for the ILR in the same year

[@lilydang016]

Hi Jess, thanks for the super useful video! If possible, could you share where you got your “visa assistance”? I checked some of the visa consultant / lawyer types and they charge thousands 😅

[@jesslouiseellis]

We used ‘BritBound’ who were super affordable and personable!

[@faisalmemon285]

What is zone 1, 2, & 3?

[@YoungSimonzzz]

I used to live in London few years ago, but I moved back to my country because right now London it's absolutely a joke. You need lots of money just to have a "decent" life!!! The city still wonderful but unaffordable in many ways.

[@KorrieJade]

Thankyou 🙏

[@hamzanocap]

Was hard to find a helpful video on the actual numbers that doesnt include 10minutes of useless fluff and vlogging. Thanl you very much and I wish you the best in the UK.

[@jesslouiseellis]

So glad it helped thank you for watching!

[@nicoletraveldiaries]

The deposit for rent you speak of, does this go towards your rent, or is it a cost they just take. Example, deposit of 6 weeks, if successful, does that go towards the first 6 weeks rent?

[@ChloeBrown-o6z]

Normally they keep it until the end of your tenancy as insurance incase there’s damage or anything when you move out, and then they’ll use however much is required of it to repair or clean anything you’ve put wrong, and then pay you the rest back

[@Rhea1]

Hi Jess! Thanks for the informative video. Ehat do you think should be a decent salary for one person to thrive decently in London?

[@jesslouiseellis]

Of course! This is tricky as it’s individual to your circumstances and what your ideal London life looks like (e.g. going out, savings, travel etc) ☺️ I watched lots of ‘what it costs to live in London’ videos, worked out the average costs + our lifestyle preferences, and landed on a salary number that way. Hope that helps!

[@Rhea1]

@@jesslouiseellis I don't go out to eat / for entertainment. My indulgences would be a gym membership with swimming pool access. I'd love to save a good amount monthly and also travel across Europe. How much do you think is needed to support a lifestyle like that?

[@cerdicw9998]

@@Rhea1 Fifty bags… (£50000 per year!)

[@Rhea1]

@@cerdicw9998 thanks!

[@marthaupper4165]

Did you get a furnished flat? Looking to move next year and am hung up on furnishing the whole place.

[@ariana0617]

Looking to move next year as well, wanna be roomies?

[@cinenova1]

I am 24 years and a half, my dream is to move to London by 28, and I am scared hahaha cause I don't know how I will find a way to save that amount of money in less than 5 years, cause I am from Perú and the salaries are not high specially for someone just graduated a year ago from college!!! Omg, how I will do it?

[@belgianking2799]

Really nice video my dream is to move to Londen like to start my life but I live in Belgium am doing my high school here in accounting and when I searched up the accounting system is different in the UK so my degree is probably worthless. If I want to move I think the only option with a working visa but I can’t find jobs who offers that but I want it so bad.

[@marialealealeale]

I wish I had find your video before I moved... I was SHOCKED with the rental market specially because I have a pet! I have spend so much money it hurts lol

[@jesslouiseellis]

I can only imagine how tricky it would be with a pet 😥 💛 We hope to get a dog one day but that would definitely have to be a post-London thing!

[@Angela-jy8um]

Who did you use to help you with your visa? Coming from the USA. Basically I"ll be staying up to two years. I'd like help with the paperwork too.

[@omegagraphix8819]

I spent 10 years in NZ, absolutely hated it!!

[@emmaconway6164]

Super informative, I really appreciate this. I’m moving to London for grad school next year. I also would qualify for an ancestry visa but that surcharge sounds awful lol. Would it be cheaper for me to just get a student visa? I’m just hoping to work part time so I wanted the ancestry visa

[@jesslouiseellis]

The surcharge is pretty awful! I’m not sure about student visas but we worked with a visa company called BritBound which might be able to advise :)

[@nicolestewart]

Your awesome. ❤

[@jesslouiseellis]

🥹💖

[@HairByJamesAnnabel]

Appreciate your content

[@CelineAlmira24]

what shipping company did you use to send over your stuff before moving?

[@jesslouiseellis]

We used My Baggage!

[@redzazolkipli]

hi jess, hv some question for u...how to DM u?

[@BurntMount]

i wouldnt say london is not worthy of staying but compared to others great cities in europe, london is at the very end of the list to move to. why bother to get less for your money?

[@brandonleighton1661]

Can anyone tell me what thus is in usd

[@bonvoyage5377]

multiply x 1.2

[@ariesrainbowchild]

New Zealand to :London

[@IbnShahid]

Come to London, I guarantee you'll either be mugged or not appreciated.

[@peterobertson2086]

I can't imagine what kind of baggage you brought,to have to pay excess for. Most Kiwis just bring a few clothes

[@shharn]

Hey, just wondering what it is you do for work? And what did you move to New York for? Thanks

[@jesslouiseellis]

Day job is in marketing! I moved to NYC fresh out of uni for an internship exchange, it was short but an amazing time ☺️

[@robertwalters5654]

You should have move to somewhere cheaper in the uk first like Manchester then researched london after you got to uk I can't afford london and I was born in the uk I live in the Midlands

[@deboraleggerini5729]

Im sorry but £1000 a minth for temporary accommodation in todays property market is very optimistic.

[@thebigcj]

Such an informative video 📷 I'm thinking of creating the same over on my channel. You've inspired me 😊

[@jesslouiseellis]

Yesss go for it! The more info out there the better! 💖

[@tornado-s-2012]

I moved from London to Moscow and I am happy now

[@ginty9041]

Здравствуйте - hope you are still loving living in MocKBa. Must be difficult times there? I was incredibly fortunate to spend 3 years in the late 1990's based in Moscow, absolutely love that city, Enjoy it all.

[@tornado-s-2012]

@@ginty9041 best times right now

[@tornado-s-2012]

many people who are not zombifid by MSM are happy@JC-gl7ee

[@tornado-s-2012]

Moscow in the nineties resembled London now@@ginty9041

[@Bowditch200]

Bot

[@sumaricoetzee7486]

Where in NZ did you move from? I lived in Auckland 10+ years ago. You look so, so familiar!

[@sarahkennedy1481]

I think you are way out re bills costs and also furnishing a place

[@JynxedKoma]

Another foreigner thinking that London is all that exists about the UK/England in general.

[@AnnMcKinlay-zp2ef]

What you have said is not true! Those costs were NOT just to move to the UK! You said that over £3000 of it was to provide YOU with FREE access to the NHS for 5 years! If you suddenly have a serious illness man accident, even a baby, all the health costs of that will be paid for!