Call me London Girl!
London! London! London! The sweetest city in the world. It occurred to me that I Iive in London for over two years and never wrote any single line about this magnificent city which can swallow you in a minute. There are a million articles about what to do in London or how to be a Londoner. But what is the reality of a twenty-something foreign girl living in there?
If you want to enjoy London with everything it can offer, you might have to work your as* out, and it requires pretty good budgeting skills (yeah, talk to me. I am an expert – what did you say coffee in Prett?). Living costs can be crazy for a double room in zone 4; you will spend, on average, between 500 and 700 pounds per month. The closer to the city you are, the more expensive it is.
Transport in London can be pretty expensive, and you will find yourself walking most of the time (just a 90-minute walk – a piece of cake). Where you can save some extra cash is probably the food area (who needs to eat anyway). When I am disciplined and eat at home, my food budget is 30 pounds per week – well, I don`t buy meat at all. IT IS PROBABLY TWICE AS MUCH (read 7x) when I eat out, which means drinking coffee in Starbucks or Pret.
Free time and how to stay entertained in London is a vast topic. There is plenty of stuff to do in all budget groups. But because I like to save my money to travel outside London, I enjoy the most accessible things. I probably walked a whole London 3 times at this point. The gym costs around 20 pounds per month, and you can spend there as much time as you want.
Museums are great for rainy days, and most of them are free. Seeking the best coffee, book shops or cinnamon buns in the city, stroll the Camden Town on Sunday afternoon. Borough Market, Nothing HIll all the places where Hugh Grant star in the iconic roms coms whom I absolutely adored since I was 15.
Overall, London is pretty expensive, but you can find your way around it. So if you are half material girl combined with outdoorsy, you will probably need around 1800 pounds per month. Approximately 600 will go into rent, 150 food budget if you don`t want to eat crap, 200 transport, other bills approx 100 (Spotify, Netflix, Gym, Audible, Phone,…) add coffees in Starbucks, unnecessary shopping and desire for adventure now and then and your monthly budget will be just enough.
I am probably the last person who can save something every month (thanks, Asos), but as long as my bills are paid, and I am able to travel the world, I couldn`t care less.
