Location Transport

How expensive is it to live in the UK?

I have plans of doing an exchange program for uni in the UK for a semester. I was just wondering how expensive it is to live there? I live in Canada right now. Also how much is public transport approximatly? I would love to travel there to study but the expense of it all is a major factor in my ultimate decision. living = apartment or condo.

Public Comments

1. depends where ur living i think its quite expensive in england not sure aboutthe others though
2. To get an idea of the cost of living in the UK, have a look at http://www.rightmove.co.uk for an idea of the cost of places to rent and http://www.tesco.com (the website of our biggest supermarket chain) for cost of groceries. Public transport costs do vary from one area to another, but it's generally pretty cheap. You'll also need to take into account the cost of:- Council tax on your housing, which varies from one town to another and depends on what type of housing you have (i.e. community tax on a flat is cheaper than on a house) Utiities (i.e. gas, electricity and water), again these vary from one area to another, but you could try looking at http://www.gocompare.com You could also look at http://www.workgetaways.com/working-cost-of-living/html which will give you a rough idea of London prices. London is the most expensive city in the UK, so anywhere else will be much cheaper. Hope this helps.
3. I would say the average price for most living costs is around 30% higher here than in Canada. Public transport is excellent in the U.K. with dense networks of buses, local and long distance trains. www.traveline.org.uk (bus information) www.nationalrail.co.uk (train information) www.railcard.co.uk www.tfl.gov.uk (public transport within the London area) Rents for appartments are very variable according to the part of the country you propose living in. The difference between the rents in the centre of London and a poorish provincial town, are gigantic
4. Transport is ridiculously expensive, it's like quadruppled in the space of 5 years! It costs me around £3 to get to places which are only really twenty or so minutes away on the bus! God knows how expensive it is in london! If you have the opportunity to do an exchange then I think you should do it, I wouldn't let overpriced buses get in the way!
5. Well it's very deepened on your location. A 1 Bed flat or house would be around £330 (PCM) where I live but in London you could not rent a garden shed for that. Public transport again vary's on your location, it cost me £2 For a student day rider but I bet in London its more like £4. You will also be subject to council tax that Valry's on each local authority, I would say £40 a month for Gas and £40 for electric would be sufficient for a month. Also you will have to pay for water either by a water meter that charges you on your actual usage or on by a fixed rate depend the size of you house and weather it's a end terrace or in a block of flats. For food I would say that £100 a month for one person would be sufficient that's's if you did not eat out.