# How expensive is london vs dublin?



## z106 (3 Sep 2008)

How expensive is it to live in London?

E'g. Lets say someone wa earning €100k in dublin a year.

How much would they need to earn in london in pounds sterling to afford them selves a similar lifestyle?


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## queenlex (3 Sep 2008)

London is way more expensive in my opinion having visited there many many times.  The only thing we are way more expensive than the vast majority places on is drinking in Dublin.  I think this rip off thing is totally exaggerated (except for in house prices, even now) having visited most of the big cities of western Europe.  One place I agree we are totally ripped off is in those local convenience stores they're taking us for mugs imo.

Sorry for going off a bit there,

Q


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## camel (8 Sep 2008)

Lived in London for a year. Would agree it's far more expensive than Dublin (particularly for accomodation). Difficult though to say what you would need to be earning for a similar lifestyle. Maybe 30% more? London is on a totally different scale (size wise) to Dublin, you're lifestyle would likely be different anyway.


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## joejoe (8 Sep 2008)

Unless things have changed in London with in the last year or so then Dublin is more expensive. Now if you have been living an expensive lifestyle with out putting and effort into curtaling your spending then thats another matter. I think you would need 60k a year in London to match the 100k in Dublin. You have to remember that you will not need a car in London, the transport system is great. You will also find food shopping is much much cheaper there in general.

Joejoe


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## shaking (8 Sep 2008)

I moved back from london last year and found it cheaper than dublin for everything except rent. Like Joejoe said we didn't need a car, so that's one saving straight off!


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## narky (8 Sep 2008)

i would definitely say you can live on less in london... ok rent is quite high but you'd be amazed how much you can get in your trolley for £40!!! We lived in east london paid £750 rent a month for a small 1 bed but you can get loads of fruit and veg in the markets for very little and a sandwich and coffee for about £3 and just generally your money goes further. 

I find in dublin going supermarket shopping quite depressing after living in London.


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## joejoe (8 Sep 2008)

narky said:


> i would definitely say you can live on less in london... ok rent is quite high but you'd be amazed how much you can get in your trolley for £40!!! We lived in east london paid £750 rent a month for a small 1 bed but you can get loads of fruit and veg in the markets for very little and a sandwich and coffee for about £3 and just generally your money goes further.
> 
> I find in dublin going supermarket shopping quite depressing after living in London.


 
When my wife and I lived in London £30 - £40 a week was the shopping, that compared to 100 - 120euro a week in Dublin. The rent is expensive in London, but Dublin is also very expensive. In general London is a much better city to live in. We lived on an income of £50k easy. In Dublin we had 80k this still did not give us the freedom we had in London. There are things Dublin just cant give no matter what sort of money you earn.

Joejoe


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## queenlex (9 Sep 2008)

joejoe said:


> There are things Dublin just cant give no matter what sort of money you earn.
> 
> Joejoe


 
Like what exactly do you mean when you say this?  And I am not taking it as an anti-Dublin dig or anything dont worry but am curious what yuo mean by this?  Re: the car thing other people have mentioned you dont need a car at all in my opinion livign in Dublin even the bus service is a disgrace (all these things imo of course).  One of teh main problems in Dublin is a bus eservice thats way way too infrequent everywhere, added to too many people being either too lazy/snobby (and I am a proud Dub myself before its assumed otherwise) to take public transport which doesnt seem to be a problem in London in my experience.

Sorry for veering off a bit but I have to say the tube is very expensive and the machines are hard to understand unless youre a local so would take a bit of getting used to too.


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## Rois (9 Sep 2008)

Have to second joejoe's reply, it is way cheaper to live in London (apart from rents). The public transport is excellent, no need for a car - just hire one at weekends if you want to travel. Takes a little while to get used to the Tube but it's clean and generally very reliable. Grocery shopping is much cheaper than here. All in all, your 100k in London will give you a very nice lifestyle - lots to see and do and a lovely city IMHO.


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## ubiquitous (9 Sep 2008)

The World Cost of Living Survey 2007 places London as the 2nd most expensive city in the world and has Dublin in 16th place

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1010356.shtml


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## Caveat (9 Sep 2008)

Interesting. Would never have guessed _Moscow_ was the most expensive though.

_Edit: OK, Moscow's high ranking is partly explained by particularly high accommodation costs, but I suspect this may also be the case with London too._


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## joejoe (1 Nov 2008)

queenlex said:


> Like what exactly do you mean when you say this?  And I am not taking it as an anti-Dublin dig or anything dont worry but am curious what yuo mean by this?  Re: the car thing other people have mentioned you dont need a car at all in my opinion livign in Dublin even the bus service is a disgrace (all these things imo of course).  One of teh main problems in Dublin is a bus eservice thats way way too infrequent everywhere, added to too many people being either too lazy/snobby (and I am a proud Dub myself before its assumed otherwise) to take public transport which doesnt seem to be a problem in London in my experience.
> 
> Sorry for veering off a bit but I have to say the tube is very expensive and the machines are hard to understand unless youre a local so would take a bit of getting used to too.



Your one of a very select few that find it hard to understand the tube, its simple, its just like using a train, just underground and there is maps everywhere. 

If you buy a weekly travel card the tube is fairly competitive on price, how much did you pay for your travel on the tube?



Joejoe


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## extopia (1 Nov 2008)

queenlex said:


> One of teh main problems in Dublin is a bus eservice thats way way too infrequent everywhere, added to too many people being either too lazy/snobby... to take public transport which doesnt seem to be a problem in London in my experience



Yeah, that's a nouveau riche thing that developed in Dublin during the good times. We'll all be happy to take the bus in another year or two.


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## joejoe (2 Nov 2008)

extopia said:


> Yeah, that's a nouveau riche thing that developed in Dublin during the good times. We'll all be happy to take the bus in another year or two.



That will surely help the government coffers, as the carbon cost will greatly reduce over the next couple of years. London is the model Dublin should be looking at and hopfully we will get a tube, more trams and a better bus service.

Joejoe


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## mvron (5 Nov 2008)

My sister has lived in London for the past few years and has been steadily saving almost 1/3 of her UK salary in that time. The only thing that she says is more expensive than Dublin is rent. Although we may find the UK expensive to visit (based on EUR/GBP exchange rate) she's actually worried about moving home in the near future based purely on the cost of living basis (she can transfer back on a comparable salary)


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## Bronte (6 Nov 2008)

queenlex said:


> Sorry for veering off a bit but I have to say the tube is very expensive and the machines are hard to understand unless youre a local so would take a bit of getting used to too.


  Really, I thought the instructions were in English?


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## mcaul (10 Nov 2008)

If you're going to London for a few weeks, you'll probably find it cheaper, but living there longer term is more expensive.

Higher tax rates - Tax free allowance only £5225, then 22% thereafter to £34000 then 42%

Community charges - up to £3100 (not tax detductable)

Water Charges - £350 (not tax deductable)

Parking charges, congestion charges, public transport, all V expensive esp. trains, traffic is a nightmare.

Food & going to pub is cheaper, but the english pubs lack any form of atmosphere.


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