Living On $227K A Year In London, England | Millennial Money

Imani Change, 28, lives in London, England and earns $227,000 a year as a senior operations manager for a tech company. Imani moved from Baltimore to London last September and adjusted to a different cost of living. Her rent is much more expensive, but her groceries are significantly cheaper.

This is the latest installment of Millennial Money, which profiles people across the U.S. and details how they earn and spend their money.

Imani Change had a lifelong goal to live overseas. But she never imagined that within six months of moving to London from Baltimore, Maryland, in September 2019, she would find herself living and working abroad amid a pandemic.

For her, one of the hardest things about the coronavirus pandemic is being far away from loved ones, she tells CNBC Make It. It's been even harder with travel restrictions limiting visits.

"It definitely has transformed a lot of our connections with Facetime calls, Zoom happy hours … just finding remote ways to connect with folks," says Change.

Nevertheless, she says it was a "dream come true" when a work opportunity – along with a promotion and a generous salary – gave the 28-year-old the chance to move to London. She's worked for the U.S.-based tech company for more than five years, but for a long time she thought a role like senior operations manager was unattainable as a Black woman.

"I didn't really see people who looked like me doing this work," Change says. "And so, it was really just figuring out how do I get there? How do I grow with not only my role but as a leader? And how do I help other people also move into these spaces that maybe they don't see a lot of people who look like them?"

Now she's one of the youngest senior operations managers for her company in Europe, earning around $227,000 a year. She is paid both a base salary and restricted stock units, so the payout varies depending on the value of the stock and the amount of stock she is awarded each year.

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Living On $227K A Year In London, England | Millennial Money

[wh]

She's 28 and earning over 200k a year.. she's quite set in life tbh..

[ohkayinvesting]

As a londoner, seeing how badly those landlords screwed this woman really hurts!

[DemetriT]

They made her pay $44, 000 up front, that's a scam.

[dominick]

She's got that Charles schwab debit card! No foreign atm fees. Damn she is financially smart

[DdotRay]

As a Londoner, couple things:

- £200k a year is more than enough to live a veeeery comfortable single life in London
- she is renting in Hampstead, which is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, let alone London.
- baby got back.

[darkshark]

Biggest takeaway - “My dad taught me best practices for managing money”. Teach your kids so they’ll grow up in a better position than you did.

[aboutmillions]

Her parents raised a legend! She's going to continue to be successful and pass down that knowledge to her next generation of family members

[robotnitchka]

I can't believe what a massive difference it makes when your parents actually care enough to teach you how to manage your finances and career.

[OHJLM]

High five to her dad. Saving 50% of allowance from the age of five. That's a powerful lesson!

[HassanPoyo]

Thats a crazy salary for someone at her age in the UK. Our average salary in the UK is around £28K which is probably around $38K

[MdotG]

I’m so glad someone from outside of London confirmed how ridiculously expensive it is to live in London.

[consciouswallet-cashenvelo]

She's 100% going to hit her goals of being a millionaire at 30! super motivating

[simonayjayS]

Jesus what an insane salary at 28 years old. Kudo's to her.

[PresentingReality]

I feel she was taken advantage of big time! Ridiculous that she was asked to pay 12 months upfront and then a further 4 months. This is not the norm.

[anpdm]

She's the exception. Most Americans don't have 40k, they can just hand over to a landlord. Buying a home would seem to be a better investment.

[g.abzilla]

Don't forget that her parents definitely gave her a lot of support in life. She had a great upbringing which contributed to her success.

[lebronsinclair]

Senior operations manager in what industry? Her pay is crazy at that age. Have to be at Fortune 500 for that. Kudos to her!

[harrisonwheat]

Her: "I spend $4000 a year on designer clothing and accessories"
Me: "That's fun! You've got the money so go for it"
Her: "I spend $25 a month on in-app purchases"
Me: "That's completely unreasonable"

[jenniferchen]

one based in the UK. Millenial Money is one of my favorite financial related videos.

[kwr]

Not only is she smart, she has alot of wisdom...thats so rare at her age...I hope she finds a mate that can keep up with her because she's unique.