How Do Londoners Feel About Their Cost of Living? || IBT UK Investigates

Amidst rises in rent prices and growing concerns about the cost of living in London, the IBT UK team asks Londoners how they feel about their expenses, and if they are managing to get by.

[Abraham_Tsfaye]

I paid 350 for a single room in Maida Vale, London in 2008.
After 6 months I realised there was a hole under my bed and I saw a huge rats tail go in it.
That scrummy place would now be 800 pounds a month to rent.
London is a dump.

[noelynoelnh]

I grew up in London and moved out 22 years ago. It was unaffordable then. The only way to survive is to move further out

[sidkings]

After 15 years in London I actually moved out last Week.

£830 just to rent a double room is the going rate in E3.

[markholland]

I was born and grew up in Clapham, London and left just under 10yrs ago, I miss the convenience of socialising and some friends who still live there but I DON'T miss London at all, and in fact moving away from UK in the next couple weeks as the whole country has changed over the last 10yrs.. and sadly not for the better!! The housing and living costs in some areas are just absolutely shocking!! cost of living in UK for the quality of service is just absolutely ridiculous now!!

[laanaa]

TO UK GOVERNMENT INSTEAD OF FUNDING WARS FUND INTO YOUR OWN PEOPLE.

[BALHAM]

No way, Sadiq Khan needs to put Bus bus prices back to £1.50 and have trains London Underground as a flat fare of £3 😊

[gongagong]

If you are a 30-year-old coffee pourer, you probably shouldn't be living in London.

[tonycocchiara]

Council tax going up WHAT A SUPPRISE, 😢😊

[mitchreeves]

Why on earth would anybody want to live in London other than a slighter better salary? It's just not worth it. Move to the countryside or seaside and be 10 times happier. There's more to life than chasing a high salary (corporate slave).

[Nzwarriord]

London is good for bankers traders business men for the elite others wasting your time move up north lovely towns and villages no pollution ulez murders etc

[shawndurbs]

I left uk in 2019. Best move I ever made.

[markm]

Move to Blackpool.. very cheap and they do great fish and chips

[crealKllh]

the council tax is passed on for those council employees such as garbage collection and the employees in such industries need that extra pay to compensate for living, there should be a rent cap on homing and housing should be graded, because people are charging huge rates for abysmal living conditions

[jon]

Shared ownership is just as bad. My rent Increased by 9.4% and service charge 4 % on top of mortgage payments

[bobstar]

My rent is £725 a week for a 2 bed/2 bathroom in London.

[SkeletonDrums]

This does highlight the frontline problems with living in any big city, especially London, but you dont get to the meat of the issue. Why are costs rising in the UK and the US? Because since 2008, the wealth holding of both countries has dipped to historic lows. 14 years of the Tories and they have done nothing to address the problem and have actually added fuel to the fire. Now we pay more tax for less pubic services, because as a country we are having to service our debt first.

We need radical change! And i am not talking about the fringe rightwing nutters of Reform, but actual politicians capable of coherent thought. Admittedly they are hard to find in this day and age!

First we must re-nationalise our utilities and stop giving away the profits to private business. Next up and crucially, we must ensure the rich pay their fair share of tax. Because if weath inequality increases, the divide will continue to widen and soon enough nobody will be able to afford a home.

The cost of food and rent is a real problem, but unless we address the cause there is never going to be improvement.

[indidogg]

It's a complete joke - why is there not some regulatory body controlling rental prices? And don't even get me started on the rail prices.

[wattbenj]

My theory about London is that there are secretly loads of people doing really, really well. Hence the rent prices.

I'm still living at home at 30 & would love to live in London one day, but it just seems like an absolute pipe dream right now. No matter what job you have.

[minionofgozer]

Lived in London, I was pay check to pay check. I tried slimming the budget, tried more hours and even tried cutting meals.
I left to go back to my home town, I have no regrets leaving, im actually able to save and have been a lot happier. London isn't for the common man anymore, its for the rich and they can have it for all I care 🤷‍♂️

[ckzf]

Ummm … it isn’t as if I can’t pay my ( extortionate) electricity bills, so I tried to see if I could keep my electricity bills down : I simply shut off most of my electricity heaters at home ( I mean, I live in Central London - not in the glacial Scottish Highlands), put on a couple of my woolly jumpers, wore leggings under my sweatpants, and wore a woolly toque to keep my head warm and thick woolly socks on my feet … and it all worked, and I didn’t really feel the cold at all ! My electricity bill was reduced by two - thirds, and … I am still alive, and smiling’ ! 😊