Hello everyone.
There is a high probability that I will do my PhD in London in few months. I already heard everywhere London is an awesome city and I don't doubt it.
My question regards the money : my scholarship will be about £15K per annual and I start worrying a bit because everywhere I read that London is really expensive. I started looking for a flat and indeed I was really astonished... even public transport are really expensive!

Others facts that could be relevant :
- I don't pay any university fees and
- I'm pretty sure the stipend is tax free (at least I hope so !!)
- the university is in central London (that's why I want to live the closest to the center)

My questions are: do you think I can enjoy London life with such a stipend?
Do you think I will have to work outside? Is it easy to get paid for giving courses?

Thank you!

Hi, I've been on 15k for 2 years as an MA student, and it was enough, but of course you have to budget. I also had to travel quite a bit for research, and not all of that was reimbursed by the uni (we got around 600 quid a year for expenses). I think you should be fine, just remember to use the money cleverly, and check out what other money there is set aside for you for travel expenses etc.

Thank you for your answer. If anyone want to add his point of view... or any advices !

You'll probably need to get an oyster - with a student card (although I think this means you have to buy a season ticket - weekly/monthly/annually) of course, if you are living close its probably a lot cheaper to get a bike and cycle to uni and back.

Make sure you find a good flat share with like minded people otherwise you'll be hopping between flats trying to find people who don't play guitar at 2am.

Cook meals for lunch at home to save money

Take on teaching work if possible or any other little part time roles around uni.

15k not much for London and you won't be able to eat out and go drinking much, but it's do-able. There are a lot of museums, galleries, churches and parks in London that are all free.

Your bursary should be tax-free (I think all PhD bursaries are) and you won't pay council tax if you're in full-time education. My bursary is only 11,000 and I manage OK (but I live in the North, where rent is much cheaper and I cycle or walk everywhere). If you can share a house, you shouldn't have to spend too much on rent, and you can cycle if you live near the university, but buy a cheap bike and an expensive lock!

Id recommend house sharing or rent a room, there are entire websites dedicated to this. its the way most students live. I also had a cousin who moved down here from the north, she rented a room first till she got established with a job and then rented a place. travel can be quite expensive but your oyster is capped at 6.20 per day after that its unlimited travel and on buses its £1 per journey. foods exactly the same price in supermarkets. i have found it that expensive just dont get a car you dont need it, gd luck. londons an amazing city youll love it! the people are nice, theres loads to do and its really not that expensive for nights out. i usually go to covent garden, a few beers in there bars generally not bad prices...avoid wimbledon village...£6 per corona!! lol you have to budget but £15k is enough, i lived off 11 for 3 years and did just fine :) gd luck

15K is plenty, I've done it on 12k & was still able to go out on the week-ends, explore the city & enjoy myself. The trick is to find a cheap but decent house-share (check out easyroommates or gumtree) and hope that it's in zone 1 or 2 as that way you'll save money on travelling. I think it's better to spend less on accommodation & have a better experience outside of the house, but it depends on what's important to you...

Yes, finding a flat share is what I'll plan to do. I already know moveflat but thanks for mentioning the other.
It might be a good solution to be in central london and not paying too much, plus being with other people in a new city is I guess preferable.

Thanks a lot for your reassuring answers.

hi!! I get less than you; I'm managing ok.
Plenty of great advice here already given :-)
I think you will do very well, you'll be ok.
love satchi

I'll be getting £15500, not a lot for London but according to my calculations it should be comfortably enough to manage on - will cover my half of the mortgage and bills, plus travel and food and such day to day expenses. Look into getting a student Oyster card, I'm planning to get one of the annual travelcard ones as it'll be a significant saving on my commute (though if you can walk/bike instead that's even better!). Am hoping to be able to do some teaching/demonstrating to earn a little more.

Yes the stipend is tax-free - so you'll be significantly better off than many people with 'proper' jobs. There's a council tax exemption/discount as well (fully exempt if you live alone or with other f-t students).

I wouldn't expect to be able to save at all though, and I think any big expenses like holidays (I like a lot of holidays :)) are going to have to come out of existing savings.