From an administration point of view , English system operates just fine . If you want to work , and you are capable you just have to operate according to the law and everything will be fine , the sky will be your limit .
LONDON
WAGES
– What is the acceptable wage-rate in London , to live an ok life ?
– Minimum wage in London is £ 9.15 p / h , and the minimum wage across the rest of UK is £ 7.83 p / h but these are for lowskilled workers ; waiters , retailers , service personnel , specialist services cost more . Case in point ; my washing machine broke down and the fridge was acting up , so I called an engineer . here , they charge separately for the first 20 minutes and additionally for the call ( around £ 60 ) so , if an engineer stays longer than 20 minutes , then every additional 20 minutes would rate at £ 30 . In the end , he fixed my fridge , opened my washing machine then closed it saying " That ’ s not my speciality , call the plumber " yet charged me for both the washing machine and the fridge , £ 120 . When I asked , " Why is it so ?" And he promptly replied " have opened it , so I worked on it " The epic story follows ; The plumber arrives , charged separately for the call again and spends the next 4 hours fixing the washing machine overflow . Basically overcharged us , and after a month and a half , the sewers got blocked and we had to call him again . That ’ s how people make their money …
A lot of young people come to London , first , to study , then search for work , accepting minimum wage as they start their careers . You will never be proposed a good salary unless you are a high-grade specialist . First , you are offered a small salary and then a raise as your experience and tenure increases , and be rest assured you will get a raise , they reward hard work . One of my friends started off with £ 1500 in her bank account , she now earns £ 5000 .
From an administration point of view , English system operates just fine . If you want to work , and you are capable you just have to operate according to the law and everything will be fine , the sky will be your limit .
However , with a wage increase comes tax increase as well , my friend ' s husband is earning around £ 12000 a month with almost 40 % shaved off by taxes as he hits the high-earners threshold , and his family is not eligible to claim any state-benefits except for free healthcare .
If you are employed , you can apply for credit to purchase a property , paying a deposit of 5 % off the total ! and if this is your first home , there are further discounts such as credit APR of 0.5 % to 2 – 2.5 %.
ABOUT PRICES AND SHOPS
I am more of a spender , but in my first two months , I had to save on everything . When you start earning in pounds , your take on everything changes , you gradually start getting used to cucumbers and tomatoes costing £ 6 — and that is the standard price . If you are shopping in supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury — ( equivalents of our Carrefour and Lidl ) then it is cheaper . Delicious and relatively cheap local lamb , ham , poultry and fish ( Scottish Salmond ) can also be found easily . There are street stall markets here , which sell organic products from the farms and can be expensive .
There are also chains of stores like " Whole Foods " which sell only organic products of good quality , but their prices are three times above what you ' ll find in the supermarkets , we only go there on big occasions . There are also daily markets which the British love and always visit with great enthusiasm , the pleasure of buying from " grannies " in the market , rather than from the shop .
Living out of the city — one may find numerous beautiful villages , well preserved , quiet , verdant , with local farms surrounded by forests and prices there are tolerable but London , especially its central parts is very extremely expensive ! Many British are unhappy with the government because of the high prices and taxes , and to this effect , we see protesters quite often . Residents of Central London are demanding wage hikes by 4 – 5 times the current amount and the building of social housing for local low-earners because even most native Londoners can ' t afford to buy a flat . Estate Agencies here only look out for property owners and those who are willing to buy are very small in number .
LEISURE
If you have free time you can find lots of things to do , and things you ' ll love too . Almost all museums are free and open all day long from 9 am till 7 pm , and you can find paid events almost everywhere and every day , music festivals , jazz fringes , etc .
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