Why relocating from Bengaluru to London didn’t increase this couple’s life-style prices

“We had travelled extensively throughout Europe and at all times felt that we must always expertise the standard of life, infrastructure and amenities extra deeply by residing right here. Vacations solely provide you with a glimpse,” mentioned Arnav.

In August 2024, the couple packed up their lives in Bengaluru and moved to London, UK. Among the various locations they thought of, London ticked all of the containers. “It has loads of alternatives in tech, the pay is nice—decrease than the US however higher than main European hubs—and the long-term path to everlasting residency or citizenship is clearer. And, in fact, we didn’t should study a brand new language,” Arnav mentioned.

But London, persistently ranked among the many world’s 10 most costly cities, calls for its share of monetary and life-style changes. Housing was the primary actuality verify for the couple. “We now stay in a 600 sq. toes one-bedroom house, in comparison with the 1,600 sq. ft three-bedroom we had in Bengaluru,” said Arnav. “Rent and utilities take up nearly 25% of our combined income. For single earners, it can climb to half their take-home pay.”

However, he isn’t complaining. “The lease pinches however doesn’t really feel like a downgrade. The fashionable residences right here make environment friendly use of house. Besides, we spend quite a lot of our time outdoor as there’s a lot to do within the metropolis.”

As a part ofMint’s sequence on Indian expats, the couple shares their expertise of residing in London.

Career alternatives

Both Arnav and Sayani work in tech companies in London. Arnav moved on a UK Global Talent Visa, a visa choice that permits extremely expert professionals in numerous fields to stay and work within the UK with out a job supply. Sayani has moved as a dependent.

“Finding jobs wasn’t troublesome for each of us. Our expertise with international tech firms helped, and already having the visa made the search simpler than discovering employers who can sponsor recent work visas,” mentioned Arnav.

In normal, he added, London provides good profession alternatives for these in tech and finance. “The number of jobs and pay scales is good. Marketing or sales might be trickier for expats as locals or UK-educated candidates often get preference.”

As for the pay, the UK provides larger salaries than India, Arnav famous. “Average Indian salaries are nonetheless lower than half of what you’d make within the UK in tech and finance roles,” he mentioned.

While pockets of India, significantly in prime tech or finance positions, have seen salaries rise, the distinction continues to be massive. “Even inside Europe, there are variations, however in comparison with India, London remains to be far forward by way of common pay,” he added.

Higher salaries make up for the upper price of residing in London for the couple.

Cost of residing

Rent has been the only largest dent within the couple’s funds. Beyond housing, the town’s on a regular basis bills, from groceries to move and eating out, really feel larger however not unmanageable. “Most of our bills, on each necessities and life-style, are about 1.5X to 2X what we paid in India,” Arnav mentioned.

Back in Bengaluru, the couple lived in Indiranagar, one of many metropolis’s upscale neighbourhoods, and dined out typically. “Compared to Bengaluru, London does really feel costly, however not exorbitant,” he added.

The couple has seen a notable bounce of their incomes in London, so the upper price of residing hasn’t modified their monetary scenario a lot.

“Our earnings right here elevated consistent with bills, so our financial savings charge has not modified. We’re in a position to keep a way of life much like Bengaluru, which already was a bit extravagant.”

Moreover, the transfer has made European holidays and luxurious automobiles extra inexpensive for the couple. “Long weekends to Italy, Spain, Portugal, or the Nordic international locations are straightforward from London, and a few locations don’t even require flying. For occasion, Paris is only a two-hour practice trip,” Arnav mentioned.

Apart from proximity, spending in kilos throughout Europe doesn’t carry the drawback of changing from a weaker forex just like the INR to the Euro.

A luxurious automobile fanatic, Arnav is eager to purchase a Jaguar or an much more premium automobile, as soon as he secures his UK driving licence.

“A premium automobile right here prices almost half of what it might in India,” he explained. “The used car market in London is also very large. Unlike in India, driving a pre-owned car isn’t taboo, which makes owning a high-end car so much more affordable.”

Taxes and social safety

Arnav and Sayani pay an efficient tax of 35% and 30%, respectively. However, they get a number of social safety advantages in return, mentioned Arnav. “The tax outgo is similar, however taxes right here don’t really feel as excessive.”

Of the 30-35% of their tax contribution, about one-third goes in direction of National Insurance (NI), which covers state pension and free healthcare underneath the UK’s publicly funded National Healthcare Service (NHS). The NHS covers OPD visits, hospital therapy and emergency care, amongst others. “We each even have separate employer-sponsored personal medical insurance coverage that covers personal clinics, eye care and dental checkups,” Arnav mentioned.

Residents turn out to be eligible for a partial pension after steady 10 years of contributions, whereas 35 years of NI contributions are wanted to qualify for a full pension.

There is a welfare security web too for unemployment and incapacity, whereby the state pays a hard and fast month-to-month allowance, relying on the NI contributions, for as much as six months. “We haven’t needed to avail any of those, however it’s comforting to know we’re coated for such emergencies.”

Apart from social safety, there are some tax-saving mechanisms too, Arnav added. Some of those are particularly devised for expats, like tax exemptions on overseas property for the primary 4 years and for the time spent exterior the UK.

“The second profit is named Overseas Workday Relief. Both of our workplaces enable 1-2 months of distant work, so if we work from India, earnings for these months is tax-free. I’ve work journeys to the US, these too get excluded,” Arnav defined.

That’s not all. “Also, as much as £20,000 invested in an Individual Savings Account (ISA), any dividends, features or curiosity earned are tax-free.”

Through an ISA, UK residents can put money into financial savings accounts, shares, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Investments and housing

After accounting for important and discretionary spends, the couple saves about 40% of their family earnings—20% as liquid financial savings and 20% invested throughout India and the US.

“We are largely conservative traders, however have diversified globally,” mentioned Arnav. As a lot as 60% of their funding portfolio is in India, primarily in debt and large-cap funds and a small portion in shares and crypto. The remaining 40% is invested globally—concentrated within the US markets in a mixture of index ETFs, blue-chip shares and a small publicity in rising fields.

So far, their technique has paid off. “The final three-year XIRR on our Indian portfolio is 16%, whereas the worldwide portfolio is at 24%. The latter has delivered larger returns as a result of I had invested throughout the 2020 crash,” mentioned Arnav.

The couple is saving as much as purchase a house in London, and it’s not a modest purpose. “Depending on the place and what dimension we like, it might be wherever between £500,000 and £700,000 ( ₹5.9 crore and ₹8.2 crore),” he mentioned.

An impartial home positioned about an hour exterior the town may cost a little £300,000, whereas properties nearer to London begin at £600,000 and might climb as much as £1.5 million. With mortgage charges hovering round 3-4%, the couple believes it is smart to purchase the home on a mortgage. “The month-to-month funds on a 25-30 12 months mortgage work out to almost the identical as lease,” he added.

The couple doesn’t plan to return to India anytime quickly. “For now, we plan to settle right here within the UK,” Arnav said. Though Sayani would like a dual life: London in the summer, Bengaluru in the winter, he laughed. “So far, living in London has felt like an extended vacation, like the ones we took from India.”

Note: This article displays the non-public experiences of Arnav Gupta and Sayani Bhattacharjee residing and dealing in London. Costs, earnings, life-style decisions, and monetary priorities might fluctuate for others primarily based on particular person circumstances and objectives.