If - after dragging yourself out of bed, stuffing yourself into the sardine can of a tube, battling your way through crowds of thoroughly miserable people and settling down to work at your under-paid, under-appreciated job - you think to yourself 'is this really worth it?', we're sorry to say the answer is probably: no.
New research conducted by job site CV-Library suggests that professionals working in the city of London are the poorest workers in Britain - despite earning the highest average salary.
Such is the huge cost of living in the capital that, assuming a 'basic standard' of existence (rent of a small, one-bed flat, located close to the city centre, relevant council tax, a local monthly travel card, basic utility bills and groceries), the end result is that living and working in London will actually leave you with an overall loss. Yes, you read that right. The average annual salary of CV-Library's news jobs in London is £36,905, 16.6 per cent greater than the national average of £31,625. However, 'basic monthly costs' are so catastrophically high thant additional income is wiped out - and more.
If you really want to make your money go far, head to Aberdeen, Liverpool or Glasgow to have the greatest remaining income to fritter away on high living.
Richest to Poorest UK Workers (Average monthly salary/basic monthly costs/remaining income)
Aberdeen £2,230 / £917 / £1,313
Liverpool £1,993 / £862 / £1,131
Glasgow £2,015 / £891 / £1,125
Birmingham £2,040 / £921 / £1,119
Sheffield £2,025 / £914 / £1,112
Leeds £2,014 / £919 / £1,095
Cardiff £2,019 / £924 / £1,095
Portsmouth £1,995 / £953 / £1,042
Manchester £1,936 / £951 / £985
Southampton £1,991 / £1,035 / £957
Hull £1,816 / £864 / £952
Bristol £2,145 / £1,207 / £937
Edinburgh £2,013 / £1,167 / £846
Exeter £1,822 / £1,040 / £783
Brighton £1,826 / £1,348 / £478
London £2,349 / £3,313 / -£964
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, explained: "It’s not unreasonable for a UK working professional to want to come home to their own space at night. As employees, it’s advantages such as these that motivate and inspire us to do well. However, living premiums mean that this isn’t a reality for most workers in the capital and the idea of getting on the property ladder is a pipe dream, despite working hard. The fact that Londoners struggle to afford the bare essentials is worrying and may well affect the number of professionals that choose to work in the city; other cities are starting to appear as much more appealing prospects for UK workers."
Biggins concluded: "Wages and living expenses in London are not relative to the rest of the UK, making Londoners the poorest workers in Britain."
(Image: Shutterstock)
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