Continuing on from the last money diary in which I tackled my budget for living in St Andrews, today I share numbers about Edinburgh.
In 2014, the Brit and I moved in together in Edinburgh. We rented a wee flat in Abbeyhill in the east end and stayed there a few months until we moved to Stirling. Four years later, I reflect on our lives in the capital and share our personal budget for living in Edinburgh.
I’ve split most of the shared costs so you can see our budget per person. We lived in a one-bedroom flat near the city centre (in the cheaper vicinity) which means our budget didn’t include much transport, but I’ve included it here as an indication.
Monthly budget for Edinburgh:
Rent = £375 (our one-bedroom flat back in 2014 was £650 but I’ve checked online for one-bed flats on the same street and it seems to have gone up to £750 ish)
Energy bills = £50
Council tax = £54 (we had 25% discount because the Brit was a student back then, but current rate is £108.75 per month)
Tv licence = £0
Broadband = £8
Mobile = £10 (sim only)
Food shops = approx. £100
Eating out = approx. £125 per month
Transport = £57 (at the current rate for adults)
Bringing the total to = £779 per person
Is that similar to St Andrews, you ask? Indeed it is. Edinburgh is also incredibly pricy (although it says more about St Andrews). We were fortunate that the Brit, in his search for a decent flat for us, got us a quite affordable option in the east end, in walking distance of the city centre (about 15-20mins). As I write this, he keeps reminding me our flat was on the lower end of most budgets, and therefore not ‘average’, but this is based on our personal experience so here!
Our basic budget was around £600 per month each, not including travelling outside of town (which we did a lot), going to events, special occasions, drinking out, any household upkeep, gifts, books, insurance etc. It can add up quickly, especially if you’re on minimum wage, or a student.
It is obviously one of the more expensive options in Scotland, especially if you want to live in a nice-ish neighbourhood, but it can really be worth it! All the people that I know who live there love it!
Edinburgh is a great city to live and I’d go back in a heartbeat. If we do stay in the UK long term, we did discuss going back to the capital. It has loads of wonderful shopping and eating out options, is full of culture, it’s the central hub for travelling out of the country by train or flight and is just a wonderful city overall!
As I was unemployed for most of my time in Edinburgh (or, shrug, working at the Christmas market) I won’t include an average day in the life of Camila as it was mostly blogging and applying for jobs….what a long way we’ve come!
Stirling money diary is next!