If you come from a small town, you probably have big dreams of the big city. You’re tired of seeing the same people every day, and with so many things to do in what feels like a veritable metropolis, it only makes sense to pack your bags and head off on an adventure.
When it comes to picking the perfect city, there are few better destinations than Liverpool. For sport, culture and history, it boasts a vibe other places in the UK cannot match, including the capital. However, moving anywhere can be a risk. So, while it’s an exciting moment in your life, it’s also something you need to think carefully about. With the cost of living skyrocketing, simply living can be a problem. If you want to take life by the horns and thrive, here’s some advice on moving to a big city and surviving financially.
Find Affordable Areas
Your living situation is arguably the most important aspect of moving to the city, especially if you’re used to living with friends or family where you haven’t had to pay a penny in rent.
All of that is about to change substantially. You’ll quickly have a whole new range of expenses to think about. It isn’t just your rent, but also utilities like water, energy and your internet bill.
Before you move, you need to look out for affordable areas. You’ll quickly realise that city living doesn’t mean you’re in a penthouse downtown, and you may find yourself in a house or flat on the city’s outskirts. This is often your best bet, at least initially, but you can still shop around to find some good places.
If you have friends or family living there already, you may be able to crash with them for a week or two before moving in. But don’t count on this, and you don’t want anything to go wrong that causes you to overstay your welcome.
And Get A Roommate, Anyway
Even if you find an affordable property, it’s still a good idea to find a roommate, as this will cut your bills in half, at least. If you’d prefer to live in a house rather than a flat, you might even find a converted property that has multiple rooms transformed for accommodation. These houses can usually accommodate four, five or six individual people, especially any homes with conversions.
It can be lonely moving to a new city, so meeting anyone can help ease any pangs. Although you’re not guaranteed to get on with your roommates, they can give you something to do as you can hang out in the house or flat instead of going out and spending money.
This is vital in the first few months while you’re finding your feet. Roommates help you save plenty of money on essentials as you can cut the cost of utilities and only need to think about paying for your food. You should be able to put away plenty of cash for rainy days, emergencies or to treat yourself once you get more comfortable.
Establish a Budget
No matter who you are, how much you earn or where you live, you must establish a budget. However, this can be trickier than you’d like as you might not know how much things cost and how much you will earn. What’s worse, you may need to wait a while for your first pay cheque, which can considerably strain your finances.
Have no fear, though, because there are solutions. Although city living can be expensive, there are enough options to help your money stretch a little further. While smaller towns in the middle of nowhere seem cheaper, you may need to pay a premium for certain goods. City living can help you avoid this as there are multiple options for fresh food which doesn’t require a trip to the supermarket.
If you’re worried about maintaining financial stability, you can visit financialadvisers.co.uk to check out the range of services that also include insurance and other essentials that can help mitigate potential issues you might encounter when living somewhere by yourself.
Have A Career Ready
It’s irresponsible to move to a new city unless you have a job lined up. Luckily, the modern job market is much more flexible, meaning you may not even need to quit your job to make yourself a success. As long as your current career pays well enough to survive in a new city, you should be okay.
But this doesn’t mean it’s not worth looking for a new job or at least keeping your options open. While your current job might have seemed suitable in your old city, you may not be able to make the money go as far now, especially when you factor in any transport necessities and other charges you’d not needed to worry about before.
If you’re career-oriented, you’ve likely moved to the city to get a big break. So, although having a job ready before you move is crucial to help you survive the first few months and years, don’t ignore the possibility of looking around for a career that interests you more, especially as the city is likely to have more opportunities.
Find Transport Solutions
Getting around is always something to think about when you arrive in a new city. You may know how to drive and even have a car, but you’ll also realise that your vehicle isn’t as necessary as it once was. When moving to the northwest, you’ll find that Liverpool is one of the most walkable cities in the UK, and you can get around the city centre much faster than you would in London or even Birmingham.
What’s more, there is plenty of public transport to choose from if you need to jump on a bus, while taxis and other transport services could also help you if you’re in a rush. All of this points to not needing a car unless you know you’ll need to travel out of the city regularly. You don’t want to rely on public transport for a two-hour journey, especially as your car might get you there in half the time.
There are other costs to think about, though. Owning a car means paying road tax, insurance and petrol. If you’re trying to cut down on expenses, it might be worth selling your car once you’re properly settled and have a handle on the best ways to get around.
Learn to Cook
Some cities are known for their great food and eating out is always a fun treat. But, you won’t be able to afford takeaway dishes every night. There will come a point when you need to make your meals.
How hard can this be? Simply throwing some frozen chips and nuggets in the oven is enough to keep you sustained, but you’re unlikely to feel good afterwards.
Learning to cook is a great skill to have regardless, so if you’ve not yet jumped on the benefits of a home-cooked meal, you can try these easy meals for beginners to help you learn the basics. Once you master these, you’ll begin to understand how flavours complement one another, which will make it easier for you to make more ambitious meals that are both healthy and delicious.
You’ll quickly discover that you can often make food that’s even better than what you’d get at a restaurant or take-out place, and the variety of options available means you always have something new to try, so things won’t get boring.
Embrace the Fun Of Free
If you move to Liverpool, you’ll have no shortage of things to do. From seeing Liverpool or Everton play to visiting the Cavern Club on Mathew Street, there’s always something to do. However, these activities can add up, and unless you’re a football superfan or a Beatles obsessive (among other things), these activities are not financially sustainable.
But that’s okay. You don’t need to spend money to have a good time. Learning how to make your money go further and still enjoy yourself is key for living in any big city. If you have roommates and get on with them, you can always find something to do, and if they’ve lived there longer than you, they should have some recommendations.
Days out at the park or spending time around the docks is always a great way for you to kill some time, especially during the summer. Winters will obviously be a completely different story, but if you can find a way to have fun at home, you can easily make your money go a little further.
City Living
City living is a superb opportunity to learn independence and discover more about yourself. There will be days when you think you’ve made a mistake, and there will be moments when you struggle to make ends meet as you adapt to a new environment. However, this is all part of the experience, and as long as you take a step back and consider what you’re doing and how you can improve, you’ll not just survive financially in a big city. Instead, you’ll thrive.
