UK Living Costs for EU and International Students

Page last updated 17.08.23

The costs of living in South Wales is much cheaper than other UK cities and is, on average, more than 35% cheaper than living in London. The average living costs in the local area of the University are very good value but this might be more than you are used to paying at home.

Over the last year, as the global situation has changed, more students have come to University with unrealistic budgets and expectations of the costs of living. A small number of students believe that once they arrive in the UK they will be able to secure work which will provide them enough money to cover all their living costs, but in most cases this is not true. In order to have the best University experience, its important to plan properly and well in advance to ensure you have funds in place for the full length of your course, not just for the 9 months UKVI require you to show for your visa application.

When planning its important to remember that costs of living are subject to inflation, and that there are significant rises in the costs of living for food, rent and fuel bills in the UK at the moment.

This page provides you with an example set of living costs, but you will also need to ensure you research your situation as different living styles may cost more.

How we work out Living Costs

We have based our example living costs in Pontypridd on the data available from Numbeo (August 2023 )

Numbeo is a website which allows you to explore living costs in an area of the UK, and compare them with London or other large cities. You can also use the currency change function to see what your living costs will be when converted into your own currency. This will help you plan more effectively and know your budget before you arrive. If you want to see the difference between the UK and home you can ask Numbeo to do a comparison between your home town and Pontypridd, Cardiff or Newport.

We have made a slight adjustment to some of the numbers below to account for inflation over the next few months. As an example summary you can expect to pay the following:

Family of four estimated monthly costs are £2430 without rent (using the Numbeo estimator).
A single person estimated monthly costs are £725 without rent.
Family accommodation rent ranges from £600 to £1500
Single person from £400 (price often depends on whether some bills are included)

Cost of Living and Inflation

The UK is, as with many other countries, currently effected by high interest rates. UK Government data for July 2023 shows that interest rates are currently running at about 10.7%, meaning the average costs of goods and services in the UK increases by this cost each year.

Different services and goods are affected differently by interest rates meaning that at the moment, for example, food costs are rising faster than transport costs.

Its also important to note that UK energy costs have been increasing above inflation and are still in a volatile state. The average gas price has increased 129.4% and the average electricity price has risen 66.7% between January 2022 and January 2023. Its important to remember that most rental contracts do not include payments for gas and electricity so you need to make sure you have enough money put aside for these costs in addition to your rent and monthly living expenses.

For most students the monthly cost of living at the start of the course is lover than by the time they complete or progress to the next year of their course. It's important you plan ahead, budget for increases in living costs and speak to your financial supporters about increased costs each year to manage expectations.

Specific Living Costs

Below is a list of specific costs to help you understand how much it will cost you to live in Pontypridd (August 2023) - please see Numbeo for up to date information). We have based each cost on an average cost and then provided an example range of costs, so your individual costs could be higher or lower depending on your specific circumstances.

Restaurants Range
Item	Average Cost	Range of Costs

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant	£10	£6.00 - £20.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course	£80	£40.00 - £70.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)	£8	£5 - £8
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught)	£6	£2.50 - £4
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)	£5	£2.00 - £4.00
Cappuccino (regular)	£3.50	£1.50 - £3.00
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle)	£1.98	£0.75 - £.3.50
Water (0.33 liter bottle)	£1	£0.60 - £1.50

Markets and Shopping
Item	Average Cost

Milk (regular), (1 litre)	£1
Rice (white), (1kg)	£0.85
Eggs (regular) (12)	£2.70
Local Cheese (1kg)	£3.87
Chicken Fillets (1kg)	£3.50
Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat)	£5.75
Apples (1kg)	£0.95
Banana (1kg)	£0.86
Oranges (1kg)	£1.00
Tomato (1kg)	£1.05
Potato (1kg)	£0.97
Onion (1kg)	£0.82
Lettuce (1 head)	£0.62
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)	£5.50

Transport
Item	Average Cost

Ticket to Cardiff from Treforest (return ticket)	£8.30
Ticket to Newport from Treforest (return ticket)	£13.30
Petrol - Unleaded per liter	£1.48

Clothing
Item	Average Cost

Pair of Jeans - branded	£42.50
Summer Dress - Chain store	£22.50
Branded Running Shoes	£50.00
Smart Work Shoes - non branded	£55

Your responsibilities as a student when coming to the UK

When coming to the UK it is your responsibility to ensure:

You have enough money to support you, and any dependants you are bringing, for the full length of your visa. You cannot and should not try and rely on the ability to secure part time work to support you in the UK.
You have made plans for your accommodation and that those plans are affordable. This may mean if you are bringing family, you travel to the UK before them to secure suitable and affordable accommodation and your family can join you once this is arranged.
You live in the defined commutable area for the University. You will be given full information about this during the enrolment sessions.
If you are bringing dependants, you ensure you are aware of the financial support needed for a family in the UK, as this is above the £680 per month UKVI require you to show per person for the visa. You also need to make sure you think carefully about child care, school places and adhere to any local school admissions and attendance policies for the area where you live.
You take the time to read through your induction and support information as well as read through relevant university policies. We are here to support you and guide you through your studies, but you must make sure you read and understand the rules of the university, as well as make plans to properly support yourself and any dependants in the UK.

Emergencies and unforeseen costs

We hope that you have an amazing experience while studying at the University and that there are no emergencies or other unexpected events which disrupt your studies or funding.
It is, however, usual for some students to have to make emergency trips home usually at very short notice. Making these arrangements at the last minute can be costly and would usually mean higher costs than when you book in advance.

In additional to this, if you have a part time job you are using to supplement your living costs and you become unable to work due to sickness or other personal circumstances, you need to think about how this would affect your lifestyle in the UK.

We would advise all students to make sure they have a pot of money put aside as a contingency for any emergency which may happen during their studies. This means that if you do run into a difficult period or need to make emergency travel you are not also worrying about the costs associated with these difficult times, as we know this can add stress to an already difficult situation.