utilities etc spending.

We moved into a bungalow, oil heating, own sewage system, usual electric, telephone and broadband etc in rural Norfolk last year and saw our utility bills drop. We pay about £400 a month on average.

We live in West London suburbs in a two bed semi our utilities ,
Phone/broadband
Duel fuel
Council tax
Tv licence
Water
House/contents insurance

Around £450 pm

Mine is roughly the same as tanith for a 29 year old well insulated 3 bedroom property. I also have solar panels so I get free hot water when the weather is light, not necessarily sunny. My water is not metered.

Council tax, even with 25% off is my largest bill each month.

Don't pay tv licence now, the advantage of having an older husband

The rest for what seems to be an average sized two bedroom bungalow with a very large (heated) conservatory comes to under £300 but this doesn't include building insurance.

Our building insurance is included in a monthly fee covering all sorts of other things as we live in a managed retirement development. If I include that, bearing in mind it covers things like window cleaning, grass cutting, all structural repairs and decoration, falling down fences and a myriad of other irritations it comes to about £420.

Try not to worry fennel there are deals to be done on things like broadband. I would suggest though that you check out insurance, council tax and water rates for properties in your chosen area. We were surprised at the difference a few miles and a change of local authority made.

We pay around £450 ..For utilities and council tax...a further £360.is on rent for our social housing..then insurances of about £50 ..

Fuel costs are much lower in the UK compared with France. We have a holiday home in France, with electric heating and we are very glad that we do not live there throughout the winter, just stay a week or two now and them.

However our Council tax (equiv. to Taxe d'Habitation and Taxe Fonciere) is much higher for two similar 4 bedroomed properties, one in each country.

It's the bedroom tax that's skinting us. After living here for 31 years. My kids have got a cheek growing up and moving out haha .

It sounds as if on the whole we may have to pay out less - thanks for the replies.
I must find out about council tax, it's probably much higher than the house taxes here. And I'd forgotten we might get reductions on some things because of age.
Our biggest expense is propane gas, used for heating, cooking and hot water. Hopefully town gas will be cheaper.
My friend here has electric heating, MOnica, and their bills seem high too.
The cheapest heating fuel here is wood, many people have their own little patch of woodland. But it's labour-intensive.

Fennel Sounds like we’re in a similar situation. We ‘ll be downsizing considerably, and feel, on the whole, that utilities will be cheaper, including Council tax. No health insurance makes quite a difference.

Good luck with it all. Our conveyancing has gone quite smoothly, but even so, had a major meltdown this afternoon!