🇬🇧 United Kingdom · A realistic 2026 budget for newcomers — rent, food, transport, and what a month actually costs.
Wondering how far your salary goes in Brighton? Here’s what everyday life costs, in local prices — the numbers that matter when you’re deciding to move or negotiating a package.
What things cost
One-bed flat, central Brighton or the seafrontGBP 1,200–1,600 / month
One-bed flat, Hanover, Fiveways, Portslade or MoulsecoombGBP 1,000–1,325 / month
Council Tax, Band C or D, single occupantGBP 150–200 / month after the 25% single-person discount
Groceries, one personGBP 210–310 / month
Annual rail season ticket to LondonWell over GBP 5,000 / year — revised each March, and before Underground travel at the other end
Good to know
Population
≈280,000 across Brighton and Hove, which became a single unitary authority in 1997 and a city in 2000
Languages
English, in an accent much closer to London than to Sussex; large Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Arabic-speaking communities, plus a very large language-school population
Currency
Pound sterling (GBP)
Time zone
GMT; BST (GMT+1) from late March to late October
Power plug
Type G, 230 V / 50 Hz
Climate
Among the mildest and sunniest parts of Britain on the Sussex coast — but exposed, and the wind off the Channel is the thing newcomers underestimate
Driving side
Left
Geography
Boxed in — the Channel on one side, the South Downs National Park boundary on the other, and about three miles of city between them
The beach
Shingle, not sand. Buy beach shoes
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.
A note on budgeting
Rent is usually the swing factor — location and whether bills are included move the number most. Build your estimate from the rent band above, add a monthly living figure, and keep a buffer for one-off setup costs (deposits, a residence permit, a local SIM, first-month transport). Globe Quest turns this into a personalized Brighton checklist so nothing setup-related catches you off guard.
Plan your move to Brighton
A free, AI-personalized plan — the language, culture, and setup steps timed to your move date.