I MOVED FROM THE UK TO SOUTH KOREA - MY RENT DROPPED TO £300 AND NIGHTS OUT ARE £10

A woman has shared how she found a new lease of life in moving across the world to live in South Korea, and hugely cut her living costs. Robyn Mansir, 27, moved from Manchester to the southeast Asian country four years ago. She says the quality of life is significantly better there, while her housing costs, energy bills and travel costs are much more affordable.

She decided to relocate four years ago after finding it impossible to build up savings, despite having a steady job. She is originally from Bristol and moved to Manchester for university and ended up staying in the city.

Ms Mansir said: "I had a good job as a scientific research paper editor and lived in a neighbourhood I loved in Manchester, but I was always having to watch what I spent and couldn't save any money, like most 23-year-olds out of university. It was hard to see how my financial outlook would improve."

'It felt like now or never'

But it wasn't just the money that convinced her to make the bold move overseas. She said: "I was 23, without kids or pets, and I wanted to do something exciting with my life rather than just settle into a routine. It felt like a now-or-never moment."

Looking at her options for creating a new life abroad, she decided to do a TEFL course to become an English teacher, and settled on South Korea as her destination. She said: "South Korea kept coming out on top - it's consistently rated one of the most liveable countries for being safe, clean and offering a high quality of life.

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"I'd never been before, but that almost added to the appeal." She got through her TEFL course and secured a role in Suwon, which is about 45 minutes south of Seoul.

Huge living cost savings

Here she immediately slashed her living costs, as her accommodation was provided as part of my teaching package, saving her around £350 a month from the start. For the first time, she was able to save money and pay for trips across Asia on her teacher's salary.

Four years on, she now lives in the Dobong-gu neighbourhood of Seoul and works part time at a private English academy. She married a Korean UX (User experience) designer. They use the jeonse housing system, paying just £300 a month in monthly loan interest, for their three-bedroom apartment.

The jeonese system is where you pay a large lump-sum deposit and essentially live rent-free in the property for the duration of the lease. This isn't the only big cost saving that has helped her finances.

'Negligible' compared to the UK

She explained how her regular costs differ compared to living in the UK:

• Transport: She said costs are "negligible" by comparison, as taxis, the subway and bus networks are "cheap and extensive".
• Food/eating out: Eating out is much cheaper - a meal with an alcoholic drink typically is around £10-15. Going out for drinks is much cheaper and crucially so are the taxis home afterwards
• Energy bills: For their three-bedroom apartment in August - which is the most expensive month due to air conditioning - they paid around £6 for gas (hot water), £35 for electricity and £8 for water - a total of just £49. There is also no council tax equivalent, a huge cost saving
• Healthcare: Healthcare is covered via a tax of around 3 per cent of your salary if you are employed. Ms Mansir said: "While you do pay at the point of service, the costs are significantly reduced. The wait times are much faster and the quality of care is really high."
• Lifestyle/leisure: Gym costs are broadly the same as the UK, but nightlife is cheaper and the industry is doing well.

Salaries are generally lower in South Korea compared to the UK, but even with this, life is more affordable, the expat said. Not everything is a chunk cheaper - she was surprised to find fresh fruit and vegetables are more expensive than at UK supermarkets.

Recent research from international bank services provider bunq found that Manchester is the fifth most expensive city in the UK to live in, costing £1,720 a month on average. Ms Mansir's home city of Bristol was even more expensive, where average costs are £1,908 a month.

The figures come from bunq's Working Abroad Index, which compares the cost of living across 75 cities. London was the most expensive city in Europe, with costs of £2,810 a month, and ranked fourth globally, behind US cities New York, San Francisco and Boston.

'Genuinely surprised'

Asked what impressed her most about her new home country, she said the public transport takes the top spot. Ms Mansir said: "It is so much cheaper, cleaner and more modern than anything I was used to in the UK. Everything is digital and incredibly easy to navigate, even as a foreigner still finding your feet - that genuinely surprised me."

She said the entertainment offering is also "really good value", with cinema, sports games and karaoke well within reach, and they are much more popular over there. She said: "It changes your social life in a really positive way when you're not having to think twice about the cost of doing things."

Another pleasant surprise that meant a lot to her was how safe it is to walk the streets, especially as a woman. She explained: "The crime rate is remarkably low and for the first time I could walk around the streets at night without feeling nervous - something I'd never really experienced living in a UK city.

"It's a freedom that sounds small but actually changes your daily life in ways you don't anticipate until you have it." One striking difference is people will happily leave their laptops and bags unattended at a café or bar table, which she said would be "unthinkable" in Manchester or any other UK city.

Community feel

She sung the praises of her local area: "My neighbourhood in Dobong-gu has a really local, community feel - bustling markets, alleyways, mountains and streams. There's also a subway station five minutes from my door with bars, restaurants, shops and gyms.

"The balance of city convenience and rural character is something I haven't found in the same way back home."

2026-09-13T06:02:35Z