5k seems absurd, though there is a big differential in the UK between those who own a house and those who do not. If I lived in London, 1e6 GBP would be necessary for housing alone, a ridiculous sum compared to the average wage.
London's expensive, but it's not that expensive. You can get a nice, but not huge, apartment in a central area for £400 / week which would work out to £20K per year.
Source: this was true as of 2011 when I stayed with friends in a 2BR apartment paying exactly that.
- I then realise he's probably talking about buying rather than renting
- I read this report which claims that the median value of residential property in fancy parts of London (what the report calls 'Prime London') is 1m GBP, and the mean is about 1.4m GBP: http://www.marshandparsons.co.uk/news/research/item/1519-lon...