Moving To/Living In London Megathread - ALL QUESTIONS TO GO HERE

djpbarry

Bluezar wrote: »

Budget is about £400 a month.

Is that just for rent or are you including bills, council tax, commuting costs, etc. ?

Bluezar

djpbarry wrote: »

Is that just for rent or are you including bills, council tax, commuting costs, etc. ?

Hoping to cover rent and bills for that price roughly bud

djpbarry

Bluezar wrote: »

Hoping to cover rent and bills for that price roughly bud

Hmmm. It's doable, but it really depends on how far you're prepared to commute and, more importantly, how much you're prepared to spend on commuting.

Bluezar

djpbarry wrote: »

Hmmm. It's doable, but it really depends on how far you're prepared to commute and, more importantly, how much you're prepared to spend on commuting.

if i could get somewhere near a tube stop i will be happy enough tbh, stayin outside Luton at the moment and its a fair time onsuming journey. Any good places to look for rooms?

djpbarry

Bluezar wrote: »

if i could get somewhere near a tube stop i will be happy enough tbh, stayin outside Luton at the moment and its a fair time onsuming journey. Any good places to look for rooms?

Ok, well I don't think getting closer than Luton should be too difficult!

You're going to be working pretty centrally, so that gives you a lot of options. Apart from being near a tube station, what else are you looking for? For example, what do you think you'll get up to in your spare time and is that going to influence where you want to live?

audi a4 2008

hi all can any one help me please:), im trying to get from london stansted to ketterring whats the best way doing this.

have been on all train sites but cant make head nor tale of it:mad:

thanks in advance audi.

Bluezar

djpbarry wrote: »

Ok, well I don't think getting closer than Luton should be too difficult!

You're going to be working pretty centrally, so that gives you a lot of options. Apart from being near a tube station, what else are you looking for? For example, what do you think you'll get up to in your spare time and is that going to influence where you want to live?

Ye exactly, hope to get closer than here:))

I'm going to be working hard Monday to Friday but it would be nice to have somewhere lively enough would be great, near a few bars for a few beers. Pretty sociable 22 year old who like to enjoy myself. Not familiar with surrounding areas of London so that's why Im looking for a bit of advice

djpbarry

audi a4 2008 wrote: »

hi all can any one help me please:), im trying to get from london stansted to ketterring whats the best way doing this.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/SSD/KET/tomorrow/1200/dep

djpbarry

Bluezar wrote: »

I'm going to be working hard Monday to Friday but it would be nice to have somewhere lively enough would be great, near a few bars for a few beers. Pretty sociable 22 year old who like to enjoy myself. Not familiar with surrounding areas of London so that's why Im looking for a bit of advice

Clapham, Camden and Bethnal Green are all fairly lively with the young people and what not and all provide easy access to Bank. However, I think you might struggle to find somewhere for £400 a month in those areas.

steve9859

Bluezar wrote: »

Hey guys,

I have recently moved over to London after finishing college. Got lucky and got offered a job already in the city of London (beside Bank tube station) so starting there in a few weeks. Looking for somewhere to live and would appreciate any advice ye could give me on best way to find an available room in London.

Does'nt have to be right in the center of London as i'm aware how expensive it is so something commutable in would be grand. Budget is about £400 a month.

Cheers for any help ye can give me

somewhere SW that gets you into Waterloo is best, so Clapham would be an option, but if you're heading out that way, Balham would be more affordable. 400 a month is going to be a flatshare, so I would suggest you check out spareroom.co.uk.....if nothing else to check prices. In my experience that is the most comprehensive flatsharing website

And get a bike. A commute to Bank from somewhere around the south side of clapham common is no problem at all, and a good, safe route (via chelsea bridge and the embankment). Saves a fortune on the train / tube fare - easily over £100 a month

Bluezar

steve9859 wrote: »

somewhere SW that gets you into Waterloo is best, so Clapham would be an option, but if you're heading out that way, Balham would be more affordable. 400 a month is going to be a flatshare, so I would suggest you check out spareroom.co.uk.....if nothing else to check prices. In my experience that is the most comprehensive flatsharing website

And get a bike. A commute to Bank from somewhere around the south side of clapham common is no problem at all, and a good, safe route (via chelsea bridge and the embankment). Saves a fortune on the train / tube fare - easily over £100 a month

Cheers for your help bud, going to have a look at these options

Choccie Lover

Hey all

Just putting out the feelers while looking for accommodation.

I'm looking for somewhere to live in West London. Just about to embark on my search for accommodation, but thought I'd see if anyone is looking for a roomie or knows a friend of a friend who's looking for someone.

I'll be working near Turnham Green, so I was thinking of places like Chiswick, Shepherd's Bush, Northfields, Acton, Ealing etc.

PM me if you have any info...

Cheers guys:)

83ste

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Hey all

Just putting out the feelers while looking for accommodation.

I'm looking for somewhere to live in West London. Just about to embark on my search for accommodation, but thought I'd see if anyone is looking for a roomie or knows a friend of a friend who's looking for someone.

I'll be working near Turnham Green, so I was thinking of places like Chiswick, Shepherd's Bush, Northfields, Acton, Ealing etc.

PM me if you have any info...

Cheers guys:)

I believe Fishie on here is also looking for a room/room-mate at the moment

exiledelbows

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Hey all

Just putting out the feelers while looking for accommodation.

I'm looking for somewhere to live in West London. Just about to embark on my search for accommodation, but thought I'd see if anyone is looking for a roomie or knows a friend of a friend who's looking for someone.

I'll be working near Turnham Green, so I was thinking of places like Chiswick, Shepherd's Bush, Northfields, Acton, Ealing etc.

PM me if you have any info...

Cheers guys:)

It's a couple of weeks away but if you're still stuck then give speed flatmating a go.
http://www.speedflatmating.co.uk/hammersmith

It's free so you've nothing to lose, and even if you don't find somewhere it's good market research for costs, the area etc.

Scarinae

serrity wrote: »

I believe Fishie on here is also looking for a room/room-mate at the moment

Thanks serrity, I’ve actually found flatmates though and am moving this weekend!

exiledelbows wrote: »

It's a couple of weeks away but if you're still stuck then give speed flatmating a go.
http://www.speedflatmating.co.uk/hammersmith

It's free so you've nothing to lose, and even if you don't find somewhere it's good market research for costs, the area etc.

Speedflatmating is great, that’s how I found my new flatmates. It’s really bizarre when you first walk in, but they give you a sticker to put on your chest with your name, your budget and what area you’re looking for, and then there are people with a different coloured sticker who are offering rooms. It’s a good way of meeting a load of people at once, and it saves time because you can rule out people that you definitely wouldn’t want to live with before actually visiting any flats.

Behind you Joey

Hello all, just said I'd throw up a few questions on this as we're in dire straits at the moment. Four friends and I are planning on working and living in London for the summer. We are already looking at short term accommodation leases in areas such as Clapham and Ealing. The properties are mainly 2/3 bedroom apartments as we cannot afford any bigger, but we plan on kipping in together in a tight apartment on couches or whatever(that's a give in a case of students).

So I was just wondering what are the vicinities of Ealing and Clapham like, with regards to nightlife, availability of part time jobs, shopping and safety.

Cheers in advance for any replies received.

sparks24

hey hope you guys can help, i got a job in NE london so looking for a nice place to live

I will be getting a van from the job so commuting wont be an issue i wouldn't mind living out a bit further if it was cheaper so any recommendations be great i'm mid 20's

djpbarry

Behind you Joey wrote: »

Four friends and I are planning on working and living in London for the summer.

It already is the summer? You've left the planning a little late?!?

Behind you Joey wrote: »

So I was just wondering what are the vicinities of Ealing and Clapham like, with regards to nightlife, availability of part time jobs, shopping and safety.

Clapham High Street is teeming with 20-somethings on Friday and Saturday nights. I don't know about part-time jobs, but Clapham's pretty central so you're not far from the thick of things. Aside from the usual buffoonery that accompanies public drunkenness, it's pretty safe.

I don't know Ealing so can't comment, but as I said above, I think you've left it very late to be planning a summer working holiday!

Alessandra

Hi, thought I'd fire a question up and see if anyone can shed any light.
I'm moving Eastwards with 2 friends from our current houseshare. We're fed up of dealing with the estate agents and their exorbitant charges.
How can you go about finding properties through landlords in London? Or is it just not the done thing?

83ste

Alessandra wrote: »

Hi, thought I'd fire a question up and see if anyone can shed any light.
I'm moving Eastwards with 2 friends from our current houseshare. We're fed up of dealing with the estate agents and their exorbitant charges.
How can you go about finding properties through landlords in London? Or is it just not the done thing?

www.spareroom.co.uk

LadyMayBelle

Gumtree too.

Alessandra

Thanks for the suggestions! There seems to be a scarcity of property with the Olympics:(.

breffni666

looking at moving to Herts, prob Watford, Welwyn, St. Albans or Stevenage with the family, herself and 3 kids, 12, 10 and 3. Anyone with comparable experience? Lived in Reading from 97-99 so know the place fairly well. Any/all advise welcome. Wife has applied science degree but unused as she raised family while i worked. Myself i can do a lot but not much educational skills but i know if you work hard in UK you will get on very well.
Thanks.

Scarinae

The London Irish Centre published a booklet last month that is specifically for Irish people moving to London, it has a lot of very practical information in it. You can download it here

caesar

Hey guys...okay so been here since January but am moving in the next few weeks. Anyway, does anyone know where landlords advertise their properties for renting direct. I'm thinking of going down the route of taking on a property and finding the rest of the flatmates myself (and I'm confident I could get a landlord to agree to this). There isn't much on gumtree in terms of lets direct from private landlords. One or two sites exist for this specifically but have feck all listings (e.g. www.rentfair.com)

I'm trying to avoid agencies!!

In terms of the house-share viewings I've done in the past there seems to be a reasonable amount of lets through landlords directly but when it comes to looking for empty ones it's difficult to find them. I'm guessing contracts probably just role over from year to year...

Woden

Hi,

I'm moving job within London in August and as a result of that job move I need to find somewhere to live. I will be living on my own and am using rightmove to track down places and have viewed a few so far.

For the last number of years all accomodation has been sorted via work so I have some questions.

Thanks in advance!

Woden

Deposit - I understand it is 6weeks rent but someone mentioned the landlord has to prove it is in a certain account or he is fined can someone confirm?

Furnished - Is there a min/max standard with furnishing or is this all negotiable with the estate agent. I.e. TV/Kettle/Toaster etc would seem more optional than a bed!

Sky/Virgin - I know in Ireland getting Sky in an apartment block can be difficult. Are there any such issues here. Even if the rented place is a house?

x43r0

Woden wrote: »

Deposit - I understand it is 6weeks rent but someone mentioned the landlord has to prove it is in a certain account or he is fined can someone confirm?

Deposits are held by a third party in the deposit protection scheme. I think your landlord has to prove they have put it in that.

Woden wrote: »

Furnished - Is there a min/max standard with furnishing or is this all negotiable with the estate agent. I.e. TV/Kettle/Toaster etc would seem more optional than a bed!

This is negotiable I think. When I moved into my current place I had to get tv/kettle/toaster/microwave/plates/cups/bowls/cutlery etc. It was a big expense but I'm moving next week after a year there and I'm just taking all the stuff with me

Woden wrote: »

Sky/Virgin - I know in Ireland getting Sky in an apartment block can be difficult. Are there any such issues here. Even if the rented place is a house?

A lot of apartment blacks will have a communal dish and each apartment will be wired up with phone and tv points. That's the case where I am now anyway and the same in the new place

djpbarry

Woden wrote: »

Furnished - Is there a min/max standard with furnishing or is this all negotiable with the estate agent. I.e. TV/Kettle/Toaster etc would seem more optional than a bed!

The difference between furnished and unfurnished can often be a sofa and bed.

Or a sofabed.

Woden wrote: »

Sky/Virgin - I know in Ireland getting Sky in an apartment block can be difficult. Are there any such issues here. Even if the rented place is a house?

You will encounter places without broadband, phone or cable connection, yes. But, they're rare. However, it's always a good idea to ask.

Always worth remembering that in a lot of cases, you can keep your current service provider - you just have to let them know you're moving.

Lefty2Guns

Hi,

Being living in London since Feburary.

I am wondering what the story is with Tax back. Would I be due any tax back at the end of the tax year.

I work for an engineering company so I am not self employed.

Any info would be grateful.

thanks in advance.

philologos

Lefty2Guns wrote: »

Hi,

Being living in London since Feburary.

I am wondering what the story is with Tax back. Would I be due any tax back at the end of the tax year.

I work for an engineering company so I am not self employed.

Any info would be grateful.

thanks in advance.

First things first, the tax year ends in April in the UK.

If you earned less than £7,000 in the time before April, you are due all the tax on that money back. For me, I got a letter with the calculations and a cheque automatically in the post from the Revenue.

I think the first £7,000 is tax free every year.