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

Fysh

Axiomatic wrote: »

Hey People... I just thought I would let people know about this. It's called a HSBC Passport account. It is just that. All you need is a passport and away you go. Just take a bit of the hassel out of things 'till you get around to setting up a solid account.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/content_static/en/ukpersonal/pdfs/en/passport_brochure.pdf

While it's useful, I know that many consider it objectionable to be required to pay £8 a month for the privilege of a fairly ordinary bank account. It's useful to know about it as a fallback option, but as a current HSBC customer I'm happy enough with their services given that I don't have to pay a fee for the privilege of having them handle my money - but I certainly would not say the same if I was being charged on a monthly basis as a result.

rainbow kirby

Lloyds have a fairly low barrier to entry in terms of proof of address - I was offered my job before flying over, and they used the address on the offer letter as proof.

HSBC were very reluctant to set me up a basic account when I moved over, and wanted me to get a letter from my Irish bank with my London address on it :eek: (which AIB were about as useful as a chocolate teapot in providing, but that's another story)

S.M.B.

I went with the HSBC option as I needed a bank account set up before finding accommodation/a job. Moved to the standard free account after a year then.

Pigwidgeon

What have people found is the best way to change money over? I've about €2000 I want to either change to sterling or transfer to my UK bank account when I set it up.

tibor

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

What have people found is the best way to change money over? I've about €2000 I want to either change to sterling or transfer to my UK bank account when I set it up.

Take your pick between Transferwise or CurrencyFair.

djpbarry

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

What have people found is the best way to change money over? I've about €2000 I want to either change to sterling or transfer to my UK bank account when I set it up.

Pretty much any option is better than having your bank do a transfer for you - the fees they charge are extortionate.

Jamey

I just had all my money in my Irish account and took from that using the ATMs over here for my first few months and it was fine. Didn't need to do any transferring etc. Still use my Bank of Ireland account here...it comes in handy as a back up.

A warning to anyone who moves over without a job - Lloyd's wouldn't let me set up an account initially without proof of work.

enda1

Jamey wrote: »

I just had all my money in my Irish account and took from that using the ATMs over here for my first few months and it was fine. Didn't need to do any transferring etc. Still use my Bank of Ireland account here...it comes in handy as a back up.

A warning to anyone who moves over without a job - Lloyd's wouldn't let me set up an account initially without proof of work.

Of course that will work, but your bank shafts you with a horrible exchange rate. They love you to do that!

djpbarry

Jamey wrote: »

I just had all my money in my Irish account and took from that using the ATMs over here for my first few months and it was fine.

Except that it would have cost you a fortune.

Jamey

It actually wasn't too bad when I arrived.

I remember checking my bank statement and taking out £40 was costing me €44.

BrokenArrows

Jamey wrote: »

It actually wasn't too bad when I arrived.

I remember checking my bank statement and taking out £40 was costing me €44.

10% that's a lot. Do that for 2k and you just gave the bank 200 quid.

Marcusm

BrokenArrows wrote: »

10% that's a lot. Do that for 2k and you just gave the bank 200 quid.

Not really, the OP hasn't told us what the prevailing rate of exchange was at the time! We have no way of determing whether it is good or bad value. Today for example, I'd be surprised if you got £40 for less than €49.

Fysh

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Lloyds have a fairly low barrier to entry in terms of proof of address - I was offered my job before flying over, and they used the address on the offer letter as proof.

HSBC were very reluctant to set me up a basic account when I moved over, and wanted me to get a letter from my Irish bank with my London address on it :eek: (which AIB were about as useful as a chocolate teapot in providing, but that's another story)

I was able to get BoI to change my account address to a London address reasonably quickly, but you wouldn't to be needing it in a hurry...I seem to recall it was around a week before the letter arrived.

S.M.B. wrote: »

I went with the HSBC option as I needed a bank account set up before finding accommodation/a job. Moved to the standard free account after a year then.

Oddly enough HSBC were trying to push me into the paid-for account when I joined, but when I mentioned my employer they agreed to give me a free account straight away as it turns out my employer's organisational accounts are with HSBC as well.

Dazzler0911

So I'm moving over to London at the start of June. Where do I go to set up a bank account?

- I won't have a job waiting for me over there (going to apply once over there)

- I will be using my brother's address

- I have a good amount of money to my name so I can show them a statement if needed

**I refuse to pay for any bank accounts such as that HSBC Passport one

BrokenArrows

Dazzler0911 wrote: »

So I'm moving over to London at the start of June. Where do I go to set up a bank account?

- I won't have a job waiting for me over there (going to apply once over there)

- I will be using my brother's address

- I have a good amount of money to my name so I can show them a statement if needed

**I refuse to pay for any bank accounts such as that HSBC Passport one

Before you arrive over get your current bank account address changed to your brothers address. Get a statement sent to that address in London. You can use this as your proof of address + funds. Banks will also ask your for your previous few addresses in Ireland which will be used for a credit check. You don't need proof of address for these.

Call your chosen bank in advance and find out if you can book an appointment in advance to create an account. It will save you waiting around forever in the bank.

The statement with the address of your brothers place and your valid passport should be sufficient but ask the bank over the phone if you need anything else.

Every bank will try and sell you a bank account which has a monthly fee. Its a business after all. But most have free accounts.

Dazzler0911

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Before you arrive over get your current bank account address changed to your brothers address. Get a statement sent to that address in London. You can use this as your proof of address + funds. Banks will also ask your for your previous few addresses in Ireland which will be used for a credit check. You don't need proof of address for these.

Call your chosen bank in advance and find out if you can book an appointment in advance to create an account. It will save you waiting around forever in the bank.

The statement with the address of your brothers place and your valid passport should be sufficient but ask the bank over the phone if you need anything else.

Every bank will try and sell you a bank account which has a monthly fee. Its a business after all. But most have free accounts.

Just contacted AIB and they have no problem changing my address to a UK one and issuing me out a statement. That's the proof of address sorted so !!

Axiomatic

Hi all,

I think this information on the London Irish Centers website is great for all the basics one would need to know about moving to London.

Hope this helps

http://www.londonirishcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/media/Moving-to-London-London-Irish-Centre.pdf

Pigwidgeon

So I've finally made the move over. Finding a flat which was what I was most worried about ended up being the easiest bit!

For people looking to set up bank accounts, I found barclays by far the friendliest and best, if you have an irish passport you don't need proof of address! I found HSBC and Lloyds very unhelpful, both only had appointments two weeks away and needed proof of address or a letter from my employer stating my address on it.

Also I'd suggest if you're bringing over a lot of cash like I did, change it before you get here, I found it incredibly awkward trying to change mine over.

Dazzler0911

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

So I've finally made the move over. Finding a flat which was what I was most worried about ended up being the easiest bit!

For people looking to set up bank accounts, I found barclays by far the friendliest and best, if you have an irish passport you don't need proof of address! I found HSBC and Lloyds very unhelpful, both only had appointments two weeks away and needed proof of address or a letter from my employer stating my address on it.

Also I'd suggest if you're bringing over a lot of cash like I did, change it before you get here, I found it incredibly awkward trying to change mine over.

Where did you find a place and what website did you use, do you mind me asking?

djpbarry

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

Also I'd suggest if you're bringing over a lot of cash like I did...

There's really no need to be doing this. Absolute last resort should be travellers cheques or a currency card or something. Travelling with large sums of cash is asking for trouble.

Pigwidgeon

Dazzler0911 wrote: »

Where did you find a place and what website did you use, do you mind me asking?

I used spareroom.co.uk mostly.

djpbarry wrote: »

There's really no need to be doing this. Absolute last resort should be travellers cheques or a currency card or something. Travelling with large sums of cash is asking for trouble.

This is true. But moving on the Tuesday after easter weekend unfortunately didn't leave me with much other options, I only sold my car on Saturday so had no chance to get to a bank! I'd highly advise against moving after a bank holiday weekend!

Olive8585

I was wondering if there's any chance of getting a studio or one-bed place for <£750 plus bills anywhere that isn't a total kip? I'm really sick of sharing and want my own space, but no way I can afford the grand a month (minimum) most places are looking for. A friend of mine is paying 750 for a gorgeous studio in Putney, but she got it a few years ago and has kept renewing the lease...any suggestions welcome...

djpbarry

Olive8585 wrote: »

I was wondering if there's any chance of getting a studio or one-bed place for <£750 plus bills anywhere that isn't a total kip? I'm really sick of sharing and want my own space, but no way I can afford the grand a month (minimum) most places are looking for. A friend of mine is paying 750 for a gorgeous studio in Putney, but she got it a few years ago and has kept renewing the lease...any suggestions welcome...

A friend of mine is renting a nice studio in Kennington for probably about £700 - 800 a month, but the previous tenant was murdered in the kitchen.

BrokenArrows

djpbarry wrote: »

A friend of mine is renting a nice studio in Kennington for probably about £700 - 800 a month, but the previous tenant was murdered in the kitchen.

I love the "but" in that reply without any context.

BrokenArrows

Apart from my previous reply, no you won't get a place for that money in London.

Even the previous posters studio with blood still drying in the kitchen won't be that cheap.

djpbarry

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Apart from my previous reply, no you won't get a place for that money in London.

Even the previous posters studio with blood still drying in the kitchen won't be that cheap.

You'd be surprised how few people are prepared to live in a murder scene.

RiseToMe

Guys I'm moving to London at the end of June for a university job. It's based East, and therefore I'd like to be in East London.

I know can Google what places are like to live but it seems anywhere East I look up considered dangerous and/or a kip.

I'm looking for a one apartment, ideally a two bed, up to 1500 a month. I want to be close enough to Old Street that I could walk work in about forty minutes. Any suggestions? Also I read the faq but apart apart from rightmove zoopla and Gumtree (which is so annoying to use) are there any other decent sites?

seachto7

I was thinking of starting a separate thread, but might get my answer here. It's probably been asked before, but applying for a job from Ireland? Is it better to give them a UK address and number where possible?

I had some success on Linkedin last year applying to the UK from Ireland, but opted to return to college instead, so am not sure if things might have changed in the last year or so?

I didn't find it to be a huge problem before applying from Ireland, but might be a different story this time around.

Grandpa Hassan

seachto7 wrote: »

I was thinking of starting a separate thread, but might get my answer here. It's probably been asked before, but applying for a job from Ireland? Is it better to give them a UK address and number where possible?

I had some success on Linkedin last year applying to the UK from Ireland, but opted to return to college instead, so am not sure if things might have changed in the last year or so?

I didn't find it to be a huge problem before applying from Ireland, but might be a different story this time around.

Apply with a UK address. All things being equal, the recruiter will call the candidate who can interview at a moments notice. Little things can make the difference these days. If they think that you're going to have to arrange flights, and have to be given notice to come in for an interview, they might not bother. They don't need to know that you actually do have to arrange flights. Make it as easy for them as possible.

seachto7

Very true.