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

Muzi5434

15YemenRoad wrote: »

I know this has been asked before, but the answer seems to change year to year so would be great if someone knew:

How does an Irish person open a UK bank account without proof of address?
Are there any banks that will just accept Passport?

Found a website offering bank setup for foreigners but looks like a scam

When I came to the UK a year ago, I opened my account with Lloyds bank and they only required my passport and no proof of address. This may have changed and best to ring up a branch and ask.

15YemenRoad

Muzi5434 wrote: »

When I came to the UK a year ago, I opened my account with Lloyds bank and they only required my passport and no proof of address. This may have changed and best to ring up a branch and ask.

Gave them a call there and they no longer offer that unfortunately.

Tempted to pay the £35 to this agency place to sort it but not sure how they'd be able to get around the bank proof of address requirements.

Banbha32

I had a nightmare with RBS trying yo open my account!!! My flatmate moved over and opened with Lloyds not a problem so go with them id say!

bswan

Have not had one of these accounts, but it might be of help...

http://bankinfouk.com/products/view/216/HSBC_Passport

BrokenArrows

Go to some major high street where you will have pretty much every high street bank.
Walk into each one until you get a bank account.

Do you have a job? Supply the contract you were given. Something with your salary on it.

Paddico

Can anyone suggest the best websites in which to rent a room in a shared household?

jenjoeful

Paddico wrote: »

Can anyone suggest the best websites in which to rent a room in a shared household?

spare room.co.uk is definitely the way to go

silvervixen84

Gumtree is also good and there's a Facebook group called Irish in London that always has rooms available from members.

Paddico

jenjoeful wrote: »

Paddico wrote: »

Can anyone suggest the best websites in which to rent a room in a shared household?

spare room.co.uk is definitely the way to go

Using spare room and responces are very poor. Gumtree isnt want it was 10-15 years ago, no repsonses and £70 to advertsie a featured ad whihc I sometimes think is a disadvantage
Thanks for the Irish in London one. Any other suggestions. tried craigs list and very few adverts in there

BrokenArrows

Paddico wrote: »

Using spare room and responces are very poor. Gumtree isnt want it was 10-15 years ago, no repsonses and £70 to advertsie a featured ad whihc I sometimes think is a disadvantage
Thanks for the Irish in London one. Any other suggestions. tried craigs list and very few adverts in there

There is a facebook group called "Irish In London". Its very active and people are always posting rooms and asking for rooms.

ancapailldorcha

Are there any areas that people particularly recommend or would advise against?

rainbow kirby

It really depends where you're looking - it's hard to generalise areas broadly as the tone can change drastically within around 200m!

I've only lived in Kentish Town and Archway here and was happy in both (we're nearly 4 years living close to Upper Holloway station) - short (by London standards) commute to work on the Northern line to Old Street and close enough to a few good places to run and swim, also not too rough but being originally from Tallaght my standards aren't too high in that regard.

ancapailldorcha

rainbow kirby wrote: »

It really depends where you're looking - it's hard to generalise areas broadly as the tone can change drastically within around 200m!

I've only lived in Kentish Town and Archway here and was happy in both (we're nearly 4 years living close to Upper Holloway station) - short (by London standards) commute to work on the Northern line to Old Street and close enough to a few good places to run and swim, also not too rough but being originally from Tallaght my standards aren't too high in that regard.

I'd been told that a few times but it's only when I've gone for long walks around my local area that it sank in.

I'm living in West London and I get the Central line to work. Apparently, it is one of the busiest and there are nearby areas like Hammersmith and Harrow which might have quieter lines. I was also thinking of moving to Ruislip or similar as the rent would be cheap enough to offset the fare increase.

shrapnel222

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I'd been told that a few times but it's only when I've gone for long walks around my local area that it sank in.

I'm living in West London and I get the Central line to work. Apparently, it is one of the busiest and there are nearby areas like Hammersmith and Harrow which might have quieter lines. I was also thinking of moving to Ruislip or similar as the rent would be cheap enough to offset the fare increase.

used to live in hammersmith. it's definitely not quieter. the piccadily and district are choc a block from there. hammersmith and city isn't too bad as it's the end of the line so you can just take the next train to get a seat if you want.

London is just crammed, wherever you are

theteal

I try to avoid the tube at the best of times, the current heat making it very much a last resort. Thankfully us East London/West Essex inhabitants get nice airy trains instead. Romford is the sweet spot, always get a seat in the morning (not a chance at closer stations), 25 mins to Liv St on the slow train. I'm not sure how it compares with rent prices in Ruislip but I'd have thought it be a bit cheaper - although with crossrail perhaps not anymore.

ancapailldorcha

shrapnel222 wrote: »

used to live in hammersmith. it's definitely not quieter. the piccadily and district are choc a block from there. hammersmith and city isn't too bad as it's the end of the line so you can just take the next train to get a seat if you want.

London is just crammed, wherever you are

Was hoping to avoid this. Was told a lot of the lines are much quieter

theteal wrote: »

I try to avoid the tube at the best of times, the current heat making it very much a last resort. Thankfully us East London/West Essex inhabitants get nice airy trains instead. Romford is the sweet spot, always get a seat in the morning (not a chance at closer stations), 25 mins to Liv St on the slow train. I'm not sure how it compares with rent prices in Ruislip but I'd have thought it be a bit cheaper - although with crossrail perhaps not anymore.

How bad is East London, exactly? It has a bad rep.

Ruislip looks to be nice but there's a commute involved. That'd be fine if I could get a seat in the morning.

theteal

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

How bad is East London, exactly? It has a bad rep.

Ruislip looks to be nice but there's a commute involved. That'd be fine if I could get a seat in the morning.

I've heard east London is bad, like the rest of london theres the odd news reports about kids with knives and the occasional moped theft but in 6 years I've never seen a thing beyond a drunken scuffle - and they were both Irish. I've said it before that Romford reminds me of Crumlin village I.e. mostly made up of hard working, take pride in your area sort but there are always a neck tattoo or three walking around - not perfect but much better than Dagenham and closer parts of proper east London.

I used to visit Ruislip quite a bit but I'm struggling to remember how long that tube journey is to central. Either way, I don't count a 20-25 mins train hop as a commute, it can take double that to get from my home town of walkinstown to Dublin city centre during busy periods and that involves a junkie infested Dublin bus.

ancapailldorcha

theteal wrote: »

I used to visit Ruislip quite a bit but I'm struggling to remember how long that tube journey is to central. Either way, I don't count a 20-25 mins train hop as a commute, it can take double that to get from my home town of walkinstown to Dublin city centre during busy periods and that involves a junkie infested Dublin bus.

How did you find Ruislip? I think the commute'd be fine if there'd be no bother getting a seat. It's one of the first stops on the Central line which is the busiest tube line.

theteal

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

How did you find Ruislip? I think the commute'd be fine if there'd be no bother getting a seat. It's one of the first stops on the Central line which is the busiest tube line.

My experience of Ruislip is confined to the ~1km walk from the tube station to the GAA pitch. Seems alright, didn't see much apart from streets and houses. That's actually South Ruislip now that I think of it, never been to Ruislip proper. Yes, I would assume you'd get a seat most days coming from out there.

silvervixen84

I lived in Ruislip for a year. Lovely area but at the time there was no night bus (don't know if that's changed) so if you missed the last tube you were screwed. I used to get from Ruislip to Victoria in about 50 mins.

ancapailldorcha

There's the night tube now.

I've family in Enfield as well so I'm considering either there or Wood Green/Finsbury Park as other options. I've heard Wood Green is a bit dodgy and there was that attack in Finsbury Park.

rainbow kirby

I wouldn't let the attack put you off Finsbury Park tbh. The actual likelihood of being caught up in an attack is vanishingly low. You're extremely well linked by public transport from there and the park is great for running there.

silvervixen84

Night tube doesn't go to Ruislip.

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-night-tube-map.pdf

ancapailldorcha

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I wouldn't let the attack put you off Finsbury Park tbh. The actual likelihood of being caught up in an attack is vanishingly low. You're extremely well linked by public transport from there and the park is great for running there.

Ah yeah, I was referring more to petty crime and general safety rather than terror attacks.

EmzBoBo

I'm moving to just outside London at the end of the summer for a new job.
Would anyone have any recommendations for which bank to open an account with when I get there? I've heard from a friend to avoid Barclays, as apparently they're very difficult to open an account with...
Do any of them offer Graduate Accounts?

BrokenArrows

EmzBoBo wrote: »

I'm moving to just outside London at the end of the summer for a new job.
Would anyone have any recommendations for which bank to open an account with when I get there? I've heard from a friend to avoid Barclays, as apparently they're very difficult to open an account with...
Do any of them offer Graduate Accounts?

If you have a job offer you wont have any issues opening a bank.
Im with barclays since i moved here 7 years ago and never had any issues. They have a good app and website for online banking.

I wouldnt say the are difficult to open an account with them, just that they require to you book an appointment first (they dont have much staff anymore as its mostly automated).
Just call them up and book an appointment in your local branch. Ask what documents you need to bring etc.

You will probably need proof of address so get one of the house bills into your name and have them send a new bill.

frag420

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

There's the night tube now.

I've family in Enfield as well so I'm considering either there or Wood Green/Finsbury Park as other options. I've heard Wood Green is a bit dodgy and there was that attack in Finsbury Park.

I live on Green Lnes, more or less halfway between Wood Green and Finsbury park...and its awesome!!

As Rainbow Kirby said, don't let the attack put you off and their is damn all crime here, nothing you wont see in any other part of town. I have only ever seen one fight in the four years I have been living here, never any agro!

Its awesome for transport, 29 to camden and Soho, 141 to London Bridge, 341 to Waterloo and then the Piccadilly and Victoria lines are relatively close too!

More recently a few new bars and restaurants have opened. When I first moved here it was one chinese and an abundance of Turkish restaurants (the best outside of Turkey). Now we have indian, two Vietnamese, a Thai, two awesome burger places, an ice cream parlour which is damn tasty some cool cafes...spoiled for choice!!

Give me a shout if you have any questions about the area but I have most of the god stuff covered above!!

Wanderlust91

Hey guys, bit of a random question. I'm moving to Chelsmford in August. My girlfriend is coming over from Australia, shes applying for jobs in the Journalism sector at the minute in the London, Chelsmford area etc. I was just wondering if anyone had any information on agencies that recruited for companies in the journalism sector, communications sector. Cheers

x43r0

frag420 wrote: »

I live on Green Lnes, more or less halfway between Wood Green and Finsbury park...and its awesome!!

More recently a few new bars and restaurants have opened. When I first moved here it was one chinese and an abundance of Turkish restaurants (the best outside of Turkey)

Gokyuzu FTW!!

rainbow kirby

x43r0 wrote: »

Gokyuzu FTW!!

+1000

Nothing quite like a platter

ancapailldorcha

frag420 wrote: »

I live on Green Lnes, more or less halfway between Wood Green and Finsbury park...and its awesome!!

As Rainbow Kirby said, don't let the attack put you off and their is damn all crime here, nothing you wont see in any other part of town. I have only ever seen one fight in the four years I have been living here, never any agro!

Its awesome for transport, 29 to camden and Soho, 141 to London Bridge, 341 to Waterloo and then the Piccadilly and Victoria lines are relatively close too!

More recently a few new bars and restaurants have opened. When I first moved here it was one chinese and an abundance of Turkish restaurants (the best outside of Turkey). Now we have indian, two Vietnamese, a Thai, two awesome burger places, an ice cream parlour which is damn tasty some cool cafes...spoiled for choice!!

Give me a shout if you have any questions about the area but I have most of the god stuff covered above!!

Thanks Frag!

I was looking at Wood Green as that's where I get the bus to see family I have in London. Heard it was a bit dodgy. Seems to be most parts of London, though! Not moving for a bit but this is really good. Ta.

ClashCityRocker

I live in Wood Green itself, a few mins walk from the tube station. I don't love the area at all if i'm honest, was in Archway prior to moving there which was much nicer. I wouldn't say i feel unsafe there but at the same time the "dodgy" reputation is not without merit - seeing areas cordoned off by police tape is not as rare as you'd like! I haven't been caught up in anything mind you

The area had its plus points for sure - good transport links, decent shopping on the high road (although a few places have closed since ive been there such as M&S, and it does get very crowded at weekends) and proximity to Ally Pally, which is great on a sunny day. Green Lanes too as mentioned already has lots of good food & drink options. Cheaper than Finsbury Park too I'd imagine.

EDIT to say i forgot the worst thing IMO about Wood Green, the litter and fly tipping. Its horrendous.

Scarinae

Wanderlust91 wrote: »

My girlfriend is coming over from Australia, shes applying for jobs in the Journalism sector at the minute in the London, Chelsmford area etc. I was just wondering if anyone had any information on agencies that recruited for companies in the journalism sector, communications sector. Cheers

I’m not sure about specific recruitment agencies, but a good website to look for journalism jobs is Gorkana – you can set up alerts that will email you vacancies that fit your criteria. I’d also suggest updating her LinkedIn profile as a lot of recruiters use it; I’ve had various ones contact me through LinkedIn about jobs.

Wanderlust91

Scarinae wrote: »

I’m not sure about specific recruitment agencies, but a good website to look for journalism jobs is Gorkana – you can set up alerts that will email you vacancies that fit your criteria. I’d also suggest updating her LinkedIn profile as a lot of recruiters use it; I’ve had various ones contact me through LinkedIn about jobs.

Thanks so much

EmzBoBo

Would anyone have any suggestions for which UK mobile network I should go to?

Banbha32

Im happy enough with EE have been for 3 years. Everyone here seems to be on bill pay which was unusual as i felt all my life in Ireland we all survived on Meteor €20 a month top ups. EE is a merge of T Mobile and Orange. Decent coverage everwhere and good internet. EU roaming has been banned regardless of who you choose thanks to the EU (who knows post Brexit). Dont go giff gaff/talk talk whatever you do. Vodafone always fleeced us at home so i never bothered with them. Other options are 02 and Virgin mainly. Im happy with EE anyway

rainbow kirby

I'm 4 years with 3, quite happy with them. At the time they were offering the most data for the least money, free roaming in Ireland and reception was good in my area. Feel At Home not quite as good as it used to be but it had free roaming in quite a few non EU countries as well - very useful in the US during my honeymoon.

BrokenArrows

ID mobile has very cheap offers. They share the same network as Three.
I was with Three for 7 years and have just switched to ID Mobile and havent noticed any difference with reception but my bill is 50% cheaper.

Muzi5434

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I'm 4 years with 3, quite happy with them. At the time they were offering the most data for the least money, free roaming in Ireland and reception was good in my area. Feel At Home not quite as good as it used to be but it had free roaming in quite a few non EU countries as well - very useful in the US  during my honeymoon.

I will second this, good coverage and loads of data for the cheapest amount. And helps a lot to have free roaming in Ireland and various other countries

frag420

I second third this, been with Three since I moved over to London, ideal for when I got home or travel as my allowed mins & sometimes the data travel with me!!

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I'm 4 years with 3, quite happy with them. At the time they were offering the most data for the least money, free roaming in Ireland and reception was good in my area. Feel At Home not quite as good as it used to be but it had free roaming in quite a few non EU countries as well - very useful in the US during my honeymoon.

Muzi5434 wrote: »

I will second this, good coverage and loads of data for the cheapest amount. And helps a lot to have free roaming in Ireland and various other countries

Woden

Giffgaff for me. It's using 02 network and has the roaming now with the recent change. I had to get off 3 some years back. Network was crap around where I work

ancapailldorcha

I use EE. Largely happy with the network itself though the packages available aren't great.

theteal

Giffgaff all the way. What other network sends you a statement every month and suggests a cheaper package if your usage is way below the package you currently have?

As mentioned before, o2 coverage which I've no complaints about, £10 gets 500 mins, 2 gigs and unlimited texts (not that I've sent a text in a long time). I have EE on the work phone, coverage is crap around Liv. St. Station so I gave up using it.

gnimed65

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/90400536#Comment_90400536

Thanks. Actually, another useful website to check the area scores is https://crystalroof.co.uk All information is displayed on maps, and users can even leave reviews about the areas they know. Unfortunately, not much has been left so far.