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

Robin_Sparkles

Where would people recommend to live in the Arsenal area and around?

Woden

Tbh it's all fairly nice around there.

Anything west of Upper street (liverpool rd, barnsbury about as far as caledonian road) is nice.
East of Upper street/Essex road into Canonbury/De Beauvoir is again nice slightly less connected with regards to tubes.
There is not as much at Arsenal tube itself but a few local shops restaurants on Blackstock road and Highbury village.

Stoke Newington Church street is very nice. Good few restaurant and pub options but suffers, in my opinion, from no tube.
A bit further east you have Dalston. Bit more grimey but lots of options for pub/food/nightlife. Connections are ok only 2 stops back to Highbury on the overground.

All depends on budget if you push more north west up Holloway Road, Tufnell Park, Archway I'd expect it gets a bit cheaper

It's my neck of the woods anyway so let me know if you want to know anything in particular.

mossy464

Just wondering if people could recommend a place to live between London and Basingstoke that would be relatively close to both. 20 to 30 mins from either. Somewhere with good access to trains etc.

I may be going for a job in basingstoke but would like to live closer to London.

Help!!!!

mossy464 wrote: »

Just wondering if people could recommend a place to live between London and Basingstoke that would be relatively close to both. 20 to 30 mins from either. Somewhere with good access to trains etc.

I may be going for a job in basingstoke but would like to live closer to London.

Will you have a car? Are you talking central London?

mossy464

Help!!!! wrote: »

Will you have a car? Are you talking central London?

Dont think I will be getting a car. Not at first anyway.

Yeah central London.

Help!!!!

Better off living in Basingstoke....the train from London would cost a lot per week plus the over crowding would drive you mad every day

enda1

Help!!!! wrote: »

Better off living in Basingstoke....the train from London would cost a lot per week plus the over crowding would drive you mad every day

Outbound morning trains are quiet. I used sometimes have entirely empty carriages when I did similar.

Price is high though for sure!

enda1

mossy464 wrote: »

Just wondering if people could recommend a place to live between London and Basingstoke that would be relatively close to both. 20 to 30 mins from either. Somewhere with good access to trains etc.

I may be going for a job in basingstoke but would like to live closer to London.

I'd say the only reasonable halfway house would be Woking, though it's not a very appealing place. I'd recommend just living in Basingstoke to be honest. Otherwise clapham junction but prepare for a monthly ticket north of £300!

x43r0

Help!!!! wrote: »

Better off living in Basingstoke....the train from London would cost a lot per week plus the over crowding would drive you mad every day

The thing about overcrowding is if they're travelling away from london in the morning and towards it in the evening then they might not get hit with it.

That said though I wouldn't try to live in london if that was my situation. Somewhere like Reading or actually living in Basingstoke would be much easier options

mossy464

Cheers for the advice.

I suppose id only be going to London at weekends anyway so not much point in paying through the nose for travel every day just to be a bit closer.

belgowho

Question for London heads. Would a copy of leasing agreement with my name on it be a valid form of proof of address?

Cheers

enda1

belgowho wrote: »

Question for London heads. Would a copy of leasing agreement with my name on it be a valid form of proof of address?

Cheers

It was for me. Date should be before today though. So if the lease starts in the future, it's not valid.

belgowho

enda1 wrote: »

It was for me. Date should be before today though. So if the lease starts in the future, it's not valid.

Cool. Date on lease is start of September so it should work then. Thanks for help.

Louche Lad

belgowho wrote: »

Question for London heads. Would a copy of leasing agreement with my name on it be a valid form of proof of address?

Cheers

I've used one to register with a GP and to join the local library.

ene

to open a bank account the leasing agreement wasn't enough as proof of address i had to wait for a bill

BrokenArrows

mossy464 wrote: »

Cheers for the advice.

I suppose id only be going to London at weekends anyway so not much point in paying through the nose for travel every day just to be a bit closer.

I live in Ealing and work in Slough. Its a 30 minute max commute for me door to door on a motorbike. Takes over an hour by bus/train. 30 minutes gets annoying as it is with about 15 of those minutes in heavy traffic conditions!!

If you lived in Twickenham or near Junction 1 of the M3 you could probably drive that in about an Hour assuming traffic conditions are clear. When motorway traffic gets bad in and out of London it gets very bad.

You could commute to Clapham Junction - Basingstoke which has a direct train every 15minutes with a time of 45 minutes but it would be expensive and even if it wasn't you're still looking at spending over 2 hours a day commuting.

Id say just start off in Basingstoke and if you don't like it you could always look for a job in London.

sebbplatter

Driving query - I'm moving over shortly and bringing my car.

I checked with my insurance co. and they said I would be insured for up to 30 days on my current policy driving in the Uk.

I will be registering the car over there so when I will be booking an MOT and sending my paperwork off to the DVLA etc including
a cheque for Uk motor tax.

My tax however expires at the end of this month.

Just wondering would it be risky driving the car on Irish plates for a few weeks while I wait for the paperwork and new tax disc to be returned?

Like, if I was stopped by police, my insurance covers me to drive in the Uk but my Irish tax disc may have expired. If I explain (and show proof) that I am applying to re-register (it was Uk car originally) the car there would I be safe enough?

BrokenArrows

sebbplatter wrote: »

Driving query - I'm moving over shortly and bringing my car.

I checked with my insurance co. and they said I would be insured for up to 30 days on my current policy driving in the Uk.

I will be registering the car over there so when I will be booking an MOT and sending my paperwork off to the DVLA etc including
a cheque for Uk motor tax.

My tax however expires at the end of this month.

Just wondering would it be risky driving the car on Irish plates for a few weeks while I wait for the paperwork and new tax disc to be returned?

Like, if I was stopped by police, my insurance covers me to drive in the Uk but my Irish tax disc may have expired. If I explain (and show proof) that I am applying to re-register (it was Uk car originally) the car there would I be safe enough?

Technically your car needs to be 100% legal in the country when it is currently registered. I would think it really depends on the police officer who stops you.

sebbplatter

Where is the best place to change euro cash to sterling when in the Uk?

Is it best to avoid the banks because they tend to have the worst rates?

sebbplatter

Where is the best place to change euro cash to sterling when in the Uk?

Is it best to avoid the banks because they tend to have the worst rates?

Would be glad of any advice.

Woden

Check the rates on this crowd

https://www.bestforeignexchange.com/Exchange-rates-check-exchange-rates.php

biZrb

Try the Post Office. Last time I tried to convert Euro to Sterling the bank refused to do it for me.

Pigwidgeon

You have to have an account with the bank or its a maximum of €200 or something I think. I found the post office rates good too.

jpc1

if you have an account in UK or a friend who has an account use transferwise and avoid the fees altogether. You will get a better rate as well.

Grandpa Hassan

jpc1 wrote: »

if you have an account in UK or a friend who has an account use transferwise and avoid the fees altogether. You will get a better rate as well.

I agree. Best place to change currency is always your own bank

enda1

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

I agree. Best place to change currency is always your own bank

eh. He suggested Transferwise NOT a bank!
Banks are almost the very worst place to make currency exchanges. They exploit customers' trust and familiarity for woeful exchange rates and high commission.

Woden

The best place is the one that offers the best rate, coupled with convenience. The guy has cash to exchange. The spread offered by the banks and post offices is generally crap and often even worse when they're on the buy side.

e.g. on the post office at the moment they're buying back euro at 1.44. €500 euro gets you £347. They place I linked above is offering it at 1.28 with their online order buy back service. Just note the conditions with regards to id/utility bills.

Scarinae

I've been using Currency Fair which gives way better rates than the bank, but to set up your own account takes a little time as you need proof of address etc just like you would with a bank account

Grandpa Hassan

enda1 wrote: »

eh. He suggested Transferwise NOT a bank!
Banks are almost the very worst place to make currency exchanges. They exploit customers' trust and familiarity for woeful exchange rates and high commission.

Oh....not my bank. No fees and almost always the best rate. I run a currency account with them. Maybe I have a different deal with my account. I stand corrected

sashafierce

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