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

jonnyfingers

FutureGuy wrote: »

Considering a move. Question:

How far are you from London City Centre (lets say Oxford Street) in terms of your commute and how much is your rent?

We're in Beckenham in the South East, Zone 4. Wife works near Oxford Street. Door to door its about 45-50 mins - walk, train and tube. Have a 2-bed house, paying £1250 a month.

zweton wrote: »

how long have ye guys been in london, would you say it has helped your career by moving over there?

Nearly four years living here and it has definitely helped our careers. I've moved from an engineer working shift work in a factory to an IT consultant working mostly from home. Salary has almost doubled also. Wife went from an entry level HR assistant and then unemployed with a masters degree to a HR business partner. She now earns a little more than me. Together we have a nice joint income. Still not enough to afford to buy a decent sized house near where we live just yet, but that's the down-side of London life.

All I know is if we had stayed in Ireland I very much doubt our careers would have improved as much and we'd probably have to move to Dublin to have any sort of opportunities. Right now I'd rather be in London than Dublin so we're happy with our decision.

zweton

what sort of i.t work are ya doing? im in i.t also and the area i want to move into seems most active in london.

jonnyfingers

zweton wrote: »

what sort of i.t work are ya doing? im in i.t also and the area i want to move into seems most active in london.

I design Manufacturing Execution Systems, but the company I work for does a bit of everything, SAP, mobile apps, databases, cloud storage.

zweton

good stuff, i still have to make up my mind on moving over there in the new year. ahhh decisions decisions:)

jonnyfingers

zweton wrote: »

good stuff, i still have to make up my mind on moving over there in the new year. ahhh decisions decisions:)

My rationale was that there wasn't a lot to lose if you don't have anything tying you to living in Ireland. It's pretty easy to move over, especially if you have a job sorted. And if things don't go as well as you hoped it's not too hard to move back. On the positive side you get to sample life in an amazing city and have access to opportunities that may not be available in Ireland. It's not all perfect and there are still things I miss about home but the positives far outweigh the negatives for me.

Gareth Moore

Hi i am currently a college student going on work experience in January for 6 months, myself and 3 other mates are looking for a house/apartment in the west of London which is close to train lines and motorway, does anyone have some good sites to look up or some suggestions as to where in that area we should be focusing on?

Gareth Moore

Hi i am currently a college student going on work experience in January for 6 months, myself and 3 other mates are looking for a house/apartment in the west of London which is close to train lines and motorway, does anyone have some good sites to look up or some suggestions as to where in that area we should be focusing on?

Louche Lad

Gareth Moore wrote: »

Hi i am currently a college student going on work experience in January for 6 months, myself and 3 other mates are looking for a house/apartment in the west of London which is close to train lines and motorway, does anyone have some good sites to look up or some suggestions as to where in that area we should be focusing on?

A few days ago someone suggested South Ealing: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=93458725&postcount=1425 (don't really know West London myself so can't advise).

BrokenArrows

Where is the placement?

franglan

Can anyone recommend a dentist in west London for braces (metal-y or invisalign ones). I live in Northfields (Ealing). Thanks

theteal

FutureGuy wrote: »

Considering a move. Question:

How far are you from London City Centre (lets say Oxford Street) in terms of your commute and how much is your rent?

15 miles east, 2 bedroom house, £1000pm

theteal

zweton wrote: »

how long have ye guys been in london, would you say it has helped your career by moving over there?

it was 3 years on May 31st. Packed in a job I had grown out of love with and started a new career over here so, eh, yes

BrokenArrows

franglan wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a dentist in west London for braces (metal-y or invisalign ones). I live in Northfields (Ealing). Thanks

I went to Sparkle Dental for my braces. http://www.sparkledentalboutique.co.uk

Good experience and they are friendly. Whatever they quote you haggle a little. I got 300 off their original quote.

ballsymchugh

franglan wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a dentist in west London for braces (metal-y or invisalign ones). I live in Northfields (Ealing). Thanks

big, big difference in train tracks (metally!) and invisalign. train tracks are more predictable.
either way, try a guy called anthony lam. extremely nice guy. he works in different places, like a lot of orthdontists do. he may be working near enough to you.

qconnect

Hello everyone,

So I have itchy feet and I am thinking of moving to London for work next year.

I am not sure what the protocol is when applying for a job in another country at all so I am wondering what other peoples experience was/is on moving to London i.e. did you apply for a job from Ireland first and then go over? and if so, how did you sort out your accommodation? (did you rent a hotel for a week while looking for a flat?). Did you interview over the phone or did you have to fly over?

I also have NYC in the back of my mind..but I know I would need a visa to work in the US so putting that on the back burner for a while.

Any helpful input would be much appreciated - thanks for any future comments!
Q

enda1

Your situation is so general as to be almost impossible to provide reasonable advise for. So maybe to help fellow prayers along you could give an idea of your:
Age,
Gender,
Profession,
Experience,
Target industry,
Etc.

To answer from my point of view, I had a job lined up and an apartment too. Wouldn't have done it without at least the job.

Also there is a London sub-forum where you could ask a mod to move this thread to if you so wished.

qconnect

Hi there, I'm new to this boards.ie so apologies for the vagueness. The mod has moved my thread here I think? As I had it in travel originally- I'll check out that thread though thanks.

I am not sure what my gender and age has to do with my original query?However, I'm female, under 35 and work in the legal sector which would be my target industry. I am Irish also so I won't need a visa or anything.

how did you go about getting your job in London? Did u apply directly online or sign up with a recruitment agency? From reading the threads there's talk of a national insurance number which I would need - can you apply for that number before you go over (is it easy to set one

I think I would wait till I'm over there to get accommodation - don't want to be scammed before I even leave Ireland!

Pigwidgeon

So my lease on my flat share is up in a few months and I'm looking at moving, at the moment we're based in archway, which we like but looking to get a place of our own. I work in Mayfair and my boyfriend works at bond Street. Our budget for rent is about 1300-1400 a month so we're probably looking at somewhere in zone 3. Ideally we'd like a 2 bed place but if we can only manage a 1 that's fine. Anyone have any suggestions on places to look that we might not have thought of? I don't mind a bit more of a commute if it means we have a nicer flat.

Hibernosaur

Thinking of moving to London or nearby, but the rents and train fairs are terrifying. Would be looking at a job in IT/Telecoms (Mid range-Experienced).

I have been looking at towns around London as well.

Anywhere were you could earn a decent wage and still afford a decent quality of life without spending all your money on rent and trains.

No point in earning 55K a year if I am going to be paying 30 K a year rent and 5 K commuting.

Surely there are still some more, 'Dublinesque' areas as regards rent-income-transport costs?

Anyone any ideas on a 'sweet spot' where there is work to be found, rent is reasonable (500 - 700PM), transport is reasonable (Not 6K per year) and the salary's are decent in IT ( 35K +) ?

Big ask I know but just throwing it out there!

zweton

Hibernosaur wrote: »

Thinking of moving to London or nearby, but the rents and train fairs are terrifying. Would be looking at a job in IT/Telecoms (Mid range-Experienced).

I have been looking at towns around London as well.

Anywhere were you could earn a decent wage and still afford a decent quality of life without spending all your money on rent and trains.

No point in earning 55K a year if I am going to be paying 30 K a year rent and 5 K commuting.

Surely there are still some more, 'Dublinesque' areas as regards rent-income-transport costs?

Anyone any ideas on a 'sweet spot' where there is work to be found, rent is reasonable (500 - 700PM), transport is reasonable (Not 6K per year) and the salary's are decent in IT ( 35K +) ?

Big ask I know but just throwing it out there!

I have been doing similar research to yourself as may be moving next year also, have you considered edinburgh or bristol? Have been looking into both myself, or are you set on being close to london.

Hibernosaur

zweton wrote: »

I have been doing similar research to yourself as may be moving next year also, have you considered edinburgh or bristol? Have been looking into both myself, or are you set on being close to london.

No I'm absolutely open to other cities/population areas. Edinburgh is lovely and the rent Ain't bad. I just wonder how it would be for IT jobs.

I actually want to avoid London but nearly everyone I have talked to keep telling me "It's grim up North" whatever that means. Seems like all the work is in the south east.

Norfolk looks lovely too, as does Bristol. I have also considered Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester but they do have reputations for being a bit rougher than most.

zweton

Hibernosaur wrote: »

No I'm absolutely open to other cities/population areas. Edinburgh is lovely and the rent Ain't bad. I just wonder how it would be for IT jobs.

I actually want to avoid London but nearly everyone I have talked to keep telling me "It's grim up North" whatever that means. Seems like all the work is in the south east.

Norfolk looks lovely too, as does Bristol. I have also considered Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester but they do have reputations for being a bit rougher than most.

Yeah i am the same with london, i think i would prefer a more chilled out city like edingurgh or bristol etc. From looking on linked in edinburgh and bristol seem busy enough i.t wise but realistically i want to try secure something from here in either of the two, might be tricky. Not sure about the grim part! Maybe they mean weather wise or something, tends to get more rain!!Yeah the others you mentioned may be a bit rougher alright. When are you hoping to go and are you trying to secure something from here first?

Hibernosaur

zweton wrote: »

Yeah i am the same with london, i think i would prefer a more chilled out city like edingurgh or bristol etc. From looking on linked in edinburgh and bristol seem busy enough i.t wise but realistically i want to try secure something from here in either of the two, might be tricky. Not sure about the grim part! Maybe they mean weather wise or something, tends to get more rain!!Yeah the others you mentioned may be a bit rougher alright. When are you hoping to go and are you trying to secure something from here first?

Yeah I'm hoping to secure something first. I was planning on opening a UK bank account in Newry, many will accept an Irish address I hear. Starting to save Sterling into it over the next 6 months or so building up a moving fund.

Starting to apply for jobs in my area in about 5 months and flying over for interviews if necessary. If I get an offer I'll sign on the dotted line and the few thousand saved will help tide me over while I wait for the NI number to get set up.

I was planning on going into a room rent short term initially, and then renting an apartment when I find my feet. My missus is coming with me but I will go alone first so she will be working here in Ireland while I am there, so I have her support too just in case.

I suppose I will go where the job is, but at the same time you want to know you have future options in the same area or if the job doesn't work out down the line for whatever reason.

zweton

yeah my thoughts exactly, have started saving myself also.
Maybe putting down a temp uk address on cv may help(if you know someone over there). What area of i.t are you in?

Hibernosaur

zweton wrote: »

yeah my thoughts exactly, have started saving myself also.
Maybe putting down a temp uk address on cv may help(if you know someone over there). What area of i.t are you in?

Networking, so I can work in Telecommunications, ISP's, IT departments, IT services companies, Offices and banks.

I have someone near London who said they would let me use their address on CV's.

zweton

good stuff, best of luck with everything.

Hibernosaur

zweton wrote: »

good stuff, best of luck with everything.

You too mate, hopefully all goes smoothly for both of us.

themissymoo

Just wondering, if I'm moving with a job lined up, will I have to wait for my NI number to get paid?

Jack B. Badd

themissymoo wrote: »

Just wondering, if I'm moving with a job lined up, will I have to wait for my NI number to get paid?

No, but you'll be emergency taxed until your NI number is allocated.

James Stephenson

Hi, I'm 19 and I'm thinking of emigrating to London, I don't have any degree but did get a decent leaving cert of 430 points but decided not to go to college.I play gaa at a high level, would thus help me out in any way or not? Would I be able to get a job easy enough of is it difficult? And is it a good or bad idea, would the pay be good ifI got a construction job?

Any advice, stories or personal information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks