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

KidKeith89

silvervixen84 wrote: »

Hi KidKeith, check out the FAQ thread here for tips about where to live and what to do when you arrive.

Best of luck and maybe see you at the beers soon!

Thanks Silvervixen! Looking forward to it now

Are there a lot of meet ups?

bill_lehane

KidKeith89 wrote: »

Hey guys. I'm moving to London in the next few weeks. Like a lot of other people I can't find work here. I'm a financial journalist, and being a finance centre I really need to be in London - I've researched and there seems to be a lot of opportunities.

When I head over I'll definitely be attending the meet ups, so looking forward to it Any advice on where to live? What's it like when you first move over?

Welcome aboard (pun sort of intended), from a fellow biz journo here in London. I found both this board and GlasLondon's advice section to be very helpful. Basically finding a flat is the biggest pain, there's very little paperwork involved for Irish people thankfully! Feel free to ask any questions at all, here or on Twitter or some such.

Seeyah

Bill.

djpbarry

KidKeith89 wrote: »

Any advice on where to live?

That depends heavily on where you'll be working - I'd get sorted with a job first and then think about accommodation.

silvervixen84

KidKeith89 wrote: »

Thanks Silvervixen! Looking forward to it now

Are there a lot of meet ups?

Usually about once a month but March is very busy for everyone so there may be one in April, but feel free to start your own meet-up thread anytime or check out the events thread too.

KidKeith89

bill_lehane wrote: »

Welcome aboard (pun sort of intended), from a fellow biz journo here in London. I found both this board and GlasLondon's advice section to be very helpful. Basically finding a flat is the biggest pain, there's very little paperwork involved for Irish people thankfully! Feel free to ask any questions at all, here or on Twitter or some such.

Seeyah

Bill.

Thanks, Bill. Pretty much my dream right now to get into London's financial media! You say it's hard to find accommodation? From looking on Craigslist, etc there seems to be a lot... Why was it a pain for you?

KidKeith89

silvervixen84 wrote: »

Usually about once a month but March is very busy for everyone so there may be one in April, but feel free to start your own meet-up thread anytime or check out the events thread too.

Will do Thanks for the info - I can't wait to move over!

bill_lehane

KidKeith89 wrote: »

Thanks, Bill. Pretty much my dream right now to get into London's financial media! You say it's hard to find accommodation? From looking on Craigslist, etc there seems to be a lot... Why was it a pain for you?

Hey Keith. Oh it depends on what you want and your budget I suppose. Myself and my wife found our letting agent to be a bit delay-prone! They sometimes make you fill in forms and wait a few weeks to actually get the keys, which is a real pain if you're hosteling it to start! But I think other people haven't had this issue and there certainly is a lot to choose from. Have you got any areas in mind?

83ste

KidKeith89 wrote: »

Thanks, Bill. Pretty much my dream right now to get into London's financial media! You say it's hard to find accommodation? From looking on Craigslist, etc there seems to be a lot... Why was it a pain for you?

There's a lot, but it tends to get snapped up pretty quickly once advertised and quality can vary. You really have to be in the right place at the right time, and can find yourself up against several other people after a desirable place.

bb1

Excellent informative Thread, thanks for posting.

pljudge321

Its looking extremely likely that I'll be moving over in October to start a PhD in Imperial. Anyone have any advice on places to live that are within a reasonable distance of the college, bearing in mind that I'll be living on a stipend.

djpbarry

pljudge321 wrote: »

Its looking extremely likely that I'll be moving over in October to start a PhD in Imperial. Anyone have any advice on places to live...

Which Imperial campus will you be based in?

pljudge321

djpbarry wrote: »

Which Imperial campus will you be based in?

South Kensington.

djpbarry

pljudge321 wrote: »

South Kensington.

Ok, and what's your budget like? How do envisage getting to from work every day? What's the maximum commuting time you would tolerate?

pljudge321

djpbarry wrote: »

Ok, and what's your budget like? How do envisage getting to from work every day? What's the maximum commuting time you would tolerate?

~£500 per month, probably cycle, bus or tube and about 40 minutes or so.

JasonBourne1

Hi all,

So I got the job that I went for in London. Hoping to start the 2nd week in May. Am chuffed to bits but feeling a bit scared and apprehensive at the same time. I know a couple of people over there but all in all i'll be going over on my own. Think i'll have to become aquainted with the boardsie meet ups!

So anyhoo - i'm looking into the ins and outs of setting up bank accounts and getting a mobile phone contract.

I've applied online for the HSBC Passport account and am just waiting on word back - is this a good account or is there a better alternative?

Also, mobile phones - what's the best contract for calling/texting home?

Sorry for all the questions but just want to make sure i'm organised before heading over!

Thanks in advance!

duffarama

I've got that bank account, nice and easy to set up and do remember to switch to a regular account after 12 months.

I'm PAYG with 3 and as my Meteor bill was ongoing I used that to receive international calls for free. I've got my family all set up on Skype now so don't need to use my UK phone for calling home.

Where are you planning to live?

Tefral

You need a national Insurance number also.

You need some place to live. If your into sharing a house have a look on www.spareroom.co.uk or www.gumtree.co.uk

JasonBourne1

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

I'll be based most likely Bush Hill/Southgate area as the job is based around there and don't want to do too much commuting whilst getting to grips with the place.

Which mobile provider is the best value? I'll keep my Meteor sim then for receiving calls and set up Skype as soon as I get over!

Fysh

Hi JasonBourne1, I've merged your thread with the stickyFAQ on moving to London. Have a look at the first post - I've tried to copy most of the useful advice there.

Good luck with the move, hopefully we'll see you at one of the beers after you've settled in

JasonBourne1

Thanks a mill Fysh, i'll definitely be up for that once I move over!

Sorry..probably should have posted on this in the first place!

maglite

Just a point that could be added the the OP,

Santander don't look for proof of address when opening an account (just a passport), quite handy when your new to town.

JasonBourne1

Just another quick question...

I'll most likely be living in southgate but I really want to actually live in Clapham as its where most of my friends are based.

Is it too much of a commute from there to Enfield? I looked it up and it looks like I'd have to get 3 trains! I don't mind that it takes about an hour but the 3 trains is putting me off!!

who the fug

Tube to Leicester Square on the Picadilly Line, then Northern to Clapham

Choccie Lover

I have a question regarding getting set up with a mobile.

I'm moving to London soon, so I dropped into my local vodafone store (in Ireland) to get my phone unlocked (as suggested on this forum).They said that unlocking is no longer done instore, only online.

I tried to do it online, but it specified that I would need to top up by 117 quid in order to do so. Apparently, you can get the phone unlocked provided you have topped up by 127 quid over the prior 6 months. Obviously, I have only topped up by 10 quid (I was abroad for a year and only got back a month ago, hence the meagre amount).

Anyway, if I go ahead and do this, how much is it to get the PAYG SIM in the UK? Or would, I be better to just get a new mobile altogether over there (I read it can be quite tricky getting mobile contracts etc)

Any advice would be appreciated :-)

Choccie Lover

Actually, I've just been checking out the HSBC Passport Bank Account and I see that one of the perks is that you get a Talkmobile Globetrotter SIM card when you set it up as well as some call credit. You also get 20% off selected handsets (I'm assuming handsets are a similar cost to here?).

Does anyone have any opinion on this HSBC passport account? Apparently, you can apply online from Ireland and go into a local branch in London with your documents when you arrive. There is a cost of 8 pounds a month, but you don't need a permanent UK address to set it up.

Again, if anyone has any opinions on this, I'd love to hear them. Cheers :-)

who the fug

you can get a handset unlocked in every high street in London, PAYG sim from Vodaphone £6.00
What do you want from your bank account?

djpbarry

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Anyway, if I go ahead and do this, how much is it to get the PAYG SIM in the UK?

Very little. Sometimes even free – I don’t think O2 charge for a new SIM.

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Or would, I be better to just get a new mobile altogether over there (I read it can be quite tricky getting mobile contracts etc)

Contract phones are very expensive – unless you’re using your phone an awful lot, they’re not worth it. My advice would be to just bring your current phone over and get a new SIM for it. That's what I did.

Choccie Lover wrote: »

Does anyone have any opinion on this HSBC passport account? Apparently, you can apply online from Ireland and go into a local branch in London with your documents when you arrive. There is a cost of 8 pounds a month, but you don't need a permanent UK address to set it up.

£100 per year just to have a bank account seems a bit ridiculous. You can open an account with Lloyds with just a passport and they won’t charge you anything:
http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/new_to_the_uk.asp

Choccie Lover

who the fug wrote: »

you can get a handset unlocked in every high street in London, PAYG sim from Vodaphone £6.00
What do you want from your bank account?

Thanks for replying. Much appreciated.

I don't need anything specific from the account. This one just drew my attention because it seemed easy to set up. But I will keep researching!

Choccie Lover

djpbarry wrote: »

Very little. Sometimes even free – I don’t think O2 charge for a new SIM.
Contract phones are very expensive – unless you’re using your phone an awful lot, they’re not worth it. My advice would be to just bring your current phone over and get a new SIM for it. That's what I did.
£100 per year just to have a bank account seems a bit ridiculous. You can open an account with Lloyds with just a passport and they won’t charge you anything:
http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/new_to_the_uk.asp[/QUOTE]

Thanks very much! That's very helpful....

caesar

djpbarry wrote: »

Very little. Sometimes even free – I don’t think O2 charge for a new SIM.
Contract phones are very expensive – unless you’re using your phone an awful lot, they’re not worth it. My advice would be to just bring your current phone over and get a new SIM for it. That's what I did.
£100 per year just to have a bank account seems a bit ridiculous. You can open an account with Lloyds with just a passport and they won’t charge you anything:
http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/new_to_the_uk.asp

I got off to a great start, got my o2 sim free at the airport upon arrival back in Jan. Was thinking of switching to a contract but they all seem to be 24 months. I need a new phone anyway but will have to weigh up the pros and cons.

As for the bank account I was waiting until I got a permanent address so that I could get BOI to issue a statement to that and then I'd have proof of address. I thought it was really difficult to open an account without it. Granted I probably should have popped into the bank and asked but was convinced you needed more than your passport from what I heard from people and read on here. Probably spent a small fortune withdrawing from my Irish account. I should have the statement in the coming days but if I can open an account without it I will. Would save a lot of hassle.