Plane ticket purchased... now where do I live?

StuartThompson
New Member



Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 8
Location: London, Ontario

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 10:49 pm

 

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Forgive me if I sound like a beer-guzzling frat boy (I'm not), but where is the best nightlife in England? I'm looking at London, but I'm not sure where to go and there's little descriptive information around. (Granted, it's tough to categorize an entire country by party habits.)

I apparently know less about the UK than I expected. I'm a 22 y/o student, roommates are ideal, lower the price is the better.

I have a place to stay for a few weeks in Uxbridge, but from what I remember from an earlier visit it's very suburban.

To frame this question from a Canadian perspective: Where can I find UK's Toronto?

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Sarah1983
Junior Member



Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 26
Location: Ontario

Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:23 pm

 

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i would quickly grab a copy of "working and living in london" the 3rd edition. i ordered it at amazon online a few months ago it outlines EVERYTHING you need to know about living there.

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mullinsky
Junior Member



Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 14
Location: London England

Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:37 pm

 

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London is 4 times the size of Toronto in population. The city is huge too. There are over 5000 pubs in the greater London area. Everyone here goes out really early on weekends, like right after work, 430pm. If you're looking for a party then London is the place, but any bigger city in England will be exciting. Manchester is good from what I hear. I live 25 minutes outside London and go in for some partying quite often. They have all the night clubs you could want and they are heavy into the dance music and dancing. LOTS of good looking women, but London girls are somewhat snobby in my experience, until you get to know them, then your good to go.

I live in Essex and the girls here are very easy to talk to, but are also known to be easy. I think you will be happy in London, but it is very very expensive to live there. I have 3 roommates here in a really nice part of Essex and we have a great house, very modern. I pay 210 lbs a month in rent plus bills, and the whole house is only 1200 lbs a month. I have a friend in King's Cross area in London and she is paying 750 lbs a month, not including bills. She has 2 roomies and they all pay the same. So do you want to pay 500 cdn a month or 1500 cdn a month plus bills. Once you are making the pound it is easier but 750 lbs a month is robbery no matter how you look at it.

If I were you I would try and live somewhere where your on a tube line but live outside of the city, like West Ham, barking or upminster. Those are all close to where I am, which is why they come to mind, and would be no more than a 15 minute tube or train ride into London.

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StuartThompson
New Member



Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 8
Location: London, Ontario

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 4:21 pm

 

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Sarah - I will definitely look into that book. Thanks!

mullinsky - Thanks for your reply. I think you're right about London, especially when considering the outskirts and the tubes that can get you into London quickly. I'm guessing, since you've been in for partying quite often, that it's no problem taking the tube home even when it's quite late?

It's a real nightmare going to another country without anything sorted out. I'm not even sure if I should get a job first and then a place nearby, or find a suitable place and look for a job nearby. Any advice on this? You guys -- and this board -- are great!

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kiwilad
Junior Member



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 12
Location: AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:01 pm

 

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It's a real nightmare going to another country without anything sorted out. I'm not even sure if I should get a job first and then a place nearby, or find a suitable place and look for a job nearby. Any advice on this? You guys -- and this board -- are great!

The job comes first - as without an income (in Brit Pounds) you won't know how much rent you could sustain over the short term. The London Underground Tube service is really great BUT it takes some getting used to. If you can arrange your accommodation prior to arrival then you can plan ahead as to which areas you can comfortably handle in terms of travel time. I wish you well.
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mullinsky
Junior Member



Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 14
Location: London England

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:41 am

 

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Yup, you want a job first and you want to know that you can live off what it pays. I am a teacher and I make about 25000 lbs in a year. I have 3-4 roomies that live with me and my expenses are around 300-350 lbs a month for rent and bills. Food is similar to Canada in price, but fridges are bar fridge size usually. So you have to buy more often and you usually save the most cash on bulk buying like anywhere else. The Tube is good, busy as hell in the am and at night on weekends but good. Compared to other countries it is expensive though. The Uk government kills you buy having on and off-peak prices. Any ticket purchased before 930am is considerably higher because it is a high peak time. For example, a travel card allows you access to all the tube lines and buses and trains in all of London for one day. They are 14.50 lbs before 930am and 11.50 lbs after on a normal day. On the weekend you can get them for 8.50 lbs and if you travel in a group I have paid as low as 16.60 lbs for 3 travel cards. But you usually do not travel with people on the way to work, so you get murdered. Meanwhile the metro in Paris cost 5.60 euro's for a full day pass and is even cheaper in a group, and that is every day for the whole city line. So that is about 3.50 lbs, see what I mean.

As for partying, I have done enough in london and I am now a master at knowing when to go home and how to get there the quickest. Basically since I live outside London I have to take a train to get to my city. So I take the tube to "tower Hill' station, which is a major and main station on the tube. It is 150 metres away from Fenchurch St., which is the train lines for me. my last train that goes directly to my city leaves at 11:50 pm sharp. if i miss it i have to ride the tube all the way to upminster and then take a cab for 10 minutes. The last tube line to Upminster is at like 12:30am though. Cabs cost a lot here, you want to avoid taking them by yourself or at all. There are late buses though, some run from liverpool street as late as 4am.

Oh an when looking for a job remember that a bartending job sucks over here. People do not tip for drinks in Europe, just for food and drinks at a restaurant. Even then it is more expensive for food here but the tip is smaller than it would be in Canada. I think they ask for %10 here, and in Canada it is a rule of thumb to tip at least the tax if not %20 at a decent restaurant.

When are you thinking of coming over? Any other questions let me know.

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StuartThompson
New Member



Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 8
Location: London, Ontario

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:37 am

 

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I'm set to arrive on May 21st. When I land I'm going to Scotland and France for a week each, landing back in London on June 3rd.

I've been looking for student sublets and the like, since there are so many in my current city (London, ON) that are cheap and high quality -- I'm hoping for a similar situation in London, UK! I've actually found one place, maybe you can say what you think of it.

It's at 71 Lugard Road, Peckham. Rent is 69lbs/week with 45lbs total bills for 3 months. I've looked a bit into the area and it seems nice. I've seen pictures and it's a clean place. If my conversion calculations are correct, I could feasibly pay for all of this upfront and just worry about my own expenses (food and entertainment).

You guys recommended getting a job first, but it seems harder to do that from here than it is to find a place to rent. Also, I would think a lot of these sublets would be gone (either rented or the person subletting "goes away" to wherever their going) by the time I'm there and looking.

What do you think? And thanks for the transit descriptions and all your other info!

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mullinsky
Junior Member



Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Posts: 14
Location: London England

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:26 am

 

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Everything in England is hard to do. You need to have an address to get a bank account and then you need to have proof of address in the form of a bill or bank statement to get registered with a doctor for health services. You do not want to use your Canuck bank account all the time from here, you get charged like $8 cdn per withdrawl from ATM.

I have never heard of Peckham. But if your paying that much rent it is in either a bad neighbourhood or it is further away than you think. London is expensive. You will pay a minimum 400 lbs a month for a decent room in a roomshare house in London. And that is in a house with at least 4 people usually. Just like Canada they want damage deposit and last month up front usually, or one of the two. Unless you are just going to be staying with people at their house temporarily as a sublet they may be easier on you.

I had a job before I landed, but that is because i work for an agency and am a teacher. If you have some bankroll on you just show up and make sure you have somewhere to stay first. There is nothing worse than not having a homebase.

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