Too Many Questions

Good Afternoon Everyone

I have been reading the posts in this forum for months now ever since I decided that I am going to go to the UK for a couple years. There has been some great information and I have learned a ton but I have also ran into some questions of my own. There are too many questions swirling in my head right now to ask them all but I will continue to add them as I think of them again.

I am planning on going over in June 2005 with my girlfriend. We are both days away from applying for our holidaymaker visas and I am curious how long it really takes to get our visas back. I know the website says 10 working days but I get the feeling that right now is the primetime for students to be applying for holidaymaker visas and I want to know how long I should wait before freaking out.

We are aiming at London as where we plan on living but that is only because we don't know anything about England specifically. We would be willing to live almost anywhere that we can find work together, but we are afraid we will find a place at a resonable price and it turns out to be in the worst part of london or something. Also, What are the chances of my girlfriend and I finding a place to live just for the 2 of us? We would like to like on our own but if that's not possible, I would prefer a flat-share to being homeless Any suggestions on where to live, with the main focus being that we would prefer to live close to work? On that note, my next question:

I am in the Technology Management field and was wondering: is there a "Silicon Valley" of the UK? Somewhere where all the tech jobs are locationed? I can only assume that London would be the place but London is so big, where in specific? I have a number of years experience in the field, so I am not too nervous about finding a job and if worst comes to worst, I can always be a busboy until something comes around. On the topic of working and jobs, how much should I be looking at making while in the UK? I know that London is one of the most expensive places in the world to live. My ideal situation is to work for 4-8 months and then take some time off and travel and see the country. How much will allow me to live and still save some for travel?

Well, I will leave it at that for now. I don't want to overwhelm you, although I think I already have. The closer June gets, the more questions that pop up.

Anyways, Thank you all for any replies and advice you have for us.

Hello.

These sites could be a good place to start regarding accommodation.

http://www.net-lettings.co.uk/

http://www.gumtree.com/

http://www.intolondon.com/

To gain some insight on the areas, you can type in their postcode on www.upyourstreet.com and find out the crime rates.

I hope this helps a bit.

Hi,

I work in Manchester (North-West) and I have been living in Stockport for over 4 year so I can talk to you about what I know !

For the same price of a small flat in London, you would probably be able to rent a full house (2 bedrooms) here in the North-West. In Manchester city center is it a bit more expensive (Studio for +-£600 , 2 bedrooms : +-£800) but outside the center you can find places from +-£350/month (flat) and a house from +-£650/month).
Also the difference in the income from me working in the north-west and someone else working in London is not that big. I am a computer programmer and someone with the same type of job in London would only earn £30000-4000 more a year.
The cost of everything is more in London.

When you rent a flat they will usually ask for at least one month deposit that you will get back when you leave.
Also there is all the other bills that you have to add to your budget:
- council taxes (+-£80/month)
- Water ( +-£230/year)
- TV license (+-£120/year)
- gas/ electricity (+-£50/month)
- Food ! (+- £250/month)
- Cable/ Phone/ Internet (+-£50/month)
- Insurance
- Public transport, etc...

I never heard of a "Silicon Valley" in the Uk but it is true that tech jobs will be around certain areas for example here it is in the city center (Manchester) but there is also jobs other places !!

Regarding how much you should be expecter to earn I can give you an average for :
- computer programmers : £+-30 000 (with 3-4 years of experience)
- Team leader : £+-40 000(with 4-5 years of experience and programmer at the same time)
- Analysts: +- £ 35 000 (with 3-4 years of experience)
- Project Managers : +- 40 000 (with 3-4 years of experience)
Because you are here temporarily, you should look for contracts (which usually pays more). You should not assume that it will be easy to find a job here (in your field), the first can take longer than expected unless you really have skills and experience that people here don't have !
It took me 4 months to find my job (and in Montreal it took only a couple of weeks).


On your arrival, you should register with agencies specialized in your field (it is how it works here), make sure your CV is similar to the British ones!

Here are a few jobs website:
http://fish4.co.uk/jobs/index.html
http://www.jobserve.com/

I think there is quite a lot of information and I hope it helps you

Joanne

Thank you Brenda and Joanne for the great information. Getting some solid number to work with will be a great help in figuring out how much money we will need.

Not having a job for 4 months is kind of scary but I am sure we will be able to work something out.

Thanks again for the help. I will also post more information if I find anything new about the answers to my questions.

If there is a Silicon Valley in the UK, and it's open to question, I'd say it would be based around Reading - about 30 miles west of London.

London itself though is always a good bet for almost any type of work simply due to the quantity of opportunities available, so it might be an idea to hedge your bets and look at the western edge of London as a place to live.

Agree with the advice about registering with agencies. Find a specialist one in your field of work, and which is used to dealing with contractors from overseas. You'll probably find plenty advertising in free magazines such as TNT that you can pick up on the street in London.