Your advice/suggestions on living and working in the UK

I Need help.... I am planning on moving To London,,, I have listed sometihngs I need help with please.

1. Whats a cheap neighbourhood In London but on the perimeter of the city but also so has access to the Tube.

2. is it best to start looking for a job when I have my work visa or when I arrive in London?

3. are there any good job websites in England. or if anyone knows any companies that place new people to London that would be great.

Hi all,
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Thanks!
Victoria Westcott,
Classroom Canada

With regard to cheap areas near the tube in London, it's probably fair to say there aren't any! Sorry to be blunt, but you may as well know now. London is a very over-priced city as far as accommodation goes, and even the recession has not made that much difference.

Having said tht, the eastern end of the District Line might be best e.g. Barking, Dagenham. Also consider Croydon to the south - not on the tube, but on very frequent and fast national rail. Also a few spots at the southern end of the Northern Line e.g. South Wimbledon / Colliers Wood.

I'd say it's best to apply for jobs once you're here. One good website is www.jobserve.com, but it's not the one and may depend on what kind of working you're hoping to get.

Hello, thanks for your advice on affordable areas to live in London. I too am wanting to move to London or a surrounding area.

I'd like to further the question and ask if you know of any surrounding areas/towns/villages to London that may be more affordable than living right in London?

Many places in south-east England are hardly cheaper than living in a London suburb. Might be worth looking at the following areas though: Medway Towns in Kent (that's basically Chatham / Gillingham conurbation), Southend and surrounding towns in Essex, Wellingborough / Kettering in Northants. Bear in mind though, that commuting into London by rail isn't cheap, and if you commute into central London you can't go by car as there's nowhere to park.

I live in South East England and it is pretty expensive by international standards. Living outside of London with a view to commuting in is not always a cheaper option as commuter tickets are also pretty expensive.

I like the South East because whilst it has fabulous cultural amenities and lots going on it is more like lots of small towns and villages stuck together rather than a megapolis so is pretty much always at a human scale. Central London is actually pretty small and is easy enough to navigate once you have got your bearings.

Within London the first thing you should buy on the first day is an Oyster card which will always charge you the lowest fair for travel on London transport. East and South London contains some of the less salubrious districts but not always so get some advice before making a choice.

I am a fan of some of the outer districts of North London eg. High Barnet (on the tube, easy for central London and Handy for Hertfordshire which has many beautiful smaller towns). My best tip is to live and work outside of London but then go in to have fun and see the sights.

The website upmystreet dot com gives really good information against specific post codes, the format for post codes in the UK is similar to Canada. You can find a lot of information about house and flat (apartment) sales and rentals there. The cheapest option is generally flat shares or renting a room (shops often have cards in the window where people are offering rooms for rent).

By way of an update (May 2010) the recession still hasn't changed housing prices very much. There is still an undersupply of housing and there always has been in south east england. When looking at rentals of any kind also factor in Council Tax and utilities. The South East is warm enough from May through to the end of November (although often cloudy) but it can get very cold in the winter by UK standards and heating is expensive.

For shorter stays there are plenty of no-frills hotels.

Most of the costings are easily found on the net.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions that can't be googled !