Tips for movig to London

[MMH]

I'm certain there are a fair few Londoners or people who have taken the plunge to the capital so was wondering what general advice you'd give about moving over. I am likely attempting to make the move around May/June from Southampton.

The main advice I have got so far has been to have a bit of money behind you for the first month and to have a job arranged before you make it up to the city. However I'm sure there are other bits and pieces that some people here can add to that.

Incidently I would be aiming to move to Central London (Zone 1 or 2), something which I am sure is a fairly important detail.

Anyway many thanks for any responses here. Not sure if this is the right part for this sort of thing but I don't see why not.

Cheers.

[Akshun]

This is a huge dilemma for me!

Anyone reading this with plenty of money and or a rich daddy, buy a building, house, apartement of some sort and rent out the room to guys/puas who want to improve themselves in this area! dont do it for the money, do it for the love of humanity and towards the betterment of mankind!

[pinocchio]

You know what, the last two days I've gotten it into my head I'm gonna move to London in the next 2-3 months. This is relevant to me too, so any Londoners out there wanna give us a few quick tips?

[MMH]

Just curious, whereabouts are you located at the moment?

[Rumba!]

Yep, definetly have some money behind you as London can be expensive, particularly rates, parking and travel. On the plus side you have a wealth of arts, bars & restaurants which are world class and of course superb girls from all over the world!

Happy to discuss any particular topics you may want answered!

Rumba!

[MMH]

Cheers Rumba.

Well I don't have a car so at least I won't have to worry about parking. Basically the main concern is rent, travel (I at least have an Oyster card so thats taken care of), furniture and utilities.

Could you perhaps give me a good estimate of how much to save up to survive the first month? I'll likely just start by renting a room before getting a house anyway (moving in with my brother).

Also the galleries, gigs, pubs and various activities to be found around London are part of the reason I want to go there. The girls are of course an added bonus but not the only reason for being there. A lot of my friends will be moving up either after uni or in around a year.

[Rumba!]

MMH, It's hard to say how exactly much, as it can depend on where you want to live/type of property. Zone 1-2 have some really expensive places, but also some cheap places in "not too nice" areas. Also it can depend on wether you want to share for the first month or live on your own!?

As a rough estimate ?1000 should be enough for both an average flat in a not too cheap area, plus bills, travel and living costs for a month.

Rumba!

[MMH]

Cheers for the response. For now I just need a room on a rolling contract then will find somewhere to settle. Think we're aiming for Camden or near that general area. I'll look into properties when I have a job lined up. I'm pretty indifferent about whether I'm on my own or sharing as either way I won't be doing it long anyway.

Right, well ?1000 is what I'll try and scrape together. Time to sell stuff on ebay I guess and hope I get my deposit back in full. Ought to cover it. 

Cheers. 

[chanda3]

My thoughts exactly

[MMH]

My thoughts exactly

What are?

[MMH]

Well things haven't gone quite to plan so looks as if I'll be aiming for moving around January/February if I can start my job up properly (have to wait for a CRB check to clear, which they messed up first time). Instead I am stuck in a small town I really don't like at all so the sooner I get out, the better. I don't feel like I fit in here and more to the point, I don't really want to either!

For now I'll likely see about making visits to friends in the area - a lot of mates from my uni either relocated there, are saving to move there or are originally from round there. Going to start saving today anyway.

As I said, feel free to dispense any other wisdom upon me to help me out. Cheers. I'm sure there must be more advice than "Save up money!" though at least I have an amount to aim for now.

[eci22]

You can use a site like http://www.findaproperty.com/ , type 'central london'  in your search criterea and you should be able to get a pretty good estimate of prices. Good luck!

[MMH]

Cheers. Ideally I would like to share with people but all depends on whether anyone is looking. It'd be better if it was with friends too after the woeful experiences of dealing with strangers in uni. Mind you I am happy with a bedsit if it has appropriate fascilities and is in an ok area. I found one company that seems to have some really nice places to live through findaproperty so thanks for reminding me to look there.

There are properties where the rent is not much more expensive than that of my current location which is helpful and around Central London too.

Anyone here made the big move to London and what have your experiences been like? What challenges have you faced and how has it improved your life for the better (or indeed the worse if you like) ?

Basically I want to go for more than just 'Daygame', though I won't deny that the abundance in attractive women is certainly a motivation for the move, but also the art galleries, gigs, nightlife (pubs and maybe clubs - though shame most club drinks are shite), record shops, maybe restarting uni, illustration work and trying to get my own art out there.

Ideally I am looking to live in Southwark or would love to live on the Embankment (favourite part of London) but have my doubts I can afford it. As long as I'm in London I'll be happy anyway.

[Rumba!]

Southwark is a nice area to live in. My cousin lives there. It's quite a trendy area now with lots of bars, restaurants and coffee shops springing up. Another plus is having Borough Market there, and so you've got some great places to take a girl on a day two!

[MMH]

Yeah I only saw a small amount of it (plus if any of you have seen This Life, that is set in Southwark) when I was last in London properly. The uni I intend to attend next is around there too, but it does look nice.

I think I mentioned before that I think Southwark might be a bit expensive for me for now but maybe one day. From what I've seen of London, South London and Camden were likely my favourite areas. Would like to investigate Brixton soon as there are some cool print studios around where I want to be able to go to produce art. Having travelled through North London (excluding Camden), I am not as keen. A few people have said that West London isn't so great either. Anyone who can tell me a bit about those?