Life in London and tips for moving there

thanks for the link! I know the site, and it's a very helpful one indeed.

what about "how to best find a room" - I suppose I just need to look at websites like the gumtree etc.?!

With the gumtree you'll be likely to end living with our friends from the Antipodes or South Africa. Not necessarily a bad thing, but be aware!
Also check out Loot which is the main place for rental flats and share flats to be listed.

As Lassie says, the gumtree and Loot are great sources...probably the best if you are looking for a flat share.

I would highly recommend trying to get a job in Westminster if you have never worked there. A bit of experience in an MP's office would certainly help you get a job in lobbying or political consulting. Check out this link: http://www.w4mp.org/. You can find MP jobs as well as think tank type jobs. Forewarning- the pay in the HOC is pretty shit compared to living expenses in London, but it is possible to work a pub job and/or stick it out for 6 months so you can move on to something bigger and better.

I noticed there is an opening in Andrew Mitchell's office. I actually interviewed with him. He was very nice and according a friend who used to work in his office, he is great to work for.

Also stumbled across this: http://www.capitaras.co.uk/JobSearch/Engin...xact&client=HOC

The Civil Service is also a great opportunity but I've heard it can be difficult to get a foot depending on your educational background.

Good luck!

thanks for the great advice wahoo!

The civil service is so PC it is unbelievable - all they care about is what your education is, experience and can you do the job. Where you went to school, uni etc matters no longer. It's all about quality.

Another place to look might be the German embassy - I've met the ex-ambassador (Matusek) a couple of times and seemed like a nice chap I'm sure his successor is alright too - would be interesting work if there are any rolls going German Embassy

microbar on lavender hill in clapham if you need bavarian beer/helles/weissbier...

good to know

I'm from London origally but have moved about a bit so here my 2p worth as i see its not been covered yet
when looking for a place the best place to find cheap places to rent is Loot newspaper ( www.loot.com )
the post codes in London in general start from the middle and work there way out except for the EC1-4s which is the city
postcodes with a few fuck up in between like SE2 is way out in the middle of nowhere and W3 W5 being way out west
the postcodes closer to the city and W1 will be more pricey to live in but you will be close to where the work is
also when phoning for a place to rent if the phone number starts with 0207 number chances are that the place will be with in the north/south circular road area
the north south circular road is the inner ring that makes up a sort of border which divides inner London with the suburbs

i hope this may help you with moving to London any more help you need just PM me

Oh no, we need to go south of the river

I have just finished reading the thread and all the advice. I had previously posted that we were moving to the Windsor area, but now the office is being moved to Frimley, down the M3. All the reasearch I did is now moot, and we leave in 2 days to look at neighborhoods.

I am a native NYer, so not overwhelmed by big cities. I am 38, married and preggers and both professionals. I have read everything about Richmond, which sounds like it fits our needs, and that will be our starting point from which we go South from.

So My question is how far south can we go, and still get into London within 45 min? What towns as you go south have any "city" feel. I don't mind a small city feel after 6 years in Munich, but I do not want to feel like a suburbanite

We were looking at the areas around Kingston upon Thames, CHERTSEY; sUNBURY; TWICKENHAM; ETC.

I really appreciate any advice. Jumbo your advice has been really helpful in the past.

Cheers,
Gemini

Pretty much all the way to the coast; even Brighton is only an hour from London. Use the rail enquiries to check travel times. But are you trying to get to London or to Frimley?

OK, just looked up where Frimley actually is. If you want a nice, historical, classy town (and there are precious few of those in Britain), an hour from London, 45 minutes from Frimley and 20 minutes to the sea, you need to go live in Winchester. Lovely place.

STB - Thanks so much for the info. I will look into Winchester.

My husband will be commuting TO Frimley, and I will most likely be commuting INTO London for work/courses/arts. I would happily do an hour if we found the right area to live in.

Somewhere around Richmond might make more sense as it's between Frimley and central London, but well, Winchester's still really nice! Nice countryside close by as well for walking and cycling.

sorry your having to go and live in or near to london. good luck

I worked in the West End for 2 years.

We Moved out from where I worked and the first property we could afford in a reasonable area we bought.

It was the best thing we ever did. I had very little traveling. There are more green areas in London than any other proper city in the world. The bars, Restaurants, theatres and music are the Best in the world.

When we came to move we made so much money on the sale it set us up for the future.

If you are renting I would live as near to work as you can afford.

Its very busy and crowded and 2 years was about right for us, but boy did we have a great time.

I would do it if you can.

Well it is by choice We are still young enough to want to explore different parts of the world, before we settle down more permantly. A 3 year stint in the U.K. will hopefully be fascinating and fun.

Think you got your Council tax figure wrong, will be looking at 75 a month, and do agree he will only be a bit comfortable. Hope you don't get a place where you have to pay ground rent and Service charge on top of your Council tax as well, and then you got Gas, Water and electricity bills to pay as well which tend to be high.

You're forgetting New York.

The Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green is where they hold the Darts championship each New year. If you get any corporate seats take them up, it's a blast!

hum darts I would have never put that on my list of must see activities, but hell I am up for most new experiences. I am already secretly fascinated by watching snooker and the broom and ice game whose name escapes me now.

Anyone with info about cities/towns surrounding the Richmond area and down towards Frimley, you imput would be most appreciated...we leave to look in 24 hours!

Kay

I lived in New York for a year and I stand by what I said about London.

I am from NYC...I will let you all know in a year or so.

Actually, I am to old and disinterested in the "club" scene, and far more interested in the arts, history, culture and good food...quite different than my interests in my 20's, so guess I would not be a good judge in that respect.

I have never been to New York and I say London is better.

But seriously, London has one vital ingredient that is very important to me that NY doesn't have: History. As in "Charles Dickens used to sit in this pub" (Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden).

JN

I've lived in both London and New York and I stand by what I said.

darts is great to watch. check out BBC1 over new years!

Guildford is a decent place to live and quite a few friends have moved there out of London when buying their first home - good transport connections and quite a nice city in all. That'd be my recommendation down that way.

Richmond is lovely but expensive, Kingston upon Thames is nice with decent shopping. Surbition is underrated and good value. Walton upon Thames is alright as is Thames Ditton. Hampton is also nice, but quite expensive I think.
Chertsey is a dump. Aldershot is a garrison town.
Weybridge is one of the richest towns in the UK along with the likes of Sunningdale and Virginia Water.

Good luck!

More Turks than Jews, the Jews live in the Stamford Hill area which is not far from Stoke Newington. watch out for the Kurds and Turks fights.

There's a poetry and Arts night once a month in Stratford, can't remember the name of the place right now.

Thanks Lassie - that kind of info really helps to narrow our search.

Having lived in Richmond I would definitely make that my choice in the area. That said, Richmond upon Thames is the most expensive borough in London, so you get what you pay for, and don't expect it to be cheap. The beauty of the area, and the village atmosphere, make up for the excruciating pain in your wallet, especially the closeness of Richmond Park.
A good point from a transport perspective are that Richmond station is at the end of the district line, so you will always be guaranteed a seat during rush hour (oh the joys of a seat), and also that you have the faster option of catching express national rail trains directly to Waterloo.
Was never a big fan of Kingston apart from the shopping, otherwise it felt characterless and a bit rough around the edges.
Kew or St. Margarets are probably worth a look also, if you have decided that the Richmond style is your bag.

Richmond is also home to many expat Germans: the "Deutsche Schule London" is there and so Richmond attracts its fair share of German banker-types who choose it for a base on their London posting if they move their family with them.

In fact, i think you're even quoting it a bit low. 2 years ago I had a two bedroom (one bedroom was like a closet) flat in Camden, which was 200 pounds a week. I was paying 100 pounds a month council tax. I don't know if they have settled down now, but I remember every year it used to go up by 20%, it was really unbelievable.

I suspect it wouldn't be too difficult to find out the current level of council tax for where you want to live. If nowehere else, many (most? all?) councils would have the levels listed on their website. My 'home' one does, and here's Richmond's. The page also includes a link to the VOA where you can check the band of your property. It's just another of the costs of living in the UK.

If yer gonna get a drum in my manor, yer gonna need to school 'ow to parle proppa like what I does, ain't'cha?

Looks like you're looking at a minimum of 100 pounds a month in Richmond then, and maybe more like 150 pounds. Unbelievable.

Richmond is nice, there's no denying it. It's also bloody expensive and not that far away from Heathrow, so be prepared for lots of plane traffic.

It's true that London is green, but it's all contained in huge parks, which if you don't live beside, means you don't see much green except for the occasional tree.

From my little experience here in the UK, I'd say Guildford might be a good place to live. Cheaper than London, so you can get a bigger place for you and your family, whatever your budget. Not far from London for when you do want to head to the bright lights.

I disagree. There are LOTS of local parks and lots of squares. You're never too far from open green space in London. It's in Munich where you have one enormous park and FA everywhere else.

Well, that's been my impression from several visits to family and friends in various places around London over the years.

Having re-read Gemini's post #59, I would add that I'm not sure that anywhere on that London-Guildford line really has a 'city' feel. I used to live in Wimbledon and I thought that was the 'burbs. I think there are some lovely, almost fairytale, villages in that Surrey strip. Fantastic for raising a young family. Not exactly Soho (London or NY) though.

Putney's nice.

Putney is quality.

Yes, Putney is very nice, but also fairly expensive because of its close location to the city.

agreed.

And Putney's nice.

You all have been really helpful. I am sitting here with a map next to me and circling our route as I read. Definately don't want the "burbs". More like the city outskits...Brooklyn feel if I was in NY vs. Westchester County.

We got a hotel to stay in in Richmond while we look over the next 5 days. Hard to get a room as I guess there is a rugby match this weekend.

Lived in Putney for years and loved it. Close to Richmond by bus and train, on district line and overland line into town, v close to Clapham for night life there. May be slightly more expensive but is in Wandsworth borough so Council Tax is one of the cheapest in London. We had a five bedroom, three bathroom flat in Putney and paid only 45 quid a month CTax for whole the flat. I am currently living in a 2 bed place in south east london and the Council tax for that is nearly 200 quid a month so makes a big difference which borough you are in.

Richmond Park is about 1/4 mile from where I was born. Dad's poxy dog used to roll gleefully in the deer shit and come 'ome 'onkin' like J. Arthur.

O.k. so I am scheduled now with 3 realtors. Is there any "code of conduct" with the realtors that I need to know? Do you generally tip realtors in England for showing you properties, or if you sign a lease? Is bribery become the norm, or is it not necessary

Thanks
Gem

A French kiss is always customary after been shown around.

for god sake don't tip any estate agents for anything, they're bloodsuckers.
be nice and polite fine, but don't tip them.
ask any question that comes into your head - I think they are obliged to answer if it is a direct question and they know the answer - especially useful when wanting to find out about the neighbours!
otherwise just be firm with them and don't let them string you along.
and don't tip them.

Thanks again to all who offered helpful advice. We are off today for our 5 day exploratory mission. Few last questions.

Several posters mentioned in other threads that the "bottom had fallen out of the renters market" in 11/05. Does anyone know if the renters market is still on the soft side or has tightened up?

At the recommendation of several, we will also be looking at Guilford as an alternative. How long is the commute from Guildford to the city center? Are there smaller towns surrounding Guildford that could be recommended, or should one stay in Guildford proper? What kind of people generally live in Guildford?

Everyone seems to be a big TESCO fan (actually sounds quite industrial to me). In Munich we buy 85% of our food at BASIC (the large organic food store). Anyone know what the organic food options are? Is is very popular in London? May seem silly to some, but it is actually a big quality of life issue for us.

Gem

Last weeks Sunday Times Property section mentioned that rents were increasing in London again. Though I gather from my brother who is currently moving in London that you can still drive a hard bargain - especially as interest rates have gone up so landlords don't want long voids as they need to cover mortgages.


About 30mins on a fast train from Guildford to Waterloo I think. Plenty of trains in the morning and evening. Check out Southwest trains
There are plenty of nice smaller towns around Guildford but few have fast train links into London. Having been down there quit a bit I would say that Guildford is a good mix of all types - young, old, middle, generally families with a decent student population.


Personally I don't particularly like Tesco. I think of the large supermarkets Sainsburys has the largest organic food range. Though all supermarkets do organic variations of most stuff. Guildford is also the type of place likely to have full on organic stores.