Moving to England

Darren · 12-08-2004 3:05pm

Lads,
I work in IT in West london for one of the big airlines. The IT graduate and generally the whole grad recruitment situation in London is pretty grim. Forget about the number of jobs advertised in Jobserve, you'll find that a hell of a lot of them are duplicates and a lot of them are just fishing for CVs.

I've worked in london for years both permie positions and contracting. One piece of advice is to try and get a job located on the same side of London that you are on. For example Reading to London is easily commutable as long as your job is in the Paddington region, same story that if you live in Surrey, Victoria and Waterloo are easily commutable. The problem with commuting is when you have to cross the city. I once travelled from Ealing to 'The City', the nearest tube station was Aldgate. Getting to Paddington was a 15 minute journey on the train, it then used to regularly take me anything up to an hour on the tube to travel from Paddington to Aldgate which is a lot less distance than from Ealing to Paddington.

pebble · 12-08-2004 4:04pm

Well, I'm in Windsor, and it's not that bad.
25 minutes to London. But good advice with regards to the job onthe same side of London as you arrive.
There is no fun in getting a 30 minutes train to Waterloo, only to add on another 25 minutes for a bus or tube to get somewhere else.

Apart from that, plenty of jobs around!

Sajan · 16-08-2004 3:31pm

Is there anywhere that is reasonably priced and in a niceish area around London to live. Or on the other hand. Is there places that you wouldn't recommend to live.

grumpytrousers · 16-08-2004 3:38pm

Is there anywhere that is reasonably priced and in a niceish area around London to live. Or on the other hand. Is there places that you wouldn't recommend to live.

Everywhere is expensive in London, just that some places are less expensive than others - and it's all subjective, depending on how much you're earning, how much you spend on travel and what your general 'needs' for a good quality of life are.

For instance, I lived down in Barnes in SW13. Expensive-ish, but I didn't have to commute to work as I was within walking distance (around 2 miles, but the train/bus was no quicker!) and so money saved on gym membership and public transport meant that paying £450 a month didn't seem that bad...

Traditionally, North of the River is cheaper and the further out from the city centre you go, as well. Loot is good for finding places to live, and there's loads of other ones as well. However, as you'll have gathered, if you live on the extreme North East and you're working in the South East the hassle of the tube, the time, the sweatiness etc may wipe out the benefits of having that few bob extra. Not to mention the inconvenice of not really being able to go out to the local with your work colleagues of a Friday night!

Darren · 16-08-2004 3:48pm

Public transport is so unreliable and expensive that if you are moving here it would be best to move near to where you work.

I live in West London and it's not too bad. I like areas like Uxbridge and Ruislip but even looking at a tube map you can see that they are a good bit out. For a good indication of housing costs in West London take a look at www.ealinghomes.co.uk and www.uxbridgehomes.co.uk

The Brigadier · 16-08-2004 3:51pm

Can I recommend you have a look at

www.findaproperty.co.uk to get an idea of what is available...

My big piece of advice though is live near to work....

pebble · 17-08-2004 1:24pm

Darren wrote:

Public transport is so unreliable and expensive that if you are moving here it would be best to move near to where you work.

I live in West London and it's not too bad. I like areas like Uxbridge and Ruislip but even looking at a tube map you can see that they are a good bit out. For a good indication of housing costs in West London take a look at www.ealinghomes.co.uk and www.uxbridgehomes.co.uk

To be fair, I think the British transport system is very much maligned. Comparing it to the Irish transport system, I think most people will agree that it is far superiour. Yes, it is more expensive, but then again, you get what you pay for...

With regards Uxbridge, I think he mentioned living *in* London. Both Ruislip and UXbridge may be inside the M25, but so is Esher!

All in all, where ever you work, live near it. it will save you a fortune in travel money, and you can get cheapish accomodation where ever you are. By the way, Rental prices are on the way down over here.
Too many buy-to-let flats and houses on the market at the moment.

Darren · 17-08-2004 2:06pm

pebble wrote:

To be fair, I think the British transport system is very much maligned. Comparing it to the Irish transport system, I think most people will agree that it is far superiour. Yes, it is more expensive, but then again, you get what you pay for...

With regards Uxbridge, I think he mentioned living *in* London. Both Ruislip and UXbridge may be inside the M25, but so is Esher!

All in all, where ever you work, live near it. it will save you a fortune in travel money, and you can get cheapish accomodation where ever you are. By the way, Rental prices are on the way down over here.
Too many buy-to-let flats and houses on the market at the moment.

The British transportation system is rubbish. I should know, I've been using it daily for the past 31 years. Uxbridge and Ruislip are both in the LONDON borough of Hilliingdon. I know, I lived there.

grumpytrousers · 17-08-2004 2:56pm

The British transportation system is rubbish. I should know, I've been using it daily for the past 31 years.

Pisses all over the Irish one, mind....you've obviously not had the 'pleasure' of the Dublin-Westport train on any given Friday, the cold Sligo-Dublin one, the joys of going down to Killarney by Irish rail....

Darren · 17-08-2004 3:33pm

grumpytrousers wrote:

Pisses all over the Irish one, mind....you've obviously not had the 'pleasure' of the Dublin-Westport train on any given Friday, the cold Sligo-Dublin one, the joys of going down to Killarney by Irish rail....

larnroad Eirann - Dublin - Kilkenny - Dublin many, many times on the Irish Railway. The only thing that gets me down is that the last train leaves Dublin so early. If I leave work on Friday evening to visit the family, catch a flight and get to Dublin I can't get the train to Kilkenny because they have all gone. I have also noticed that the price seems to have risen quite a bit over the past few years.

The British Railways have mastered the art of putting shareholder's pockets before their customer's safety. Seriously, using the British Railway everyday is putting people under massive strain both emotionally and financially. Nearly every non third world country I have ever been to has a far superior public transport system to the one in the UK.

Have a look at www.nationalrail.co.uk
The price for a midweek return from London to Birmingham a trip of 119 miles in each direction leaving at 9.15 am is 97GBP.

According to the larnroad Eirann website, a day return Dublin - Waterford (a distance of about 100ish miles) is 26 euros.

grumpytrousers · 17-08-2004 3:58pm

Point taken, Darren. I suppose the points i made of Irish Rail vs British Rail weren't really helpful. However - if one were to compare the lot of a person living within, say, 7/8 miles of the centre of London and their choices/options regarding the commute to work (in the centre) and the equivalent of a punter living in Dublin the Londoner has the better experience.

Having spent a while there, I would concur that indeed the lack of investment, the 'dividends before passengers' mentality and the fact that Clapham Junction is all 7 circles of hell fitted onto 21 platforms, none of which are marked would leave even the most patient of souls foaming at the mouth regarding the British Transport policy.

I still maintain, however, that it's better than what we have here. However, the fact that in Ireland we've a lower density of population means the crowds are never as bad, so we don't notice it *as* much.

anyway - think thee and me may be meandering a tad off topic...

Darren · 17-08-2004 4:22pm

Agreed. I certainly would not fancy trying to cross Dublin every day. The buses there are a menace.

Lump · 19-08-2004 4:59pm

I'm starting work in White City next month. Hopefully the BBC will have accomodation for me. Will make it so much easier, also I might be moving in with a guy from Dublin.

John

The Brigadier · 20-08-2004 12:17am

Anyone any idea the cheapest way to get stuff from Dublin to London is??

Lump · 20-08-2004 12:37pm

Drive yourself.

John

The Brigadier · 20-08-2004 1:35pm

Lump wrote:

Drive yourself.

John

And if you don't drive??

Lump · 20-08-2004 1:52pm

Get some one else to? I don't know to be honest, I here TNT are fairly ok for international shipping. Or SDS are the cheapest I've found.... around €54 to send 17 Kg to england on two day delivery..... It doesn't go up much for every kilo, have a look on their site. They also offer an economy delivery that takes 5 days I think, ideal if you are moving. again have a look online.

John

pebble · 25-08-2004 6:04pm

To be honest, its worth getting someone to drive over.

skipn_easy · 26-08-2004 1:07am

I was going to drive over but tbh it looked like it was going to work out at way too expensive on the ferry plus the time and petrol costs that it didn't really seem worth it. I'm going to take as much as possible over on the plane and post the rest.
If you could get a few people together to drive over it would work out better...

Lump · 26-08-2004 9:26am

I have enough stuff to file a car-van. a 21 inch tv and two 19 inch monitors take up a fair bit of space.

John

skipn_easy · 30-08-2004 9:00am

Can anyone recommend a UK-based boards site like this one?

The Brigadier · 31-08-2004 12:31am

skipn_easy I would be happy to split cost of ferry and petrol with you?

skipn_easy · 31-08-2004 10:01am

sorry brigadier, wish i'd known that before. I've already gone ahead and booked flights and taking as much as possible over like that. Would've been really handy if we could've split the costs. You might be able to find someone else driving over though...

The Brigadier · 31-08-2004 2:49pm

Well if anyone else is moving over I am looking to move stuff over at the end of September....

HelterSkelter · 01-09-2004 10:54pm

Is there a UK site similar to boards? I plan to move to London in the next year and a site like boards would be invaluable to me. I find it very useful for finding out information on a vast range of topics.

skipn_easy · 07-09-2004 9:01am

I can recommend couriering some of your stuff over... I used dhl to courier 30 kg of stuff from kerry to london. Sent it on friday, arrived on monday and cost me 45 euro. Seemed reasonable to me. Probably not suitable for tvs, monitors etc. but handy for books and heavy stuff like that.

dr_funkenstein · 07-10-2004 4:27pm

was that with DHL Express? I need to do the same but its quoting me more than 140euro.. is there an option with DHL to do slower cheapo shipping? they said to me theres no slower option.. was it Euro Danza that you used?

skipn_easy · 11-10-2004 12:54pm

No, that wasn't DHL express, it was the DHL 3-day service. I just looked at the website and they only have the express on it though so maybe they've changed the services they offer? Not sure, I definitely had a a 30kg delivery (combination of 18 and 12 kg packages) for 45 euro, that was on the 3rd September 2004. If you've only looked on the web, maybe you could try going into one of their offices? Sorry I can't help more.

d-arke · 15-11-2005 1:24am

eh okay. first things first (unless you want to make it fourth, your call)

anyone still floating around this thread. i'm 90% certain im moving to london in january '06. would like to get some up-to-date info.

from what i've gathered on this post i've to do the following:

1. before i move i should drop into my local irish bank (BOI) and have them post out a statement to my brothers address (he lives in rented accommadation in london) and write up some referral letter type thingy as a reference?!?

2. (optional) have a job lined up before you go. eh, well in my case, i'll do my best but more than likely will start looking up recruitment agencies once i arrive.

3. (optional ;p) find somewhere to stay. well......seriously though, when renting somewhere, i can expect to pay the first months rent and a deposit of a month and a half up front. and that i will have to pay by standing order or something like that. luckily, im hopefully going to stay with my brother for a week or two until i find somewhere worth while to rent.

3. apply to the local dss office for the national security number. will be giving a temp number in the meanwhile, oh yeah and to go to some 3 hour interview type thing for a grilling on what ive been up to in my past.

4. go to the local post office and fill in forms to convert my irish driving license to a credit card form uk one.

5. bring a few passport sized photos for some stuff!?!

6. find some decent club/society, as i'm moving to london on my lonesome will need to find someone to hit the pub scene with.

7. think thats everything.......for now

regards

ps. this most be one of the longest running threads ive seen. been up since 2002. just a thought.

genie · 15-11-2005 2:53am

I've just moved over to the UK (Essex) so I'll give my experiences so far...

eh okay. first things first (unless you want to make it fourth, your call)

anyone still floating around this thread. i'm 90% certain im moving to london in january '06. would like to get some up-to-date info.

from what i've gathered on this post i've to do the following:

1. before i move i should drop into my local irish bank (BOI) and have them post out a statement to my brothers address (he lives in rented accommadation in london) and write up some referral letter type thingy as a reference?!?

I found opening an account a bit of a nightmare. Banks want ID - passport etc. They also want proof of address like a utility bill/council tax bill/rental agreement etc. I had a rental agreement from a letting agency (no bills yet as had only been in the place 1 day!) but this was no good to the likes of Natwest, they would only accept a council tenancy agreement. Went to the Nationwide Building Society and they accepted it no problem. Next problem was the fact that I didn't have a job yet. You can have £1 million but if you don't have a job they won't give you a credit or even a debit card. All I was entitled to was a cash card :mad: , I'm lucky enough to have enough money to buy a flat but the fact that I'm unemployed.... :rolleyes: So I'm having to share a credit card with my Mum. Not happy about this at all...so maybe you should keep your Irish account open until you get a job?

2. (optional) have a job lined up before you go. eh, well in my case, i'll do my best but more than likely will start looking up recruitment agencies once i arrive.

Still working on this...finding the local essex papers not great job adverts wise, though. Just got the net so will look at the job sites.

3. (optional ;p) find somewhere to stay. well......seriously though, when renting somewhere, i can expect to pay the first months rent and a deposit of a month and a half up front. and that i will have to pay by standing order or something like that. luckily, im hopefully going to stay with my brother for a week or two until i find somewhere worth while to rent.

I was lucky enough to find a place through a letting agency. A bit more expensive than I'd anticipated but I managed to arrive 2 weeks after the students had nabbed nearly everything!

3. apply to the local dss office for the national security number. will be giving a temp number in the meanwhile, oh yeah and to go to some 3 hour interview type thing for a grilling on what ive been up to in my past.

I went to the local job centre and asked to apply for a NI Number, was told that they don't do this and was given a number of a call centre. Spent hours ringing said number and it was permanently engaged. Went back to job centre and was told that the call centre was being inundated with calls and to leave my name and number, they would pass it on and someone would get back to me. Left my name and contact number and nothing happened. Went back to job centre and was told that I needed to fill in a form and someone would get back to me. That was THREE TIMES I had to go back! Anyway, a week or so later someone rang me with a temporary NI Number and I was told that once I got a job I could apply for an interview for a permanent NI Number. Whether that's true or not I don't know but at least I have a temporary number. BTW in the meantime I got a letter from the job centre saying I didn't need a NI to get a job and to ring this call centre...so just go to a job centre and ask for a form to apply for an interview to apply for a NI Number, saves a lot of confusion and messing about...

4. go to the local post office and fill in forms to convert my irish driving license to a credit card form uk one.

As far as I know, you have to be resident in the UK for 6 months before you can do this and they charge you £38 for the privilage!

5. bring a few passport sized photos for some stuff!?!

I brought a few but haven't needed any yet.

6. find some decent club/society, as i'm moving to london on my lonesome will need to find someone to hit the pub scene with.

Try your local library notice board.

Hope this has helped. Beware the banks - building societies much easier going account opening wise - provided you've got a job!

Good luck!

gary the great · 06-02-2007 9:02pm

bumpage! Im moving over in a few weeks, some updated info would be cool!

I think im going to do my driving test over there, cos it may be a while before i get a date here. Anyone done it over there and able to offer advice?

I will hopefully be living in Runnymede in Surrey.

leeroybrown · 06-02-2007 10:23pm

genie wrote:

4. go to the local post office and fill in forms to convert my irish driving license to a credit card form uk one.

As far as I know, you have to be resident in the UK for 6 months before you can do this and they charge you £38 for the privilage!

I don't think that the 6 month wait applies to someone who already has a valid transferrable full license. Also, while £38 is a little steep the license is valid for a lot longer than the 10 years they last here.

Pythia · 07-02-2007 2:43pm

This is a great thread. I am moving to Surrey myself in August so lots of valuable info here for me!

SeanT · 11-12-2007 1:18am

Im moving to work and live in London next january and I was wondering if there is any way i could get things moving on a bank account or that NI number thingy while im here in ireland, and is there anything else like this i need to get sorted?

d-arke · 17-12-2007 3:19pm

SeanT wrote: »

Im moving to work and live in London next january and I was wondering if there is any way i could get things moving on a bank account or that NI number thingy while im here in ireland, and is there anything else like this i need to get sorted?

As above. Person fairly sums up how to go about it. It's a pain in the @ss at first but once you get everything sorted out your're laughing. Getting proof of address is the biggest concern you should have to worry about for now. Generally, you will need two forms of proof of address so if you can, register with your local medical centre, complete NHS documents etc.

Moving to England

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