Moving abroad..

CrazyMel

Flyin over 2 London on Wednesday 2 see a mate but dont think I will be coming back 2 Ireland...Few questions if ye dont mind helping me out..

1. How hard is it to get a job in London..?

2. How long to recieve social welfare payment? dont know if thats what its called over there I am receiving €196.00 here at the moment...

3. How long to recieve any payment? and is there a place you can go like your Community Welfare Officer to basically get a sub of money..?

4. Wheres the best place to live?

5. Best pubs and sites/attractions to see?

6. Is it a rough part I'll be in..? General Sutton area..

7. Is it an expensive place to live?

Even if ya dont know all the eight questions and can only answer one or two thats sound...

Probably a stupid question but

8. Do I need a visa to stay long term?

Thanks..Mel

Fysh

CrazyMel wrote: »

1. How hard is it to get a job in London..?

It depends on what kind of job you're looking for, what kind of salary you're after, and what qualifications you're after. On a general level I don't think it's particularly easy to find jobs but on the other hand I don't think it's impossible.

CrazyMel wrote: »

2. How long to recieve social welfare payment? dont know if thats what its called over there I am receiving €196.00 here at the moment...

3. How long to recieve any payment? and is there a place you can go like your Community Welfare Officer to basically get a sub of money..?

I think the information you're looking for is here, but the short version is "I wouldn't bet on receiving anything any time soon if you've not been living and working there before".

CrazyMel wrote: »

4. Wheres the best place to live?

It depends. What sort of place do you want to live in? How well-connected do you want to be on the transport system? Where do you think you'll be travelling to regularly? What sort of rent are you expecting to pay? Do you want to share a house or get a place of your own?

I would suggest having a bit of a look at the Transport for London site to get an idea of the transport layout of the place, and then looking around UpMyStreet to find out more about areas you might be interested in.

CrazyMel wrote: »

5. Best pubs and sites/attractions to see?

Beer In The Evening is a good guide to pubs in the UK, though it's biased towards pubs which cater to the CamRA audience. For things to do, check out VisitLondon.com or the London TimeOut site.

CrazyMel wrote: »

6. Is it a rough part I'll be in..? General Sutton area...

Here's a general profile of the area; here is some information on crime in the area. Doesn't seem terrible, but doesn't sound great either.

This guide on moving to Sutton may also be of interest to you.

CrazyMel wrote: »

7. Is it an expensive place to live?

Impossible to give a general answer to this one, it varies a lot by region. Personally I work in Zone 1 and live in Kilburn (Zone 2), and I've found that day-to-day cost of living is overall cheaper than when I lived in Cork 2 years ago (!) though rent is higher. (Not that much higher, but still). Don't forget that you've got to pay council tax on top of other bills.

CrazyMel wrote: »

8. Do I need a visa to stay long term?

Thanks..Mel

If you're an Irish citizen you're sorted. You'll need to apply for a National Insurance Number if you decide to live here, and you should also join the NHS. Other things to consider are how you'll sustain yourself when you get here and what you'll do to prove you have money (assuming you have money).

If you have a bank account with significant amounts of money in it (ie savings), get the address changed to a UK address that you can trust (eg the friend's place where you'll be staying at first). You can then use this as one item of proof of address and as proof that you have money, which will make it easier to get a UK bank account and NI number, not to mention getting your own place sorted once you're finding your feet.

CrazyMel

Thanks!