Moving To UK (London)

Muffinman1

Hey,

My girlfriend and I are both considering moving to London in search of work as we are both bored of doing nothing here. We are both 23 and just want an experience while the time is right.
She has a Degree in E-Office Administration and experience working as a Data Entry Clerk too. I have a Certificate (2 Years College) and 3 years work experience as a trainee accountant. But due to lack of funds I could not do exams so am not with a recognized accountancy body.

I was just wondering could people advise us on a few issues.

Does anyone know if there is work available in our sectors over there or how hard is it to get work there?

Where is the best place to look for accomodation? I know it very expensive in the centre and that but can anyone advise us on where best spots are and best way of going about things?

And can anyone reccomend any good recruitment agencies for us to try?

Any help is greatly appreciated,
Thanks.

Lippy C

There are great places in UK why London? High cost of living etc....With good admin she should try the N.H.S, job for life working with a team different wards/offices/areas etc...best of luck:)

Muffinman1

Just London is the place we both like to try.

We just 2 young people I suppose from small place that just want to really chance our luck in a city like London and see how we get on.

Cheers for the luck.

ballsymchugh

for a cheapish part of london, you could do worse than around hackney. it's grand, had a few friends live there who had regular shop floor jobs, and it's nice and handy for places like shoreditch etc.

i would be inclined to agree with lippy. as much as i hate the admin to do with the NHS, they seem to come out with mad amounts of admin and it just gets worse. so they'll always need more!!

Madisonmenece

Muffinman1,

Hi I have lived in London for over three years I am an engineer and I my girlfriend works as a nurse for the NHS. I may be able to offer some advise on accommodation at least but I am unsure of the job market in your field, I was actually considering moving back to Ireland next year but were thinking to hold off another year. There is work in London but I'm thinking not so much in finance/banking area, construction seems to be doing okay at the moment as there a number of major contractS and upgrades going on in London at the min.


I have lived in Hammersmith, Parsons Green and currently in Camden town.

While Parsons Green which is in Fulham is by far the my favourite of the three it is quite expensive, however I still spend a lot of time down there as I play rugby with Hammersmith & Fulham which is local to the area and I enjoy spending time there. Parsons Green has its own tube station on the district tube line and is about a 5 min walk from Fulham Broadway again on the district line. There are loads of little cafes, eateries, parks and restaurants in the area and several fairly smart bars including the popular White Horse which at times can have a bit of a snobby crowd but a decent watering hole during summer evenings. Not too many night clubs in the area, but there are a few small clubs in Fulham Broadway and few in Putney again close by, Clapham is also only a short taxi/bus journey away where there are loads of bars and nightclubs which are very popular with people in their 20 something's. Approx 25 mins by tube to Piccadilly Circus, Approx 45/50 mins by tube to Heathrow expect a one bedroom flat to cost £280 - £350 PW & a two bedroom flat £350 - £475 PW.


Hammersmith is in west London about 20 min walk from Parsons Green, Hammersmith has three tube lines District line, Piccadilly line and Hammersmith and City line and has buses going everywhere you can think. There are plenty of supermarkets on the main street and its less than 15 mins by tube to Westfield shopping centre which is probably one of the biggest if not the biggest shopping centre in Europe. Again plenty of bars and places to eat but I would suggest fewer than Parsons Green and a little lower market, the better bars and gastro bars are in the Brackenberry village part of Hammersmith, it's not a village at all just an area of Hammersmith 5 mins walk from the tube station which seems to be a little bit classier than the rest of Hammersmith. Approx 40 mins to Heathrow, 20 mins to Piccadilly Circus, rent will be similar to Parsons Green 1 bedroom flat £260 - £330 & two bedroom £330 - £450. Overall good transport links, plenty of shops, a short Journey for nightlife.


Camden Town in north west London, on the northern line and walking distance to kings cross and euston train stations. Loads of night life and live music and close to regents park. Has a very popular market and on the week end can be very busy during the day with people visiting the market and to sit in the sun by the lock. The night life here is a bit raw but fun also Angel Is very close by which is like a playground for people in their mid to late 20's , Shoreditch is also close by which is also a very fun part of east London but has a bit of an artistic/trendy crowd. Again loads of eateries, gyms, supermarkets and bars in Camden with decent transport links. 10 mins to Piccadilly Circus and 50 mins to Heathrow.

Other areas I would consider would be Clapham & Putney, London rent which will be your single largest expense seems to have threshold I have never been able to find anything have decent in a reasonably decent area for under £280/290 for a 1 bedroom. Council tax is on average £1100/£1400 per year.

Your best option may be a house share, london living homes rents individual rooms in house shares on a min 3 month lease, may be ideal while you find your feet most of the property are in south west & west London. I rented from them when I moved to London first and was okay, a lot of the tenants are kiwis & ossies something maybe to do with the owner Jake being a kiwi londonlivinghomes.co.uk.

Also gumtree.com is a great website to shop around for flats and house shares.

Any other info you need just ask I would be happy to help, best of luck with your plans .



Col

Muffinman1

Cheers for that Col,

We both have contacts for jobs so wouldn't be too worried about finding a job as such. It seems our biggest obsticle is finding accomodation.

i think our budget at max would probably be £600 per month but as you have said it is extremely expensive. Do you know is there any areas outside London that may come in to the budget we can use. I would consider the flat/house share but the girlfriend is against it as well it a gamble on type of people we could end up with.
I think if we could find a nice 1 bedroom flat it would be great but it extremely hard to even filter the options on sites because most places are jumbled up.

Also over there when the say a 1 bedroom studio flat - Does that mean there is a seperate bedroom away from your kitchen/dining area?

Also Col is it extremely hard to survive over there or those the money made sort of be in line with rates of rent they charge?

Again Cheers for the info it's greatly appreciated and makes things that bit easier. Just hope to somehow find a decent option.

Madisonmenece

I think you will struggle to find much close to London for £600 a month the rates I was quoting earlier was for the apartment not per person. The other thing to consider is if you have secured work in London a weekly train ticked from a commuter town will cost anywhere from £60 - £80 a week. Most of the commuter towns have cheaper rent than london but not much, you just get more for money and appeals to families rather than people in their 20's.

There are areas in and around London where rent is cheaper but to be honest these areas are not very safe and better avoided.

You could try Hounslow it's a little further out but still rather close to London and heathrow, I believe rent is cheaper here.

Another consideration if you are flexible with your location of work is Reading again I think you are going to struggle to find anything under £600.

As mentioned by another poster you could try east London, there are some deals to be found here but very few as the area has really come up in recent years, research before you move anywhere.

Some parts of Ealing may also be worth looking, there seems to be large amount of Polish people living in north ealing, Or you could try Acton.

What we done in the past when we had a 2 bed was rent 1 of the rooms to a friend of ours, this is an option if you really feel that sharing with people you don't know is a problem. Some of our friends are currently subletting a room to one of their good friends and it has helped reduce bills. But I do understand you girlfriends concerns.

The wages are higher in London than other parts of England and that helps to compensate for the higher rent, but it depends on your income some people working have huge disposable salaries and get by with money to burn. If you are both only 23 your at the start of your career so it's is unlikely you will save much depending on your outgoings. I would say on joint salary of 45,000- 50,000 you would get by and enjoy your time in London and make some small savings. But like me and a lot of people in their 20's in London you will be looking forward to pay day at the end of the month.

Is there any other parts you would consider apart from London, unfortunately it is London where the jobs are. I really think a house share is the way to go starting out at least, there is usually only 1 couple per house.

Again any questions just ask,

Col

I'm afraid a studio is a studio, some people try and draw attraction to it be listing it as 1 bed studio. There are some but few decent studios out there where the bed it out of the way of the living quarters. I don't think you would be content living in such a small space, I certainly wouldn't.

Muffinman1

Well I am flexible as we just want to be around London but areas like Reading are ok too.
As you might understand (depending on which part of Ireland you from) we just a young couple sick of been on dole and out of work and looking for experience. Not like having money to be out boozing 7 nights just living away from home and taking a chance. We are both flexible for location and just want to give it a go. Thanks again for the advise and help it really is great boost to talk to someone who knows exactly what it like and can speak from experience.
Just it something you never hear anyone speak about and well it only when you study the options that you realize the challenge it is.

COYW

Hi,

I am 32, living and working in Dublin but I want to move to the UK to live and work for a year or 2. I can't move until late October due to my apartment lease here.

I have been sending off my C.V. to various recruiters but have not got one single response so far. I constantly have recruiters in Dublin calling me up offering me interviews etc and can't figure out what I am doing wrong with respect to England.

For the record, I would like to live and work in London but am happy with any location in Southern England, Merseyside or Manchester. Can anyone give me any tips on how to break into the jobs market?

Muffinman1

COYM,

I agree it hard to get work over there from here but I think it like most places it only easier when on the ground in area.
Can I ask what agencies you use in Dublin and is there work up there that you getting called for interviews.

COYW

Muffinman1 wrote: »

COYM,

I agree it hard to get work over there from here but I think it like most places it only easier when on the ground in area.
Can I ask what agencies you use in Dublin and is there work up there that you getting called for interviews.

Well, I work in IT and have had positive feedback from pretty much all of the recruitment agencies and companies I have dealt with eg Computer Futures, Solas.

balcony swimmer

COYW wrote: »

Hi,

I have been sending off my C.V. to various recruiters but have not got one single response so far. I constantly have recruiters in Dublin calling me up offering me interviews etc and can't figure out what I am doing wrong with respect to England.

COYW, just curious did you say to London recruiters/agencies that u are not available to start until october ?

thinking of moving over myself i dont know whether to secure work in London before i hand in my notice in Dublin, or to just hand in my notice in Dublin work out the month then head over and be on the ground over there while looking for work. in IT aslo btw

COYW

balcony swimmer wrote: »

COYW, just curious did you say to London recruiters/agencies that u are not available to start until october ?

thinking of moving over myself i dont know whether to secure work in London before i hand in my notice in Dublin, or to just hand in my notice in Dublin work out the month then head over and be on the ground over there while looking for work. in IT aslo btw

Hi,

I did mention that but one company got back to me the other day with a suitable job in West London and the company seems to be very keen on meeting with me. The agency I am dealing with is called Randstad.

I am very keen on securing work before I go, like yourself, ideally before I hand in my notice here.

jackiebaron

COYW wrote: »

Hi,

I did mention that but one company got back to me the other day with a suitable job in West London and the company seems to be very keen on meeting with me. The agency I am dealing with is called Randstad.

I am very keen on securing work before I go, like yourself, ideally before I hand in my notice here.

Dude, go for the interview. You'd be nuts not to. West London is awesome with some spectacular women. Do it! Do it! Do it!

ABajaninCork

I am from London.

Holla at me if you need help with suitable areas to live, etc. I'll do what I can to help...

Madisonmenece

Hi

While it was possible for me to secure work before I moved over to London 3 years ago, I did have a contact already working in the company who put a good word in. Friends of mine have tried securing work while still living in Ireland, while it is possible it can be difficult as you may apply for several jobs and have to attend interviews a few for each on different dates and sometimes more than 1 interview for each also you may get asked to attend an interview at short notice.

balcony swimmer

Madisonmenece wrote: »

Hi

While it was possible for me to secure work before I moved over to London 3 years ago, I did have a contact already working in the company who put a good word in. Friends of mine have tried securing work while still living in Ireland, while it is possible it can be difficult as you may apply for several jobs and have to attend interviews a few for each on different dates and sometimes more than 1 interview for each also you may get asked to attend an interview at short notice.

Madisonmenece, are u working in IT ? and your friends in IT ?

Madisonmenece

Balcony swimmer

I'm an engineer, I had one friend who was in marketing and one who was a web designer both found it was good to be in London while they were looking as they were being called for interviews regulary.

If you had friends or family in London it might be an idea to stay with them instead of forking out for accommodation first.

Generally it's a months rent in advance plus six weeks deposit when renting a property in London.

Muffinman1

I have College experience in IT but worked as a trainee Accountant for previous 3 years. Unfortunately I not qualified and was just wondering where is best place to start looking for work or best agencies to try

Muffinman1

Actually can I also ask - Is the chances of getting work in London good?