Moving To/Living In London Megathread - ALL QUESTIONS TO GO HERE

djpbarry

melodies wrote: »

Clapham is one area now where lots of young Irish go - good for nightlife, but expensive to live...

I’ve lived in Clapham for almost three years now and I really don’t know where this idea that it’s an Irish enclave has come from. I don’t hear any more Irish accents here than I do elsewhere in London and there is no noticeable Irish presence on the High Street (no Irish pubs, for example).

Regardless, rent in Clapham has become horrendously expensive – avoid it.

Besides, don’t be restricting yourselves to so-called “Irish areas” when looking for places to live, people. With rents in London being as high as they are, you need to give yourself as many options as possible to find a (relatively) good deal. Not to mention the fact that getting the best out of your time in London necessitates socialising with people from various different backgrounds...

Playboy

djpbarry wrote: »

I’ve lived in Clapham for almost three years now and I really don’t know where this idea that it’s an Irish enclave has come from. I don’t hear any more Irish accents here than I do elsewhere in London and there is no noticeable Irish presence on the High Street (no Irish pubs, for example).

Regardless, rent in Clapham has become horrendously expensive – avoid it.

Besides, don’t be restricting yourselves to so-called “Irish areas” when looking for places to live, people. With rents in London being as high as they are, you need to give yourself as many options as possible to find a (relatively) good deal. Not to mention the fact that getting the best out of your time in London necessitates socialising with people from various different backgrounds...

Agree, the only thing Irish about Clapham is the O'Neill's and thats a plastic pub. Balham and Clapham are far too expensive now to be attractive to a young person arriving in London. I'm getting priced out of the area myself as rents are just nuts. I have noticed far more antipodeans in Clapham but that is generally in the evening when they are out for a drink or ten, I don't think most of them live in Clapham but do come to socialize there.

Bench Press

RiseToMe wrote: »

Guys will opening a Northern Ireland bank account with Bank of Ireland in Newry be a good suggestion before I move in two weeks?

thats what I did, except with Ulster Bank, saved me serious hassle

callaway92

Playboy wrote: »

Agree, the only thing Irish about Clapham is the O'Neill's and thats a plastic pub. Balham and Clapham are far too expensive now to be attractive to a young person arriving in London. I'm getting priced out of the area myself as rents are just nuts. I have noticed far more antipodeans in Clapham but that is generally in the evening when they are out for a drink or ten, I don't think most of them live in Clapham but do come to socialize there.

The Alex

RoisinDove

djpbarry wrote: »

I’ve lived in Clapham for almost three years now and I really don’t know where this idea that it’s an Irish enclave has come from. I don’t hear any more Irish accents here than I do elsewhere in London and there is no noticeable Irish presence on the High Street (no Irish pubs, for example).

Regardless, rent in Clapham has become horrendously expensive – avoid it.

Besides, don’t be restricting yourselves to so-called “Irish areas” when looking for places to live, people. With rents in London being as high as they are, you need to give yourself as many options as possible to find a (relatively) good deal. Not to mention the fact that getting the best out of your time in London necessitates socialising with people from various different backgrounds...

It IS an Irish enclave. I hear loads of Irish accents anytime I'm there. I haven't a clue how people afford it, though. What do all these 20-somethings and early 30-somethings do that they can afford to pay >800pcm plus bills for a room in Clapham and then Oyster fares on top? And go out to the pubs and bars every Friday and Saturday?

Grandpa Hassan

RoisinDove wrote: »

It IS an Irish enclave. I hear loads of Irish accents anytime I'm there. I haven't a clue how people afford it, though. What do all these 20-somethings and early 30-somethings do that they can afford to pay >800pcm plus bills for a room in Clapham and then Oyster fares on top? And go out to the pubs and bars every Friday and Saturday?

City of London finance. It's a different world

Harps

Bench Press wrote: »

thats what I did, except with Ulster Bank, saved me serious hassle

It's really not this big deal everyone makes it out to be. I walked into Barclays across the road on my first day after moving here, booked an appointment to set up an account and had it all done inside of an hour the following day. Maybe I was lucky but it shouldn't be an obstacle for most people

Pigwidgeon

Yeah I found barclays very easy too, it's just about when you can get an appointment but all they require is your passport, no proof of address.

ballsymchugh

how long ago was that? tis all to do with money laundering legislation.

RoisinDove

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

City of London finance. It's a different world

ALL of them work in the City?

Pigwidgeon

ballsymchugh wrote: »

how long ago was that? tis all to do with money laundering legislation.

In may of this year.

Grandpa Hassan

RoisinDove wrote: »

ALL of them work in the City?

Pretty much. Between bankers, accountants, consultants, lawyers I reckon you can account for most of the clientele of the Alex on a Friday night....

Edit: I don't know why that smiley appeared!

ballsymchugh

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

In may of this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0xqypa0L4

i couldn't open an account in natwest in 1999 without proof of address.

Grandpa Hassan

ballsymchugh wrote: »

how long ago was that? tis all to do with money laundering legislation.

Same with HSBC. They have a basic account that can be opened with an overseas address, no NI number etc. When I moved over 2 years ago I had it opened in half an hour

seachto7

I see some jobs advertised in London for £20K. How can you survive on that in London...

Playboy

RoisinDove wrote: »

It IS an Irish enclave. I hear loads of Irish accents anytime I'm there. I haven't a clue how people afford it, though. What do all these 20-somethings and early 30-somethings do that they can afford to pay >800pcm plus bills for a room in Clapham and then Oyster fares on top? And go out to the pubs and bars every Friday and Saturday?

Well I have lived in and around the area for 7 years now and imo its no more irish than anywhere else in London. Have never noticed significant numbers of Irish in the area even though it has a reputation. Same with Tooting and Balham I think, had Irish connections like Kilburn years ago but seems to have dwindled out over the years. I'm on that Northern line into the city every morning and dont hear many Irish accents on the tube either.

djpbarry

callaway92 wrote: »

The Alex

A little, maybe.

RoisinDove wrote: »

It IS an Irish enclave. I hear loads of Irish accents anytime I'm there.

Sure, there are some Irish people here, but no more than anywhere else. I hear far more Aussie accents, to be honest. There's also an Aussie Rules pitch on Clapham Common every summer - don't think I've ever seen a GAA pitch there.

ballsymchugh

djpbarry wrote: »

A little, maybe.
Sure, there are some Irish people here, but no more than anywhere else. I hear far more Aussie accents, to be honest. There's also an Aussie Rules pitch on Clapham Common every summer - don't think I've ever seen a GAA pitch there.

we used jumpers for goalposts for hurling training there a few years ago. we're not a fussy bunch though!

callaway92

seachto7 wrote: »

I see some jobs advertised in London for £20K. How can you survive on that in London...

You could survive alright but couldn't enjoy 1 penny of it. £25k is the absolute minimum needed, maybe even pushing £30k.

danotroy

callaway92 wrote: »

You could survive alright but couldn't enjoy 1 penny of it. £25k is the absolute minimum needed, maybe even pushing £30k.

You can easily survive on 18,000. If someone says they cant they have obviously been pampered by mammy and cannot budget properly.

seachto7

danotroy wrote: »

You can easily survive on 18,000. If someone says they cant they have obviously been pampered by mammy and cannot budget properly.

Really? In London? £18,000/year.... Break it down for me so in expenses... :rolleyes:

danotroy

seachto7 wrote: »

Really? In London? £18,000/year.... Break it down for me so in expenses... :rolleyes:

18000 a year works out at 290 a week into your pocket assuming you have no uk university loans. Rent in shared house in zone 2 say 600 a month bills included (thats pretty expensive). zone 1 and 2 travel card 120 a month. That leaves 440 a month for food and entertainment. Sure you wont be going to the pub 3 nights a week but what sort of life is that anyway you also wont be eating out much but what harm has that ever done anyone?

I've gotten paid 221 a week for the last 3 months. I've eaten out 4-5 times in that time spent many an weekend afternoon in the pub. I have various new items in my wardrobe i've been to a few gigs and i've got a holiday booked for August. I've recently gotten a pay rise to just below 24,000 and I cannot believe how much extra cash I have now.

Fysh

danotroy wrote: »

18000 a year works out at 290 a week into your pocket assuming you have no uk university loans. Rent in shared house in zone 2 say 600 a month bills included (thats pretty expensive). zone 1 and 2 travel card 120 a month. That leaves 440 a month for food and entertainment. Sure you wont be going to the pub 3 nights a week but what sort of life is that anyway you also wont be eating out much but what harm has that ever done anyone?

I've gotten paid 221 a week for the last 3 months. I've eaten out 4-5 times in that time spent many an weekend afternoon in the pub. I have various new items in my wardrobe i've been to a few gigs and i've got a holiday booked for August. I've recently gotten a pay rise to just below 24,000 and I cannot believe how much extra cash I have now.

I think the problem is that you're assuming a live-month-to-month model; don't get me wrong, it's perfectly possible to do it, but if you want to be able to save money and also have a bit of spending money, it's a tight fit. It also depends on what each person wants and expects of their life; for some people, the range of free things available in London can more than make up for the expenses of living here - for other people they're just not relevant.

I also think that with the ridiculous way rents have been moving in the last 12-24 months, it's not necessarily possible to say that £600 is at the high end of an all-bills-included house-share room. And, well, if you're looking at close to half your take-home pay going just on rent, something's not right...

As a rule of thumb, I think it's probably not a bad idea to try and aim for £25K or higher. London is almost certainly the most expensive part of the UK as far as living expenses go(on average Londoners pay £2500 a month! in rent according to this article), so it makes sense to aim for at least the national average salary in order to live here comfortably.

breadmonkey

You can subsist on £18K but it won't be too long before the misery sets in. I would say you need £30k minimum to live in a nice place, have a decent social life and be able to save a small amount each month.

Grandpa Hassan

Agreed. There is subsistence living and actual living. If agree with the £30k to actually start to enjoy London

danotroy

I do agree with you all that you do not live particularly comfortably on 18k/20k in London. However, it is possible and expected in many professions. I think it bad practice to tell people who are starting in their careers that living in London on anything under 25k is impossible and they will struggle. If you are a papered self entitled celtic pup you will struggle, I have no doubt. If you want to work hard and make it in one of the world greatest cities you can live on next to nothing. Sure as FYSH said its a month to month hand to mouth existence but that never did anybody any harm when they are starting out in their careers. If you land a 30k+ job straight out of college I commend you, but I fear you may never learn the life lessons of budgeting day to day and finding joy outside spending hand over fist on booze, food, clothes, holidays etc.
in relation to rent I live in Bethnal green I have a huge double room in a three bed semi with garden a stones throw from Viccy park I pay 520 in rent and 80 in bills. I am moving to Clapton for cheaper rent in a bigger room, all but 2 kms from where I live and closer to public transport. There are flat shares with double rooms in Stratford for 250 a month.

Bill-e

My house mate is able to get by on £18K somehow. It amazes me! I'm on a lot more than that and I still find times where I have to live off my credit card or eat pasta and beans for a few days before payday.

If you work in a cafe or restaurant near where you live you may be able to eat for free and the awkward hours mean you can't really go out for pints. You can enjoy London and the free amenities on offer during the day while the majority of us lemmings are doing the 9 - 5(7..)

Things like gym memberships, health insurance and holidays are very difficult with that kind of money.

seachto7

I'm not 22, so don't fancy living like a student again. I've been in enough sh*tty paid jobs to strive not to do it again. I went back as a mature student, and don't expect to go back to work again and get top dollar straight off, but I'd like to be able to start saving some money, no matter how small to begin with.

I have seen it in Ireland over the last few years, 10 years especially. Jobs looking for third level qualifications with completely sh*t pay.

You would make more working in a factory. No disrespect to anyone working in a factory, but they didn't have to go through the hassle of 4 or 5 years of college.

djpbarry

danotroy wrote: »

18000 a year works out at 290 a week into your pocket assuming you have no uk university loans. Rent in shared house in zone 2 say 600 a month bills included (thats pretty expensive). zone 1 and 2 travel card 120 a month. That leaves 440 a month for food and entertainment.

It’s actually about £540 per month, but let’s say you want to put away 10% of your income for a rainy day, that leaves £96 per week for food, clothes, toiletries, household essentials, etc. I’m not including entertainment in the list because, let’s be honest, there’s not going be much entertainment in trying to get by on £96 a week.

danotroy wrote: »

Sure you wont be going to the pub 3 nights a week but what sort of life is that anyway…

A social one?

danotroy wrote: »

I've gotten paid 221 a week for the last 3 months. I've eaten out 4-5 times in that time spent many an weekend afternoon in the pub. I have various new items in my wardrobe i've been to a few gigs and i've got a holiday booked for August.

So you’ve been paid, what, about £2,800 over the last 3 months and you’re trying to tell us that this has covered rent, bills, food, toiletries etc., 4-5 meals out, “many” visits to the pub, several new items of clothing, a few gigs and even a holiday?

You’re obviously a very cheap date.

djpbarry

seachto7 wrote: »

You would make more working in a factory. No disrespect to anyone working in a factory, but they didn't have to go through the hassle of 4 or 5 years of college.

No disrespect to anyone who went through 4 or 5 years of college, but you can’t expect anything above a basic income until you’ve accumulated some experience and demonstrated a mastery of the skills and knowledge that you’ve learned.