Moving to London

Trollolo

Trollolo

Member
Me and a buddy are thinking about moving to London England and I'm sort of looking for someone who has lived there or is from there. I know a skiing site isn't really ideal for this hahaa but I thought I'd try since I don't really know where else to ask.

Basically, we're both 22, Canadian, done school, looking to mix things up a bit. He can get dual citizenship and I'm just going to apply for a tier 1 VISA, or get my employer to sponsor me over there (they are an international corp with a couple offices in London) which would be ideal if they will let me transfer. We should have a bit of cash but we're not looking to settle into careers over there. So we will be on a budget but will have income.

We're trying to figure out where is a good place in London to live. We're interested in living near an entertainment/night life/club district and not so much near the historical or business end of things. Obviously London is a mssive city and their might be a few different good areas to live so I'm interested in any help you guys can offer us. I've heard "west london" is where its at but that really doesnt narrow ANYTHING down. Also heard the Grenwhich peninsula in and around the o2 is good as well. We're just trying to figure out what area to look for 2 bedroom apartments in.

++++K thanks for basically any help about moving/living in London. (inb4 cost of living is too high live with ur parents till ur 25)
 
Im from there - well lived there for 4/5 years before moving to the states.
I lived south of the river - around the Clapham, Balham area - it's a great place to live, and where a lot of young professionals live, so really good bars and restaurants, clubs etc.
The thing with london is you can get anywhere really easily - so it's better to live somewhere where you have a lot of stuff on your doorstep - but then when you want to go in to central london - be close to a tube station, or overground train station that will take you in.
Highly recommend the Clapham/Balham area - you guys would love it - Lots of canadians, Aussies, Saffers etc - so real good international vibe!
Plus central london is retardedly expensive - Clapham and those areas are still expensive - but trust me - you cannot afford to live in West London - however if you must - Fulham area is ok..... still i'd say youre better off in Clapham / Balham / Clapham Common area....
 
What kind of budget are you on for accommodation?

Clapham area as suggested above is a pretty sweet area to live and although just about affordable isn't exactly cheap for 2 bedroom apartments because it is an up and coming area!

There is no need to live right in the centre, not only will you not be able to afford it without being a super millionnaire but you just don't need to be there, and probably won't get any sleep with constant noise. The transport links in London are really quite good despite constant moaning from the public.

North London is the really affluent area and is pretty posh but so nice, of course it is really expensive.

East London is a bit ghetto but as a result is much cheaper than the other areas. If you can get in around West Ham and not go any further East then you can get a decent looking place for a reasonable price and still be really close to central.

South London is where you'll find Clapham and other areas akin to there. It includes expensive areas like Fulham and Chelsea but only a couple of miles away are cheaper areas like Brixton. Basically head for South of the river.

West London as you said has always been a decent place to hang out. Hammersmith is a good shout for somewhere to live, lots of nightlife and usually a good choice of places to live.

Of course, I really can't help you much without a bit more info.

Anyway, hope that wasn't too useless for you. Good luck.
 
Hey man thanks for the info! I'm not sure what other info you were looking for. Basically we're going to go there with some savings just in case but we're looking to be self reliant once we're there. We probably won't have the greatest jobs so something affordable is pretty important. Ideally this is what we want

1) Cheap enough that 2 guys with crappy to average full time jobs can still have enough money to live and party on the weekends.

2) Urban enough that we won't need a car

3) Close enough to right dt London where we can tube it (less than 30 minute ride)

The only problem wih Clapham from what I can see is that the tube stops running from about 1 am to 5am. Which means we wouldnt really have a way back from the clubs when we decide to go right downtown which would be 2-4 times a month probably. Is there another option that runs late?
 
can't be exactly sure since i didn't live in that exact area, but Southwest Trains runs via clapham junction fairly consistently all night. Might be a longer ride than daytime, but they'll run.

If not there's always the wonderful night buses. Had some interesting experiences on those.
 
Abs now that I think of it, if you go clubbing the proper way you won't need a train until after 5 am anyway
 
1e5be6ed-d1a9-4abc-ab9f-2bd01883e816


Ya meet up with him
 
Sa'll good man. We're not going there to save cash. As long we we have enough for rent/food and partying on weekends
 
Mate, the tube is closed everywhere at that time. You can still get buses though and taxi's aren't too expensive, Clapham isn't very far from the centre, and you'll find that a lot of people will come to Clapham for a night out. London is made up of loads of small areas that have their own nightlife. It's not like the only place to go out is in the centre so I wouldn't panic about that. Hit me up if you have any other questions and if you do make it here.
 
I lived there back in 2010, its an ok city just too expensive in my opion. Me and my girlfriend paid more then double for an appartment in london, then we pay for a 1bed place in whistler. I was working in a ski shop full time and with rent didnt really have much money. It also kind of sucks for skiing, Hemel is so expensive. Leeds or manchester are much better places to live, much more affordable and good cheap skiing near by.
 
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