Londoners - How do you find living there, enjoyment-wise and financially?
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I hadn't been properly until this year (I've travelled through via coach and went to a concert and a museum years ago but never walked around etc) and have been 3 times since. I've grown a liking to it and could maybe see myself living there but the average rent is £1000 and a bottle of coke can cost £2 in central London! (Cheaper outside I know).
So
1. How long did/have you lived there?
2. Which area did/do you live in?
3. How much were/are you earning?
4. How much was/is your rent and expenses, and how did you find it? Did you have spare money?
That sounds so nosy so if you don't want to answer then I understand
, I was just curious because I've started thinking I want to move there in a few years and want to hear about your experience, how you afforded things etc.
So
1. How long did/have you lived there?
2. Which area did/do you live in?
3. How much were/are you earning?
4. How much was/is your rent and expenses, and how did you find it? Did you have spare money?
That sounds so nosy so if you don't want to answer then I understand
, I was just curious because I've started thinking I want to move there in a few years and want to hear about your experience, how you afforded things etc. 0
Comments
1. 12 years and counting
2. Walthamstow
3. Enough
4. Rent and bills take less than 50% of my monthly income after tax so yes I have spare money.
God knows where you were getting your bottles of Coke from. Chains in London charge the same as everywhere else generally. Smaller shops/kiosks/London-only chains do tend to charge more.
London is really ideal for the young with a decent income but it can also be a very lonely place.
I'm one of those pesky foreigners who are taking over the capital.
The area question is a bit personal, but SARFFF LONDON BRUV!
I don't earn anything. Worry not folks, I do not deplete the tax payer's resources. The people who created me in the place from whence I came fund me. I volunteer and do lots of pro bono, if that counts?
I don't have any rent, but that Counil Tax thing is killer. There's so many bills, it's crazy.
Overall, a lot of people appear to struggle in London. It understandably is a more expensive place in relation to other parts of the UK. I'm sure you'd be able to manage well and live comfortably if you were to find secured employment.
Personally, I enjoy it. I like cities, I like the noise and the bustle. I primarily love it because it's so cosmopolitan. There's so many foreigners everywhere I don't have to feel as through I'm invading someone else's country all by my lonesome.
I didn't buy it
What would you suggest if someone like me wanted to move there in a couple of years? I don't have a degree, only GCSEs and 2 half A Levels, but I'm hoping to get some work here in the admin/receptionist field for a while first.
At best I'd probably have to rent a room in a house I imagine.
Thanks everyone for answering!
go for it!
I had just my GCSEs when I moved to London. Luckily, I was 22 so had about 4 years work experience behind me. I actually got a job in the City (I hated it!) doing IT support for an insurer. It got my foot in the door and was pretty well paid. I shared a 3 bedroom flat with a couple of friends, and then one of the friends and I moved into a two bed place with a garden when we could afford it.
London is more expensive in terms of rent but other bills, council tax etc are pretty similar to everywhere else.
Advice really would be to get some work experience behind you so that when you come to London you have some things you can put on your CV to give to prospective employers, and recruitment agencies etc.There IS work there - London has survived the recession better than anywhere else in the UK, but you do have to ensure you "shine" so you don't blend in with the other hopeful candidates.
You'll definitely find cheaper than £1000 rent if you're happy to share or get a studio room.
One thing you'll have to learn - don't buy Coke in places designed for tourists. Next time you're in the Victoria area and thirsty, nip to Sainsbury's in the station, like the rest of us do.
More or less the same for me, lived in Blackheath then Bromley until my early forties then left to live by the coast although up to last week still worked in London.
I did have a good social life in London but all my friends I met through work/ chatting in a bar not from school, so if your just a little bit outgoing you should not be lonely. Its great when your young, I needed to escape to the coast for a bit of peace and quiet but still love my nights out in town, no where else in the UK compares in terms of choices of things to do, places to eat etc.
If you have limited funds there are lots of free things to do and in the summer a lot of free cultural festivals and music. Eating out can be as cheap or as expensive as you like, accommodation is expensive but most young people house/flat share which brings the costs down. Food prices in the supermarkets in the suburbs are no different to elsewhere.
I would say it's more difficult now, and proportionately more expensive, though there are many more ways to access information. In those days it was small ads and official agencies. It's irrelevant what I earned in those days, as everything's changed so much. The basic Tube fare then was (I think) 10p :eek:
London is a very difficult place in which to get a foothold, but if you can manage it, the potential for betterment is greater than anywhere else in the country. You either love or hate the place. I loved it the second I arrived, and the affair is as strong 35 years later. I love to travel, but love to come home. My relationship with it has changed - from scraping by moneywise and clubbing all over on a budget - getting the nightbus home (they run 24 hours), to now, when I live in a leafy suburb in a paid for house, a hefty income and do restaurants not clubs. I go into town less, but would never live more than 30 mins from the centre, or 5 mins walk from a Tube station.
If you consider a move here, then you'll need to look in cheaper areas to find a place, which will out of the centre, a bit rough, and certainly very multicultural. Not for me these days, but tolerance diminishes with age. it's very different making a life here compared to a citybreak weekend, or a visit for a gig, match or play. The big bonus is that you have it all on your doorstep. Whether you can afford it is another matter. Just getting around the place is very expensive.
But I think it's a great place to live in if you are rich or at least very comfortable. It can be difficult if you aren't and commuting from place to place makes your day longer and more drawn out. That would be my take on it.
Moved from Coventry to London almost 26 years ago and still love being here. I moved to go to Polytechnic (as they were then) so started off in student accomodation in West Ham. Apparently it's nicer there now but it was rough back then.
Quickly made the leap south of the river and have stayed around south-east london ever since.
Earnings have varied wildly over the years but I've always had enough to live on and still go out (and even save). It all comes down to how you manage your money and what you want to do.
Rent varies massively and you can definitely find places for less than £1000 per month. You need to be prepared to look around though and there is a massive element of luck involved - I only got my place because I happened to go to the letting agency on the day they received the keys for it so I was the first person to see it and said yes straight away.
Even within the same area what you get for your money can be quite different.
I live on my own in zone 2 and pay £550 per month for a good sized studio flat with a shared garden. I'm very aware that is a bargain but it shows that they are out there if you look around.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Err, there's some shiny developments, but it's still as rough as f***
When I first moved to Walthamstow people lived there because they were forced to - usually through lack of enough money to live anywhere else. However, particularly in the last year or two all of that has changed. People move there now because they want to - we've had a massive increase in young middle class couples (gay and straight) as well as families move into the area bringing their lifestyles with them - good pubs, restaurants, cafes, farmers market, artisan bakeries etc. We have a growing art scene, as well as some really interesting theatre.
People have slowly moved out of Hackney, Stoke Newington, and Islington and have moved north east to where I live. I really like it.
Once I claimed I'd leave Walthamstow as soon as I could afford to. Now I want to stay.
The other thing that keeps me in the area is the transport - on the Victoria Line so can be in Oxford Street in about 20 minutes, as well as a huge amount of bus routes, and National Rail into Liverpool Street every 15 minutes.
You need to work out good places to live based on affordability, but also transport links. If you have to commute to work every day you probably don't want a journey that takes too long or involves lots of changes. I work in White City but live in Walthamstow. However the Tube journey only requires one easy interchange and takes about 40 minutes overall. My weekly Travelcard on Oyster is £35.60 a week which basically gives me 7 days of unlimited travel within Zones 1-3.
I've not been back so was giving it the benefit of the doubt.
Undeservedly so it seems
Well, there's a couple of very decent eateries on Orford Rd, Nags Head very nice in good weather, and they've done a terrific job with The Bell - but I'm still very glad I left.
There are far too many shady characters with chips on their shoulders, and the station late at night is still a very unpleasant place to be.
And LBWF is a disgrace.
Seriously? :eek: A bottle of Coke is cheaper up here as well. A lot of Southerners would probably think they were rich if they came to this area for a short while.
1. 8 and a half years so far
2. Walthamstow
3. Enough
4. My rent and bills takes up 23% of my monthly salary
My rent is nowhere near £1,000 per month. You can live in a decent houseshare in Zone 3 for around £500 per month.
Horses for courses and all that. In the decade I've lived in Walthamstow I've never felt unsafe even around the station late at night.
The Nags Head is going downhill because it rested on its laurels for too long being the only "decent" pub for a long time.
Now you have The Bell (as you mentioned), the more recently reopened Chequers which is attracting a crowd down to the High Street who you would never have seen in a million years in that area when the pub was under its previous ownership! Plus, you have The Castle, The Village, and newly reopened Warrant Officer its all looking rather good.
I totally agree with you about the council though - the most corrupt and useless local authority I have ever known!
E17 is the centre of the universe
Joking apart, "Walthamstow" covers a vast area. Bakers Arms to Crooked Billet. Blackhorse Rd to Waterworks. It's a big population. It's where I tend to cycle to of a nice evening.
I do prefer my neighbourhood (only a mile or so away), but I like the funkier folk in the Village, and you definitely have better pubs than we do. Shame it's a nightmare to get to from where I live by public transport - typical London problem - yet it's a stone's throw. A cab's only about £7 if we go eating and drinking there.
Me and the other Mr Malpasc live just off the High Street actually, but I'd really like to live either in the Village or around Lloyd Park.
If you've not tried the new Chequers on the High Street you really should - it is a very startling turnaround from the awful place it used to be.
When I was younger it was great, especially for socialising. Living at home and working meant I had lots of spare cash to enjoy London, because it is hard without money.
I had always been on a good wage (£30k - £40k plus) but once I started renting (£1200 - £1500 per month) then the socialising took a step back.
When I got my mortgage and lived outside of London then I really began to dislike London more, especially the few times I had to stay in London after a night out, the noise and the antisocial behaviour of Londoners really put me right off. I began to appreciate the green and the space that you find OUTSIDE of London and found London to be quite claustrophobic,
But now I'm back in London, with no mortgage, cheap rent at my Brothers flat, and so I again have lots of spending money have started going out more and more. Now beginning to appreciate London a bit more but mainly due to the fact that its easier to get home of a night out.
1. How long did/have you lived there?
10 years, from 1985 to 1995
2. Which area did/do you live in?
In order of where I lived: 1985 - Belsize Park (Hampstead), 1986 - Greenford, Middlesex 1987 - Notting Hill, 1988 Wembley in Middlesex then Golders Green 1989 - 1995 Wembley
3. How much were/are you earning?
My first wage in London in October 1985 was about £440 per month after tax and NI, by 1995 it was up to about £1,500 per month after deductions
4. How much was/is your rent and expenses, and how did you find it? Did you have spare money?
I'm quite good at budgeting so can usually live within my means whatever my income and to be honest, apart from the first few months of living in London where I was usually quite skint, I managed fine most of the time. I lived in a number of places over the 10 years so rents varied but back then they weren't as high (relatively speaking) as they are now. In the house I shared in Golders Green from July 1988 to September 1989 the rent was a very cheap £160 per month because the rent was protected under some Rent Act from the 1970s - as I was taking home almost a grand a month at the time it left me with a lot of spare cash.
The first few years I lived in London I genuinely loved it. I was young, had money, wanted to be out every night and there were lots of things to do etc. However I just could never get settled down there. Landlords at the time just didn't want any tenants in the place for more than a year and I got sick of having to look for somewhere else to live every 12 months or so. The last three or four years I was living there I was thinking more and more about moving back home to the north east. I knew I was never going to get on the property ladder even back then and at the end I felt like I was treading water as I was in my 30s, not wanting to go out on a night like I used to but just never feeling "at home" when I stayed in - if that makes any sense. I suppose I just never settled down there.
When I look back on my time in London the time I think most nostalgically about is the year and a half I lived in Greenford in Middlesex. It wasn't the best place to live but it was the closest place in London that made me feel like I belonged there. Our house was the only rental in the street and all the neighbours were friendly and made us feel part of the neighbourhood. Everywhere else I lived I just felt I was living in a house on a street that could have been anywhere and where you didn't know the neighbours and not in somewhere I thought of as being my home. I suppose it's that feeling of belonging - on the whole I didn't have that when I lived there. But I'm glad I did live and work there for 10 years though as it was an experience.