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also i note you lived in clapham. yeah that place is shocking, should have gone north, bruv,.
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Feb 28, 2015 02:38
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opus111 posted:the HISTORY - this is one of the main points for me. I love history and london is chock-full of it. Interesting, we have some things in common... I took a shot at history in University (i love history). Museums and London History are a big pull for me.
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Feb 28, 2015 02:43
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Yggdrassil posted:Interesting, we have some things in common... you shoudl get this http://www.amazon.co.uk/London-The-Biography-Peter-Ackroyd/dp/0099422581 it;s pop-history but it will fire you up.
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Feb 28, 2015 02:46
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I saw that the other day at a bookstore, it caught my attention. I'll see if i can get it in exchange for another book at Parque Rivadavia (it's like a huge used books exchange market we got here).
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Feb 28, 2015 03:04
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For me the history of Rome and actually working daily among (and in!) the marble buildings of the great Empire was something I never got from London. Buckingham Palace is a big square brick. The Tower of London didn't really do much for me. But anyways, nice to hear some actual reasoning rather than simply London is the best. Food was a big thing for me. Kebabs are greasy fat people food and if that's 'good food' for you then we're from different planets.
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Feb 28, 2015 03:05
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i mean the more hidden history, like the origin of the knights Templar on fleet street and stuff like that. the grill on holborn where you can see another street level down where it just sunk. the big tourist ones are way played out. rome is my second favourite city ever, btw.
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Feb 28, 2015 03:10
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Going out in London: race to the pub after work, get drunk as quickly as possible, leave at midnight because you have to catch the last tube. Alternatively, you can go to a "late night" club after this, pay 30 pounds to get in and enjoy yourself watching strippers with other sad sacks. And even these clubs close at like 5-7 am. Doing all this, you have lost at least 100 pounds. Going out in Berlin: you meet your friends after dinner to have a drink and talk. No one is in a hurry to get drunk, because you will be out all night, so everyone takes it easy. After midnight, you decide where to go. You arrive at the club around 2am using the underground which goes all night. Don't forget to grab a beer for the road at one of the many 24h cornershops (cooled 0.5l bottle is 1 to 1,5 euros). You drink this beer while walking or in the underground. At the club you pay 10-15 euros to get in, and you can stay from Friday night till Monday afternoon. They don't close. Alternatively you decide, somewhere in the morning, to go to a different club, so you leave, grab another beer for the road, and hop into the underground to go to a club somewhere else where you pay a small entry fee and you can stay forever. In the summer, when you leave the club for the last time, you go and chill out in one of the many parks where you can come down smoking a spliff at any time of the day. This happens at all times during the day. And the best thing? You still have half the money you took with you in your wallet.
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Feb 28, 2015 14:40
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Lol geez.
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Feb 28, 2015 14:49
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opus111 posted:Lol geez. i know!!!
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Feb 28, 2015 15:07
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You guys can discuss that freely, but keep in mind; i don't go to pubs nor drink. My ideal afterwork probably would be walking arround, going to a museum, and then inviting friends over to eat and play tabletop rpgs. Or watch a movie/series. Or just chat :P. And that's actually pretty ideal: most days after work i'd expect to be partaking in a school project, or at an audition, or doing something related to my acting.
Yggdrassil fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Feb 28, 2015 |
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Feb 28, 2015 15:56
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Yggdrassil posted:You guys can discuss that freely, but keep in mind; i don't go to pubs nor drink. My ideal afterwork probably would be walking arround, going to a museum, and then inviting friends over to eat and play tabletop rpgs. Or watch a movie/series. Or just chat :P. And that's actually pretty ideal: most days after work i'd expect to be partaking in a school project, or at an audition, or doing something related to my acting. goon poster boy.
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Feb 28, 2015 16:19
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oliwan posted:Going out in London: race to the pub after work, get drunk as quickly as possible, leave at midnight because you have to catch the last tube. Alternatively, you can go to a "late night" club after this, pay 30 pounds to get in and enjoy yourself watching strippers with other sad sacks. And even these clubs close at like 5-7 am. Doing all this, you have lost at least 100 pounds. LAD LAD LAD
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Feb 28, 2015 16:30
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Yggdrassil posted:You guys can discuss that freely, but keep in mind; i don't go to pubs nor drink. My ideal afterwork probably would be walking arround, going to a museum, and then inviting friends over to eat and play tabletop rpgs. Or watch a movie/series. Or just chat :P. And that's actually pretty ideal: most days after work i'd expect to be partaking in a school project, or at an audition, or doing something related to my acting. Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should do what they want to do. However, you will not be able to network or meet people or be noticed with this (attitude to) social life. How are you going to change this?
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Feb 28, 2015 17:45
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oliwan posted:Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should do what they want to do. However, you will not be able to network or meet people or be noticed with this (attitude to) social life. How are you going to change this? You jump too soon into conclusion by thinking that my attitude towards social life (which you don't actually know about, since i just described my preferred social activities) limits my networking capabilities. Im very versatile when it comes to blending in with people, im extroverted and have friends and acquaintances coming from very different backgrounds.
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Feb 28, 2015 17:55
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Yggdrassil posted:You jump too soon into conclusion by thinking that my attitude towards social life (which you don't actually know about, since i just described my preferred social activities) limits my networking capabilities. Im very versatile when it comes to blending in with people, im extroverted and have friends and acquaintances coming from very different backgrounds. Doesn't matter in London unless you drink.
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Feb 28, 2015 18:03
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This thread is taking a turn for the downright moronic. I love drinking but to suggest that it's impossible to network without it is not only stupid, it reflects pretty pathetically on your social lives if you think that you can't without it. Like, London is just about the most multicultural city in the world. Can't see any successful Muslims here, no sir. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_teetotalers Go figure. People way more successful than you ever will be. Calvin Harris is even teetotal lmao, who would have thought that. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/10/daniel-radcliffe-ferne-cotton-teetotalism
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Feb 28, 2015 18:20
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Jeza posted:This thread is taking a turn for the downright moronic. I love drinking but to suggest that it's impossible to network without it is not only stupid, it reflects pretty pathetically on your social lives if you think that you can't without it. Like, London is just about the most multicultural city in the world. Can't see any successful Muslims here, no sir. Thanks, Jeza. Getting back on topic, i wanted to see if any goon could tell me about various living expenses they usually pay, and any suggestions you might have to make things cheaper. For example, I heard that being younger than 26, I could get a discount on the oyster car, do you guys know about that and other benefits I might be able to reap?
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Feb 28, 2015 23:13
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You can get a 25 and under rail card and link that to your Oyster. It'll shave about 30% off. It's impossible to over-emphasise how messed up flat prices are here though. For comparison: I'm paying 740 a month, and consider this an absolute bargain. In Edinburgh I was paying 450, for a flat three times the size.
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Feb 28, 2015 23:39
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Strom Cuzewon posted:You can get a 25 and under rail card and link that to your Oyster. It'll shave about 30% off. I was going to say that 450 is very cheap for Edinburgh as well, but I guess that that demonstrates the biggest downside to London - while the good/popular bits of Edi are very expensive as well (especially compared to the rest of Scotland) there are at least always a few cheaper options within easy public transport reach. In London, everything seems to be expensive. While I liked London fine when working there for a few months, I'm still very happy that I said yes to a job in Edinburgh all those years ago. Still very international/metropolitan but a lot smaller in scale, and the scots are a much nicer people than the English. Come to Edi instead!
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Mar 1, 2015 00:44
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The rent in London is absurd, there's no way that can be overemphasized.
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Mar 1, 2015 00:45
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opus111 posted:The rent in London is absurd, there's no way that can be overemphasized. The fact it is literally cheaper to rent a flat in Barcelona and literally fly into London every day than it is to live in a similar sized accommodation in the city highlights this fact. As for shaving living costs: Get a bike. - seriously, if you dont drink and can cycle home from networking in bars / clubs / events then do so. Same with commuting to - from work. This will be your biggest way to save money and you can pick up a roadworthy bike on craigslist / gumtree / freecycle easy enough. Freecycle - drat good service in finding cheap furniture and other goods. Sign up to it and use it for all you can til you can afford better. Be prepared to eat poo poo. - When i first moved back to London after 3 years in the states i managed to live off of a loaf of bread, processed meat slices, a tub of cream cheese, and some sausage rolls every day at work. Cost around £7 a week. Evening meals were basically frozen chips and chicken nuggets for a further £10 a week. Spending <£80 a month on food for a few months was great for my budget but it was bland and horrible. Megabus - if you decide to move to a neighbouring city use megabus services instead of trains. Literally 90% cheaper if booked in advance and at least 50% cheaper if booked on the day. And only adds maybe an extra 30-60 mins to the travel time (so long as it isnt rush hour) Orange Wednesdays - im pretty sure these are a thing, but as you are looking to get into the entertainment world i assume you will be interested in cinema visits. Orange wednesday was / is a deal to get 2 for 1 tickets that you can share the cost with a friend. All i can think of for now, also, if you do come check out the London Goon Meets. We are mostly good people, we sit around talking about how hard it is living under London's poverty line and the winner is the person thst comes up with something worse than in the 4 yorkshiremen sketch from Monty Python. Just kidding, there are no winners at a goon meet (unless you can chug a drinking horn of Müller Rice.)
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Mar 1, 2015 07:38
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dpack_1 posted:The fact it is literally cheaper to rent a flat in Barcelona and literally fly into London every day than it is to live in a similar sized accommodation in the city highlights this fact. gonna contradict some of this... get a bike - imo opinion you're better off just buying a z1-3 pass every month (if you live within them). IT's like 150 quid but you can take buses into any zone. it owns imo. its well worth the money because and for somebody staying short term paying that will encourage them to explore the city a bit more. eating - bro just get some of that £3.50 for two packs of raviolli pasta plus some meat from a butchers and a ton of veg on the cheap from an ethnic shop. you can get armfulls of onions and carrots for basically nothing. also another good one is buying a huge potato for pennies and having baked potato + beans. or sweet potatoes. anyway food in london is dead cheap. aslo those plastic tubs of soup plus the sainsburys/tesco deal that gets you 4 rolls from the bakery. i lived on that for weeks, it was fine. also if you get friendly with a butcher you'll get some proper bargains. freecycle is good. megabus - no opnion orange wednesdays - last decent film ever was the rock imo, cineam is crap, download TV instead brah.
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Mar 1, 2015 09:45
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im excited for the op. going to a world city at 22 years old with barely nothing and a near-hopeless dream....you're gonna enjoy it man.,
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Mar 1, 2015 09:46
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Orange Wednesdays ended last month after like 15 years because EE (the company that now own Orange) didn't see it as viable in the long run.
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Mar 1, 2015 15:18
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Thanks for that info, guys! I've nailed some sales yesterday, I might be able to go with 3-4k £!! Also, we are searching the low price flatshare pages from gumtree, mainly for flatshares for under 100 £ p/w, and emailing the owners about availability in June (which is when we will move). I've heard it's more plausible to get a good deal by arranging it in advance, so we'll see what we can do about it. I've read about the scams when searching for accommodation, we will try to prevent any of those to happen (not sending anyone money, checking and getting a copy of the contract, etc) What other security measures do you guys recommend for flat hunting?
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Mar 1, 2015 15:30
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I'd suggest that you look for somewhere to stay before you arrive as then you have an address, meaning you can go out and look for work. Please bear in mind that you will be competing for work against many native English speakers, not necessarily British, who are also very highly educated and skilled. I'm not saying there's racism involved in the hiring process but make sure that your spoken English is tip-top (your written English is great). It is very competitive but in my opinion, you should be able to find some work - just don't expect it to necessarily be in your sphere of experience...you're going to need money, quickly. The fact you speak Spanish might be of some help, look for job opportunities regarding this. You mentioned before about getting a flat with your friend. Please put this notion out of your head - unless you are going to live in like, Zone 100000 that is just not going to happen. The Aussie and Saffa friends I made in London had mostly one thing in common; they rocked up to a hostel with about £5k in the bank, stayed there for a couple of months whilst looking for work and made a ton of friends, then they would rent a house with all these friends they made. Be prepared to house share with possibly 4-5-6 people, in zone 3. If you're lucky. In terms of avoiding scams, you're on the right track. The last place I lived in London was in Wimbledon and I was paying £300 p/m, cash in hand, to the landlady. Clearly she was keeping it as undeclared income. The room was *tiny* and I was sharing the house with two Saffa girls and a Hungarian bloke. This was in a 3 bedroomed house with one bathroom, the downstairs living room was converted into a bedroom and there was a kitchen/living room where the tv was. This is fairly typical for living in London, expect nothing less. I say go for it - no matter what happens you'll have a good time I think. Get out and meet people and have fun. I have doubts that you'll be able to afford and attend acting classes whilst having to work full time (you *will* have to work full time) and paying rent/travel/food, but you can at least have a go.
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Mar 1, 2015 19:49
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dpack_1 posted:Be prepared to eat poo poo. - When i first moved back to London after 3 years in the states i managed to live off of a loaf of bread, processed meat slices, a tub of cream cheese, and some sausage rolls every day at work. Cost around £7 a week. Evening meals were basically frozen chips and chicken nuggets for a further £10 a week. Spending <£80 a month on food for a few months was great for my budget but it was bland and horrible. Jesus Christ don't do this. There are plenty of ways to save money on food without loving up your health. Get your vegetables from cheap fruit & veg shops, shop late when there will be more supermarket offers on, eat together with your housemates, don't just throw away food past its best before date because it's probably still OK and you can read up on what's still safe to eat, read blogs on healthy but cheap recipes, cut out meat (or at least go to local butchers and reduce the amount you eat) etc. etc.
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Mar 1, 2015 23:01
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sweek0 posted:Jesus Christ don't do this. There are plenty of ways to save money on food without loving up your health. Get your vegetables from cheap fruit & veg shops, shop late when there will be more supermarket offers on, eat together with your housemates, don't just throw away food past its best before date because it's probably still OK and you can read up on what's still safe to eat, read blogs on healthy but cheap recipes, cut out meat (or at least go to local butchers and reduce the amount you eat) etc. etc. Don't worry, i wasn't going to risk my health doing that when i can make homemade pasta and use beans & vegetables to accompany -all cheap & healthy. I've heard good things about the farmers markets, are fruits and vegetables cheaper there?
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Mar 1, 2015 23:14
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Yggdrassil posted:Don't worry, i wasn't going to risk my health doing that when i can make homemade pasta and use beans & vegetables to accompany -all cheap & healthy. I've heard good things about the farmers markets, are fruits and vegetables cheaper there? Depends on where you live. Most London farmer's markets are in gentrified areas and actually more expensive.
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Mar 1, 2015 23:33
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oliwan posted:Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should do what they want to do. However, you will not be able to network or meet people or be noticed with this (attitude to) social life. How are you going to change this? Debbie downer here has a fair point about London being expensive, but really you'll probably be fine. If you're doing cultural artsy stuff as part of your course then you'll end up networking plenty - even just by working in hospitality jobs you'll end up making interesting connections because most bar/waiting staff in this city are absurdly overqualified for their jobs. My rent is £600+, I currently earn barely £1K a month. I'm not managing to make any savings, but I'm doing good, interesting work, can afford to feed myself and keep the lights on and still have money left over for boozin'. I actually worked behind the bar in a pub full-time before this, and managed to make rent and save money too. If you have bar experience you can get work at a nice bar or gastropub and make alright money. I'm working a 'real' job now and I'm actually earning a lot less. You sound young - don't worry about what this guy here said about getting into expensive clubs or whatever. You'll doubtless end up at plenty of (free) theatre-crowd houseparties. But nobody goes out to clubs to 'network' so really I have no idea what this guy is talking about. You'll end up networking plenty by virtue of working in hospitality most likely.
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Mar 1, 2015 23:49
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sweek0 posted:Depends on where you live. Most London farmer's markets are in gentrified areas and actually more expensive. Oh, i see. Francois_Dillinger posted:Please bear in mind that you will be competing for work against many native English speakers, not necessarily British, who are also very highly educated and skilled. I'm not saying there's racism involved in the hiring process but make sure that your spoken English is tip-top (your written English is great). It is very competitive but in my opinion, you should be able to find some work - just don't expect it to necessarily be in your sphere of experience...you're going to need money, quickly. The fact you speak Spanish might be of some help, look for job opportunities regarding this. Regarding english, my spoken is as good as my written; i've worked at Hewlett Packard, Avaya and the Faena Hotel, all jobs in which i had to speak english 100% of the time. I don't even have Argentinian accent, thou i don't know if that's actually good... maybe for some jobs? The Grumbles posted:Debbie downer here has a fair point about London being expensive, but really you'll probably be fine. If you're doing cultural artsy stuff as part of your course then you'll end up networking plenty - even just by working in hospitality jobs you'll end up making interesting connections because most bar/waiting staff in this city are absurdly overqualified for their jobs. I've heard i could actually spend months exploring the museums, which are mostly free, so that's definitely something i'll be doing 
Yggdrassil fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Mar 2, 2015 |
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Mar 2, 2015 00:07
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sweek0 posted:Depends on where you live. Most London farmer's markets are in gentrified areas and actually more expensive. I think there's been a slight misunderstanding here. I have a feeling that by 'farmers markets' he just means regular street markets, like Chapel Street Market, Broadway Market or Chatsworth Road. In which case, yes, fruit and vegetables are generally very cheap. Obviously these markets are usually only on a Saturday morning, so if you're doing shift work you might not be able to rely on them however! But yes, in the ''UK'' 'farmers market' has connotations of middle-class all-organic bread stalls and bespoke pork pies\whatever the trendy gentrified street food of the moment is. There are still plenty of dirt cheap street markets though! If you go near the end of the market day you're likely to get a better deal as the traders start discounting things like crazy. edit: here's some good markets north of the river. Chapel Street Market - good for fruit, veg, cheap clothes. also on the street is one of the city's oldest pie and mash shops, which is a cockney tradition you owe it to yourself to sample Shepherds Bush Market - good for all your cheap electrical goods, incense and creepy wig needs Portobello Road Market - if you're feeling like making rent payments an issue for the next month, go here and buy some nice vintage clothes, antiques or horrible hipster lomo camera Queensway computer market - Good for tacky bongs, fake beats by dres, and computer parts (only go for the latter). Loads of stalls with all kinds of replacement computer parts, monitors, accessories, phone chargers, etc. Most people there are willing to haggle. Chatsworth Road/ Broadway Markets - good mix of regular old fruit, veg, fresh fish, bakery stuff, etc etc. Camden Market (+Dingwall's Market, Stables Market) - if for some reason you deperately need a t-shirt with the Green Day logo on it circa 2004, a shirt with a joke on it that you'll hate yourself for wearing, or A Thing With Bob Marley\Che Guevara On It go here and get pickpocketed in the process I guess? The Grumbles fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Mar 2, 2015 |
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Mar 2, 2015 00:17
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The Grumbles posted:*Awesome stuff* Thanks a lot for that info, man! We will be checking out those places, specially that Chapel Street Market and Chatsworth Rd/broadway
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Mar 2, 2015 13:45
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For £100 per week in zone 2-3 you'll probably be sharing a (too small) room with someone just FYI. Going out further it gets cheaper but transport costs and time also increase a lot. Expect to pay £600/month for rent unless you live in a total shithole or zone 4+ I think you still need to work on managing your expectations.
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Mar 3, 2015 01:24
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Saros posted:For £100 per week in zone 2-3 you'll probably be sharing a (too small) room with someone just FYI. Going out further it gets cheaper but transport costs and time also increase a lot. I think there's a misunderstanding here. I see that some of you guys got the idea of me trying to rent a flat, while i have been trying to tell you that im looking for flatshares. I know that flat renting goes for about 600 pounds, but im refering to sharing a house with other people beside my friend, renting a room that might be shared with others. That's what im talking about, and that's why i was speaking of 100 quid a week for flatshares.
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Mar 3, 2015 02:49
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Yggdrassil posted:I think there's a misunderstanding here. I see that some of you guys got the idea of me trying to rent a flat, while i have been trying to tell you that im looking for flatshares. I know that flat renting goes for about 600 pounds, but im refering to sharing a house with other people beside my friend, renting a room that might be shared with others. That's what im talking about, and that's why i was speaking of 100 quid a week for flatshares. Except they aren't 100 a week unless in a very lovely area or you are sharing with 11 other people, sometimes 2-3 people to a room with no common area. I live in zone 5 and pay £500 a month for a room with someone else living in the other room in this flat. My room is literally smaller than your standard prison cell. In zones 1-3 you will pay A LOT more than 100p/w.
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Mar 3, 2015 03:19
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dpack_1 posted:Except they aren't 100 a week unless in a very lovely area or you are sharing with 11 other people, sometimes 2-3 people to a room with no common area. I see. How much travel time do you have from zone 5 to 1-2 with the tube? Do you know how much is the monthly pass for that zone range?
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Mar 3, 2015 03:33
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Don't love further out than zone 4. This is what I was saying about rent. Imagine Manhattan rent, then expand it outwards to a whole city. You reqlly need to save more before coming over.
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Mar 3, 2015 05:45
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150 p/w is doable in zone 2/3. Don't worry about peopl going on about lovely areas lol. Just dive into them. Also also make sure you find somewhere in north london. South is so bad lol. It's full of people who moved from nice areas of the UK and find the city proper too overwhelming. I watched a football game at somebody's house in clap ham and they were scared of the tube lmao. They drove everywhwre and were amazed i was getting the last train. Stay away from south london. Don't be tempted by people going on about 'green space', it's soooooo poo poo. Save a few more k, move into north London zone 3 MAX. budget like 800 per month for rent plus council tax + bills.
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Mar 3, 2015 05:50
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l live in East London (Stratford to be specific) with my girlfriend and each pay £550 rent a month. It's not too bad round here. It's about mins on the tube to central London, but if you were to move somewhere like Leyton it'd take a little longer but be cheaper in terms of rent.
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Mar 3, 2015 06:39
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