University in London

Gingernutmeg

xycom1 wrote: »

Haha, of course you are joking? Since Ken took over, London transport costs have rocketed. I remember when I moved down to London in 2001 (to study at King's) a single bus fare was 70p. Now it's something ridiculous like £1.50. Similar state of affairs on the tubes and the regional trains aren't much different. I don't use public transport, it's a rip off.

As others have said, around £100 per week for accomodation. I privately rent at present and been costing £650/month for a 1-bedroom flat. Pleased to be moving away from London though in July. :T

It went up to £2 in January ... I expect it'll go up again soon

DrFluffy

London transport is so much better than it has EVER been...

Oyster is fantastic! I needed to get from Epping to Whitechapel (zone 6-edge of zone1/2) a few weeks ago. Expected it to set me back £5 or 6, but it was JUST £1.80!!! Fantastic!

I'm currently on placement in Harlow. To get the bus to one of our sister sites in Epping costs £6.50 for a return. A 20 minute journey. There are 1 or 2 buses an hour, depending on the time of day. THAT is a !!!!!! service!

suffolkb

Daughter will def apply to Kings. Her mother still wants her to go to a northern uni. DD spent her first 10 years in Kingston so knows London and around quite well and is really bored here in the sticks. I think that London transport is pretty good - if you can avoid the rush hour. The last time I looked, a yearly bus pass cost £540. I know it`s quicker to cycle, but that would spoil her hair!.

Broke_Student

suffolkb wrote: »

The last time I looked, a yearly bus pass cost £540.

Student bus pass is £37.30 per month or £388 for the year.
As a student she will need 9 months worth of bus pas. £37.30*9 = £335.70 :T

I believe thats for ALL of London aswell!

hattie_pea

I think if you want to live in a swank area, as with most places, you have to be prepared to pay for the priviledge. That said, I'd never advise anyone against living in London - its ACE! Sure it can be tough on the purse but if you use your head and prepare a little you can do just fine. Acutally, when I omved to lOndon after my degree I found the cost of food etc cheaper as I could go to fab Sat/Sun markets and stock up on veggies for the week and still ahve change from a fiver. You can also look out for the chinese/indian supermarkets which stock great product at very reasonable prices. In terms of travel, the bus and tube are now cheaper thanks to oyster and we should see some continued investment into cycle paths thanks to Ken. DO IT!

Venny

DrFluffy wrote: »

London transport is so much better than it has EVER been...

Oyster is fantastic! I needed to get from Epping to Whitechapel (zone 6-edge of zone1/2) a few weeks ago. Expected it to set me back £5 or 6, but it was JUST £1.80!!! Fantastic!

I'm currently on placement in Harlow. To get the bus to one of our sister sites in Epping costs £6.50 for a return. A 20 minute journey. There are 1 or 2 buses an hour, depending on the time of day. THAT is a !!!!!! service!

If is St Margarets you are talking about getting a bus to have a look at:
http://www.harlowride.co.uk/epping.html
Arriva buses are usually a lot more expensive than others e.g regal. Most buses stop at the hospital but if you get on one to coopersale its not far to walk.

riskyinred

I'm at university in London.. UCL, in my second year. I too am from the north and was quite worried about the cost of living here, but I have to say, it's really not as bad as I was expecting.

Rent is depressing, but only when you speak to people living elsewhere in the country who consider £60/week to be the maximum they're willing to pay. I pay £110/week at the moment, and live in Camden Town in a very nice flat with three other girls. She'll be in halls in her first year anyway, but in the second, you can end up paying rent of around £70 if you move out to Wood Green/Whitechapel etc. It just depends.

hostie

Hello, I just wanted to say to Oldernotwiser that I normally respect all the advice you give but you seem to be speculating wildly and don´t really seem to have any idea of the costs involved in living in London. London has a lot to offer but it is much more expensive in almost every respect. Yes, shopping online for groceries is probably the same as everywhere else in the country but it is unrealistic to expect anyone to survive a whole year without having to buy a coffee or a sandwich or a bottle of water in a shop. That is particularly the case in London. It is easy to take a packed lunch to uni but then if there is a huge delay in your bus or train to get home then you often have to buy something else.

Also, busses are very cheap but in my experience it isn´t always practical to get the bus. I used to walk an hour to get to uni and get the bus home. Occassionally I had to go to other places such as the British Library or the V&A museum and if I tried to get busses it could take over 2 hours each way - a lot of time if you are trying to work and attend classes as well.

Anyway this is just from my experience.

marksandsparksgal

I went to Queen Mary 2 years ago and paid £97.50 a week for halls, 6 to a flat, shared bathroom and kitchen. Nice place, shame it was up about a million stairs with no lift!

Broke_Student

marksandsparksgal wrote: »

I went to Queen Mary 2 years ago and paid £97.50 a week for halls, 6 to a flat, shared bathroom and kitchen. Nice place, shame it was up about a million stairs with no lift!

Well im going to be staying in Queen Mary halls this year as a first year undergraduate and am expecting to pay £98 for a newish ensuite!