would it be a bad idea to relocate to London without a plan?

KatieDee

I remember you mentioning on a previous thread that you suffer from social anxiety...London is not the place to go if you feel uncomfortable around large groups of people! It is also insanely expensive to live there, as I'm sure you're already aware.

To give you an idea, a friend of mine moved to London after she had secured a teaching job - she paid £1100 a month for a one bedroom flat which was a good 40-60 minutes out of the centre. Luckily this worked for her as she didn't work in the centre, but the cost of living was very high.

You also have to keep in mind that the competition for jobs in London is very, very high. There will be people applying for the same jobs as you who haven't been unemployed for years and have a good employment background. If you're struggling to find a job where you live at the moment, quite frankly, you don't stand a chance in London.

I hate to be the negative one here but it seems, having read your other threads, as though this is an attempt at moving somewhere else in order to get away from your problems. Unfortunately, they will still be there if/when you get to London, only you'll have the additional worries of covering your cost of living and finding a job.

I hope it works out for your, regardless of your decision. I wouldn't make this one lightly though!

BigAunty

I'm with KatieDee on this - your posts indicate that you suffer from mental health issues and there are threads which show that you are prone to poor decision making and quite immature.

Also, your posts indicate entrenched worklessness and poverty so I'm not quite sure why you think you can fund this dream or secure work with your patchy CV.

Going to London, one of the most expensive and perhaps unfriendliest cities on earth, can have a sink or swim outcome and that's even for people with good health and incomes.

Do you have any close friends or relatives there, anyone to stay with? Landlords can pick and choose there tenants there and generally won't touch benefit recipients with a bargepole. You seem to have imagined swanning there to get a course without any assessment of the difficulty you will have securing accommodation.

Your issues - social isolation, poverty, bad health, failure to find a partner - won't vanish just by moving postcodes.

bellaboo86

I have a friend that moved to London recently. Initially she rented in a shirt term place for a month until she could figure out the best area for her. However it was hard for her to sort out a short term place as she couldn't commute to London to look at the places (we all know about those deceptive estate agent cameras). Whilst my friend has a good job in London she says that the job market is extra competitive as people are always moving to London. Again my friend is lucky that her colleagues are very sociable. This won't always be the case. I would think long and hard before going on a whim.

kingslayer

SailorSam wrote: »

It was only a few days ago that you were telling us about the latest love in your life. What happend to her ?
Long distance relationships are hard work.

Can't be bothered with relationships or dating right now, i need to sort my life out and i'm hoping this can be a new chapter in my life.

SailorSam

Rather than London, what about throwing some things in a rucksack and go travelling. Get jobs in bars or kitchens and work your way around the world.
How many threads have you read on here where people have said they learnt so much and it opened them to knew ideas. You're only young this is the time when you can take chances, and if the worst came to the worst you can jump on a train home.

kingslayer

BigAunty wrote: »

I'm with KatieDee on this - your posts indicate that you suffer from mental health issues and there are threads which show that you are prone to poor decision making and quite immature.

Also, your posts indicate entrenched worklessness and poverty so I'm not quite sure why you think you can fund this dream or secure work with your patchy CV.

Going to London, one of the most expensive and perhaps unfriendliest cities on earth, can have a sink or swim outcome and that's even for people with good health and incomes.

Do you have any close friends or relatives there, anyone to stay with? Landlords can pick and choose there tenants there and generally won't touch benefit recipients with a bargepole. You seem to have imagined swanning there to get a course without any assessment of the difficulty you will have securing accommodation.

Your issues - social isolation, poverty, bad health, failure to find a partner - won't vanish just by moving postcodes.

I understand moving may not help the situation much, but it's worth a try. I just want to move away from here, as this place contains too many bad memories.

I think a "sink or swim" situation would actually help me. Right now i am stagnating and i need some renewed motivation from somewhere.

If i wasn't to move to London, i think i'd want to move elsewhere, at least out of the county and somewhere different.

London is full of opportunity. I could take classes, get better educated in a certain subject via many different options of courses, and better myself.

I have a friend who moved to london (though i haven't spoken to him for ages) and works in a restaurant, but he seems to have done okay there. He has a brother who lives there too. I think he lives in East London, but he's not doing bad. I think people seem to put a downer on London, but there are plenty people living there who aren't in good jobs and they seem to be doing just fine.

kingslayer

SailorSam wrote: »

Rather than London, what about throwing some things in a rucksack and go travelling. Get jobs in bars or kitchens and work your way around the world.
How many threads have you read on here where people have said they learnt so much and it opened them to knew ideas. You're only young this is the time when you can take chances, and if the worst came to the worst you can jump on a train home.

I guess so, but in a way i would be wasting my time travelling instead of better myself in an educational sense. I need some form of qualifications to get that decent paying job, but it seems that every where i turn it's a degree in something that is needed.

I feel that i'm getting older and need to figure something out. I do want to travel, but I could sacrifice that if it meant cementing my future happiness here in the U.K.

I dunno if even made sense, i'm just talking without thinking at the moment

redcard

Why do you need money to move to London? You said it's either sink or swim and you need something to get you motivated, so surely having no money is the ultimate motivator?

Otherwise you can save money, move to London for a few weeks, and slink back home when the money runs out.

BigAunty

kingslayer wrote: »

I understand moving may not help the situation much, but it's worth a try. I just want to move away from here, as this place contains too many bad memories.

The bad memories are in your head and you take your head with you to the next place.

kingslayer wrote: »

I think a "sink or swim" situation would actually help me. Right now i am stagnating and i need some renewed motivation from somewhere.

Being motivated to change doesn't require a person to expose themselves to pressure and risk. I'd be more impressed if you were incentivised to research and prepare your move rather than the rather breezy attitude you are showing. You seem to think its a badge of honour to go forth despite the negative impact it may have - that's not bravery but foolhardiness.

kingslayer wrote: »

If i wasn't to move to London, i think i'd want to move elsewhere, at least out of the county and somewhere different.

London is full of opportunity. I could take classes, get better educated in a certain subject via many different options of courses, and better myself.

.

The best foundation for you to better yourself is to ensure you recover your mental health in full before you set yourself the sink/swim tests.

Also, to have recent employment experience to boost your CV and provide the basis for employee references.

With online education, a person can receive training in any subject from any location, for example. It doesn't require moving to one of the most expensive cities on earth just because they may have a few more colleges than your current place.

kingslayer wrote: »

I have a friend who moved to london (though i haven't spoken to him for ages) and works in a restaurant, but he seems to have done okay there. He has a brother who lives there too. I think he lives in East London, but he's not doing bad. I think people seem to put a downer on London, but there are plenty people living there who aren't in good jobs and they seem to be doing just fine.

Well, you don't know how well they are coping because you aren't in touch with them, you are making assumptions in the absence of evidence.

I suggest you consider cultivating that contact to see if they would let you sofa surf for a month so you can seek a job and a permanent place there, so that you don't sink without a trace or burn your bridges back home prematurely.

At the end of the day, if I recall your posting information correctly, you have very little in the way of qualifications or employment history and are plagued by low income and poor mental health.

London (or anywhere) could be a springboard into new opportunities but could actually be the start of an even bigger spiral with regards to your health and worklessness.

At the bottom end of the employment market, even in a place like London, you are competing with many applicants and are quite disadvantaged compared to them and less appealing to employers. Employers don't suddenly become less forgiving and fussy once you go within the M25.

There is actually no mention in your posts about the practical aspects - securing employment, securing housing, having at least 2 months worth of funds to tide you by until your first pay packet.

BillJones

kingslayer wrote: »

I think people seem to put a downer on London, but there are plenty people living there who aren't in good jobs and they seem to be doing just fine.

Room in a house will be £600. Tube ticket is £140 per month. A pint in an average pub is £5, and a roast meal in a pub is £16.

These costs are all absolutely fine if you have a decent job here, as wages are also high, but it is not a great place to live if you don't.

I'd recommend Berlin.