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

kingslayer

BigAunty wrote: »

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



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.



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.



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.

Well this idea isn't going to plan.

BigAunty

kingslayer wrote: »

Well this idea isn't going to plan.

You've expressed a whim or desire but if there is a plan, you've not been explicit.

What contacts do you have in London, what funds do you have at your disposal, which specific courses do you have your eye on and when do they start, do you think you may have difficulty securing accommodation because you are on benefits or do you know someone there who will put you up, do you think you may have difficulty securing employment because of your health issues and patchy CV?

kingslayer

BigAunty wrote: »

You've expressed a whim or desire but if there is a plan, you've not been explicit.

What contacts do you have in London, what funds do you have at your disposal, which specific courses do you have your eye on and when do they start, do you think you may have difficulty securing accommodation because you are on benefits or do you know someone there who will put you up, do you think you may have difficulty securing employment because of your health issues and patchy CV?

I would need to save up first and have enough money to survive for at least the first couple months; that is irrefutable.

Courses wise, maybe languages, communication, logistics, business, health studies, some along those lines.

I have actually had a lot of thought about starting up my own little market, then eventually moving on to opening up my own shop/business. It is an idea i have flirted with for a while now and I definitely need some advice on it. I just dislike the thought of having to work for someone all my life. I want to be my own boss and create jobs for others. I am thinking that if i did this, if it would be better for me to set up in my own area/county or move to London in search of business opportunities.

Thanks big aunty, you have been a good help. You have put things in perspective for me, as i realise the thought of moving to London is a drastic decision and would need a lot of consideration.

Anyway, if you or anyone else can give me some advice on the aforementioned business idea/s, that would be great.

Thanks.

I_Can_Haz_Job?

in answer to the OP's opening question - it would be a very bad idea to move to London with no plan. I moved to London in 2007 after being offered a job in Hammersmith. I was made redundant after 6 years and spent 7 months on JSA last year before thankfully getting something else at Christmas. It's VERY expensive, competition even for the dodgiest flatshares is fierce (it's not uncommon to have to go through many interviews for a flatshare before you get a place to live) and the jobs market is only just getting better but is nowhere near perfect. If I had £5 for every time I get approached by someone who's fresh off the plane/coach and looking for work, physically going up to me and others on the street asking for a job, I'd be well off. It's a very lonely place to be when you're skint and it takes quite a period of adjustment to get used to the way the city is. It's so fast, quite brutal and you need to keep up or get stomped on. If you have the slightest hint of anxiety/depression, steer clear (I was diagnosed bipolar in my second year here!). There's talk of my work moving out to Bristol soon and I can't wait to go there with my job - I am officially done with London! I live in the West of London and pay £725 for a tiny bedsit, £90 council tax, £40 leccy bills and then there's food and travel costs. You need to have at least a job before coming here or you'll be on the street before you know it.

fufu_banterwaite

kingslayer wrote: »

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.

Why don't you get a working holiday visa for Australia and/or New Zealand and work there?

mariposa687

I don't how your plan works but secure a job before moving to London. Seriously, don't move here without one. I was lucky enough to be transferred with work. My boyfriend was unfortunately out of work for a while and it was really tough. London is a horrible place to be when you are poor and it can feel very lonely if you don't have anyone you already know to support you while you are building friendships. I don't mind it now but it was very hard initially. What will you do if you are out of work for longer than you expect?

gettingready

kingslayer wrote: »

Courses wise, maybe languages, communication, logistics, business, health studies, some along those lines.

You missed out flower arranging, yoga and lion taming.

kingslayer wrote: »

I have actually had a lot of thought about starting up my own little market, then eventually moving on to opening up my own shop/business. It is an idea i have flirted with for a while now and I definitely need some advice on it.

Oh dear - in times when most Londoners buy everything online as they have no time/desire/energy to physically go shopping while being out of their houses for like 11-12 hours per day (work plus commute and shops are closing down not opening up - YOU want the try to swim against the current?

Seriously - you will be lost here, completely lost - at EVERY angle.

Yes, I live in London. Yes I work in London. But I have a very well paid job and still hate it here.

Friend/his brother working in restaurants and managing fine?

Define "fine"?

Sharing a house with 15 other naive people hoping to "make it" in London , coming here with no plan, no support no chance in hell to get a GOOD job, ever?

BTW - mental health provision in London is a pot luck lottery, mostly quite bad actually. I have worked with psychiatrists looking after their educational needs and believe me you won't get help here if you need it.

And sorry but your various threads indicate clearly that you do need help , professional help.

I am not trying to bring you down - you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself . But perhaps stop and THINK?

How old are you anyway?

summerliverpool123

kingslayer wrote: »

I am considering upping sticks and leaving to live in London once I get a bit of money together. I really want to relocate to london due to the opportunity there. If i'm honest, i haven't got a plan, i just want to go there and start a new beginning. I just feel like i'm stagnating here, and I need a new start to be honest.

I have done a lot of talking, both loudly and (mostly) in my head, but i'm deadly serious about this. I just want a little advice on the best course of action.

There are a few ideas i have in mind to what i may pursue. There just isn't enough opportunity here to follow my interests, whereas in London it would be a new lease of life for me.

Anyway, has anyone made a similar move, and how did it go?

my girlfriend had the same felt like she did not want to move out of her place where she was use to its make in that step to change and come out of the comfort zone and now she is living almost 200 miles away she mis is home alot but she feels happy that she made that step in life. wish u all the best

Wozzie

As someone who has lived in London almost all his life please for the love of god do not just upsticks and come to London, if I hadn't lived here all my life and have all my friends and family here there's no way in hell I'd be living here.

A lot is made of higher wages and that may be true for some but it definitely isn't "a rule" or universal truth as people try to make it out. In my field I would get pretty much the same wages in Liverpool, Manchester or Glasgow as I would where I am but my cost of living would be a lot lower and quality of life would probably be higher.

Even if you do have a decent job paying around £30k (yes I know some of you wouldn't get out of bed for that, good for you, you're not typical) at least half of that is going on rent and that's not going to be for some swanky central London pad.

What you're looking at is the lower end of ex-council !!!! holes in for god forsaken cesspit of an estate which you wouldn't even want to walk through nevermind live in.

Do a Google image search for "Busy block" and say hello to your new neighbours. Estate agents sell these areas as:

"Up and coming" = Yet to be touched by gentrification.
"Vibrant and edgy" = Likely to be robbed or raped if on the street after 11pm.
"Full of character" = Surrounded by derelicts waiting to be knocked down.
"Great local charm" = Nothing but pound shops, halal chicken shops and off licenses.

You don't want live in a cesspool? Well then double what you expect to pay in rent. Thinking about sharing to split the cost? In reality you'll only be saving 25% because now you need a two bedroom.

Now whilst you're working like a dog to pay someone elses mortgage, not having enough time to enjoy yourself even if you could afford to and fighting the crowds for everything at almost any time of the day at some point you are bound to ask yourself "What am I doing?" so you may as well ask it now.

Working in London really has very few benefits, the increased wages may or may not be applicable to you but the insane costs of living will. The only reason you should come to London to work is if you're on a stupid salary or you plan on bunking with 20 other people eating nothing but pot noodles and then moving on as soon as you've got the cash you need.

London sucks, I have friends who live in places like Bolton who work menial jobs in places like Tesco and The Carphone Warehouse who can afford to rent their own place, pay their bills and have money to enjoy themselves.

Meanwhile a friend of mine from university has moved to the midlands because she couldn't cope with the cost of living and merciless landlords, she actually ended up being hospitalised for malnutrition because she couldn't afford to eat.

To me it sounds like you're trying to sell yourself on this movie idea of moving to the big city and blah blah blah. Just crush that idea right now, London is a remorseless never ending race to the bottom and nobody could give two !!!!!! whether you live or die.

If you're going to throw caution to the wind and take the plunge by just moving somewhere go somewhere worth going and the next time you get a hankering for London just burn a £50 note.

sarahwilla

London is the most expensive city, i lived there for abt two years. moving to london with out a plan is really a very bad idea. first plan, if every thing is set then move to stay there .

All the best