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

kingslayer

I had to bump this thread again as i visited London this weekend. I went along with a couple friends to visit his cousin in North London (Brent). We stayed over the weekend and went to a few clubs/bars, but also we visited Central London; visited south bank; went to a few different markets and did some sightseeing.

I don't know what it is, but the hustle and bustle is great! I really enjoyed it, and since coming back to my small village in the sticks, i'm starting to miss the big city life. It really sucks i cannot afford to live there right now as there is so much going on.

I hope you Londoners know how fortunate you are.

[Deleted User]

Why do I picture you having this in your head ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tZNKN0gNyo

Find a houseshare, find a job in a coffee shop - boom, you live in London. You're poor, but living in a vibrant place.

kingslayer

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Why do I picture you having this in your head ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tZNKN0gNyo

Find a houseshare, find a job in a coffee shop - boom, you live in London. You're poor, but living in a vibrant place.

:rotfl::rotfl: that video! :rotfl:

No, it's just the atmosphere in London that i really like. It is so diverse; so many different nationalities and a great cultural mix, as well as there being so much to do. When you come back to a small village and smaller town cities, it's just not the same at all.

Where do you live in London, ringo?

[Deleted User]

I don't; I live right up near the edge of the M25 in a little village called Bricket Wood. It is a little village, but I can be in Camden Town in 45 minutes, or Euston in 35, by train. It's the very outer edge of London and we're close to Watford and St Albans.

I have lived in Golders green (zone 2, near brent cross) though. I liked the hustle and bustle. I didn't like my flat shaking by the bus going past the door. I got a job in London, then moved (I was working in Cardiff at the time) ... not the other way around I specifically did want to move to London though and I was quite lucky at finding a decent job relatively easily.

I do work in London occasionally - Camden, Mile End, Westminster. I like a little commute in occasionally.

Comstock

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Find a houseshare, find a job in a coffee shop - boom, you live in London. You're poor, but living in a vibrant place.

Nothing wrong with living that for a year or so, as long as you realise it will be hand to mouth and you'll have nothing but memories (and hopefully some lasting friends) at the end of it.

I personally can't see anything wrong with what the OP wants to do, as long as they realise that. But then I've only read this thread and not any of the OPs other posts.

Kingslayer, how is the idea coming along? Or have you decided it isn't for you?

gettingready

kingslayer wrote: »

I hope you Londoners know how fortunate you are.

we Londoners hardly have any time/energy to do/enjoy what tourists/weekenders love about London you know....

with work/commute and being out for sometimes 11-12 hours per day just with work related stuff

grass is not always greener...

sighhh

SailorSam

[QUOTE=kingslayer;66520106
I don't know what it is, but the hustle and bustle is great! I really enjoyed it, and since coming back to my small village in the sticks, i'm starting to miss the big city life. It really sucks i cannot afford to live there right now as there is so much going on.

I hope you Londoners know how fortunate you are. [/QUOTE]

Beforeyou get carried away Kinglayer, you were only there a weekend.
How many times have you heard people say when they got home from holiday that they'd like to sell-up and go and live in Spain; Turkey, or Thailand.

Sncjw

Kings layer you don't seem to know what you want to do. From your previous posts you jump from very different sectors and your not sure. I think you really need to sit down and work out what you want to do before a big move to London. You need to realistically work out finances too ESP without a plan. Your better off securing employment before a move to ensure you have income. You really need to sit down and think, even if it takes a few days or weeks to work out what your path is, jumping ahead of yourself can cause future problems.

szam_

I have to agree with a couple of posters on page one. I'm 26 now, but given what I know now, I would have absolutely loved to have traveled and worked out there. If I knew what I do now back when I was 16, I'd have stuck out college, gone to Uni and funded some traveling, I feel I'm playing catch up on traveling and now have a career off the ground which limits that. I'd rather not ditch as it was hard enough to get past that IT "support" role.

I had to do some work in London on a few occasions and a training course too. All I can say is I would absolutely detest living there. I don't have social anxiety or anything, but I am quite introverted, I could not handle the life down there, regardless of how much money I was offered (up to a point, but that's never going to happen). The crowds are overwhelming, people are generally rude/too self absorbed/self important and everyone is in a rush. I thought Manchester was busy, and I'm OK with that, but it pales in comparison to London (unless Manchester Xmas markets are on, I will never return there are getting stuck in the middle of a huge gridlocked crowd).

London is fine for a day or two, or a weekend - it's fine if you're there for Clubs/Restaurants and sight-seeing, but that's not the day to day life of a Londoner. The day to day life is a much more harsh reality as I had a taste of, living out of a "hotel apartment" and working over in Camden for a week at a time, credit to those who manage to cope with it, but personally it's not for me.

BigAunty

The experience of someone visiting London and someone who lives there in a Low paid/high rent capacity are two different beasts.

The crowds in the street that made it so exciting are less exciting when you are crammed into a tube train with them during rush hour that has one of the highest fares in Europe, when you are competing with them for scarce tenancies and a high degree of competition for every job.

To go there, you need to find a job first OR someone you know who can put you up for free or next to nothing until you find a job and your own place.

Sightseeing doesn't have to stop when you find your expensive room on perhaps National Minimum Wage but paying for museums and exhibitions, frequent visits to bars and so on will become a very rare treat indeed - basic living costs even when in employment might swallow up virtually all your disposable income.