Anxious about moving to London. How can I prepare over the next year?

mitzi_tov

Hi everyone, long time MSE fan and hoping for a bit of advice.

I'm living with my partner in the north west and we're planning to move to north west London next July (he has family and friends there). I'm excited about it, but I'm worried about the expense.

He's about to finish an MA while I'm working two jobs, one in a deli and one in a coffee shop. The pay isn't amazing, minimum wage, but with help from MSE I've managed to get together £15k which I'm getting 3% interest on. This is a lot of money for how we live now (absurdly low rent, cooking a lot at home, walking everywhere) but I'm worried it's not going to stretch far once we're there.

I don't have a degree, though I came out of school with six good A-levels and have been working years - I'm worried this is going to stop employers even considering me, since there are so many graduates on the market. There's a small chance that I could transfer with the coffee chain, but my branch is a franchise and there would still be a lot of competition.

Even with a job, I'm not sure I can afford rent, bills, travel, food and everything in London - friends down there say they're spending £1000+ a month, which is four times more than I am up here!

My partner's determined to get a salaried graduate job and has a lot of experience in his field, but a lot of it was unpaid or under minimum wage, so with travel it actually cost money instead of making it. He doesn't have any savings and his family isn't very wealthy, so I wouldn't dream of living off them (I don't have any family myself).

I know it probably sounds silly - I have a safety net and I plan to find a job as quickly as I can - but what can I do to make things easier? I have nearly a year to start putting things into place...

dimbo61

There are lots and lots of jobs for someone with your experience.
Your OH also stands a better chance of getting work in the smoke.
The thing to worry about is finding a place to live.
Can you rent one room from a family member ?
Renting is SO expensive in many parts of London but not all.
Go for it but do not expect to buy a property any time soon.

principlecounts

Firstly, I must say congratulations on getting together a decent amount, not easy for a lot of people in this climate, if you carry on like that in a years time, you'll feel a lot more comfortable in a place like London.

I did live in London for 4 years when I was a student, I just rented a room sharing rest of the facilities in a normal 3 bed house. if I were you take what your friends say with a pinch of salt, you don't really know whether people are spending their income effectively for the purpose they require. £1000+ a month is possible if you're renting an apartment and have expensive commutes to work. But time is on your side, you've got a chance to do the sums yourself and shop around so use it to your advantage.

As for jobs, seriously, I'm a graduate myself (nearly 10 years ago now) from what some may claim a good university in London. A degree is overrated these days (or rather employers are realising graduates may not always be the type of candidate their after), I have to keep up to date to stay relevant, otherwise my skills are just out of date. As for someone coming out to the workplace with good A-levels, I think you shouldn't put yourself down. No doubt you'll be quizzed, but just think of the positives you have gained from going straight into work e.g. wanted to understand a good work ethic, perhaps you needed more time to choose the right career path, etc. There are much opportunities and training programmes these days for A-level skills than their used to be. I've seen too many idiots at uni (and so have many industry have come to realise). If I was an employer, I think good A-levels for many jobs are good foundation for nurturing talent towards the right skills a company needs.

What can you do right now:

- Save as much you can (but please have a life!)
- Look for good job opportunities for people with A-levels e.g. http://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/jobs-214
- Consider locations you and your OH would like to live, but if one of you or both you manage to secure jobs that'll make finding the exact location easier.

Good Luck, and keep asking questions!

alberty

What were you hoping to hear, that you can support yourself and have a great life in London with no money? Why not build a life somewhere you might be able to buy a house not too long from now, instead of living in conditions like a battery hen in London, or on benefits. I would.

rach_k

I would start looking at areas that might work for you for living and working. Be prepared to have a longer commute - public transport is generally pretty good so an hour commute into London is nowhere near as bad as a 30 minute drive in Preston (where I'm from) at rush hour. At least you can day-dream/read on the train/tube/bus!

Once you have a rough idea of area, have a look at prices on rightmove. Our 1 bedroom flat in SW London (1 hour into Central) would have rented for around £1000/month and it wasn't fancy. We're still an hour away from London now but you can rent a similar flat here for £750/month. Still very expensive but it's a nicer area for less money so it pays to do your research. I don't think £1000+/month each is unrealistic down here unfortunately.

I would look into transferring with your existing company if you can - it's worth a shot and it would give you a bit more security. When I moved down here, I honestly did feel very out of place at first. If I'd been working, I think being in a familiar company would have helped a lot.

It was worth moving though. I really love it where we are now and a large part of that is finding where we live now. I think it's really worth doing your research beforehand - we fell into this area by accident but I wouldn't recommend that approach!

conradmum

I think you're right to be anxious. You're giving up steady work to go and live in the most expensive city in Britain and neither of you have jobs lined up. Wouldn't it make more sense to find the best jobs you can and go and live near your workplace? I love my friends and family as much as the next person, but to up sticks and make myself unemployed in order to live near them would be madness. I can go and visit them if I want to see them.

The high cost of living in London means you'll find it very difficult to save money for a deposit on a mortgage. At your stage in life you should consider carefully the long-term implications of your decision. If you can find work in London that pays well, then moving there would make a lot more sense.

pinkteapot

I was about to say exactly the same thing as conradmum. I wouldn't move to London with no job for either of you.

Your OH should get a job lined up and then move. I assume his Masters is in a specific field and he's got some idea of what job he wants? He should get his job and then move somewhere near it. London is huge. Living in the NW is all well and good but if he ends up working in the SE the commute will take ages.

If you plan to do a similar job to the one you do now, coffee shops etc are all over London so you're more likely to be flexible on work location I'd expect. Also, as he's likely to be the higher earner, it makes sense to get his job sorted first and you work around it. (One of you has to do this - it's unlikely you'd both manage to line jobs up at the same time in the same area).

The savings you've built up would be eaten away very quickly when you move if neither of you work for a while. Does your other half have any savings to cover his side of that time?

harrys_dad

Another vote for him getting a job first then making some decisions. Have you discussed your concerns with your partner? You say "he has family and friends there" which sounds like a one sided decision to move. As someone who has lived in London, and now lives in the North West, the only sensible reason for moving to London is work related.

If he can get a job somewhere other than London your quality of life will be much higher. Are you sure he has considered the effect on you of such a move? These decisions should be made together if your relationship has a future.

Errata

Your partner needs to secure good stable job, rent a room in a shared house, see how it goes for 6 months before you even consider moving down there.

bouicca21

You haven't Indicated whether your partner really does have good prospects for a job in London. I don't entirely understand why he doesn't get a job before moving. That would give you a budget and some stability, plus once you know where he'd be working you would have a better idea of where to look for accommodation along a commuting route. Hate to say it, but north west London is expensive even by London standards.

Am I reading too much between the lines? Is this really about him wanting to be closer to friends and family rather than about his career opportunities? None of us can comment on the opportunities in his particular field or whether his MA is going to be useful in finding a job; you and he will have a better handle on that.

As for you - London is full of coffee shops and restaurants, it might take a bit of time but I'm pretty sure you'd find something. Given your customer service experience, you could also look at working in one of the many tourist venues. If you really are heading for north west London you could commute the other way and work at Heathrow. None of these jobs are likely to be well paid and minimum wage does not go as far in London as elsewhere.

£1,000 a month for a place to live, food and regular commuting is not IMHO overstated by very much, especially if you add in the odd meal/theatre/film night out. You have to do more than sleep, eat and work. My own dd pays just over £600 for a room in a flatshare in zone 2. The upside is that zone 2 keeps commuting costs down, and travel time short (important if you have to do irregular/late hours). A room further out might be cheaper, though I doubt it, and would certainly cost more in fares.

kingstreet

Six A levels and you've ended up with two jobs in the catering industry earning £6 an hour? :eek: